He only has one (1) uphill section left to go but it is below timberline so nothing but an easy Hike A Bike compared to what he has already dealt with.  He has past all the rough sections and is moving good.  GO Ryan Go!

Some of my favorite moments of the CTR.  Sorry, I'm not very familiar with making these a smaller size for the sreenshot. These are not in order of race miles or times (just pulled favorites to show).

1st picture:  After Sargents Mesa I was devastated and mentally broke with hike-a-bike until I got to "Apple - The Trail Angel Tent". He got my head back into the race and my physical status boosted significantly.

2nd Picture: Enjoying my last high elevation hike before the start of the descent down to the last Segment and on to Durango.  Finally had clear weather to tackle this ridge after waiting out Hail, Lightning, and Heavy Rains at timberline for 2 hours.

3rd Picture: Bill trying to keep dry under the trail registry box on Kenosha Pass.  The rains this night (1st night) were heavy downpours.  He ended up taking up lodging in the close by outhouse.  I thought this was out of the question until I lost my tent poles and then did the same at Dome Lakes Outhouses several days later.


4th Picture: Toby enjoying an early morning ride through the clouds before dropping down to Buena Vista.  This was an amazing morning sunrise after we rode since 1:30 AM from Leadville after taking lodging the night before to dry out from the once again heavy rains.

5th Picture: The finish (Junction Creek Trailhead - Durango, CO).  Still pouring rain, hail, and lightning up to the last foot of trail I rode.  What a great experience that I will never forget. Thanks for all the memories fellow riders, and the great Colorado Outdoors.

Great to hear that Andy finished. We rode together for several days, and he was a solid and motivating companion. He lost his GPS and tent poles along the route, which was a serious psychological blow--but he plugged along anyway. Meeting people like Andy along the way was one of the highlights of the CTR. Nothing so quickly builds real friendship like sharing an intense experience, eh?

Thanks for the kind words Toby.  For those that have not met Toby he would be on the top of your list of best people to know and become friends with.  I also enjoyed riding with with him for several days and listening to his Canadian "eh" all day long.  I knew when he started pedaling strong up the Fooses Creek section that I probably would not see him again.  We both chatted from the very first few miles of the race that our goal was a finish and Im so glad he did it so strong.

This race was absolutely amazing.  There are so many things I would love to share about the race between the great people I met to the emotional and physical highs and lows.  I believe every one that entered this has a great love, respect, and admiration for the outdoors and Mtn biking.  We should all give Stefan a big "Thank You" for inventing and organizing this unique competition.  

As for me  - the bike will be heading to the shop for the many repairs that need to be done because of this race (broken brake level, broken granny gear sprocket, broken rear suspension). I'll try to post some pictures and ideas of things I thought were essential and things I would have left behind. I did realize that every ounce is essential to shed off the bike for a race of this nature but also take the essential gear to make it through the weather and high alltitude conditions.  

Good luck to the remaining rider(s) and "Ride Tough".

Hey Gabe,

I just rode that section from Waterton to Indian Creek trailhead this morning and it is very straightforward.  There are a couple of turns to watch out for but there is good signage that shows trail #800 and/or Indian Creek Trailhead.  See you in a little over a week and good luck!

I'll be coming from the Springs too.  Dont have a set plan yet but I might be able to help you with a ride. 

Does anyone know if there is camping allowed at the start Trail Head?

Yes - Indian Creek Trailhead has a paid Forest Service campground that is in good condition.

I think your right.  If the race starts from the Indian Creek Trailhead and goes straight into the West loop then it will be a lot of bumber bikes for a while.  I am hoping they start the race at the Rampart Range parking lot (about 1/4 mile up the paved road).  I think that lot is free as compared to the Indian Creek lot which is a $5 usage fee.  The Rampart Range lot would be a quick downhill ride to the trail head but would allow a few minutes for people to space out on the pavement.

The East 800 route would allow for people to spread out and is a blast but would add some addtional miles and elevation gain right away.  With close to 500 miles and 60,000 verticle I don't know if that matters anyway. 

I rode the Indian Creek Trail 800 "bypass" on Sunday. Nice trail. It starts with a 1-2 mile single-track climb, but then opens up to longer sections of double-track. After the short climb at the start, it's mostly gentle downhill for 10+ miles. With a little patience, we can all get a spread out a bit before things get tighter again.

Watch out for some of those drainage dips/waterbars (mountains?)--they are HUGE, and the last few are the biggest. I was riding pretty conservatively, and I still got a little extra lift!

I rode the same section a couple of weeks ago but if I'm not mistaken we will only be riding the West Section of the trail which is all single track and not the East section that you might be referring to.   The East section of #800 would have a lot of room for spreading out but the actual reroute (West) is all single track from the trailhead (located near the horse corrals) without much room for passing.  It won't matter to me either way since I will be starting at the end of the pack and probably staying at that location.  The official Colorado Trail re-route shows the west end section of #800 to be the detour.

I'm trying to cut weight and I was given an MSR MIOX Purifier for Christams but have not yet used it in the field.  I have always used a pump and don't mind using it but it is definately twice to 3 times the weight of the Miox.  Does anyone have any experience with using the Miox and good/bad information about it for multi Day trips? When I test it at home on large quantities of water (4L) the test strips always come out negative even though it is very clean tap water (Denver Water).

Not Sure if Stefan still has any of these but after a lot of research I decided to buy one due to the incredible cost savings over buying a similar manufactered one out of Germany with the same power.  I have been testing it on night rides the last 6 weeks and this thing is great.  I did a test ride at night last weekend on the Colorado Trail with heavy wind and rain and the thing worked like a champ the entire time. It isn't the best looking but being the fact that you can run it for many hours and in all sorts of weather, it is the perfect setup for a multiple night trip.
 http://www.climbingdreams.net/gemini/

How does that work when we use our own SPOT with the tracking mode on?  Will we send Stefan our tracking link or will we need to set up a seperate Share Page on our account for the tracking to be shown on the leaderboard?

I've been using mine every weekend for my wife to track me on training rides and I have noticed over the last couple of months that instead of showing a signal every 10 minutes it has been closer to once an hour due to the heavy tree cover on the majority of the trail between Indian Creek Trailhead and Wellington Lake Detour.

I did the section from Kenosha Pass to Breckenridge 2 weeks ago and this picture shows what the conditions where like on Georgia Pass.  The pass itself is clear but the trees just below the pass had 4 foot drifts still.  They should be all clear within the next couple of weeks but when I did it on the 19th it was very tiring for about 2 miles with throwing the bike over the snow drifts over and over.

[start at same time and date]

I'm hoping that keeping the same start time and date is the preferable option (just being selfish) since I have put a lot of planning into this race for starting on that Monday.  I probably live closer than anyone starting the race (about 3 miles from Waterton Canyon) and would love to start from my house but starting on Sunday at this point would throw a big wrench into me even making it this year.

Looks like the alternate route (Indian Creek Traihead) only changes the distance of the race by 1 mile.  It probably changes a few minutes since it will add more single track but since that is what we are after anyway and with close to 500 miles it probably wouldn't make a difference on timing for those few elite trying to break a record (that will not be me though - just looking at a goal of finishing this beast).

If we were to set up a vote I would say start at same time and date but different location (as noted by Stefan).  I would still like to see if the Denver Water board would allow a start at 6:00 am then close the canyon at 7:00 am (once again being selfish and wishing for the best circumstance).

Sorry about all the seperate links but this one just found on the reroute.  Still not sure if this will change the start of the race.
http://www.coloradotrail.org/Seg1MapWatertonClosureHiRes.pdf

Another link.  This one directly from the Denver Water Board about the closure.  No listed closure time but does indicate the reroute for the Colorado Trail via Indian Creek neare Sedalia, CO.
http://www.denverwater.org/AboutUs/PressRoom/46FE19EA-ED92-7C8D-A8AB98748E45ACB3/

Denvers Fox News reported this evening that Waterton Canyon (The official start for the CTR - Colorado Trail Race) will be closing on Aug. 2nd (currently the same day as the CTR start).  They indicated the trail will close for 15 months for major work by the Denver Water.  Any information about when they plan to close the trail would be helpful to see if this will affect the race start time/date.
http://www.kdvr.com/news/sns-ap-co--firesediment-reservoir,0,4355644.story

Yep!  I'm the same way.  Just racing to finish and hopefully not burn out before the end of day one.  My light situation I'm sure will be for when I wake up freezing my tail off at 3 am and decide I'm better off walking that nasty hike-a-bike to stay warm rather than shake for 4 additional hours in my sleeping bag until the sun pops up.  Not sure what to expect but I'm looking to at least starting the race and see how far I can get.

Im planning on bikepacking the Centennial Trail in the South Dakota Black Hills in Mid June to do a multi day test on my gear for the CTR.  Anyone have experience doing this trail.  I've heard some of my friends say its best to do it South to North but wanted to get some ideas on this one (any posts/blogs that anyone might know of)? 
If anyone is interested in joining I think we are planning on June 11th through 13th.

Thanks for the great ideas on the lights everyone!  Someday I would like a great Dyno or Supernova but finances prevent that this year.  I like the ideas with just using AA or AAA batteries and doing a resupply at a couple of the stores along the route. 

I feel dumb asking - but does anyone plaster reflective tape on their bikes and helmets for the CTR? I'm fearing the Highway 285 section the most and If for some reason I dont make it to Kenosha Pass by dark I think I might be walking the highway ditch to keep from getting hit by a car or truck.

I've been researching lighting systems from forums posted here and have a little sticker shock going on.  Has anyone used a light for the CTR (or other multi day/night rides) other than a Supernova or Dyno sytem that worked well for them.  I was hoping to not have to spend more than $200 to $300 on a light for this ride but I am having a hard time figuring out an optimal light to purchase.

Does anyone use any type of system to strap your bike to your back for some of the long hike-a-bike sections?  I usually just carry my bike but with what appears to be over 100 miles of hike-a-bike on the CTR it seems that some type of useful way to pack it on the back might be helpfull.