Wanted to share my bike and gear set up for this year’s Colorado Trail Race.
Why Cycles El Jefe, size large. Singlespeed, 33×24. Pike Ultimate 130mm. SRAM Guide G2 RSC, 180mm rotors, metal pads. Revel R30 Wheels, I9 Hydra rear, SON Dynamo front. Rekon 29×2.6 EXO+ Rear with Cushcore XC, Rekon 29×2.8 Front. 125mm Fox Transfer. Answer 20/20 bars with inner bar ends, 40mm PNW stem with built in light mount. Ergon GA3 Grips. Ergon Saddle. Lots of Purple Bits.
Bags are a mix of homemade framebag, downtube roll, front roll, and tiny saddlebags, plus a dope ass Jpaks Footlong and Feedbag. Also will have a small hydration vest at the start with water bladder, both pack and bladder will fit in frame bag as food is consumed.
The Kit I take is a refined bit of gear that has gotten me through many an ultra, there are variations on the basic core stuff depending on my sleep needs, ambient temps, weather forecast etc. For this year’s CTR I am hoping to push pretty hard and not sleep much, weather looks possibly wet. Therefor I am bringing a good bit of clothing to handle the weather, ultralight Escape bivvy sleep set up for simple short duration sleeping. Befree filter, 2 Liter bladder, 1 bottle for Hydration. I carry a good bike repair kit, a simple first aid kit, and a simple hygiene kit. Clothing: Wearing; Long Sleeve Sun Jersey, Patagonia Dirt Roamer Shorts, 2Under Powershift long boxers, wool socks, Shimano ME7 shoes. Carrying; Marmot Rain Shell. Salomon soft-shell knickers. Synthetic Puffy Vest. Wind Breaker. Wool Long Sleeve T. Headband. Windproof fleece gloves. Wool Knickers. Waterproof Shorts. Plastic bags for feet. Extra Socks. Bike Repair: Two Tubes,1w/sealant. EDC 100c Pump/EDC Tool. Tire Levers. Dynaplugger w/extra plugsx8. Big Air w/head. Superglue. Needle/Thread. ZipTies. Bailing Wire. Duct Tape. Spokes/Nips, 1/F, 2/RR. Masterlinksx2, extra chain links, cleat boltsx2, valve core, tubeless valve. Lube. Collar to lock out dropper if failure.
Lights/Etc Klite Bikepacker Ultra and Fenix PD35/~6 18650 batteries. Etrex 20 for navigation, spot 3 for tracking, phone for pictures and post race pick up, Anker Slim 10000 cache battery to keep phone alive.
Thank that is about everything. Happy to answer any questions anyone has got about my gear choices.
jwookieone 
Thanks for sharing those insights on what the trail has meant to you, very powerful. I pushed myself trying to stay in front of you day 1 (you blasted past at Blackhawk), then when I couldn’t sleep in Silverton and saw you had started up stoney I decided to try and chase. For me it’s all about finding my perceived limits and pushing past them, thanks for adding some fuel to that fire.
My question is about mindset and where your head was at when leaving Silverton at 12, the fucus and determination must be of the charts? Also did you sleep at all that night? It’s fascinating to me what it takes to go that fast.
Amazing ride this year! Hopefully I see you out there another year. Cheers
John
That is one reason why we continue to “race” and not just ride. Competition does fuel pushing the limits!
Honestly I was so pissed at myself for not leaving Silverton in the rain! I wanted to want to chase Neil, but I was shelled at that moment. My hands were so cold and wet I couldn’t use my phone. I was shivering and ready to bail. I slept a few antsy hours under a roof behind a bench and pushed till the next night around midnight. I think if the same scenario happened in 2012-2014 I would have gone for it as I was that much more dedicated to the cause of going as hard as I could! These days going fast for me is going slow and not stopping much, keeps working, but going any faster is out of my reach these days. I am all good with that, still stoked to be able to go sub-5 days! I hope to be back so maybe see out there!
Jefe