I'm long overdue in writing up my CTR race report and just uploaded it to Strava finally. I've decided to just do a different format for this report. Links to my strava activities and I'll post the short descriptions with the links since they don't seem to be visible to the public.
Nick Patzer - 6 Days 7 Hours 50 Minutes
CTR 2015 Day 1https://www.strava.com/activities/482850093Outfitted the Dos Niner and headed out for the CTR! Tried to ease into the race to prevent body revolt, but that didn't go that well. Crashed 3 miles in and cracked a rib and effed up the bike (bent handlebars, really bent saddle, broken brake reservoir). Kept moving, though body wasn't cooperating that well. I really wanted to make Silverton, but was too "fragile" to risk going over another 12,000 foot pass to get there.
CTR 2015 Day 2https://www.strava.com/activities/482850099Still felt bad. Big bonk as I reached Carson Saddle, once again afraid I would run out of food before Buena Vista, I was burning 10,000 calories every 12 hours and not making much progress along the course. Over all felt crummy. Stopped and had a long sleep and a camp fire to lift spirits.
CTR 2015 Day 3https://www.strava.com/activities/482850022Body revolt is over! Finally, I'm able to eat something other than simple sugars and I'm feeling much better! Flying along to Spring Creek Pass and through the La Garita Wilderness detour. The gluten-free burrito I ate at the top of Los Pinos Pass was heaven! Sidewall cut slowed me down right near sunset as I entered Sargents Mesa, but kept pushing late. Stopped and slept because it sounded smart more than feeling the need to.
I even snuck in a KOM over Jesse Jakomait, Stefan Griebel, Neil Beltchenko and other CTR heavy hitters ha!
CTR 2015 Day 4https://www.strava.com/activities/482850062Still feeling good. Body was functioning well, but I still didn't like the pushing through the Cochetopa Hills. Took a break at Marshall Pass to eat some food and talk to some CTR enthusiasts. US50 to Mt Princeton is a slog, but eating dinner at the Mt Princeton Hot Springs Resort is fantastic. Was chased up Mt Princeton by a huge storm, but it stalled on the flanks of the mountain and I stayed dry. Descended to Buena Vista and everything was closed, so decided to resupply in Leadville instead since the body was operating much more efficiently now.
CTR 2015 Day 5https://www.strava.com/activities/482850088Only had about 3 hours sleep and with the big push the previous day I was a little knackered. Got to Leadville and dropped the bike at the LBS to check out the brake (turns out I had a cracked reservoir from the day 1 crash, bled it and hoped for the best). Resupplied in Leadville, Doritos were now a large part of my diet. Up over Kokomo and hit Searle at sunset, approached those climbs with a good attitude and really enjoyed them. I despise the trail as it traverses Copper Mountain, takes way too long to do a simple traverse. Slept in a Copper Mountain parking lot, didn't want to push into the Ten Mile Range climb and possibly change how good I was feeling.
CTR 2015 Day 6https://www.strava.com/activities/482850163/segments/11586840800Ten mile Climb wasn't bad. Ran into another CTR guy at the summit, chatted a few and then decided I was pushing straight through to Waterton. Slow and steady over to and up Georgia and descended to Kenosha in late afternoon, I was feeling fantastic so I hammered it to make it to the Stage Stop Saloon before the grill closed. Stage Stop was fun with a busy bar during the weekend. Got a bunless burger and chicken sandwich and a Family Size Doritos (3000 calories!), Tarryall Pat is a fantastic guy (even if he doubted that I would be able to go straight through to the finish). Hammered the Tarryall Detour all through the night passing several guys that were slowing/tired while I was getting faster. Hit the CT trail at 4 a.m. and kept on moving. When I got to the South Platte I stopped to take a break and filter some water before starting the final segment. 2 of the guys I passed in the night finally caught up with me and chatted and then promptly attacked up the climb. I quickly packed up and gave chase, after so many miles and so many hours without sleep I now found myself in a cross country race to the end. I caught both guys on the climb (it's what us skinny guys do) and hammered the whole way as I didn't know how long they would chase. My wife and kids were 1.5 miles up the canyon to greet me, but I skidded to a halt and explained I had chasers so I tagged the finish line before coming back up to them. I rode the last segment faster than I ever had and the brake lasted me, barely, but it was a bit sketchy at the end.
Finish time was 6 days 7 Hours 50 minutes, good for 13th place. Not bad considering I was on 9 or 10 day pace those first 2 days. Turns out I didn't need to hammer that last segment as hard as I did, my closest chaser was 33 minutes behind.
