Please tell me you aren’t doing the Black course….
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Getting to town on Wednesday afternoon. Anyone have any recon rides prepped for Thursday / Friday / Saturday? Would also be happy to meet up with anyone in town for said rides 
I would die on the Black course. Probably more than once.
Red course.
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Yeah, when you are in the sun at altitude, high 70s and mid 80s feels hotter. Much of the course is exposed, so not a lot of shade. The heat takes its toll if you are out there for 7-10 hours. The weather Sunday looks like it will be a little cooler than today, and also with some cloud cover. Hopefully the rain stays away. That gravel Road grit plays havoc with your drivetrain.
I’m getting into town Friday afternoon….doing an easy rollout ride then with a buddy or two and then planning on the 8:30 pre-race ride Sat AM.
If you see a guy in ENVE kit on a Cervelo Aspero, that’ll be me!
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It’s the “you’re a whole mile closer to the sun” that people love to remind us transplants about. And don’t let the clouds fool you either - sunscreen all day, everyday. But I do not miss that swampy Houston humidity.
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Arrived yesterday and planning to do the section north west of Clark tomorrow morning. Planning to start around 6:30am but might shift that due to work. Gonna be going pretty casual pace as I arrived from sea level.
Can try to coordinate if anyone else is interested in joining me for those 25 miles with half a mile elevation gain.
Did a quick out and back on the first 15 miles of the course today. The gravel is in good condition. Nice line on Fly Gulch for the first half or so. Gets a little more loose in the 2nd half.
The short descent off Fly Gulch is quite washboarded. Expect so see a bunch of ejected bottles on this stretch of road.
I ran into some traffic on the way back. 
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Planning to head out and ride the Green course this afternoon - either riding from my condo in the Village or perhaps parking downtown. I’m doing Blue on Sunday and the Green course has the first 7 miles and last 25 or so of the Blue. After this I i will have ridden or driven about 80% of the course. I’m familiar with Cow Creek having both ridden and driven UP it but I want to ride the descent as I know I will be tired when I hit it Sunday.
That section probably has the highest risk for pinch flats on the course. Although it’s in better shape this year than last.
I drove it Sunday crewing for a family member running a trail marathon on Emerald Mtn. A few rough spots but the descent is pretty gradual. I want to see it from a bike to note trouble spots.
I also noted some deep ruts on the outbound course toward Clark when driving it Sat. Some steep descents with deep ruts - some in sharp corners. Another area to be careful. Some of that stretch was the roughest roads I’ve seen on the course.
Yeah - the section that heads across 52E can get rutted, and also turns to mud if it’s wet (hence the ruts). There’s a short steep somewhat rocky descent just before intersecting with 54 that is another spot for pinch flats.
The “singletrack” section on the west side of steamboat like is another spot for potential pinch flats.
Cow Creek is fast, rocky and maybe most importantly late in the race - so tired, sitting down on the bike, not hovering, not paying attention to line. I dropped a chain there a few years back from bouncing around. Was lucky it didn’t get caught in the spokes.
Looking forward to seeing some of y’all out there! I’m likely just going to be trying to survive, headed to Great Sand Dunes National Park on Thursday and Friday to backpack up onto the dunes to watch the Perseid meteor shower, and fully expecting the hike to absolutely destroy my legs. I did it last year and was sore for days 
I’m also having serious issues with my GRX rear mech clutch, resulting it me only being able to shift gears without the clutch on so I’m weighing doing the full 140 whatever miles with no clutch, or riding it on my adventure gravel bike with 2.2in tires and a sus fork.
Best of luck to everyone making the trip! I’ll be wearing Eliel Factory team kit with a mediocre mustache and neon green shoes. Give me a holler if ya see me!
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Not recommending it, but last year I (unintentionally) did the entire black course with the clutch off. I noticed it after the start and resolved to switch it on when I had to stop. Well, on each of the 8 unplanned stops, I was so consumed by OTHER mechanical issues that I ended up crossing the finish line without ever flipping the clutch on. Lots of front shifting and simultaneous front and rear shifting and I never dropped my chain. Lucky, I guess.
They were grading the descent down 25 into Oak Creek today. It was well packed and fast.
I rode Cow Creek yesterday. Need to stay alert which will be tough at this stage of the race. You come off the Wolverine climb which is steep and hot (exposed) and then a short decent before the left hand turn to Cow Creek. Many spots with vertical ruts (from muddy conditions). There are smooth lines but you need to pay attention and get on those smooth lines. Also the road alternates between relatively smooth hard packed dirt and short loose rocky sections which are another area to be careful.
Can you guys give me some mileage reference for these areas? Having never done the race, I have no idea where they are.
Thanks!
Cow Creek is about mile 89 - 93 on the blue course. It is Route 45 (Moots named a bike after it). The climb leading up to it is about miles 83 - 85 - really two separate climbs separated by a flat stretch. It is fully exposed and likely to be hot. Top off water bottles before this stretch. I believe Oak Creek and Route 25 is South on the Black Course extension - not familiar as I’m doing Blue. 52E is on the outbound from about mile 11 to 20 or so. 52E intersects 54 at about mile 16.4 and I will second the caution DaveWh mentioned above. I drove this section with my son on the way back from riding around the lake and we talked about that descent. It is a short steep descent with a left hand turn and there is loose gravel and ruts in the turn. I mentioned to my son that people were going down there in the race if not careful.
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Great, thank you!