Dixie 200/311

[JRA]

Congrats to the finishers!

[Norb]

Congrats Mike and Jeremy!  And way to set the bar even higher Mike. 

[ImAFred]

Mike, Jeremy, I hope you enjoyed the gift I left in the river for ya! Good job, you guys are studs!
In hindsight, my decision to bail from doing the paunsagaunt was a good one. I didn't know it at the time in long valley because I was focused on my right elbow, but it is actually my left knee that truly ended it for me. I had planned on rejoining the route at thunder, then finishing on route. However when I did my first hab that morning on the coyote hollow trail I knew something wasn't right with my knee, the pain pushing uphill was intense to say the least( all I can figure is I must have banged it on my toptube when I went down). Funny thing is I could pedal without much discomfort but hiking was a different story. So I made the decision to take a route from there that allowed pedaling with minimal hab'ing. Really glad I made that choice, because today my knee is swollen, has a nice deep bruise and I can barely walk on it. ....Funny thing is.... I'm already thinking about next year

[Buttermilk]

YeeHaa! great route...suffering with a smile. thanks for putting it all together Dave. Great way to see Utah backcountry.
Nice ride Mike, steady and strong, I thought you were going to attack dark hollow at night for the sub48 finish. That Dark Hollow trail is world class. Steve, sorry about the sores, you were hauling arse out there. Maybe it does need more HAB...although there was plenty for me, hence no sore bum. Way to salvage a good weekend of riding Bryan. You got to see and ride some sweet terrain. Heal up and get back on it. And I didn't see the river gift...

[SLCook]

Nice work Mike. You shaved some serious time off.  Congrats Jeremy.  Way to hang in there with the derailleur issues and your first time in Utah.  You both should do well in the CTR.  I will be watching your progress.  I saw the treats in the creek as I was cleaning up and thought those would taste better than my warm one.

[mikedeber]

That is one tough route, super fun though!  Thanks again Dave for masterminding this and helping coordinate.  It was nice meeting you guys and knowing there was other bodies out there at the same time.

Steve, bummer about the bum...I was following your tracks all morning on Sunday wondering if I would ever end up seeing you.  What time did you wake up and start riding that morning?

Photo evidence of a great tour:



Pre-ride stoke





Topping out on the first climb, the views start getting awesome





Castle Creek, the only time I had to treat any water on the route





Marathon not Trail






All that remains from a previous Dixie200 rider that didn't finish









Virgin River Rim






Jeremy cruising out to dinner on Saturday evening, nice to ride with you buddy!






Rolling up towards the Paunsaugunt






Nice, easy, flowy trail through here.






I had one of the best backcountry camp spots ever, this was my view in the morning as I was getting packed up.  The night riding along the rim under the full moon was pretty euphoric, although, I probably should have used some more moon block, I think I got a little burned. 



Moonset at sunrise






Crawford Pass Trail






Thunder Mountain, best trail in the galaxy?





I think Mother Earth is trying to reclaim the Spruces Trail as her own






Almost done...

[JRA]

Very cool!
Thanks for all the photos.

[LyndaW]

Great pics. Thanks for sharing.

Congrats on a great ride out there.

[plesurnpain]

I thought I'd revive this thread as it seems like the discussions are starting about this year Dixie 200...and that I'm starting to plan for it myself. If work permits a few days off, I'll be there for my first bikepacking race and only my 2nd trip. I was originally planning on the Dixie Lite but discovered that the mass start is for the 200 these days and I'd like to meet some new people, enjoy the atmosphere and shared experiences. I'll save the Dixie Lite for a tour with my girlfriend. I'm piecing together the last of my gear and impatiently waiting for my new Garmein Etrex 20 to show up so I can practice using it before I head south. Reading through this post has got me really excited. Thanks for sharing all of the great photos and experiences.