I just check ACA's addenda and the new section outside silver city isn't in there? Curious when cues maybe available? Also as far as the Gold Dust trail, will there be any cues for that? Thanks Jefe

cues for that reroute won't be available until close to map production. not to worry, though. it's more simple (or as simple) as the old route, offers a water spigot at the cdt trailhead and is equidistant to old mileage. the mtb club in silver will be brushing the trail and doing the cues this spring. caveat: there are a couple pushes to get from the campground up to the ridge (approx 1k of gain to get to the ridge-running), but generally its a nice 4% grade, or less throughout.

Yea, +1 for the addition of the Gold Dust Trail.  It is a blast until just after Forest Rd 50.  There are several creek crossings here and then a short hike a bike due to some super big rocks.  Last year, when on the second creek crossing, I missed the plank bridge and endo'ed into the creek landing on my back. 

The section south of FR50 is the leg not quite finalized yet. Some of the feedback i've gotten is that it may not be worth it for TD. Mcmurv, what is your vote? Alternatively, a left on FR50 drops you right into the main GDMBR at the FR801 / CR33 junction.

What I really would like to know is... is the route that will be on the new maps 100% the route that the tour divide will follow?

The answer for 2011 is No.
The Gold Dust trail will become the first (unofficial alternate) exception to, "must always follow 100% the main AcA route". This rule will be amended to reflect Gold Dust once the official TD GPS track is finalized (see GPS below).

Will the GPS file that will be available (I understood that right?) be 100% the route that we will have to follow?

If you are referring to the TopoFusion official TD-Race Route file available here, then YES (note: I will post here when this is final). If you are referring to the AcA official GPS track available on their website, then my answer is, I'm not sure what version of their maps their file currently reflects. I have heard it is not maintained annually as the TD file is. Simply stick to the TF version and you're golden. FWIW, Scott M. (TopoFusion) says the AcA GDMBR waypoints are helpful, worth using.
  

I'm asking because I don't want to spent hours/days making cue sheets, just to find out that yet another change is made to the route and I have to start over.

Maybe do your cue sheets in a spreadsheet so you can easily insert changes in the route or services, add water notes, etc.?

EDIT: also consider emailing your cue spreadsheet to yourself, or better yet manage the file in google docs so you have access to it from the route should all Haiti break loose and you lose your hard copy.

they might work fine, they might get you to the next town, or you might find yourself riding on a flat tire.

My advice if you have trouble with a tubeless tire/are forced to tube-it (especially if most of NM still looms), is to make immediate plans to reinstate tubeless set-up at soonest possible opportunity; be that a bike shop or an auto shop with a compressor using a presta-schrader adapter (hint: carry one!). Whether running heavier-duty 29er tubes or lightweight 26ers, tubes are no match for goat heads. Stan's is sold in 2oz travel containers. Two extra servings in one's kit is a nice piece of mind.

one more change (thanks matt )
3) Through Gila NF between SR 35 and Silver City

No, thank you Casey.

To summarize for TD racers:

There are 3 major TD route changes on the table for 2011 (listed N-S); #1 is still tentative at this time. #s 2 & 3 are definite, however #2 is a TD-exclusive downhill run which parallels the existing GDMBR. It is required of SoBo racers ONLY. 

1) Wise River to Polaris, MT: This change depends on ACA research completion. This area is killer, has big potential, so TD's hope is this reroute will not be rushed. The idea is to circumvent ~50mi of pave between Wise River and Polaris, MT. The challenge is the surrounding mountains are super rugged and resupply is already limited on the Polaris end, with no guaranteed resupply beyond it until Lima.

2) Gold Dust Trail (not ACA official): There will be a new downhill singletrack addition to the TD SoBo race-route ONLY off Boreas Pass (S. of Breck.) in Colorado. TD will provide the narrative AND the GPS track for this section.

3) The Gila gets harder: The official GDMBR will now travel CDT singletrack thru Gila NF over Pinos Altos & into Silver City (instead of skirting dangerous pave around the NF). I scouted this in October and the trail is supreme IMBA bench-cut!

Map of Area #1
Map for #2
Map for #3

Do you really need to rail every corner descending the passes in Montana?

(in a yoda voice) must plane, must plane! might be why some find it so boring out there.

Okay I understand, but then again, there has been some disqualifications in the past. So I thought a SPOT-device would be required to check the actual time and distance. Or is there strong social control between the racers?

If a challenger chooses to use a SPOT and is tracked live on the TD tracker, the data can, and will be used to verify course compliance. Still, it is not required to carry a SPOT.

Doing a race is not only about the individual experience of course, it is also about ego, pride and the physical/mental comparison in relation to the other participants. I bet 95% of the competitors will not ride the TD, like the Dalai Lama would do.

I would disagree with this percentage, but one thing is for sure, if one can't go it alone, TD is not the challenge one is looking for.  

For me personally to find and push my own physical and mental boundaries on a race like this would only make sense in direct comparison to the other riders

can you expound on what you mean by 'make sense'? There are solo boundaries to push.

.... Dont think I could do it on my own with no direct comparisons to make.

This is how Time Trials generally work. You only have the benefit of past time splits, just as TD offers a wealth of past rider times to pit yourself against. That's why they call it the race of truth, and that's a very real point of TD. can you self-motivate? can you suffer alone? can you bivy alone, can you eat alone? Again, the race is not for everyone. Those who think camaraderie first, racing second are not doing it for the reasons the challenge was founded upon.

Racing, pushing yourselves and building comradeship along the way will only add in a positive way to the experience I think. Therefore I can understand there would at least be some kind of control by using gps-technology.

I'm not sure if those two statements are related or not. Are you suggesting the element of camaraderie should require GPS control?

what about Lance? Will he appear at the start now he is retired from professional cycling?

We hope not for exposure's sake, but i'd certainly welcome him to accept the challenge if it's an experience he's looking for. I'm obviously a believer.

Just read the regulations-sections on the Tour Divide website and its says "SPOT GPS Trackers are strongly recommended but not required".
So is it all a matter of trust when doing the Tour Divide if one doesnt carry a SPOT-device? It means you can check the route of people carrying a SPOT, but you have to believe someones blue eyes not to have taken a short cut when not carrying a SPOT. Is that true?

That's right. TD is a gentleperson's bet; nothing to win or lose but honor. If someone wants to cut the course just to have their name listed several numbers higher on an obscure results page, then so be it.

Furthermore I couldn't see it is obligated to wear a helmet. Shouldn't that at least be mentioned in the Rules? Personally I always (when cycling alone that is) cycle without helmet and I know it is not wise and sensible, but when organizing a underground race like the TD, shouldnt you at least require it? Especially with the fatal incident in mind of last years race.

There is no mandatory gear list for TD b/c TD is not a proper race in that respect. Who would do the checking? There is no on-the-ground infrastructure or enforcement of any TD rules beyond peer-pressure, and SPOT-managed course compliance. The idea is that everyone accepting the challenge is a big kid on their own individual time trials out there. If unqualified, unfit, or unprepared people show up to attempt to ride the GDMBR on their own time/dime, it's their skin. No one else is responsible for their actions. The idea that a website or some silly movie made them do it is just plain 'horse-puckey'.

Will there be a start-limit for the TD? Looking at the startlist for this year there will be a big group of racers (probably the DVD Ride the Divide effect J). And there could turn up even more people who not sign in at the website, but just show up at the start. It will be good to suppress feelings of bearanoia when traveling in such huge groups through the forests, but it will also feel like a big peloton in the beginning (and no drafting allowed). And sure about 50% will not make it through the first week, but at what point will this event be too popular?

This is a tough question with no easy answer. It sort of comes back to the issue of TD not being a proper race. How can something that's not sanctioned, not permitted, and does not have officials present at any point on course impose start-limits? A TD grand depart is nothing more than a flash-mob scheduled months in advance. All TD organizers can really do is decide who--on the back end--deserves to make the final rankings list (arbitrary, to be sure).

It does become a sticky business when too many people foreign to the solo, self-supported ITT concept Stamstad bequeathed us try to line up for a 'race', but what is any one person to do about it? Group Divide racing is a creature unto itself. Is it one that should be corralled or herded? Hard to say. I personally believe these growth issues must run their course. If too many people line up in Banff this year, the lesson will be learned and experience will prevail in coming years. More ITTs will pop up, multiple grand departs may develop, things might change, collectively.

This year I see also people starting South at Antelope Wells. A start from the South has some advantages: more tailwinds, better temperatures and water resources in NM and less snow in Canada and Montana. Cant really think of any disadvantages when thinking back of last year going south to north….

Yep, this is neat to see and I'm excited for its 'sideshow' to the Banff grand depart.

Anyways, haha, reading back my remarks I might just take the TD a bit too seriously. Above all riding the Divide is about having a great experience. Meeting lots of friendly people, seeing the most amazing scenery and totally feeling one with nature and the landscape. On top of that it will be a mental and physical challenge that will stick to you the rest of your life and will alter your mindset if you have never done a thing like this before….. Happily these aspects can not be regulated  .

Yep, experience, first, racing secondary; best not to let racing ruin the experience, which is why i only recommend those with a very healthy (perhaps veteran) attitude towards racing take in the Divide route 'by race'.

any idea what the greatest mechanical failure is out there in Divide racing land.

Probably Seratonin synthesis...but beyond that, anything on your bike with bearings, pivots, seals, rubber, bolts are vulnerable. It's a good idea to start a Divide attempt on lightly used (ie. tested sufficiently for lemon-factor) but relatively new parts.

Losing bolts unknowingly can cause other failures (ie. fold a chain ring b/c your chain ring bolts back out), destroy a crank arm b/c a pedal backs out and you strip the threads, or you lose a crank bolt. Others: destroying a tire can be a buzz-kill. Be prepared to sew/tape/super glue one up. A freewheel might fail if you train on it all spring and forget to overhaul it b/f racing; breaking spokes is a possibility, BBs can fail (but usually not catastrophically), pedals can fail at several points. Less and less you see people using racks, but they too can break. in `06 in NM I broke the anchor-head (name?) off my rear shifter cable. I would have been hosed without a replacement shifter cable. Extra brake pads are good to carry, but i've never had XTR hydraulics fail me (i only run dual-control, though)--certainly give `em a bleed and check/recheck hoses/connections. Replace your chain half-way through the route if you want to get any post-Divide miles out of your drivetrain. What else? Oh, you could melt a rotor if you were really stupid about it (like on fleecer), but generally the Divide only requires 6" rotor-stopping power.

Fancy, untested stuff i am blanking on could be an unknown weakness, too. Belt drive? internally geared hubs? generator hubs? Whatever the mechanical, trail-side fixes are key. Also, why anyone would race non-tubeless at this point in the tubeless evolution is beyond me. I would recommend having mike curiak build your superlight wheels (cuz it don't take burly rims to ride fireroads) and do your OWN bike build. twice, for good measure. It's a need-to-know skill out there. Tip: DT-Swiss hubs do not require a tool to remove the freewheel if you find yourself needing to replace a rear driveside spoke on the trail.

I think the "skin out" weight is the key.  The guys with the sub-30 pound setups are probably not counting the clothes they are wearing, etc.

correct. my 31.9 lb weigh-in from the absolute bikes last year did not see me strip down nor remove my 10oz shell, knee warmers, arm warmers, winter gloves from my rear jersey pockets. helmet was on my head too.

Jay picked a worthy enough charity. I'd question its effectiveness but the sentiment is solid.

The cause may have picked Jay--a notorius no-idler if there ever was one! And depending on where you are, idling can be a problem. Towns notorious for winter inversion should all ban idling, IMO. Jay is living the dream in Victor, Idaho, but no-idle stands to benefit lots of big city bike commuters and small truck-stop towns along major highways. When Jay finally checks in here maybe he has some figures for us.

Ok Got to ask the veterans out there, What shoes? I have been depating this endlessly. It would seem that a stiff shoe would be good for the amount of riding everyday, but then again living in one pair of shoes makes for a very familiar relationship, possibly a painful one. I realize it is a personal preference, but curious who wore what and who had issues? Thanks Jefe

i've done Lakes every year, but they were always my sobe/cannondale sponsor. they are very comfy though. when i eventually began to care about speed, i went to their lightweight carbon-soled version. they were awkward to walk in on linoleum grocery store floors, but there's very little of that going on in the GDMBR. just make sure you don't have too much toe box play / tightness or a toe box shape that's ill-conforming to your own unique 'toe-geometry' (some folks have some wonky toe lengths, etc.). get your shoes about half a size big to accommodate achille's swelling. also make sure the cleat mounts accommodate a far-back position to eliminate too much plantar flexion. another hot tip: keep your feet clean at all costs and the dust and dirt out from between your toes. this particulate will wear down your tender parts between toes over the long hours. sock choice is key too. too much friction is bad. seams in the wrong place are bad. i've had great luck with an orange peel-branded wool sock made by a company called 'save our soles' (i think they're co.-based).

Maybe I'm the only one, but these "charity/awareness/athletic" endeavors never appeal to me.  

I admire the atheltic/adventure aspect of many of these projects, but when they are mixed up with the sponorship/charity aspects... they sometimes seem fabricated.  The marketing required, the logos, the endorsements..... just seems like purity is drained out.

It's hard to sit in the judge's seat on this one...and there are the hidden costs of purity to consider. how long does it really last?

As un-organizer of TD, i have been troubled by the trend of 'caused-based racing' infiltrating bootleg ultras; for the way it may unduly expose it to a 'fundraising faction' that doesn't understand the genre, but also for it's potential to pull unqualified participants into the fray because they're looking for the hardest thing they can take on in the name of compelling their cause. Neither of these apply to Jay. Nor are any of his events unsanctioned. Jay is about as pure an outdoorsman as anyone i've ever met.

Damn...What a Nut, best of luck JP!!!

What a nut sack!
If i had to guess, he also wants to become the first (...er, only) man to ride/push and mush the iditarod trail

http://noidletour.org/

Two out of three are bikepacking.

It's going to be big!

david, glad to hear you've decided to eliminate the supported category. i guess that makes brad kee and me the official TNGA course record holders...i tried to warn EO but he just wouldn't hear of it.

emily, regarding ITT, i'd like to do one sometime closer to solstice (mid may?). i certainly *hope* that's legal. i am internally debating start time, though. i'd like to hit dugg gap at sunrise instead of 1am this time around, but starting later would mean dropping into Helen in the dark (no fun if that downhill, hickory? chestnut? doesn't get brushed this spring).

thanks for all your hard work on this one mr muse. it is a heckuva route; nicely back-end loaded with singletrack, which is nice.

OK how do I get from lordsburg to AW? Any one have the shuttles phone number? Or any other AW starters have room for one more? I get dropped in Lordsburg at 1:00pm on the 8Th or the 9Th depending on my options to get down to AW. I may end up just ridding down.

There's a nice gentleman by the name of Lloyd Payne who lives in Lorsdburg. He offers shuttle services to and fro AW, as his schedule permits. His number is 575-590-0316. I'm sure he's willing to help you out. I do not remember his rates. Tell him Matthew referred you. Volume is not his specialty, though he may rethink his involvement for late june/early July.

My bookmark still shows the colors, try this link, I sent it to my self and it still shows the colors. 

Notes: the map is three pages long. Find page 2&3 by scrolling to the bottom of the left sidebar. Remember this is just a guide based on what I've experienced (and heard from locals + other racers) thru the years.

Camping up on the Great Divide...There is so much public land along the route, with a little effort you can almost always find a 100% legal spot to bivy up on public lands.  

I chopped your full quote Marshal, but all good advice. TD is intended to be the Race Across Convenience Stores, as Jeff Potter so creatively coined it, but not a race across cheap motels--which incidentally are not so cheap.

My camping op. ed: Unless it's actively raining, or you've been rained all day and need to dry out your gear, there's no good reason not to camp. TD should be about falling asleep under the stars! Our fondest memories will not be of motel decor. Motels should be reserved for our weakest moments (note for gamesmanship: if riders you're actively GC-jockeying with start talking of a motel for the night, ride on and lay down a classic TD 'motel attack'). Works every time.

Regarding the ethics sharing motels, it's difficult to remove the Grand Depart element from Solstice Divide racing, but a 'golden question' of common-start self-supported bikepacking races ought be, what would the ITTer be doing? In the case of motels, the answer is clearly, not sharing motel rooms. Should sharing rooms prohibited in TD? Nope. Should there be over-capacity free-for-alls in rooms throughout the route? Probably not--that could even burn bridges. Calculated room-sharing is one of those gray areas, especially when one rider has the room reserved and 'waiting' for slower riders to simply show up for, invest no 'sweat-equity'. This scenario can be a real motivator for someone struggling to make it into the next town. Is it inappropriate stimulus? Hard to say, but sweat-equality ought be emphasized, especially the mental variety. Lot's of purity is sacrificed in the name of common starts--especially as they grow to numbers like TD has seen, but lines do need to be drawn somewhere. I personally think if challengers would simply refuse to motel it, many many of the purity dilemmas will be eliminated. More nature = more natural selection, right? survival of the fittest?

Here's a parting hark to the roots: The person who conceived of the Grand Depart felt strongly enough against the emotional crutch of [too much] 'community' during Divide racing as to have once opined he thought it borderline inappropriate to benefit from another racer's hard-earned, warm campfire at the end of the day in camp! So, take that FWIW. Maybe the TD golden question w/ respect to these lesser principles is, How do you want to live your race? Regarding the bivy question, if you wait to dedicate to the bivy until you're ambivalently staring the "Vacancy, cable TV" neon in the face, you may well succumb to lodging every time...and with sleeping in towns comes a whole `nuther set of complications.

Hey Matthew,

I'm a little confused - so one can follow either the ACA map route and addenda OR use the "official" GPS route from Topofusion?  It sounds like you were saying that there is a change on the Topofusion GPS route that will not be in the ACA maps?

Also, will the option of using the highway from the Peter Lougheed welcome center to the Boulton Creek Store instead of the bike path be in play again this year?

Bob

Bob: Yes, on a TD-exclusive route change in colorado, and yes on legal K-lake pave into Boulton creek. The bike path is awesome into B-creek, but there's a low-ish speed limit on it, with lots of blind curves, and it gets quite convoluted to nav. at times. My impression is that it is designed to service all the campgrounds placed along it, is not necessarily a great thru-route. It has bear problems from time-to-time also. AcA intended well by opting for it over the road, but for the biker clusters TD has ripping thru there at only 60mi into day 1, we're better off on the road

the TD-exclusive route change will get talked about later, but basically the plan is to rip 'Gold Dust trail' singletrack off boreas pass south of breck instead of descending the 4% graded boreas pass into como. Distance is the same, but it will probably take a bit longer on trail than fire road. There will be cues + GPS provided for nav.