This is all about fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of how the mind reacts to the night when out there alone in the wilderness.
Bikepack racers can choose many styles to race but racing without fear while alone at night is the most pure effort one can achieve. One can literally transcend to another plane of existence in the mind, developing the strength to overcome any obstacle day or night.

Well put MC- I agree.
"fear is the price you pay to be allowed into nature’s VIP lounge." Hendri Coetzee

Been a bit absent for a while.  But who could resist a good old fashioned TrackLeaders/BP.net race party?! ......Wish I were there.

My thoughts exactly Mr. Ernst. What an amazing race this year- Bikepacking, FUCK YEAH!!!!!  

I'm sure after Durango's big "Todd n' Ned Dirt Fondo" this fall, there will be a lot of older weekend warriors thinking that was the hardest race ever...

Dreading that weekend and that event....

Where is Toby Gadd when we need him? 

Not to worry, Nick- we'll pick up his slack! Ethics are what you do when no one's looking- that was always at the core of Toby's jihad!

Kref has called out Jeannie and Martin- sounds like Joey may know more? Are there other scofflaws out there? I'm sure of it.....

Do. It. Yourself. bitches-  cheaters suck.

First off, way to go everyone who's still out there...man, those ColoRADans are just something special!

Doesn't matter if the rider was technically correct or not, unfortunately. If this hiker cared enough to track down Stefan and email him, it's a short step to be concerned that she might also email the CTF or relevant public lands administrators. These events won't benefit from that kind of attention or interference so it's a pretty clear responsibility for participants to go the extra mile to make nice with fellow trail users. I hope whoever that rider was steps up, gets the contact info from Stefan and cleans this mess up.

It may not be right or fair, but it is what it is.

This is spot on...I was out on the trail Friday thru Monday and it's been incredibly busy with hikers and bikers in all directions from Molas to town. I personally was guiding an 11 pack and had another 10 pack in front of me. So yes, it could have been other, non CTR riders too. However, my clients also reported a mixed reception by racers..."The front guy was really cool and then there were some real assholes" was their feedback to me in camp.  And FWIW, these guys were excited to see the CTR athletes and yield the trail at a moments notice! So like Majcolo inferred, the tribe needs to own this shit!

When we race, we need to go out of our way to share pleasantries or at a minimum, be civil- this can be as simple as smiling and stepping aside- no words need to be spoken. no questions need to be answered. But to charge forward like you're in a sanctioned race, feeling like you have priority over others and ignoring the shared use ethic of the CT is a sure way to kill this event. or at least the grand depart....

EDIT- grammar lite

Caminiti southbound! Yoyo?

Confirmed. Back to back triples with an extra helping of yo- hells yeah!

Accumulating snow falling up high yesterday at Black Hawk and Kennebec. Pulled a tour group off the CT last night after they got smoked heading out from Celebration. It's super cold this am in town- lest we forget these are big mountains....I can only guess our trail friends have been met with some tough conditions over the past 48hrs...

Awesome Write up Scott! You pedaled an amazing race and it was great to finally meet you in person. Kudos on such a well orchestrated ride and thanks for your post-adventure thoughts.....I had concerns when I saw you were brining cheese. I also like your subtle beta clues- handle up, wait for it, Podunk creek, etc....Nice work my man

hell yeah- sick TR evdog! It gives you some hints, but not too much.....Your beta will be invaluable to future racers. Thanks for taking the time to put it all together....

Is there anything better on this earth than that Tropic Spigot 

I was down to dregs of warm water, literally baking-in-an-oven hot when I got there, and practically drank that cool, delicious water until my lungs burst!

Man, was that good

Great posts evdog

+1, I think Tropic saved Mike G's life...he was burning up. If that spring could talk....

I proposed this a couple of years ago. My idea was to see if a couple of people wanted to try racing TD with the self imposed rule of having to make a 6 or 8 hour stop in every 24 hour period, say from noon to noon each day. I wanted to see if just a couple of people might like to try it. I got ripped a new one by Toby Gadd, who freaked out at the idea. He basically said that the only people who would want this are those not tough enough to do the real race. He and about two other guys were amazingly insulting about it. I have no idea why or how it challenged their manhood, but they sure got upset. It was a shock to me that a couple of people, mostly Toby, could be this rude over this idea.

You have a link to that thread?

EDIT- http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/ultra-racing/2015-td-with-one-added-rule/     Still looking for the ripping...this thread is fairly white bread duder....Not seeing the rude insults? Free Toby!

Sleep deprivation is really pretty bad for your body. Adding mandatory rest periods would completely change up the racing...better? Worse? Who knows. But I think it would definitely lead to the sustainability of people doing these races for multiple years instead of the usual one-and-done. Maybe then we could increase the chances of more of the big names lining up in a single year.

JayP seems to be the only one who's been able to stack big effort after big effort year after year.

I appreciate that perspective EZ-many times I wish we'd all stop for a big dinner together....FWIW- I liken ultra mtb's evolution to the path that contemporary alpine climbing has taken. Climbs that once were done with a series of camps over a number of weeks are now sent in 20hrs.....in that sport, the rapid completion of objectives has actually made some climbs "doable" or "more safe" because exposure to hazards and time out on the hill/at altitude is decreased, etc....those faster ascents also wreak havoc on the body-but so do the 3 week west buttress slogs....I know not what the answer is....I do find it fascinating that we can train our bodies and minds to explore those boundaries that we perceive are static and push thru to enlightenment.

sleep when you're dead....a mandatory, auto-pause for shuteye is a great rule for long distance truckers- not ultra mtb racing.

there will be no 3 way truce. It will be Danielson or Mr. Miagi....unless Johnny sweeps the leg.

U-Hauls one way are cheap and easy....

59 hrs 56 mins. Maybe the best BP event out there. Don't change a thing, Dave. A brutal beast of a route. So beautiful. Fuck Harold's however. 

What happened out there?

http://www.oregonbikepacking.com/the-death-of-the-oregon-outback/

Looking forward to seeing everyone in Utah. What a fantastic weekend in front of us! Travel safe.

SOLD- thanks everyone!

Bedrock Entrada handlebar bar with roll closures. First gen. zippered, accesory pocket- color Red- This is the model before the flat/velcro pocket that's now standard.
Purchased new in Durango. Light and limited field use. In Great Condition.
$95 dollars firm. includes flat rate US shipping to you.

I'll second John's strategy....Iphone backup in emergencies with PDF files of your maps as a just in case.....I've had the purple line device poop out and it's good to press those old school topo skills into service when needed. With the map/cues/waypoint files on your phone in airplane mode, you'll have a good safety net and reference library.

But for nav applications, get an etrex if you're serious, the iPhone just sucks too much juice up... unless you're creating your own charge on the fly....?

If you're on the road rather than in the woods, maybe you could capture enough sun that you could go solar charger on yo bike/back in lieu of getting dynamoed? You could add a recharge cell in the bags for a gray day safety net.....? A cord for gas stations....  IDK, sounds more complicated than just getting a new ETREX.... iPhone is nice for pics tho

On target with everything you've proposed below....Nucla is your resupply, not Bedrock. Wasn't there a river that used to run through there?  

There was snow again above 8,000 ft this weekend down in these parts- it'll again dry quick, but we're stuck in some weird storm Nino cycle for sure in SWCO. http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lon=-108.20393&lat=38.22204#.VVlft8ZXqYk
Amazing to have snow and dirt rides on the CT, all in the same week!

Hey Bryan thanks for the info.  I think I'm starting to wrap my head around a route.  At the moment I'm thinking of deviating from the race route provided on this site and skipping Bedrock and instead doing carpenter ridge/red canyon/S fork mesa ck/koski traverse.  Then likely a Nucla resupply.  Tentative plans right now are to start May 20 unless I find out there's too much snow.  Perhaps May 27 as a backup.  Contemplating a westwater start as to stack the end of the ride with services (GJ, fruita).  If anyone sees a problem with my route or timing with snow melt please let me know!

Where is the issue with private property on the old route?  Is it on the part of the trail that going into Nucla bypasses?  If you do a loop are you thinking no resupply?