CTR 2013 Discussion

[schillingsworth]

Looks like Josiah had a big push to get to the finish today, well done!! He's only a few miles away. Congrats on a stellar ride!!

[Shirey]

Nice job Josiah! Hell of a push to finish that thing!

I can tell you that Nick Woodland is getting absolutely crushed by the weather right now in Summit County. Heavy, heavy rain with huge blasts of lightning going off for the last hour and no sign of stopping right now. Lucky for him, he is almost down to the trailer park on Tiger Road so he can get cover in the bus stop right there if he needs to.

(edit) Well, looks like Woodland said "to hell with covered bus stops, I think I'll climb on up the Tenmile Range." Well Done! Still raining....

[nepbug]

Chrissy sent me some text messages from BV today.  She said she still wishes she could eat more, has the typical pains of consecutive long days on the bike and that she is going to make sure to finish this thing so she doesn't have to push over ten mile ever again.

I speculate she took some extra time in BV to make sure she was stocked up, fueled up and feeling good before departing because last year she ran into some problems on the climb out of BV.

I figured she would stop at Mt Princeton Hot Springs tonight, but it looks like she's rocking it and pushing beyond.  Mt Shavano campground maybe?  Heck, maybe she goes all sorts of crazy and pushes to Fooses creek tonight before resting.

[cjdunn]

Great job Josiah!  Waiting for the TR.

[ron]

Finally got my pictures up.

How'd you like the BioLogic ReeCharge (pic 6)? I ran the same thing in the TD this year and had mixed results.

[franzr]

I've actually had good experiences with it in the past, as long as I never let the charge get too low (takes forever to revive it seems, in the meantime your USB device dies). Shortly before Silverton, though, my wiring broke where it flexes from fork compression. I fixed it with bailing wire and electrical tape, but it kept breaking again on long descents, so finally on the third day I gave up--too much time wasted stopping and repairing. Had to finish the ride with my tiny headlamp and running my phone/GPS off of AAs.

So still like the Reecharge, but need a more durable fork flexure for my wiring!

[JosiahM]

Great job Josiah!  Waiting for the TR.

thanks Chris.
sitting at work on monday after a 28 hour push like that is absolutely brutal.
actually sitting on the plane lastnight coming back to tulsa, I got some major vertigo everytime we hit turbulence.

body held up surprisingly well all though I had/have a lung infection the whole ride that had me stopped for half hour stints with a debilitating cough (coughing up green nastyness from my lungs )
I had old muscle injuries that I thought would be a problem because they would hurt every time I rode my bike.  But oddly enough, after the first couple days, all my muscles just stopped hurting.  Never needed advil or anything to mask the pain.  It's really strange cause other than a numb finger and numb toe (and being tired as hell), my body actually feels less beat up than it did before the ride.

I may think about doing a trip report when I get the energy... but by the time I get the energy, the experience won't be as fresh in my mind and in my heart as it is now and as it was as I was going.
I wish there was a way to write a trip report while riding and pushing late at night on the ctr, because that is when all the revelations worth mentioning in a TR crossed my mind.

[DizzyDave]

Epic rides deserve epic trip reports so here goes....

https://www.facebook.com/notes/david-stewart/click-whoosh-ahhhhhhh/10151613020403165

(I hope the link works.)

-Dave

[JosiahM]

(I hope the link works.)

it doesn't

[dru1962]

Epic rides deserve epic trip reports so here goes....

https://www.facebook.com/notes/david-stewart/click-whoosh-ahhhhhhh/10151613020403165

(I hope the link works.)

-Dave

Try setting the privileges for just that post/status update to "Public" -- that may fix it for us "non-friends" readers.

[DizzyDave]

OK, Set to "public".  Hopefully it works now. 

[mtnbound]

Dave, great write up!  Nice flow, commentary and humor.  Bikepacking certainly does have some great riders and writers.

Congrats to Josiah!  What an amazing push to finish it out!

Good luck to those still on the trail! 

[mtbcast]

ITT Nick Woodland called in from Mt. Princeton. He broke a few spokes and managed to get some help.
http://mtbcast.com/site2/category/ctr13/

[Nancy]

Loved Nick's call-in.  Sounded like the real deal, spokes gone, kindness of strangers, no one acting as his cheerleader except the voice in his head saying, "Keep going!"  I wish you the best of luck from now on, Nick!

[nepbug]

Looks like Chrissy had a good day today.  She started at the beginning of Sargents Mesa and is now climbing Slumgullion (halfway up right now).  She should make Spring Creek Pass tonight before stopping.  All logic points to her sleeping there and hitting the highest most remote section of the course tomorrow in the daylight.  She's going to have great views and will be in Silverton by the evening.

She timed out the Slumgullion climb perfectly, she started a little after sunset, that climb is brutal with the sun shining, but nice in the clouds or cool night air.

Keep pushing Chrissy!  May you eat your last morsel of food and drink your last drop of water as you cruise into Silverton tomorrow.

[Stefan_G]

Here is a write up of my week in Paradise

I LOVE how this is "Paradise" for you! Man, what an amazing race you and Jefe had out there.  You are hands down the fastest around, and Jefe's got such abnormal (understatement!) sleep deprivation skillz that we all knew it would be a Clash of the Titans up front with 2 incredibly different styles. I'm almost glad I dropped just to watch the race play out...  Once again, well done and an outstanding performance on the never-ending CT.

[Stefan_G]

Looks like Chrissy had a good day today. 

Great job out there Chrissy. You are about to experience the, ummm, "Crown Jewels" of the CTR.  Hope they are good!!

[Gimmearaise]

Looks like Chrissy had a good day today.  She started at the beginning of Sargents Mesa and is now climbing Slumgullion (halfway up right now).  She should make Spring Creek Pass tonight before stopping.  All logic points to her sleeping there and hitting the highest most remote section of the course tomorrow in the daylight.  She's going to have great views and will be in Silverton by the evening.

Hope the rain hold out for her, Looks like tomorrow could be a wet one!

[JosiahM]

my writeup.  Sorry if it isn't completely coherent, as I'm still not completely coherent yet after losing so much sleep lol.
https://www.facebook.com/notes/josiah-morgan/colorado-trail-journey-2013/10151799146928117

let me know if the link works.

[mtbcast]

Bringing commercial exposure will do nothing positive for the CTR.I've finished the CTR twice (and failed once), and I don't "deserve" anything more than what I've already received: great memories, some interesting lessons, a handful of photos, some awesome new friends, and a few life-altering revelations. I'm a slow guy (who pushes hard), but that's more than enough for me.

Is this worth another thread? I ask because this is something I've been thinking about in regards to the show. I would love, and hope, to get more sponsorship for the show but would "CTR coverage is sponsored by Uncle Joe's Chain Lube!" tarnish the spirit of these races as well?