All 2st Colorado 500 - Ride?

Has anyone ridden the Colorado 500 Charity Ride? Anyone going this August? My Uncle has been 20+ times and is all over me to ride it this year. Between Work, Kids and the Budget, it just hasn't happened to this point. 2014 looks like a perfect year to go. It's quite the hike from Atlanta so I was wondering what bike prep is needed and if anyone had any riding tips. 500 miles in 5 days is a lot of riding. Any feedback would be great. - John Hunter

Atlanta? Phew thats a drive

I did it in '07. Was super fun. Great group of guys and you get to meet and ride with some pretty special people. I met Larry Roeseller and Malcom Smith, Tom White and some others. That was awesome! People come from all over the country, so you coming from Hotlanta wont be a shocker to anyone. Your bike needs to be street legal and plated. I would say to make sure to put new cables on, zip ty your spokes, slime your tubes, go through and loc tite your nuts n bolts, etc. Basically prep your bike as if you were going to Baja. You have a gear bag that travels to your next stop each day, so it is wise to buy some spare parts of something that may be needed. Like my clutch cable went out and thankfully I was able to get one from another rider w the same machine. lesson learned there. PM me if you have any questions. Also don't forget for gas stops with a smoker you will need to premix your gas in your tank. I would put gas in the tank FIRST then based on the amount of fuel that went in, pour my premisx up the old ratio rite, pour it in, and shake the bike vigorously. Hahaha! But it worked. Like I said, PM me with any special questions. I am travelling this week for work, but will be checking in when I can. OH, bring a good camera. The scenery in some of the locations, especially the San Juans in SW CO is absolutely unreal.

You'll have to rejet any bike that's not FI. Get yourself in best shape cause that altitude can beat you up. Not enough o2 for bike or rider up there. Ride some rocks too. Big ones.

I can also get you some jetting specs. I lived in CO for a long time and still ride at similar altitude. At least a good baseline to get you started. And yes, rocks there will be! Taylor Park outside of Crested Butte has amazing singletrack. That was my personal favorite day. CB to Ouray and then the day back too.