Our tires rolled out on the bike path freed from their hotel carpet holding cell. The air was already warm and had a thickness that made breathing feel heavy. My eyes were blurry and having a hard time navigating the dark maze of urban trails with my GPS. Needing to be there at the start to hand out Spot trackers had me stressed about being on time. After a couple of wrong turns and wasted out n backs Nate and I were on track and looking good. Taking in some deep breaths I had to remind myself to chill out, get off the knife edge, it is just a bike ride.

It might be easy for me to say it is just a bike ride, cause it isn’t ever really that simple. Last year I jumped into the 2025 CTR group start with only a couple days notice, it was dicey and it hurt a lot but I made it to Denver with a huge mile on my face. After that experience I wanted more CTR and had it in my head to be dialed for this year’s race. Well I didn’t do a great job of prioritizing training time, or recovery time and more or less let life run me. I ended up starting the 2026 CTR undertrained and overtired, maybe a little exhausted. I lost my phone a couple weeks prior and that added a ton of stress to my stack. I couldn’t utilize many of the tools I needed to coordinate the race and get myself ready as well. Really sad, but I lost a lot of sleep over that silly device. Overall I was bummed I didn’t live up to my own goals of being prepared.

-getting to the start of the CTR isn’t an easy task, and then there’s the race!

It was hot. Started off at 74* in Denver and climbed up to probably 100* in the Hayman Fire burn scar on the Tarryall bypass. Aa anyone who has been through this exposed section on a bike knows there’s practically no shade on the route itself. One has to stop to find any shade, to find any respite from the blazing hot sun. There’s only one real water source. Its bleak and it cooked all of us I’m sure. So much water and electrolytes consumed, and the leg cramps and headaches were right there waiting for me to slip up a touch in my fueling or push just a little too hard. Everyone’s clothes and packs were stained white with salt, folks were throwing up their guts, it was rough.

I managed to pace myself fairly well, mostly due to the fact that my legs felt like garbage. 120 miles into a 514 mile race and feeling no gas in the tank is kinda scary. It was easy to get down on myself for not training harder and being more focused, for not making myself a priority. I started swirling the drain a little bit with all this negative, self-doubt and criticism. I stopped to take a break, a breath, take in the view. I reminded myself to be positive in this race, to level up not down. Now my legs were just warming up and it was a slow warm up. This actually worked. I still felt like crap and the effort was incredibly taxing, but I wanted to keep going instead of letting my mind wonder about the possibility of dropping. This kept me in the game of getting to Durango.

-then the smoke rolled in, folks started to drop due to air quality, I kept going and ended up coughing a lot.

I kept a great attitude despite the drag of pushing through the first 2.5 days. I also got to see some friends out using the trail, talk to a bunch of thru hikers, day hikers and other riders. The race is just a part of this, it is also the experience of being on the trail that is important, the animals, the flowers, the trail itself and all the mountains. Slowly on day 3 my legs started coming to life a little bit. That little spark kept me going, gave me hope! After Cresting Fooses, I felt even better, the probabilities got better and I got more confidence. My positive attitiude attempted to crack and fall away, the Cotchetopa Hills can do that, but I kept my focus on finding the good in the moment. I reminded myself to be there and not wanting to be farther along. It kept working, I was moving along and at times I felt like I was flying.

I got to Cathedral around 3:PM on Wednesday. Joe G was there snacking and hiding from the sun, Justin B rolled in just after me. We all chatted about our times and experiences getting here, the heat and smoke were top subjects. Annette listened and chimed in while we ate and refilled, swapped and charged batteries. Meanwhile the smoke from the Elk fire outside Lake City was pluming into a huge cloud above us. I don’t think anyone wanted to leave. To my surprise I was the first to get up and start riding, after completing the Cotchetopa Hills I wasn’t about to drop out and I wanted to get ahead of the smoke if possible.

-what’s your priority to finish or stay alive?

The next few hours were rough, maybe the hardest of the ride. The smoke going up Cebolla creek was intense, you could see the line in the sky, white yellow on one side and blue on the other and I was still trying to get a head of it, but without success. It was like breathing in fire, the smoke was so thick, ash was falling all around. It looked worse behind me, a complete curtain of white/grey smoke obscuring wear I came from. So I kept going. I did get ahead of it for the climb up Rambolette Park, but then it returned climbing up towards the start of the singletrack. I thought I was going to choke trying to get up to 12,000′ while sucking on a fire. I coughed my way up to the last trees before the high point and layed down to “sleep”.

That night was the worst sleep of the trip, I was a little cold, the grounds was extra hard and bumpy, and my lungs ached as much as my legs and back, just couldn’t get cozy. I tried to give myself 4 hours of rest, but I think I tossed and turned most of that time. Still I only snoozed my alarm once, then diligently got up and started pushing. I wasn’t moving super fast, but I was able to keep moving. Rolled over the High Point, Coney’s around sunrise, gorgeous, still smoky but much better. Kept it going across Carson Saddle, bumped into a moose couple that didn’t want to share the trail going up Lost Creek. After much shouting, they yielded the trail and I kept pushing, riding, pushing, not the fastest, but not stopping much, the Jefe way. Made it to Silverton just after noon on Thursday. I was stoking.

-believe in yourself, never be negative towards yourself, your mind is listening

I slammed it up Bear Creek. Determination was strong and with the finish getting closer I was mustering a little extra energy to get it done. That set me up for a gorgeous evening ride across Rolling Mtn Pass, through Cascade Creek and up over Bolom Pass, catching the sunset traversing the massive talus fields of Jura Knob. I was still feeling pretty good, legs were tolerating the little extra efforts, eyes were open, stomach was not great but stable. The miles kept disappearing under my tires and feet, “maybe I can push it all the way in tonight in one push?”

I tried, made it to the Cape of Good Hope and my eyes just couldn’t focus anymore, I was getting the wobbles and scared myself. Time to shut it down for a bit, but how long? I decided to sleep 1.5 hours and get up and go. This spot amongst the giant spruce trees was much better for rest, I could have easily slept till sunrise. So Cozy! I surprised myself as I jumped up, packed and got rolling in minutes. Game on! Then after 5 minutes of pushing and one attempt at riding I was wobbling again. Damn I was tired…I pushed a bit more sometimes it just takes a bit.Nope! Instead I laid down again, this time no bivy and with a 20 minute timer. Woke up after just 10 minutes and got rolling. It worked, my eyes were just good enough to be able to ride and I put it into gear grinding out Indian Trail Ridge and getting to Kennebec Pass at about sunrise.So Good! Bombed it about as fast as I could safely go and maybe a bit faster…So Much Fun.

Crossed Junction Creek and started the last climb. The Last Climb has taken me apart more times than not, I have screamed at the void on this climb at the top of my lungs before, I have almost lost my mind trying to grind up it at a fast pace and being utterly rejected. It lurks like a nightmare waiting to be re-lived. On Friday July 7th 2026, I didn’t flinch at the bottom of that climb. I walked and rode like I always do, but I didn’t lose my mind, I didn’t get upset, I smiled and thought about the breakfasts I would eat soon, the great folks I’d get to see, about how my girls are that much closer to giving me a hug. I felt stoke instead of dread, holy smokes that is fucking winning!

Wham Bam on down the last descent, whipping around the final switchbacks and rolling the last miles, smiling a smile of success. BK and Wild Bill at the TH, exchange stories and experiences, love this community. Ride into town, College Cafe for 4 breakfasts and lots of coffee. Hug the Sietze’s. Nap in Buckley Park while Greg P drives my car to Durango and I drive home. What a week, a blurry and wild ride through Colorado and a solid journey through myself.

-feeling so grateful for this life and those in it that support me, thank you everyone.