Matches

Every morning you start with a certain number of matches. The number you get on any given day varies depending on who you are, your fitness,how well you slept, how calorie deficit you are, ext ext . How you decide to spend those matches throughout the day is up to you. I’d say that about 95% of the Colorado trail is actually rideable... provided you are have plenty of matches to burn. 

So as we make our way along the trail each day we are constantly weighing the cost to benefit as we look at technical or steep sections. “Can I ride this” ? “How much energy will is cost ”? 

Today was a rather “pushy” day due to the technical nature of the trail, it was indeed rideable, just not if you wanted to save matches for things like setting up camp, making dinner, and hanging food because each of those activities also takes energy and all are essential to wilderness travel and survival.