2017 CTR Race Discussion

[ScottM]

I was riding with Max Morris, Brad Ells, and Justin DuBois most of today.

We had serious concerns about out safety and well-being, so three of us decided to throw in the towel. It was a tough call to make, especially so close to the finish.

Wow.  I'd echo earlier comments and commend you on being safe and not pushing a dangerous situation too far.  These things are about being tough, certainly, but you need to know when to draw the line.  Well done, guys.

This rain has been pretty steady, even here in relatively dry Gunnison.

[MidnightFatty]

A lot of carnage in this year's race!  Plesko's wrist, Seidner gets rhabdo, Refsnider drops out early with knee injury, and the list goes on and on.  Best wishes for speedy and complete recoveries to these courageous athletes.  It does seem to be getting a little silly when so many athletes are getting f-ed up like this.   Hopefully as the sport develops we'll figure out ways to reduce the injury rate when competing like this.

[jakomait]

Very tough year indeed!  Anyone have an update on Jonathan Basham?   His Spot still has his last point at Copper days ago...

[mtnbound]

This has been one of the toughest years for the CTR that I have watched, if not THE toughest.  Congrats to all of the finishers and best of luck to those still on the course.  I do commend those that pulled the plug - never easy but much better than to put yourself into a very bad situation.

From the looks of it, there are 6 finishers so far and approximately another 11 still on the course (with three of those looking to finish in the next couple of hours), out of 57 Grand Depart starters (from my rough count on Trackleaders).  Historically, somewhere around half of starters finish, though that percentage has been creeping up in the last few years.  However, this year has been devastating on the racers.  Again, the CTR is brutal and just to toe the line is an accomplishment!

[mtbcast]

#CTR17 Drew Huemmler called in yesterday from near Buena Vista and this morning from Leadville!

http://mtbcast.com/site2/category/ctr17/

[JoePAz]

Colorado Trail Race Gallery.
Mountain Flyer’s 2017 Colorado Trail Race coverage

http://www.mountainflyermagazine.com/view.php/gallery-2017-colorado-trail-race.html

[Majcolo]

Strong, strong humans in the race this year. Congrats to all the racers that toed the line!

[JoePAz]

John Schilling has just rolled into Leadville.  Looks like he is the last active rider from the Grand Depart. All the other dots showing "active" don't seem to be moving.  He just has two more big mtn passes to get over and I hope the weather holds out for him.

[bmattingly]

Mr. Salthouse,

Well done Sir.  May hats off to you and your sticktoitiveness.  Great job!!!

[JoePAz]

Just quick update. John Schilling camped last night on the peak just before Georgia pass at route mile 399.1 He detoured to Breckenridge to wait out nasty storm. He said is 11 for 11 on days getting rained on. Thought he was ok last night, but still got some rain. Right now weather is clear where he is so he should start making good time. Who knows how long this last stretch will take. Just remember in these final miles there were 4 scratches in leading top 8 riders. So is still never easy. John is strong and I can tell he will finish. The only question is when.

[Jdoobies]

     Hats off to all the folks I got to meet and ride with in the CTR. It was super wet, slow and treacherous riding, mud and all that other fun stuff. I got rained on 4 out of 6 days. The worst of it was in the San Juans, and on my day 5 in the Tarryall detour. Brad, Max, Dana and I left the Tarryall Saloon about 12:30 pm and couldn't have timed it worse. A storm bore down on us hard. The rain was lashing and I blew right past a critical turn. I was blissed out, riding with my headphones in and well on my way to Kansas, had Dana not mashed it to catch me and turn me around. An act of selflessness I won't ever forget. I had ridden with Dana after he caught me in Leadville, and I really enjoyed his company. The rain soaked us to the bone and the weather looked to stay grim all night. The road quickly turned to peanut butter, and were riding in total silence. Brad pulled up and said his race was over and his knee was blown. Dana and Max and I continued but soon the boys got too cold to continue and I offered to make us some hot soup and mull it over (I was the only one in the group carrying a stove). I couldn't come up with much to say to convince them to keep going, and the soup just wasn't enough. I watched them pedal off while I clutched my soup inside my jacket and nodded off sitting on the side of the road. I was physically shaking from the cold but I knew I had a dry sleeping bag, and a shelter in case it got worse that night. I sat there a long time. When I finally got moving again, I had to walk my bike downhill, just to get warm enough to ride. The rain let up, and later that night I ran into some kids camping who offered me a beer and a hotdog and a few minutes next to their fire, they sat staring wide-eyed at the drown and muddy figure, while I recounted some of the previous days adventures. All this fun on my 39th birthday!!! I finished at 11 the next morning after about 5 hrs sleep on the side of the trail near Buffalo Creek.

See you all down the trail

Justin DuBois

[raybum]

I have no idea what Justin might be smoking there, but something about his photo captures an odd part of this bikepacking subculture that is damn cool.  Kudos to everyone that not only finished but got out there and put forth a huge effort.  Finishing is cool and all, being alive to ride it again is...well, even better!

[cjdunn]

John Schilling finished at about 8:42pm MDT according to Trackleaders.

Big congrats buddy!  Way to stick with it. 

I expect an equally epic and lengthy trip report.

[schillingsworth]

One month after finishing, the ride report is finally done!! Couldn't seem to find the time to put it together until this past week. Extra credit if you get through it in one sitting!! Tons of pics, an added bonus for stopping so much to catch my breath!

CTR '17 - Wet 'n Wild Edition