– Tour Divide'rs – How's the training going?

Best of luck folks, safe riding.

I’ve just had clearance from The Boss (the actual boss at work) for next year so I’m watching this closely. Stacked field this year, with GM doing it, it’ll be packed next year!

Good luck to all the Brits riding this year – if you are in Banff on the 8th June, I’ll be heading out at 0800 aiming to make it to Sparwood and it would be fun to see you all then.

Just curious if any Tour Dividers would care to answer? Where did you get your Garmin maps, paper maps and gpx files from please.Wouldnt mind having a look at the route. Thanks.

Just curious if any Tour Dividers would care to answer? Where did you get your Garmin maps, paper maps and gpx files from please.Wouldnt mind having a look at the route. Thanks.

There’s details of the route on the Tour Divide website.

Thanks Miketually. Hmmmm Summer off, thinking of a big tour, tempted….very tempted 😀 Cant be much more gnarly than Swinley….surely?

Gnarly it’s not. However it is very very long 🙂

Tad hillier than Swinley too i think 🙂

cough *seven everests* cough

Nah, Swinley has hills, you know!*

* actually had this argument with someone once

Oh well. Off to do the NC500 next week with a few off road bits thrown in. Now that definitely isnt as gnarly as Swinley 😉 See how i feel after that 🙂

Andy – Member
Just curious if any Tour Dividers would care to answer? Where did you get your Garmin maps, paper maps and gpx files from please.Wouldnt mind having a look at the route. Thanks.

Here’s the route for 2015, it gets tweaked a bit each year: https://td-2015.eatsleepridegreatdivide.com/%5B/url%5D

Maps are from the ACA, to your door, they work out about £100 for the set: https://www.adventurecycling.org/routes-and-maps/adventure-cycling-route-network/great-divide-mountain-bike-route/%5B/url%5D

A basemap, USGSTopo, it’s ok, is here: Covers the route and a few miles each side of it.

A GPS file of the route, the actual race route, is generally released 2-3 weeks before the GD from Banff – we’re due ours next week.

If you’ve not watched Ride The Divide – go do so, it’ll give you a vauge idea of what you’d be in for. Pick up a few copies of the Cordillera if you want some better reports.

Last “big” weekend of training for me this weekend then taper time, and bike service time.

Will amuse myself by looking at maps for the next while and making some notes.

Can’t quite tell which side of the argument you mean…my last time doing Blue Red Blue notched up 147.8m of climbing over 11.8 miles (diversions) so ‘mildly undulating’ for me.

Hi Greg. Many thanks thats brilliant. Have watched Ride the Divide, read the Cordillera and the Michael McCoy book. Thinking 8 weeks South bound, starting in August. Have been reading the bearbones thread with interest. That hicup in April sounded foul. Similar happened to me 15 years ago in Watford. Quite unsettling. Hope you have a fantastic ride!

EDIT; sorry guys the Swinley comment was obviously a joke. Hope i havent de-railed this thread with 2 pages of typical slow death debating the Gnar of Swinley.

Best of luck Tour Divide folk,will be watching those trackers.

Bags and bike packed – Banff here we come, with a little side trip to Fernie to get some hills done and some altitude under my belt

Enjoy Fernie Rob ,stay awesome. 😉

The Ride the Divide movie and Jenn’s article is pretty much what has inspired me to have to do it some time.

Greg – out of interest, has your mtbing previously involved lots of mile-munching? Just curious how much your riding has changed from your previous ‘normal’ to endurance racing.

faustus – Member
Greg – out of interest, has your mtbing previously involved lots of mile-munching? Just curious how much your riding has changed from your previous ‘normal’ to endurance racing.

Well…I used to race sprint events on the track – match and kierin. Then raced cross at a ..decent level (had UCI points). Then some more XC events. Raced road a bit. Then dabbled in 8,12, and eventually 24 hour racing. Still race 24’s, 3rd at WEMBO AG best result for me. I have been “bikepacking” since the late 90s – but only did my first race in 2013 – HTR450. Since then a lot more. FWIW – I’m 35.

I ride bikes. I don’t see myself as any one thing, haven’t for years. Hell I used to race Ironman because I like the idea of it. I fell run, I’ve done marathon kayaking, and so on. Once I stopeed on the track I moved towards endurance events – it’s taken over 10 years to get to where a 4 hour MTB ride with 3,000m climbing is a non registering event.

It’s not so much about any change to my MTBing, I still live and ride the Hebden Tech every day I can – I just tend to ride it in middle of 4 hour rides now. Anything less than 2hrs sort of feels…well, pointless. Which I why I fell run a lot.

Probably doesn’t quite answer your questions.

Either way, I don’t think I had a “normal” I trained similar amount of weekly hours as a track sprinter between gym/recovery/road/track sessions as I do as an endurance racer – it’s just different now.

Andy – Member
Hi Greg. Many thanks thats brilliant. Have watched Ride the Divide, read the Cordillera and the Michael McCoy book. Thinking 8 weeks South bound, starting in August. Have been reading the bearbones thread with interest. That hicup in April sounded foul. Similar happened to me 15 years ago in Watford. Quite unsettling. Hope you have a fantastic ride!

You’ll have a decent understanding then. Mostly it’ll be boring and hard. But that’s the attraction really 🙂

And yes, incident sucked. Mostly better now. Just don’t poke my jaw please.

Having been a sprinter then Greg are you big for an MTBer?

Thanks Greg, you’ve obviously had a very varied and pretty successful racing career. I’m sure it all contributes nicely to where you are now. Really useful insight into your background so thanks for sharing. I very much agree with the sentiment of ‘just riding bikes’, and have been guilty myself of trying to fit into various moulds when i’m just a bloke who rides bikes averagely, off and on road with a few different bikes. It gives me a useful perspective too: i’m 36 but have only ever been a mostly lone/non-competitive rider, doing about 2000 or so mixed miles a year. It’s clear that if I want to do a long-distance self supporting ride, then I need to do a lot more volume and keep my aims fairly modest. A good part of my ride motivation is just ‘being in the outdoors’, which is a good enough end in itself.

Im 50 and not very fit but improving. However for me this year the planets of availability, funds and other stuff align and not sure when will get another chance. My thinking is bar any injuries flaring up as long as i take it steady my fitness will build on the way hence the 8 week duration.

molgrips – Member
Having been a sprinter then Greg are you big for an MTBer?

Not any more. Used to be about 98kg – now a scant 74kg 🙂

183cm of tallness BTW.

Trackleaders registration is open:

Done! The 2016 gpx and updated maps are on Top of Topofusion too.

Is there a 2016 entrant list online somewhere? Is Matthew Lee or Mike Hall racing?

Mike Hall is he posted his bike on Facebook the other day

jekkyl – Member
Is there a 2016 entrant list online somewhere? Is Matthew Lee or Mike Hall racing?

Matt hasn’t ridden in a few years. Busy with his kids. And orginising the bloody thing 🙂

Last years FKT is racing too – Josh Kato. It’ll be interesting to see how himself and Mike ride. Few other fast names in the mix too.

Bored. Stupid tapering. Writing kit lists for you all. Bike breakdown here:

http://www.gregorymay.ie/?p=2933

Snowpack report.

I just rode out into the edges of the flathead behind Fernie and the tracks are clear up to 5600′, which compared to 2011 is a full 1000′ higher.

Darn cold and rainy and the mud finished off my rear derailleur, so I just finished of chicken pie for two to help me warm up again.

Temps slowly on the rise, but forecast to be wet for another week so the descent after Corbin will be a river for sure.

End.

It’ll be reet.

Bored. Stupid tapering. Writing kit lists for you all. Bike breakdown here:

Tour Divide Bike

Ta, I like a TD bike set-up post.

Ta, I like a TD bike set-up post.

Full bike set-up kit list wold be great…

When is the actual optimum time of year to tour the tour divide?

Clobber – Member
Full bike set-up kit list wold be great…

When is the actual optimum time of year to tour the tour divide?

Will get that sorted later, few things to do in actual work!

Ideal time, really, there is none. Go to early – lots of snow, too late, really hot in New Mexico. always the potential of horrible rain on both ends too.
Same applies to touring vs racing the route – longer you’re out there, the more chance of a weather change.

Looks like the race tracker is up: http://trackleaders.com/tourdivide16

You asked for a kit list – you get what you deserve:

http://www.gregorymay.ie/?p=2998

Interesting read Greg! Something not many blogs go into, so what’s in the sh1t kit then? Divulge your turdpacking tips please, as i’ve always wondered having not really had to pack a trowel, bog roll and lighter..

I’m in no place to criticise, but: won’t the USB connection get soaked if it’s raining and that way up? If it was pointing down then you could have a drip loop and a bit of protection from the bar roll – though I guess it may get in the way of the bag more?

Lastly, I can’t believe you’ve not adhered to the first rule of lightweight bike/backpacking and sawn the handle off your toothbrush! 🙂

.. so what’s in the sh1t kit then?

Paper – baby wipes – sudocreme – ziploc bags. Poo goes in a hole, paper gets packed out in ziploc. You don’t burn things in high fire areas…

I’m in no place to criticise, but: won’t the USB connection get soaked if it’s raining and that way up?

Tis designed to be internally water resistant (proof my ass) – its worked fine in the rain so far… but if dumping, there is a cover for it.

Lastly, I can’t believe you’ve not adhered to the first rule of lightweight bike/backpacking and sawn the handle off your toothbrush!

F’that, I like a tooth brush that works. However, it’s a formed handle, not solid – like a continual U shape – lighter 🙂

Thanks for explaining…i’d never cut up a usable toothbrush either, but plenty seem to!

No issue at all 🙂

I was worried about the USB – it’s something I’m prepared to have fail. Odd to think like that, but it’s not a race ending piece of kit. The Revo however….spare cable for that.

Greg – on the tri bars, do you not find that light a bit close to your face, with some light leakage? Have you considered taping some sort of cowl to the top to reduce light leakage? I might be.

Also – water? Is 2l going to be enough in New Mexico?

molgrips – Member
Greg – on the tri bars, do you not find that light a bit close to your face, with some light leakage? Have you considered taping some sort of cowl to the top to reduce light leakage? I might be.

No issue with light in face – bars are quite high, face is not over the front.

Also – water? Is 2l going to be enough in New Mexico?

Wet carrying capacity is 4.25 L on the bike as is – 2 L bladder in the frame bag, 2.25 L on the bottles. Add in the Salomon vest and pockets full of Gatorade… I can carry a lot. I also tend to be a little camel like with water.
I’ve thought it through, don’t worry 😉