On Aug 2nd just a couple of weeks ago myself and Kurt Ireland took off on the Colorado Trail Race.  For me It turned out to be one of the hardest things I’ve ever tried, biking or not.  If you haven’t heard of it, the CTR covers the entire distance of the Colorado Trail minus the detours around the wilderness areas;  480 miles and 65,000 feet of pure uphill fun.

For me, day one was filled with excitement…..a crash in the first two miles, a tree falling 35ft in front of me across the trail, fog reducing visability at night to about 10 feet and hiking past one of the race favorites on the Ten mile range not to mention the rain.   The race started at Indian creek this year due to the construction in Waterton canyon and followed trail 800 up to the CT.  This is a nice bit of single track all the way to Bailey and a good ride if you get the chance.  A stop at the local Conoco in Bailey and chance to chat with Kurt and some of the other racers and it’s off again, up a short bit of dirt road before following 285 up to Kenosha pass.  It’s Emily’s birthday, I don’t know her but I’ll take a free cupcake before diving into the single track towards Georgia pass.  Someone told me to get to Georgia pass on the first day is a good target and I should be able to do thaaaaaaaaaa…….holy moly! a tree just fell right in front of me.  Did anyone else see that?  Nope just me on the trail alone; I heard it though!   I pushed over Georgia pass about dusk in some pretty miserable fog and rain which didn’t let up for hours.  For me I refused to stop and set up camp until the rain stopped for fear of getting anything wet so on I went over the next 11000 ft peak and down to route 9 in Breckenridge.   Discussion time…….it’s late but still raining; might as well fill the water bottles and see how far I get up the Ten mile range.  By now a lot of folks have stopped for the night to escape the rain but I want to keep as much dry as I can so up I go.  It’s now approaching 1:00AM and I get my first glimpse of another rider in hours.  Hey how’s it goin’? as I pass by.  A half hour later here comes the other rider…..hiker at this point.  We chat for a minute but I can tell he’s got an agenda.  I’m Steve….”Jefe” he says as he scoots up the next couple pitches then stops to remove a layer as I go by again.  It doesn’t take long for him to regain point and knowing who it is now feel better about my lack of climbing/hiking ability.  The rain finally stops as I get to a flat section of grass just before the peak and I decide this would be a good spot to catch the morning sun before dropping into Copper Mountain early in the morning.

Well, I miscalculated the sun’s travel and I was behind a peak for the sunrise so I over slept a bit and a couple racers passed as I was getting up.  No biggie, I wanted to stop in Copper for a nice burrito and pannini sandwich to go.  OK, off to camp Hale, Tennessee pass and then Leadville.  On route 24 the sky opened up again and I was glad to be on the road and not going over Searle pass.  Ah Leadville, first stop…..a convenience store for a Coke.  Hey, How’s the ride treating you I ask “Ezter” after we introduce ourselves.  We chat for a bit but that Coke, chips, Gatorade, candy bar, burritos couldn’t wait any longer.  “See you down the road I hope” and she was off and I was off to gorge myself.  I wasn’t done there though and Wild Bill’s on the south end of town had a guacamole burger with my name all over it.  OK’ that’s enough food, another ten miles of road and on to Halfmoon creek.  Not so fast there fella,  a huge bolt of lightning rocked the valley.  Maybe this gas station would be a good place to sit for a bit as this cell passes.  The clouds did not move forever it seemed and pushed my arrival at Halfmoon creek back to 9PM or so.  That’s OK I don’t think the trail from here to twin lakes is too difficult and should be OK at night………if I can find where the trail goes after leaving the road!!!!  I searched for a couple of hours for trail markers of some kind.  I was finally able to talk to a couple campers with a full trail book which showed a bit more detail where the trail went than the data book but decided to catch a nap before pushing on.

Day three, 3AM in the morning, up and at em! Grab a little snack and let’s get after it.  The trail from Halfmoon creek all the way down to Clear Creek is another great section to ride and enjoy and I can see a set of tracks; Ezter’s on the trail.  She can’t be that far ahead I don’t think, so I push a bit harder.  At Clear Creek you jump back on to route 24 and I’m glad I mounted the bar ends inboard and use them as aero bars all the way to Buena Vista.  On the dirt road I can still see Ezter’s tracks and am anxious to see here around any bend now.  BV comes into view with no Ezter.  While sitting in the local breakfast shop just North of the City Market I learn I’m two hours behind Ezter.  Eh, still not bad I think.  Finish a huge portion of biscuits and gravy and it’s time to raid the city market.  Here I start coughing a bit and call my wife.  Things are goooooo cough, cough ood I say.  “You don’t sound good, you want a prescription called in”? “no that would be against the rules, I’ll take it easy going up this next road section to the Avelanche trail head”.  Half way up the climb to the trailhead the rain started again but actually felt good at this time but it quickly turned to a muddy mess on the trail.  Horses from a nearby ranch also frequent this section of trail making it a sloppy muddy mess.  The higher I climbed the thicker the clouds got and more and more thunder activity there was until CRACK! a lightning bolt hit so close I thought I could smell it.  OK, time to take a break and sit for a bit, the shivering started to take over but I don’t dare take any dry clothes out for fear of them getting wet.  Oh, now you’ve got to be kidding me……hail too!  I quickly pull out my bivy and step inside for protection and a bit more warmth.  Ahh this is better maybe I should sit down and before you know it ZZZZZZzzzzz  I was out, only to be woken by three riders asking if I was OK.  Yep I’m fine and look out to see more clouds and rain.  I guess if these guys can ride in this crap I could as well and two more riders go by.  That’s enough! I better get moving and quickly load up and give chase.  After catching them I decide to link up with them down into Princeton Hot springs where we all took over the back corner of the country store.  3 John’s, Tim, Arron, Zack and myself all spread out in the aisles with hoho’s, grandma’s cookies and Coke all within reach and an open credit card at the front counter.  Closing time boys and I hate to kick you out in the rain but the bar is open…….seven streaks of light fly by the merchant as we run down to the bar.  I heard Guiness has some kind of meat in it or something like that.  We all decide to ponder the next move; camp here or press on over the next hike a bike to hwy 50?  Someone said the road was washed out so we may have to detour down the road.  Six minds are better than one, Zack chose to stay a while, and we venture outside to test the washed out road.  Shin deep mud but passable and we all forge the slide area.  A few hours later after watching John stumble off the trail and down an embankment we decide it may be time to choose a camping spot just a few miles short of hwy50.

In the morning a couple riders decide to take off on their own and get a jump on the day ahead.  I found it hard to unzip my bag and let the cool air in and had to wait for at least a few more to start moving about.  It’s always a bit easier to get on the move when you’re by yourself.  Zack had been up early and pressed on by while we were packing up camp.  This is a nice bit of single track and we soon were dropping onto hwy 50 and headed up the dirt road on the way to M A R S H A L pass.  I’ve heard about Fooses climb and can’t say I was enthused about it.  When we got to Fooses all I saw was a big sign saying pain and agony await.  John and Arron were like mountain goats and were soon at the top.  I obviously didn’t spend enough time on the stairmaster and lumbered up.  Eventually I caught up to Aaron and John who were siting at one of the shelters  along with Zack.  Weather was rolling in fast and we decided to B-line it to the cabin at Marshal pass to take refuge.  John from the springs was at the restrooms when we arrived and he too joined us in the cabin.  While the rain started outside we all contemplated the plans going forward in between my coughing outbursts which became more and more frequent.  John from the springs decided to pull the plug and head to Salida after the rain let up.  Zack was determined to press on.  John and Aaron were still deciding what to do but their homes in Salida were awfuly tempting.  I was just trying to go 5 minutes without a coughing attack which soon turned to 3 minutes.  We all decided to try and get some horizontal rest while the rain fell and just as I strat to lay down start feeling nauseas…..”I think I’m going to get sick” I say and John from the springs quickly hands me a cooler to catch whats left of the days calorie intake coming back up.  This is not looking good for the Fort Collins contingent but I hoped all I needed was a little rest.   John took off down the hill and I tried my best to sleep but the coughs just kept coming only more frequent.  Enough is enough, time to get to Salida and get checked out.

The ride down into Salida is fairly mellow with a 10 mile dirt road decent at breakneck speeds followed by a 10 mile or so road ride.  Then of course there’s the couple wrong turns down in town to get to the hospital.  The emergency room was empty so I had no problem being seen and Erin ,the nurse, had to be the nicest person in Salida which made me wonder why there wasn’t a waiting room full of dudes with self-inflicted ailments and anyone who can stand treating someone who had been on the trail for three plus days without a shower is a saint.  After a bag full of IV,  xrays and blood work it was determined I did not have any fluid in the lungs, some antibiotics were prescribed and some rest.  Gateway Inn it is then and quickly made the ride over had spread the gear out for an inspection check.  I don’t know what I was expecting from the antibiotics but the coughing persisted.  Oh I almost forgot the really cool part of the hospital visit……A couple came in to have a baby and he (Andrew) saw my bike in the hallway and knew I was there.  He left a note with the receptionist with his name and number and offered any help I needed.  I did call him and set up a ride back to Marshal pass the next day.  My wife also called the hospital after using google earth with my spot location to find where I was to check on me.  I told her I was really sick and never heard of Erin before. ; )

The next day before heading back to Marshal Pass I had a few errands to run…..Post office to send some unneeded items home after last nights inventory, Bike shop to buy more butt butter, Safeway to load up on food for the remaining sections……I was still planning to complete the race/ride.  Post office…..check, that feels better all ready.  Off to the bike shop, oh there’s a cool little shop there on the right, Subculture, I’d much rather see what a shop like this has to offer.  What do you know Jason Shelman is the man wrenching today.  Jason used to reside in the Fort and spent some time on the CTR.  Then what do you know,  Kimberly, John’s girlfriend comes rolling in and I meet her along with the owner of the shop,  who I met on Cottonwood pass just before the hail storm.  “Pleasure meeting you I have to get to Safeway and call Andrew”.  While in the store who comes around the corner but John from Salida….He tells me about the cabin coming to life with rodents after I left and Aaron’s and his quick exit to their nice warm beds at home.  Feeling bad about Andrew leaving his newborn to give me a ride to Marshal John offers to drive me up.  I knew it would be against the rules of the race to hitch a ride but I would worry about that next year and wanted to make sure I made it to Durango this year.  I get my food and prescription, talk to Jeff Wolfe who is also following the race and has some good words of encouragement and off we go to Marshal.  “Alright John I expect to see you soon when I come out to ride for fun” and head off to Sargeants mesa.

OK, this is a descent piece of trail, maybe those antibiotics are starting to work.  Ah back into the trees and……what in the @#%$!!!  Are you kidding me.  Have you seen those construction sites where they have rough areas at the exit to shake the loose dirt and rocks off the trucks before entering the road; well, they got the idea up at Sargeants mesa after picking up mountain biker’s water bottles, blinky lights, and teeth along the rocks and baby heads.  Holy cow, keep up with the butter here if you intend to ride but my rear rack was starting to show some serious signs of fatigue so I opt to walk a lot of it and finally get to Baldy lake where I can fill up my water bottles….it’s just a half mile off the main trail…..straight down and straight back up.  Whew, wish I had a scooter like the guys who pulled up after I got to the trail.  “one your buddies is right behind us”  they say as Sean pulls up looking for water also.  “I’d leave the bike hear and walk down” he decides he has enough water and heads off down towards hwy 114.  With full water bottles I take off as well and it soon is dark for the, I’m guessing, usually fun descent to hwy 114 but in the dark with a persistent cough it was bearable.  Seems the trail angels need a bit more glitter and pixie dust because I rode right by the oasis without noticing the coolers and food totes not wanting to disturb the “campers”.   After crossing 114 I meet up with Sean again who is just turning in for the night.  We chat and he says he can’t take another derailluer failure so in the morning he’s heading down 114 and calling the wife unit.  He also tells me about the trail angel and I ponder going back.  Naaahh, I’m good I’m going to push down this easy section.  How quickly easy becomes difficult when your tired, coughing and doubting your decisions.  Am I on the trail? I don’t remember a fork in the trail or passing a gate which the trail book lists…..I’m jacked! and should get some sleep before going any further.  Cough,  it’s pretty damp toni…cough, cough…ght wheeze, cough.   You’d better get up and get back to 114 and follow Sean to the nearest exit door.  So, at three in the morning I pack up and re-step my trail back to highway 114 to throw in the white towel.  But which way on 114?  I’d better lay here by the trailhead and wait for first light.

In the morning I decide to see what kind of powers the trail angel had so back up the dirt road to Angelville I go.  “You just missed Apple ” Lakeland, the hiker, says but there is soda and some snacks under that awning.  Have you ever seen the Nestea iced tea commercials where after taking a drink of tea the drinkers fall back into a pool of water……that’s where I was when I opened that Coke.  While putting down some oatmeal, crackerjacks an orange Crush and other goodies Lakeland and I talk and I decide I can’t stop here and have to make it to Durango.  I can modify the route but I have to keep pedaling  into Durango.  I never did meet the trail angel….or maybe I did, but in any case It was a new day and I was heading off in the right direction.  The trail I thought I was lost on the night before turned out to be the right one and I was just short of the gate.  I’m glad I didn’t go through “the gate” on that night.   The ride down segment 18 to Saguache Park Road was mellow and enjoyable after a Coke and a smile and for the next few hours it was nothing but dirt road, approximately up 45 miles of it.  I had decided to head to Lake City for the night and to get there by the time the town closed down was going to be tight.  While riding, the cough seemed to subside a bit but any time coasting or stopping would set it off so good thing I had somewhere to be by 8:00PM and just pushed up the pass.  Ahh pavement, should be all downhill to Lake city from here so button down the hatches were about to become aerodynamic.  The corners came up fast and with weight, the bike had a little shimmy to her but I was lovin the ease at which the speed came.  Only 15 minutes past my 8:00 ETA I can live with that for today.  Every hotel was booked and I wish I remembered the name of the resort and gentleman who called around for me looking for a room.  The Henson Creek RV park said they had a canopy I could stay under to get out of the rain and I said I’d ride right over after a burger.  Upon checking in, the proprietor graciously allowed me to sleep in the game room complete with TV, a heater and peanut butter filled pretzals…..apparently there are trail angels in Lake City also.  I must have looked pretty bad.

While getting rid of some of the Big Gulp sized drink I had at dinner in the middle of the night I caught a glimpse of myself in the miror….yikes! is that me,  no wonder I am having a hard time seeing; my face was either swollen or I was looking in one of those carnival mirrors.  What else is there going to be?  How about swollen feet and hands.  The next morning after talking things over with some of the other seasonal full time campers at the Tic Toc Diner, all great people, I decide to head up Engineer pass to Silverton.  I was disappointed to have to abandon the CT route but this seemed to be the safer thing to do and still be able to make it to Durango but still had to climb above 13,000 feet to get there.  The dirt road leading to Engineer Pass was fantastic and I finally remembered why I brought my camera.  I stopped to read all the history placards, talked to the four wheelers cruisin up the pass even had some time for some fun.  As tough as the CTR is, people are still impressed to see a biker riding up over the pass and it was a good feeling getting cheers from passing Jeeps and thumbs up from the motorcyclists.  Again like the ride into Lake City the ride down from the pass into Silverton was a hoot even with coughing all the whole way.  I pulled into Silverton fairly early and had plenty of time to eat and secure a room at the local hostel opting for a single room as to not disturb anyone with my persistent hack.  I was a hostel virgin and really enjoyed my stay and talking to the other patrons.  Late that evening I received a guest from Durango…….my wife drove up to talk some sense into me thinking I could ride the last few sections of the trail down into Durango and convinced me to take the road and just make it to Durango.  As always she was right and I assured her I would take the road.  She was not as keen on the hostel as I and drove back to Durango to await my arrival.

On the road from silverton I met up with Jason and Bill heading to Molas pass and was a bit jealous that they were heading out on the trail.  There are still a couple good climbs along 550 heading south and I remembered why I wasn’t heading out on the trail and had plenty of time to think about the previous week.  The rain, the lightning , the hiking, the coughing, the doubts, the……just then I came up on a guy on a trike pedaling with his arms.  Dan and I chatted a bit and I asked how he lost his leg, “cancer” he said.  I thought it was kind of ironic since I had set up a Livestrong account for my CTR and am now finishing “my ride” in Durango alongside Dan.  I guess I don’t have it too bad all in all.  The trip down from Silverton to Durango took a lot less time than we thought so I had no idea where to meet my wife.  My phone was dead and  I borrowed a phone from the bike shop and called her.  She was right next door at the coffee shop.  A perfect ending to a perfect ride……..after a big cup of ice cream and a couple stouts that is..