The reasons for my posting this wasn't that I was overly concerned about litter on the route. It was more a sense that at some point, towns may decide we as a group really aren't welcome. If we as a demographic begin to get looked at, not as a positive, problems will likely ensue. It isn't that much of a reach to see just one overly zealous Forest Service, BLM or other government beaurocracy decide he or she doesn't like it and shuts down portions of the route.

Dskunk makes a good point about other competing events popping up. They will naturally pull participants from the TD.  

Hi Scott

My concern would be just that, a general feeling of increased pressure over the entire route, thus highlighting the "event" to a larger group of potential antagonists.

I have never participated in an event that didn't have some sort of a limit of entrants. Granted the TD isn't really an event so how does one limit something that doesn't even really exist. With more people, on bad weather years there would be more rescues, more of everything, both negative and positive.

I don't think I really addressed it as a problem. My question is more looking down the road. What if there were 350? 425? that seems to me to present some capacity problems for the service providers along the route.

I'd think the bike shops in Whitefish alone would get clobbered over a two day period with volume that would surely ensue. I started in 2014, lots of rain and snow, many bikes were in pretty bad shape by then, needing service. I had to wait overnight and there were I think 160 or 170 that year?

Again, not stating it as a problem, just a point of discussion.   

Just wondering what the masses think about this. I was discussing this with another forum member.

How many is too many? Should there be a cut off? Perhaps two GD's a week apart. Both limited to say...150? No right or wrong here, just a point to discuss.


Steve

Hey Schilling, Not to get too far off topic, that Chevelle is BAD AZZ!! What did it have for power? Did you ask? Love that color.

Steve

I am about to throw my hat in as well. Not much left out there to do that is new or difficult. This qualifies IMO.

Hi Mark,

I was wondering about you on this. The only problem is, you'll have to go back and get a triple, triple to get your Quadruple crown.

Good luck, I'll be watching.

Get a tent.  You'll be much happier if your only concern is setup time.  I had a tarptent Protrail last year that took about two mintutes to set up and it was worth the effort (to me) to not sleep in a bivvy bag.    It weighed about a pound and half which is practically nothing for the extra comfort you get.

I'm going to use a Tarptent Rainbow this year.  A few ounces heavier but it has enough space inside to comfortably sit up and change in and out of clothes, something you can't do in the Protrail.    I think my total time to unpack, setup, take down, and re-pack is about ten minutes total without even trying.   It really is easy.  Insert the arch pole and drive in six stakes. 

As to being ready, that is of course a personal thing.  I wasn't ready last year and suffered from some poor gear and clothing choices as well as my race strategy.   I really overthought the thing, too. 

A hundred miles a day doesn't seem like much and I can do this easily here in rural Louisiana...but those mountain passes are long and grueling.  They will really knock down your average speed, not to mention contrary winds and suboptimal dirt roads.   Not to mention rain and snow (it snowed on me several times particulary going up the pass out of Eureka heading towards Whitefish).   

This year I know more of what to expect.  I'm going to leave on Grand Depart day but I might leave at 530AM and not wait for the official Grand Depart.   It seems a shame to wait until 8AM and burn all of that daylight.  I only got to the Bolton trading post on the first day last year (I had a derailleur failure and a snapped chain that cost me several hours) but I'd like to get to Elkford this time.

I'll keep an eye on the weather forecast and I haven't ruled out a Northbound attempt if the weather is predicted to be bad. 

I can't argue the good night sleep part. But again, I have never had stakes just push into the ground, ever. I  looked at the set-up video on that protrail, looks fast and I might give it a try. I only used my hexamid on nights that the weather showed any reason to keep out of rain or snow.

I am going to force myself into being a "bivy person." I've come to realize the time to set up and tear down is prohibitive. I think just that decision will put me on the bike for at least one more hour, all else being the same.

as an aside, has anyone EVER been able to drive one of these stakes that come with these one man set-up, into the ground? I just tied extra long strings and tie them to my bike/tree/bushes. They're useless. 

Agree, that was my thinking. But...I looked for a definitive yes-no and found a bike forum that there was a two page argument going about it. They were arguing about the Dynamo hub being a generator or a magneto. I agree it should be just a simple "yes" but with a major component manufacturer like Shimano, they might have taken some weird power output path to keep all components "at home"

I try to keep things as simple as possible.

Take care,

Steve

Does it charge via USB? Then likely yes, if you get enough power to it during daylight hours. 2 batteries would likely make the entire course, so charging might be for insurance.


Note the hub won't charge anything without the right intermediary - USBwerk or similar needs to be used to get the power to the battery.

I've charged my Exposure Diablo, a GoPro, run my etrex20, iPhone, and a Limefuel battery. Not all at once, but they all charge or run via USB.

Thanks Mike, I am using a USBWerks and also have charged many devices like yours. The Di2 was an unknown and I wasn't finding any answers anywhere. If it stumped Peter White, I got a bit concerned. The charge indicator lights give you plenty of warning. There are 4 states of charge indicated by the lights. I figure to have time to charge it in many places. I will also have time during my home riding and training time to learn the batteries capabilities. I would hate to carry a spare battery if I can keep from it.

Steve

Is there any forum experience charging Shimano Di2 battery off a Son28? I've sold my Rohloff and am replacing it with gears. I am convinced that I want to try the electronic stuff. I also think the battery may last the entire TD route, done in a reasonable time. I know Mike Hall did it on one battery but his time would be at least a week faster than mine. I believe he had a spare battery in his seat tube IIRC.

Cant find any definitive answers on line. Peter White had no idea. (That was interesting )

Another vote for routes around Tucson/Phoenix. If you really want forest service roads similar to the TD, there are many in the desert area north of Phoenix, where I live. I did several routes in training for the TD that were really close to what I expected to ride. As some have suggested, the nights can get down to freezing but the days typical of Arizona warm quick and it becomes comfortable (most often)

If you'd like some route specifics, feel free to PM me, I wouldn't mind helping out or maybe even come along. In all honesty winter here is a lot like what we raced in, in June 2104, but less rain...a lot less rain.

When I was in Montana for the TD, I came up with this "The coldest Winter I ever had was Summer in Montana"

Thanks for all that Ron. All the box I have says is Speedhub 500/14 CC DB. It does have a disc.. I know when my mechanic built my Caletti he need some additional stuff to get it to mount in full. The part would not be sent to him until the frame was approved for Rolloff torque as tested by Gates, at Gates in Denver. I surely didn't expect that. The frame passed no problem, part was sent and bike was finished. Not sure if it was the frame being approved for the Rohloff or the Gates drive. In any event, Cylcemonkey only sent the adapter after Gates approved, whatever was their concern.

Thanks again,

Steve

Not sure how to answer your question. Its a 2014 Speedhub 500/14 complete with twist style shifter? You'd need to inquire with your LBS as to fitment. I guess I have all the parts as it's on my bike right now and it works as intended. It may require something to be fitted to your particular bike.

Hey gang,

I tried but just can't make the switch, old habits die hard. This hub has no more than 700 miles on it. In all honesty, I just don't care for it. Black, complete with twist style shifter. I also have a Gates Carbon drive with extra belt to sell. 46/22 (add 150.00) Still have box and all the docs for the hub.

775.00 for just the Speed hub.
150.00 for Gates Drive.

I went into 2014 with the exact same logic. However, reality set in as soon as I had to push through tons of snow. Make sure you can walk next to and push a loaded bike for hours, up grades. Whitefish divide/Red Meadow/Richmond peak did my ankles in. Good luck in your preparation!

Steve

There's a guy that has run a shuttle for the last couple years. I can't remember the name of it. Perhaps Sonoran Tours or Sonoran Expeditions.  I think another guy named Gnar Gnar tours did it once maybe?

In any case, someone will usually post up a shuttle from Phoenix to the start. Someone will post something up when it gets closer, keep an eye out.

Holy blog updates Batman!

So I decided to blog my whole Divide day by day while I was working on my photos

DSC00849-Edit.jpg by Greg.May, on Flickr

Long term plan is to go back to this - edit it - then combine it into a short publication. That will be a month or so off.

All of these were written in one sitting, with no editing to the words after I'd typed them (puke draft), so it can feel a bit raw in placed. But that was what I wanted, not a glossy happy shiny BS write up about how I found myself. The truth is far more interesting.

Enjoy.

Preamble: http://www.gregorymay.ie/?p=3060
Day 1: http://www.gregorymay.ie/?p=3071
Day 2: http://www.gregorymay.ie/?p=3084
Day 3: http://www.gregorymay.ie/?p=3098
Day 4: http://www.gregorymay.ie/?p=3109
Day 5: http://www.gregorymay.ie/?p=3128
Day 6: http://www.gregorymay.ie/?p=3140
Day 7: http://www.gregorymay.ie/?p=3157
Day 8: http://www.gregorymay.ie/?p=3174
Day 9: http://www.gregorymay.ie/?p=3192
Day 10: http://www.gregorymay.ie/?p=3223
Day 11: http://www.gregorymay.ie/?p=3232
Day 12: http://www.gregorymay.ie/?p=3264
Day 13: http://www.gregorymay.ie/?p=3276
Day 14: http://www.gregorymay.ie/?p=3290
Day 15: http://www.gregorymay.ie/?p=3323
Day 16: http://www.gregorymay.ie/?p=3331
Day 17: http://www.gregorymay.ie/?p=3359
Day 18: http://www.gregorymay.ie/?p=3361
Day 19: http://www.gregorymay.ie/?p=3374
Day 20: http://www.gregorymay.ie/?p=3462
Finish: http://www.gregorymay.ie/?p=3486

Hi Greg,

First congratulation on your ride. Well done.

But... I must say, your utter contempt for rural America and rural Americans is a bit over the top. I couldn't read beyond day 8, sorry

Face it, there are mines in the world, a somewhat necessary evil. Towns you refer to as "Shitholes" have been hosting, helping racers and TD tourers for years they've embraced us, helped us and opened their hearts to our community, for as long as I can remember.

"4x4's running around with obese family members?" "Worst examples of Americana?"  

These places are people's homes, communities and they are likely proud to call them home.

I'm a proud American and would hope you might re-think your position some.

I trained with a Stages meter for about 1.5 years before the race, and raced with it last year. I definitely did not have my face in my Garmin for the race, but on the climbs an occasional glance down on climbs or at higher altitudes to check my power output was usually all it took to keep me from doing anything too stupid. I will say that after using one for so long, I had a fairly good idea of what my power output was just based on breathing patterns. It took me a couple of days to lock that in being in the mountains vs the great plains.

I would agree with that. When I'm in the middle of an interval, I know when I drop off and I know when I'm making the prescribed power output. I had a SRM put on my TD bike and will likely watch it pretty close when I specifically need to throttle my output on long efforts.

I finished in 24:17:02 last year (2015), which made me the last person in under 25 days that didn't deviate from the route, (that was being tracked on Trackleaders), so I averaged about 111 or so per day. My low mileage day was 38, and my high mileage day was 195. Pace obviously depended on road surface, elevation, etc. My fastest day from a speed standpoint was the pavement from Cuba to Grants on Day 22, where my moving average was 15.3. I had a couple of days where my moving average was under 10 MPH.

Things that helped me keep things in perspective during the race were:

• You're not going to win it on the first day, but you can certainly lose it.
• I'm a diesel, and I know I can only go in the red so many times before I have issues, so I tried to keep my HR and power levels in the high Z2 to mid Z3 as much as possible
• Everyone underestimates how tough New Mexico is, so I wanted to leave some in the tank for that last week.

An hour on an unloaded XC rig vs an hour on a bike with all of your gear plus food/water might have you not feeling as worried about 12 MPH feeling ridiculously slow.

Did/do you race with a power meter? Since I started training with one, I added one to my TD bike. I CANNOT see racing without one. It gives me exactly the data needed to stay at a sustainable pace.