Hey Scott,

EWE has a date for 2013, it's 28 July.

Thanks,

Aidan

Two in the UK:

5 May: Cairngorms Loop http://www.cairngormsloop.net/
15 July: England-Wales-England http://www.aidanharding.com/ewe

Hee hee, Just seen my post suggests its from Aidan, that'll confuse you all!!!  It is in fact Emily-his girlfriend, who is sitting comfortably on a sofa at home, not in scorching sun on a bike!

Is Robert Gianni Ok?  I'm busy tracking Aidan and have noticed that he hasn't moved and Aidan is about to overtake. 

I'd just like to say at this point that I am so proud of Aidan, he is doing a great job.  I have spoken to him once just before his bike cracked, he sounded great.  I think we are going to watch him make up all that lost ground pretty quickly now as he is now super focused.  Go Aidan! keep on trucking! and I have loads of admiration to all the other racers out there too and for those who may have retired but gave it a go.  Well done folks!

Hi all,

I'm at a loose end so here are some thoughts from the trail:

My original plan was to go hard early on in the race and stay with or set the pace a bit. That didn't work out as planned since Kurt, Ethan, and Jefe are so outstandingly strong. The pavement reroutes were pretty bad for the SS, too, but Jefe has been showing the way. Nevertheless, I was sleeping less and riding more than in 2010. A tribute to the quality up front that this wasn't enough to be up there.

As I got into the groove and was a bit more ready to put long nights in, we hit rain in Colorado. Josh and I pushed on a bit with wet a bivi an early start to Silverthorne. I was looking forward to bending sleep a little on the run-in with the chance of fairer weather and more of my favourite terrain (mountains!) but aware that others would be doing the same.

Unfortunately, my frame has cracked and I'm on my way back to Steamboat Springs for repair/replacement or maybe just commiseration with Kent Erikson. So, I'm out of the race (in terms of competing for a decent placing), but still looking for the border.

Not least because my house keys are in Silver City

Honestly, I wish the field for the TD were smaller. But, who has the right to choose whether an individual is allowed in or not? From what I've seen, keeping a spirit of open-ness has brought us to where we are. And where we are is not such a bad way to deal with the popularity the race has gained.

It would be an absolute tragedy for the race if all the dedicated people who come to ride the route lose out on their experience due to excessive numbers, especially if some of the numbers haven't put the time in to be ready for the route. And I can see various pitfalls looming ahead - some of which Jay has highlighted.

I'd certainly say that if you're not ready to ride at least 16 hours a day by yourself, for a week, then you should examine whether or not the TD is for you. If turning up to find the motel is full and you're going to have to sleep in the dirt is going to push you into behaving badly, then don't come along. If you can't deal with finding no food where you planned to buy it and having to do another 50 miles on empty, you might be in for some mismatched expectations.

I don't think speed is the absolute issue, I think the rider's ability to operate independently is. Those who can't will also not be fast, and risking ruining what we have. I hope they recognise that and deal with it by adjusting their plans or attitude.

It's going to be an interesting year, that's for sure.

I started out with Kenda Small Block 8s and tubes. They were terribly hard to fit to Stans 355 rims, and the rear tore badly on the first day.

After that, I found the Crossmark to be an excellent replacement. It was pretty worn by Steamboat, so I switched it for a WTB Vulpine, which was less impressive. I had to be really careful on sandy climbs and it was very torn up by AW.

Beforehand, I had thought that sidewall strength would be significant. I don't really think it is the biggest issue on the Divide as the trail just isn't very rocky. As others have said, I'd pick rolling resistance as more important.

This year, I have just got some Maxxis Ikon tyres to play with. The sidewalls seem quite flimsy, but they are light. I don't have Crossmarks to-hand so that I can compare them. My default will be tubeless Crossmarks; if the Ikon really blows me away, I might use one on the front.

Again, just re-enforcing what people have said: mud-shedding isn't something to worry about. The muddy bits are so claggy that you'll be dragging fistfulls of mud out just to make the wheels go round. The dry bits are in the majority, so target them.

It's digging a while back in the thread but Blackhound was talking about wanting to train for altitude and big hills. It's up to you, but I don't think there's any specific need to travel from the UK to ride long climbs. Just ride all day - most climbs on a fun UK ride will be steeper than on the Divide but also shorter. As long as you don't stop at the top of every one for tea and sandwiches, you'll probably be fine.

I went out about a week before the start and did a couple of rides in Canmore. I think they really helped - whether it was altitude or just getting my head right, I nearly fainted on the first ride in Canmore. After that, I was OK.

On race day, I was feeling pretty good.

You should do what feels right for you, but I wouldn't underestimate the value of spending all day in the saddle, even in the UK.

4 spokes? Ouch.

He needs to cut back on the pies!

James Leavesley seems to be heading for Breckenridge. Hope he's OK!

SSP - get a Greyhound and the US is your (sweaty, character-filled) oyster. I took a bus from Lordsburg to LA for less than $100.

The flight from London to Calgary, returning from LA was £530. Air Canada wanted £30 for the bike outbound and United wanted $200. I have since complained to United but no response yet. It's outrageous and prices them out of the running for flying with a bike.

My cow went from standing on my bars in Banff to lying down for the remainder of the journey. She seemed to scare the other cows that I saw though... maybe they're scared of BSE.

When I said impact, I didn't just mean on the dirt. I also meant on the goodwill of the businesses on the trail. Having a few sopping wet bikers turn up on your doorstep is interesting and fun when they're riding a crazy race. I can imagine it would get pretty annoying by the 90th rider.

Regarding rules and such, I think "fair" is a difficult concept on the Divide. With so much that could happen, some things will. And a rider may be delayed out of reaching AW within the time they were aiming for, without it being their fault. But that's part of the beauty: you get what you get (not necessarily what you feel like you deserve) and you deal with it. Mechanicals, drastic weather changes in a short period of time, small-town services being unexpectedly shut and so on.

So maybe the "fair" that matters is only at the start-line i.e. simpler rules. No getting into cars seems simple enough, even for a under-prepared oaf like me to figure out.

I don't think having two starts on consecutive days would achieve the desired outcome of reducing the impact on the trail, though. 1 day is not very much with a wide variation in speeds so 49 followed by 49 would looks an awful lot like 98 together after a few days.

The N/S and S/N starts do sound like fun, though. We could joust in Colorado!

Hey Jim, thanks. Likewise, it was great to meet you. Let's hope we cross paths again some day!

Hello,

I just wanted to say a few things about the TD 2010...

Thanks for all the interest and support for the race. As a rider, it's a strange and fun experience to have people watching and cheering us along.

Apologies for not making many call-ins. I had trouble finding payphones that worked and it was always a lower priority than food + sleep. I know they help people to understand what's going on, but as other racers will no doubt agree, you can spend all day thinking about what to say, only to draw blank when you finally do get a working phone!

Dave Blumenthal's family have my greatest sympathies. I rode with him for a few days and the loss of any life is a tragedy. To lose someone so vital and committed to seeking adventure, someone with a young family, and someone who was such a pleasure to be with, tears a hole in the world. I can not imagine how hard it is for his family right now, but if they read this and there is anything I can do for them, I will do it. I deliberately didn't mention this on call-ins - the subject didn't deserve my addled thoughts, hopefully my writing comes a bit closer to what I wanted to say.

Chris is right about SS (and has my great respect for setting a heck of a time). I was pretty much always the faster climber around (although I didn't ride with Matthew or Eric L) during the race. My "tactic" was to ride fast and get lots of rest so that I could still turn the pedals the next day. The danger of SS is (as I found one day in NM) that if you get to tired, you can't spin an easy gear so you go to some dark place to keep riding or you push. That, and the road sections suck.

Which kind of goes to another point. Slow and steady isn't the only way to finish. Riding fast and staying in motels will work. It probably won't win because you won't be able to ride fast enough to make up for someone like Matthew who is fast and puts in the hours, but it'll get you there.

Aidan