advice for long hut to ut ride?

[Brandi]

I am not a new rider but I have never gone on a super long ride. Well in sept of this year I am going on a 200+ mile ride from colorado to utah. Does anyone have advise for me that I can use to get myself ready or stuff I might not be able to live without on this trip. The guys on this trip are all old timers. But they are guys. Can;t ask them anything that doesn't have to do with your bike.

[SadieKate]

Are you doing this by mountain bike on the Uncompaghre Plateau? How many days?

[Brandi]

It's Durango to tel luride to Moab utah. 6 nights,7 days
It's a hut to hut ride.

[Brandi]

Oh, I am using a hard tail cross country bike.

[SadieKate]

I did the Telluride to Moab portion on a hardtail with a tour company. They hauled all the gear and did the cooking. Are you hauling your own gear?

We live at sea level with no hills. We didn't do any real hill climbing training but I wished we had. Nothing we could do about the sea level altitude except get there a few days early. Our endurance was great because we were doing long road rides but I wish we had worked in more hills. We did put on 20T chainrings because we were only running 30T cogs in back and going to such high altititude. If you're running a 22x34 now you should be fine. I think the avg elevation for the trip was close to 9,000 ft and the pass out of Telluride was over 10,500.

Make sure your hydration pack has a large bladder. There is no potable water from point to point. You have a SAG following you? Your rain clothes should be close to hand at all times. We went in July and never had rain. The trip before us had a deluge. I always had the rain jacket in my packet and had other stuff in a day pack in the truck readily available (not stuck way down in the load).

Baby wipes! Lots! With the huts you may have more solar showers available but if not those baby wipes are critical. Since we were hauling everything in a truck, we only had solar showers every few days (other than the wonderful ice cold cattle tank in one meadow!)

A small headlamp like a Petzl Tikl (I think that is the name) can be a nice thing to have around camp. So much more I could say but it depends on whether you are hauling your own gear or have a SAG truck.

That is one gorgeous area. I would go back in a heartbeat.

[fixedgeargirl]

I've done a similar tour on a hardtail (with a bunch of old-timers) on the Kokopelli trail from White Pine, CO to Moab. We did our own SAG and cooking, all of which was arranged by a professional guide friend.

I second what SadieKate said about babywipes. Make sure you keep your *ahem* clean at the end of each day. I was also told to hang my shorts chamois side to the sun each afternoon and not wear the same pair two days in a row. I did this and didn't have a problem. Other folks on the 8-day tour were not so lucky.

If this is fully supported, you may still want to bring your own snacks to have in your pack while you ride. My guide friend chose to buy junky granola bars and other things I just plain don't like as ride food. Having a store of things I know I like and know work for me was invaluable.

Do you live in the area? Are you familiar with the vagaries of weather at 10,000 feet? Hypothermia in July is entirely possible, even likely, if you're caught in a hail storm/downpour 5 miles from the truck. By all means carry your rain jacket every day. On those high alpine days having an extra layer of warm clothes in your pack can save your life. I'm not saying that just to be dramatic, I lived in the area, at 9000 feet, for 30 years. When the temperature drops 20 degrees in 10 minutes and icy rain begins to pelt your unprotected flesh, things can get dangerous, fast.

ETA: I was sooo glad to have my down booties to wear around camp at night!

Have an awesome trip ! Rain or shine, you will be in one of the most beautiful places in the world !!