 Topic Name: 2014 CSTR Planning
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Reply #60 on: July 23, 2014, 07:31:37 AM
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ayayron
Posts: 73
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« Reply #60 on: July 23, 2014, 07:31:37 AM » |
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Thanks...got in around 12:30 last night. Sean came and met up with Jack and I in Foresthill, we all had some pizza together, I think Sean was relieved we weren't ready to kill him after suffering through this brutal course he designed! Quite the contrary, I had a blast, the course is very, very hard but huge rewards for your suffering with the amazing scenery and trails. Jack and I took tons of pics and video, we will get them up soon.
Jack - super fun riding with you, sorry I lost you on the last stretch to Auburn! Hope you made it in ok. This was Jack's first bikepacking race and he crushed a very non-hardtail friendly (very rocky and technical) course on his Ti hardtail. Impressed with your riding, hope we get to do this again someday. Safe travels back to MD.
And finally huge thanks to Sean - I loved the course, I really hope we can get more people out next year. Just as good as CTR in my opinion.
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Topic Name: 2014 CSTR Planning
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Reply #61 on: July 23, 2014, 11:51:37 AM
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jackinmd
Posts: 24
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« Reply #61 on: July 23, 2014, 11:51:37 AM » |
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Wow, what a awesome ride. I got in around 1:30AM this morning, picked up some Denny's, checked into my hotel, showered the greatest shower of all time, and conked out in a real bed.
Coming into Forest Hill was tough, it was so great to meet Sean on the road and refuel before heading into the home stretch.
The course was amazing - challenging, beautiful, and wild. So much trail, some sweet singletrack out there.
As first-timer, there are definitely a few things I would change about my kit, but overall I felt pretty good about my setup.
Aaron, super fun riding with you! I enjoyed the company and am looking forward to swapping media files to relive it all again.
Sean, thanks a ton for all your work putting this route together, it really was an incredible experience. I don't have anything to compare it to, but seeing all of those famous trails, the not-so-famous ones, and everything in between was really great. Some excellent riding was had.
I'm going to go eat and sleep for a few days...
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Topic Name: 2014 CSTR Planning
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Reply #62 on: July 23, 2014, 03:45:59 PM
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aaron w
Location: Salida, CO
Posts: 171
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« Reply #62 on: July 23, 2014, 03:45:59 PM » |
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Great job guys. Sounds like a tough course. Aaron, would you say this is more technical than the CTR? You kind of scared me with your hardtail comment! Very much looking forward to pics, etc. Great to see Greg still out there moving it forward  |
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Topic Name: 2014 CSTR Planning
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Reply #63 on: July 23, 2014, 04:06:16 PM
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michael1
Posts: 11
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« Reply #63 on: July 23, 2014, 04:06:16 PM » |
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Hey Blake, I'm going to try to drive out to Auburn tonight. Did you want to start at the regular time of 6:00 AM tomorrow? I wouldn't mind starting a couple hours later since I don't think I can ride 12-14 hours per day anyway.
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Topic Name: 2014 CSTR Planning
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Reply #64 on: July 23, 2014, 08:51:44 PM
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Sean Allan
Location: Foresthill, Ca.
Posts: 261
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« Reply #64 on: July 23, 2014, 08:51:44 PM » |
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Great to see Aaron and Jack last evening, they both did an awesome job out there! I was pretty impressed with Jacks porn stache , he must have worked hard on that in the evenings Greg looks like he might finish up tomorrow, perhaps early the next day. He's done so well this year and taken a good chunk off of last years time even with the tougher course. Hopefully I can meet him somewhere tomorrow. Congrats to Aaron Johnson on winning the race this year on top of his second place at the AZTR! Some pics from last evening. |
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Topic Name: 2014 CSTR Planning
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Reply #65 on: July 23, 2014, 11:02:15 PM
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ayayron
Posts: 73
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« Reply #65 on: July 23, 2014, 11:02:15 PM » |
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Aaron - it's about on par with CTR in terms of technical difficulty. The foothills segments have some long stretches of very chunky riding - Jack did fine though on his hardtail. The Tahoe Rim Trail is very hardtail friendly, nice and flowy. You'll be fine, I was just very happy to have rear suspension in several areas the first 1.5 days and last 1.5 days. Hardtail will be an advantage on the climbs, and there sure are a lot of those.
Final stats from the garmin - 432.4 miles, 64,890 feet gained. For comparison, CTR last year was 547.4 miles, 75,719 feet gained. More feet per mile gained in this one vs. CTR.
I just completely unintentionally slept for 8 hours straight today instead of going to work.....oops.
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Topic Name: 2014 CSTR Planning
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Reply #66 on: July 24, 2014, 06:37:58 AM
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B_Bock
Location: Truckee, CA
Posts: 159
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« Reply #66 on: July 24, 2014, 06:37:58 AM » |
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Hey Blake, I'm going to try to drive out to Auburn tonight. Did you want to start at the regular time of 6:00 AM tomorrow? I wouldn't mind starting a couple hours later since I don't think I can ride 12-14 hours per day anyway.
I'm planing on heading out the morning of 8/7. Too busy with work right now. Have a great trip. Blake |
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Topic Name: 2014 CSTR Planning
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Reply #67 on: July 25, 2014, 05:20:30 AM
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Sean Allan
Location: Foresthill, Ca.
Posts: 261
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« Reply #67 on: July 25, 2014, 05:20:30 AM » |
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Congrats to Greg for finishing last evening. I managed to catch him a little bit up the trail from the house. He looked absolutely great, big smile on his face and he smelled a hell of a lot better than Aaron and Jack A couple of more folks will be going out in the next week or so. Good luck to them. |
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Topic Name: 2014 CSTR Planning
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Reply #68 on: July 27, 2014, 11:41:17 PM
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ayayron
Posts: 73
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« Reply #68 on: July 27, 2014, 11:41:17 PM » |
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Topic Name: 2014 CSTR Planning
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Reply #69 on: July 28, 2014, 07:57:25 AM
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Meriwether
Posts: 7
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« Reply #69 on: July 28, 2014, 07:57:25 AM » |
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Awesome pictures!! Nicely done on the ride too, congrats! That's a difficult route, the foothill sections especially.
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Topic Name: 2014 CSTR Planning
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Reply #70 on: July 28, 2014, 08:35:12 PM
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aaron w
Location: Salida, CO
Posts: 171
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« Reply #70 on: July 28, 2014, 08:35:12 PM » |
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Great pictures, thanks |
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Topic Name: 2014 CSTR Planning
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Reply #71 on: July 30, 2014, 05:00:35 PM
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michael1
Posts: 11
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« Reply #71 on: July 30, 2014, 05:00:35 PM » |
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It took me 6 days to get ~ halfway (spooner lake) and I feel like I'm overtraining. Decided to take a day and a half off so I'm stopped in Heavenly and I probably won't bike at all tomorrow. Hopefully, after that I'll feel good enough to finish with another 5 or 6 days. I've never bikepacked before and I'm only 20 so I'm finding it very challenging.
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Topic Name: 2014 CSTR Planning
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Reply #72 on: July 30, 2014, 08:04:13 PM
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ayayron
Posts: 73
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« Reply #72 on: July 30, 2014, 08:04:13 PM » |
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Didn't even realize anyone was out there, you aren't on the tracker. Keep at it Michael, nice work so far! Once you get past the high point you've got a ridiculously fun loooong DH back into South Lake, and relatively easier riding for a while. Smart thinking taking a rest, sounds like you aren't in any hurry. You picked a tough one for your first bikepacking experience! Keep at it and finish strong, you'll learn so much from this experience. Huge props to you for tackling this on your own. 20 seems really young in the bikepacking world, I'm usually the youngest by a large margin and I'm a decade older than you!
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Topic Name: 2014 CSTR Planning
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Reply #73 on: July 30, 2014, 08:29:36 PM
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B_Bock
Location: Truckee, CA
Posts: 159
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« Reply #73 on: July 30, 2014, 08:29:36 PM » |
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Way to go Michael! I'm happy to hear that you're pushing through this beast. Aaron is right, this is one of the toughest routes out there. Everything else will seam like a piece of cake after the CSTR. Enjoy the experience and good luck on the rest of your trip.
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Topic Name: 2014 CSTR Planning
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Reply #74 on: July 30, 2014, 09:01:14 PM
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Sean Allan
Location: Foresthill, Ca.
Posts: 261
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« Reply #74 on: July 30, 2014, 09:01:14 PM » |
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Good Job Michael, Have fun and please be careful!
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Topic Name: 2014 CSTR Planning
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Reply #75 on: July 31, 2014, 06:50:54 AM
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Shirey
Location: Frisco, CO
Posts: 123
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« Reply #75 on: July 31, 2014, 06:50:54 AM » |
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Awesome job Michael! Way to charge right into the bikepacking world!
Man, I hadn't considered the additional risk of the CSTR.... losing all your money in the casinos! I'd better avoid this race...
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Topic Name: 2014 CSTR Planning
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Reply #76 on: August 01, 2014, 07:24:12 AM
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ayayron
Posts: 73
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« Reply #76 on: August 01, 2014, 07:24:12 AM » |
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Topic Name: 2014 CSTR Planning
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Reply #77 on: August 01, 2014, 02:33:27 PM
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aaron w
Location: Salida, CO
Posts: 171
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« Reply #77 on: August 01, 2014, 02:33:27 PM » |
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I always enjoy your race reports...looking forward to part 2  I am more stoked than ever to get on the route this fall! |
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Topic Name: 2014 CSTR Planning
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Reply #78 on: August 03, 2014, 08:50:13 AM
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ayayron
Posts: 73
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« Reply #78 on: August 03, 2014, 08:50:13 AM » |
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Topic Name: 2014 CSTR Planning
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Reply #79 on: August 03, 2014, 05:03:26 PM
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Sean Allan
Location: Foresthill, Ca.
Posts: 261
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« Reply #79 on: August 03, 2014, 05:03:26 PM » |
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Great write up as usual Aaron, your pictures always amaze me. Thanks so much for coming down to race/tour this year.
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