I did not do anything but riding :-)
Fortunately, it did not happen downhill, but riding up Marshall pass (maybe material fatigue)...
Did not walk back to Salida, instead further to Sargents ...
Details and pictures (also the broken frame) see www.tourdivide.de

Lame! I ran into Aidan Harding on Marshal. He too had broken his frame and he was working it hard to catch back up with his friend Josh.

It shows a tough spirit to continue on like that!

I also used Stans Crest on Rohloff hub last year, and I would do it again. No probs with this combination (starting weight in Banff 81kg, 22 days later in A.W. 77kg, eating tons of food between), had to change the whole bike in salida, but for further races I will go on Rohloff/Crests again. Plan is GST (ITT) 2013, and AZT / CTR 2014.

Didn't use the lightest gear and I wouldn't have been faster with less weight. But changing the bike (and walking down Marshall Pass) did "cost me" at least one day. One adive: Use parts on the bike which can be changed / are available at the stores (e.g. Leipheimer's store in Butte and at Absolute Bikes in Salida).

What on earth did you break that caused you to WALK back down Marshal?

I just noticed that you have your Spot on your top tube. If you've already tested it there, then feel free to ignore me. But I'm not sure that the top tube is a great place for a Spot. Your body might reduce GPS satellite reception and/or transmission. Mine seems to work best when there's nothing blocking its view to the sky. Also, vibrations seem to kill Spots over time, which is why I now carry mine on my shoulder--my body acts like a big vibration damper.

Nice rig!

Also, that thing might come flying off. Mine was tied down like crazy and I lost it on the descent into Salida. I had to climb a few miles back up that hill to find it.....

I don't think I know anyone who consistently trains 20 hours per week. Should be more than enough for base fitness. When I raced TD my theory was that my regular riding and racing would cover most of the bases. I didn't really do anything more or different and I felt good on the divide. Example, I raced my last normal race about 12 days beforehand, didn't switch to divide mode until about 10 days out. So if you are a bike racer, with race fitness and some long rides thrown in, actual fitness shouldn't be a concern.Bring the appropriate gear for your individual needs. If you are typically cold, then a warmer sleep system and an extra layer will be worth far more than the weight they add to you kit. Having the right gear can be the difference between staying relatively comfortable and a dnf. I carried head to toe rain gear and was glad I did. I also remember touching the cold threshold of my clothing at some point every day until Colorado.Off the cuff answer, "Well then you're F***ed!" But seriously, for this type of event this is probably more important than fitness or gear. Take opportunities in you life and riding, to train your mental toughness. Between now and June 14th, when anything bad, tough or unexpected happens to you, Instead of getting upset, embrace it, look at it as a chance to practice positivity and perseverance in the face of adversity.

I agree with this quite a bit.

As far as the cold:
The mental capacity to suffer will only get you so far. If it's freezing out and you don't have enough layer to get yourself out of your bivy... Then you'll lose far more time than the weight penalty that an extra layer will cost you. I think a 35 degree sleeping bag will be plenty. But, if you're cold prone... Maybe think about a 25-30 degree bag. Better safe than DNF.

Also, think about maybe going with a synthetic bag. They don't wet out like down and can be an extra confidence boost if the weather turns sour.

Distasters:
They are just going to hit you. I rode in the middle front chain ring with a broken front shifter for two days before I hit Butte for repairs. It sucked... A LOT.

You can actually train for stuff like this (within reason). I read that Aidan Harding does training rides where he purposefully leaves with little food and water in order to work on his mental training. (What a bad@$$!!!!).


Keep your chin up!!!
 

Tony Knowles is awesome in the winter, the skiing association keeps it groomed and it's open to all. When you're out at kincaid, be sure to only ride on the single track. The skiers are really finicky about it, and rightly so since they pay for grooming of the ski trails. Once you get to the big chalet building(on your left at the top of a mile long climb from mile 8-mile 9 markers), stay on the path around the parking lot area and down the hill. Right before a climb starts, the road goes over a tunnel for bikers and skiers. On the right hand side you can drop down into the trail system and make your way onto the single track.

They probably have maps in the Chalet so you can see where the trails are. The new single track is sick nasty. Be sure to do the "toilet bowl", best flow in town.

I used to live in Anchorage. There are two awesome sets of single track in the city. One at Kincaid park and one near the ski area Hilltop. They are put maintained by the Single Track Advocates association (Known as the STA trails). Either Speedway bikes or Chainreaction Cycles will be able to help you find them.

Chainreaction puts on the Abominable Snowbike Series (http://www.chainreactioncycles.us) look at their site for maps that will have lots of good trails.

Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.

Thanks, ill check that out. Ive just weighted version 1 of my kit which comes to 11.02lb or 5kg, this is everything excluding what ill be wearing, jersey shorts, base layer etc. Is this classed as light weight or just light.

That's a pretty good weight for a kit.It's hard to tell without weighing everything though (I mean including your clothing altogether). Weights can be pretty deceiving without including things like base layers, gloves, etc. I think everything that I brought, including every piece of clothing, bike, bags, and my helmet weighed 34 pounds.

I would say that anything near 35 pounds is pretty light weight. Just be SURE to test your gear a lot. I froze my @$$ off a few nights and I have since rethought some choices. (Wyoming was deceptively cold at night.) My new kit weighs about half a pound more but has more layers and more insulation for sleeping.

I'm a crank brothers fan too but I was worried about failures for the TD. I used the carbon Time atac. I still have the same pedals on my bike and they are solid after ~4000 miles.

I have considered going with some egg beater pedals and carrying a spare set. I'm just not sure if it is worth the weight....

What about skipping the tarp and just going with the MLD eVENT Bivy and using your rain jacket to cover the small bug net if it gets really soggy? Thoughts?

That can work in a pinch but the big problem is getting yourself dry enough and keeping your bag dry enough while getting in. It all seems fine and dandy while you're conspiring at home about the lightest set up but the bottom line is everything is going to get drenched if it's really raining..... Then you won't sleep well (if at all). And, good sleep is a big part of racing the divide well.

I raced with a super minimalist sleep set up: 1 pound 14.6 ounces for pad, bivy, sleeping bag, mini tarp, and waterproof stuff sack to hold it all. I could have cut 3 ounces off of that without the tarp but I KNOW that I would have hoteled it at least three times instead of continuing on into the evening rains.

For me, those extra 10 hours of riding that I did because I felt safe with a tarp were well worth the 3 oz weight penalty. 

What's everyone's plans for the end? I'm trying to figure out what's the easiest thing to do to get back home, VA. Love to hear other people's take on that.

To get somewhere from the finish you can either take a daily shuttle that leaves from the border headed north, ride your bike back, or use the old dude who does shuttle service to Silver City.

If you need to fly, the closest airport is in Silver City.

You mean this one: http://tinyurl.com/22tfhdh

YES. I couldn't find it in my bookmarks because its under GDMBR instead of Tour Divide. OF COURSE....

Although I will say, after having done the divide... The bear danger area ends at Holland Lake and I saw a few quite a ways after that in Montana. Also, the woods near the Brush Mountain Lodge are crawling with them.

After reading around the forums and online about the TDR the only thing that concerns me is Bear and Mountain Lion encounters. How do you stay safe, aside from bear spray? What keeps a mountain lion from having you as a snack while your snoring away in your sleeping bag?

There is a google map somewhere on the interwebs that shows the "bear danger areas". Basically from Banff to about Wise River, sleeping alone in the woods with food in your bivy is a bad idea.

The only problem that Mountain Lions provided for me were obstacles on the descents. Seriously, I almost T boned one. (That was coming down into Lima I think.)

Interesting bivy discussion. BigPoppa is one of my gear geeking heroes, I'd echo his sentiments. My complete sleep system this year, a non waterproof 7oz Titanium Goat Ptarmigan bivy and a 20oz Western Mountaineering Summerlite mummy bag, no pad. I did spend 6 nights indoors but was brave enough to head out of Eureka at 6pm in the cold and rain with not much hope for shelter until Whitefish. I spent that night in the Tuchuck campground outhouse on the backside of the Whitefish divide, thanks Erik L. for the tip. I was always pretty confident that something to curl under could be found. Do you every notice the dry shadows under ponderosa pine trees in a rain storm? I did had to live with a bit more uncertainty than Ollie, with his z-packs sub pound tent.

Have you guys seen this? Gets you pumped for divide racing. Any takers, fakers, future world record breakers out there?

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Jay-Petervary-Tour-Divide-Record-Ride-video-2012.html

Awwww schucks.....

Hopefully what I have in store for my next kit will blow your mind too!

Thanks for the advice — that is exactly the kind of info I was looking for! It's pretty hard to try a range of equipment in the UK as we don't have a chain like REI, the outdoor stores we do have tend to have a pretty limited stock. It's good to hear that the MSR would have been a mistake. The other bivy I was thinking of was a RAB Alpine bivy (name is right this time!), it's eVENT and I hear it breaths pretty well, the only downside is it doesn't have a bug net. Do you think that a bug net is essential on the divide — how bad do the mosquitos tend to be?

I'm not too bothered by insects in general ... unless of course they're biting my face!

My first TD I used a bivy called the VAPR by backpackinglight.com They don't sell products anymore but it has a water proof silnylon bottom and a breathable momentum 90 top with a net opening in the head area. I still got some condensation but I would say it was pretty minimal for a bivy.

Event might work pretty well, depending on how warm you like to sleep and what the water vapor level is outside the bivy.

I'm from Alaska. I must say that I was pretty underwhelmed by the mosquito levels on the trail. I never had a problem sleeping but then again, my bivy was bug proof.

For my second attempt I'm going to bring a small tarp and a small ground sheet. I won't use a bivy but I will have a mosquito headset just to assure that I can sleep like a baby if the mosquitos get particularly bad.

I would NOT go with the MSR. That thing doesn't breath at all. I tried it in an REI once and started getting the feeling of humidity after just a few minutes. Blech! I can't even imagine what that would do to a down bag after a whole night...

The divide is a different sort of animal. There are tons of places with overhangs and lots of trees to sleep under. You just gotta be sneaky.... Which isn't easy to do on little sleep!
 

Hey,

I posted this over in the "question and answer" section of the forum, but I figured I'd ask here as well. I've been looking at getting a new sleep system together before tackling the Tour Divide next June and I've narrowed my bivy selection down to a couple of options:

Nemo GoGo Elite (~600g)
MSR Alpine Bivy (450g)

After a few bad experiences with mosquitos hiking and biking in northern Norway, as well as the Rockies, I'm pretty set on a bivy having some kind of bug netting. Plus, it has to be waterproof as I'm not convinced by tarps — at the end of a long day on the bike I want a shelter I can roll into without too much messing around. I should add that I'm based in the UK, so any other suggestions would have to be available here. What I'd really like to know is whether you guys think that the weight penalty associated with the GoGo is worth the extra comfort / weather protection? Thanks in advance,

Ed

Do you mean the Outdoor Research Alpine bivy? I don't see an MSR bivy by that name online.

The Alpine bivy wouldn't be a bad choice. I have a version that is a bit lighter (the highland bivy I think). I use it for outings where I want to be comfortable but not uber light weight.

The Nemo gets good reviews but I don't have personal experience.

There is a big advantage for having a weatherproof system. You can leave a town in any weather, no matter how late at night and be confident that you can sleep well. BUT the advantage of that system is only going to be as good as it's owner. As in, sure you COULD go out into the pouring rain but WILL you? If you think that you won't leave town at least 80% of the time, the extra weight just isn't worth it.

Only you can answer.

I did the TNGA on prep for the the TD2013.  That was 350 miles unsupported and I learned a lot.  Trained up legs was the least of my problems, it was all the nitpicky things like my derailluer cable snapping, getting lost (three times actually), constantly dealing with drained batteries on basically everything and losing a clip on my cleat (that was soooo much fun trying to pedal). 

I never ran out of food or water but I was pretty nazi about capping off my reserves every chance I got.  My goal for TD13 is to load up on food at each stop I can and be regimented about when I consume calories/drink water so I've been training myself to be a camel and sip water rather than gulp it down and keep the fires burning with small intakes of solids. 

but that was 350 miles, not 2700 so who knows, I may fall apart after 351 miles 

Everybody falls apart at some point after 350 miles....

Best thing I did in preparation for the TD was tie stuff to my bike and ride like an idiot from point A to point B over the course of three days.

Day 1: Rode for 7 hours at a fairly fast pace
Day 2: Rode for 10 hours at a hardish pace
Day 3: Rode with everything I had for about 14 hours

Hoteled it the first night, cowboy camped it the next night.

Of course this was on top of all my other training like a 24 hour long snowbike race, 140 mile gravel road race, etc, etc, etc. But, nothing prepared me for being alone in the middle of nowhere and freaking out about how much water/food I have like a real multi-day self supported ride. That takes a mental toll that you have to train for. Just hoping that you can handle it won't cut it.

Steel is probably going to be more comfortable than aluminum.

If cost is an issue, try looking on ebay for frames.

Yeah, you have to be careful with the cross frames. The tolerances between the frame and larger tires are pretty tight. If it gets muddy those tires are going to start sticking to the frame pretty quick. I had to hike from brush mountain lodge all the way over the pass until nearly the start of the pavement before Steamboat because of mud that was mid calf deep in places. The mud was so peanutbuttery that I had to continually clear it off the tires just so I could push it along.

I would hate to see what a loaded cross bike would do....

Also, the 2.1" tires I had were awesome for smoothing out some of those tougher sections... 1.8" would have killed me.

To each his own though!