Only perfect practice makes perfect!

Our first bikepacking adventure of the season was a good one. We didn't complete what we set out to do, but we are walking away with some valuable knowledge and confidence. This is how it all went down.

x1 lg. bag of smoked almonds
x6 white bagels
x10 power bars
x3 cans chicken
x148 oz capacity
x1 jar peanut butter



On Sat morning around 6am, Brian Hollister and I started rolling from Roxborough, CO. Our goal was Kenosha Pass.

For the most part, the morning was uneventful. I was excited to be on my bike with all my gear. The morning conditions were perfect. We had blue skies, cool temps, and the air was crisp. Time stood still. Stresses faded away. Bliss. We descended down to the Platte River around 8:30a, had some snacks and filled up our waters. We had packed our gear almost perfectly as neither of us were making adjustments. After about 30 minutes at the river, we started heading through segment 2.

Again, uneventful. We had found a good pace and were sticking to it. I had done a lot of mental comparing between this trip and my previous Colorado Trail attempt. In segment 2, two years ago, is where I started to unravel. Not this year! It was a relief to overcome those frustrations realizing the focused training (physically and mentally) over the past 2 years was paying off. We filled up our waters again at the fire station near the Buffalo Creek trail-head. We had some snacks during segment 2 and were feeling good.

Segment 3 was before us and once again, we pedaled right through it. We had stopped in segment 3 near a creek and took some mini baths. The cool water on the face was definitely a wake up and felt sooo good. Towards the end of segment 3, before the detour out to 285, I was for the first time starting to feel some burn in the legs. We were approaching 40 miles. We exited the trail and this is where the trip became somewhat...boring. The dirt road was full of cars spewing up dust for the next ~6 miles until we go to 285. Part of the CTR is staying mentally focused. You cannot wish for time to pass or the miles to disappear. Once those thoughts saturate your mind the end is near. Keeping that in mind, I stayed focused and still maintained a genuine desire to be on my bike. While we were getting close to the highway, we had hoped there was a Subway. Mmmm, iced down fruit punch, 12 inch turkey sandwich with extra mayo and chocolate chip cookies. Come to find out, there was no Subway. Instead, we stopped at a gas station that even had tables (the little things right?). We sat down and I filled up with a Coke, a chicken salad sandwich, a bag of potato chips, an orange Gatorade, an apple, and oatmeal raisin cookies. I think that was it. I was full but could have kept eating. We jumped back on our bikes. At this point it was ~4:30p, I think.My clock shuts off out here. We had the dreaded the ~20 miles up 285 to Kenosha from Bailey. Dreaded because the highway shoulder in spots does not exist, or just barely.Fatigue was setting in, but now was not a time to become lackadaisical. We had to ride on a tight rope (the white line) for the next 2 hours.

I am here, so we survived 285, but that was the first and last time I ride on that road. I am so glad the CTR voted to make the Tarryall detour the official route of the 2013 CTR. To compound the inherently dangerous riding along 285, it was a holiday weekend.

We summited Kenosha Pass ~7p. Nearly a 13 hour day with just under 3 hours of stopped time. Tired for sure, but not drained. We found camp,changed clothes and ... surprise ... we ate! We had contemplated getting a few hours rest and then start heading back down. Our plan was to head back down via the Tarryall detour. In retrospect, getting a "good" nights rest and not navigating down was the better idea. We curled in our bivvy's around 8:30. The moon was full. Unfortunately, neither of us got a lot of sleep. A skunk invaded our personal space and the pine cones seemed to be growing underneath us. I tossed and turned until 3:30a. I had whispered over to Brian, who was now out of his bivy sleeping. He did not respond, so I crawled back into the warmth of my bag.

We arose around 6:30a. It was later than we wanted, but we were fine. We packed it up, filled our waters, and then ... get this ... missed the CO Trail. We rode down a forest service road about a mile before we got to a locked gate. WTF? It can't be this hard to find a trail. We know we were looking for some single track. Well, yes, the trail wasn't that hard. We rode back to the trail-head and found the single track right at ... THE TRAILHEAD! I had anticipated the trail going in the complete opposite direction of what it was. I had no idea we would start out heading west. Not a big setback, but the day would end with a dud. Again, the plan was to detour through Tarryall which takes you 74 miles around the Lost Creek Wilderness, to the south, and meet back up with the CO Trail near Wellington Lake. I had copied the directions from a website to my phone, however the directions were from Wellington Lake to Kenosha. We were riding from Kenosha to Wellington so I had to interpret the notes backwards. We did good though, at the beginning. We rolled up and down through the single track catching glimpses of the Collegiate Peaks in the distance across the South Park valley. We got off the trail where mountain bikes are no longer allowed. We found this road, then that road, then this road until we get to the paved road that leads you to the Tarryall Reservoir and then to the town of Tarryall. All was going well. We had stopped for some more food about 20 miles north of the reservoir. I had Coke, Pringles, and a Gatorade for my second breakfast. This was gorgeous country up here so plenty of sights to keep your mind off things.

What to do with time to kill

We continued for another several hours. Just passed the town of Tarryall we stopped for some snacks and I had read the directions again. We were looking for FSR 211. According to my backward calculations we were 5 or 6 miles from the road. So we rolled along after our snacks. Unfortunately FSR 211 was not obvious. I had briefly remembered reading that there was a road that turned into another road (I couldn't remember the names though). I was internally hoping after we rode 8 miles that somehow the road we were on was supposed to be the way back to Wellington Lake. My hope was fading with each mile. The Hayman burn area to the East of us had come and gone. I knew we had to ride through that area, but the little burn area we did pass didn't match the mental pictures I had stored. Nonetheless, we kept going. We found a road with a map, which then we realized we were only 2.5 miles from Lake George, CO. At this point, it was clear we had missed the turn. Considering the time of day and the unknowns and the need to get back to work, we opted to roll into Lake George and call for a ride. We sat down on the front bench of the local grocery store along hwy 24 with a 6 pack of Coors Light and some time to kill. With that said, we are heading back this Sunday to w/o our gear to recon the Tarryall detour from Kenosha to Wateron. Considering the amount of downhill in this ~118 adventure, it should be real fun!

The road we missed...