I like your rig!  I ran a setup not unlike yours on the GDMBR. Co-Motion Pangea with 26 x 2.0 (559 x 50) Schwalbe Marathon Dureme hardwaring tires with tubes.  Next time will be the same bike with tubless 60 mm super supple tires (Schwalbe Super Moto). Tubeless is far supperior as it makes the same tire smoother and grippier and provides better pincture protection. Use lots of sealant and figure out how to add more through the valve without breaking the bead seal.  Bike fit is everything. Loose the cross top levers as you wont really use them and they complicate things.  Move the hoods back just a smidge so you can descend on the hoods without leaning too far forward. Full cable housing for all cables and be able to squirt lube into both ends of each cable. Relative to a mountain geometry, you will walk slightly more. Howver, you gain efficiency and comfort for the vast majority of the route. Mud will kill you as you'll have very little frame clearance. Loose sand will be trickier and harder.

I like your rig!  I ran a setup not unlike yours on the GDMBR. Co-Motion Pangea with 26 x 2.0 (559 x 50) Schwalbe Marathon Dureme hardwaring tires with tubes.  Next time will be the same bike with tubless 60 mm super supple tires (Schwalbe Super Moto). Tubeless is far supperior as it makes the same tire smoother and grippier and provides better pincture protection. Use lots of sealant and figure out how to add more through the valve without breaking the bead seal.  Bike fit is everything. Loose the cross top levers as you wont really use them and they complicate things.  Move the hoods back just a smidge so you can descend on the hoods without leaning too far forward. Full cable housing for all cables and be able to squirt lube into both ends of each cable. Relative to a mountain geometry, you will walk slightly more. Howver, you gain efficiency and comfort for the vast majority of the route. Mud will kill you as you'll have very little frame clearance. Loose sand will be trickier and harder.

What phone and service are you using?  I ask because some work better for backcountry navigation than others.

iPhone 4 with AT&T service works great and I have lots of real world testing on this set up.

-- iPhone 5 with AT&T - no testing but I don't think it will work well for backcountry.
-- iPhone 5 with Verizon or Sprint - no testing but I do think it will work well for backcountry.
-- Other phones and service - no research or testing

This is how I use my iPhone 4 for backcountry multi day navigation.

1. Paper plan/map/narrative is primary and iPhone is for confirming turns or confirming I am where I think I am. Plus I would have the iPhone with me anyway so why not make do double duty. iPhones are rugged, especially inside a waterproof, schock resistance case (e.g. Lifeproof). I lash mine to the stem with closed cell foam cut to cradle it. The case keeps it warm enough without overheating.

2. Lock out the sim as Apple supports but do not turn on airplane mode.  This keeps satellite gps signal reception but stops the phone from wasting power searching for non existent cell service.  Unlock the sim only if you are in town and need to use cell. Lock out sim right after using cell service. Except for your GPS app (e.g. MotionX) manually turn off all applications from running in background. Power phone off completely overnight. While riding run the GPS app continually but turn off the screen except when you need it. I flip the screen on and off to confirm turns and run continually on fast descents if there are any turns coming up.  Set for appropriate background light. 

3. Before a backcountry trip, manually download to the phone's memory detailed terrain and road maps specifically for your route.  Balance map detail/file size vs. available memory and time to download.  Think GB's of data.  Works best overnight via wifi.

4. Recharge as needed from disposable AA lithium via cheap USB charger carried inside frame bag. It needs to be kept dry but also gets VERY hot while charging. Run the USB cable to the phone through the frame bag's water tube slit.

5. By miserly using power and really limiting GPS usage, I can go about 18 hours on just the phone's internal battery. The extra AA power is for backup or heavier than normal GPS usage. Two lithium AA easily charge the phone 4 battery from 20% to 80% in about one hour. There may be a little juice left in those two batteries, but not much. I ditch them and get a replacement set at the next opportunity and carry them in the turned off charger. You need to test that the charger you use outputs the correct power spec for your phone.

For me the main advantages of this set up are:

1. Since I'd be taking my phone anyway, no need to carry a separate, dedicated GPS device
2. iPhone is significantly more rugged and reliable compared to Garmin devices I've used.
3. The iPhone and the MotionX GPS app are easier to use compared to Garmin.
4. Option to turn on and use cell service.

The main disadvantage is power conservation necessitating not employing always-on, turn-by-turn navigation.

Hope this helps.



Hope this helps.

I felt great being part of the 2013 AML 400 and would like to recognize Chris Tompkins for organizing the race and coordinating everyone.  Thank you, Chris, I had a fantastic time!  Congrats to all the racers!  I really enjoyed talking with you sharing your passion for cycling!


I love riding bikes.  Always have.  Riding and the adventures that go with it are a great joy to me.  I’m a regular guy, husband, father, and employee, and definitely not a real racer.  Something about “ultra racing” really appeals to me, though.


I think it boils down to riding with folks who get as much pure joy out of cycling that I do.  Riding with my friends or family from home, while fun, leaves me feeling like the ride was too short or not challenging enough.


So, looking for some close-to-home adventure and having a three day family pass, I threw my hat into this year’s AML 400.  Considering I am not a SPOT user, Chris was very welcoming.  I’m not into folks who aren’t actually there watching me.  Just my personal preference.  I did record a continuous GPX of my race for anyone who would like to see. 


Blacksburg is a great place to start and finish.  Eleven racers started.  What most impressed me is that everyone seemed to be in great shape and well prepared with strategy and kit plus they were great fun to ride and talk with.  Here is my very unofficial interpretation of the finishing order:


Taylor - OH (1:13:20)

Chris - OH (1:13:21)

Ruth - PA (2:03:31)

Jeff - VT (2:03:31)

Mike - VA (2:08:45)

Mark - MD (2:09:40)

Greg - VA (2:09:44)

Jim - MI (2:10:55)

Chris - VA (2:10:56)

Jason - VA (?)

Aaron - OH (?)


The AML will challenge adventure racers of any level, even expert, experienced riders.  It’s no joke with 30,000 feet over 400 miles.  The route is not technical, but there are some real challenges:


Climbing.  Obviously shorter but every bit as hard as the GDMBR in Canada and Montana.  Even without snow, I pushed some.

Long stretch between services (for me Seebert at mile 128 and Paint Bank at mile 347).  That’s 220 rugged miles with tons of climbing.  I found pump water at miles 200 (Glady) and 280 (Mountain Grove), but I had to treat surface water several times.  I was out of food and suffering when I got to Paint Bank.

Appalachian Mountain weather is tough - temperature extremes and wet.  Only rain sprinkles this year, but massive humidity was a factor, mostly because it was quite cold at night and the humidity just ate into me.  I was so wet and cold that I had to wrap my foam sleeping pad around my torso inside my jacket for the two huge early morning descents into Paint Bank.

Short days in early October means significant night riding.  Competitive riders will need a substantial light strategy.

Soft trail in long stretches (West Fork Trail for 23 miles and Greenbrier River Trail (less gooey) for 78 miles).  The dirt roads are often steep and burly.  Not a huge amount of washboard, but enough that you have to watch for it on the big descents.

Lots of twisty, steep rollers - the route rewards way above average bike handling skills.

Lots of navigation turns - I normally navigate primarily from printed narrative, but used my GPS almost the entire way and used eight AA lithium ultimate batteries for GPS just to get me to the Mountain Lake Resort.  I had to steel from my main light for the last thirty miles home.

The neoair is really comfortable and decently warm used with a quilt. Annoying to to inflate, deflate, and pack, though.

Hoping to keep the neoair's, warmth and comfort but be lighter and easier to pack, I have switched to the x-lite pad combined with a full length 1/8 inch thick closed cell foam pad and a regular sleeping bag.  The x-lite is way easier to inflate and stores easily in the frame bag. The foam pad rolls up and is carried on the top tube. In addition to adding comfort and warmth at night, the foam pad is super easy to access and set up for a daytime nap on wet or cold ground. Plus if the x-lite gets damaged, at least I have something.

Chris Bennett finishing strong!!!   Just after 9:00 a.m. local time on Saturday, July 6th.

Airports for Antelope Wells are El Paso, Tucson, or Phoenix.

Wow - Happy Monday people!

I'm not usually someone who involves myself trying to influnce others, but after catching up on comments made over the past few days, I have to say something.  If I were racing this year and came home to find comments that weren't positive, informational, and interesting, I'd be quite put out, for sure!

Craig, you are great an did great. You're smart and strong and a real gentleman. I briefly met you in Banff in 2012 and wanted to say thanks fo saying howdy back to this scared racer. Folks, saying negative things about a racer on the Internet is lame. Race the Divde yourself. Save your personal criticism or at least say it in person.

Eric, I know you're a good person and I wanted to say how much I enjoyed talking with you at that campground just outside Eureka that early morning.  Friends laugh every time I tell our story! I'm sure you realize in retrospect that the IV thing reflects a judgement lapse.  When you're ready, I'd encourage you to offer an apology to folks and especially to Matthew.  Folks, people are flawed and make mistakes all the time, it's how you deal ith it that counts. Eric reminds me of a slightly older version of one of my teenage sons. I hope the world accepts both of them just as they are.

Hope all the racers cherish each day out there.

Best,

Mike

To answer the question about the Schwable Super Moto... I've been testing the 60 x 559 (2.35 x 26) to evaluate it as future Divide kit.  During the 2012 race Adam from Oregon mentioned to me that he thought the Big Apple would be ideal, and I was intrigued enough to try the lightweight version of the Big Apple, the Super Moto. While I expected them to fail, I have to say that I'm impressed. About 6,000 miles since December and still going strong. Literally no flats or side wall issues.  I'll still need to test tubeless as I've only run them with tubes and sealant. Pressure just enough to corner well.  Excellent on rough and muddy trail. Traction is better than expected.  Comfort is outrageous.  Shockingly easy rolling. Its large volume does raise aerodynamic resistance a little.  160 pounds plus 15 to 20 pounds of gear/water on an expedition touring frame.

Nice Greg. You're going to love the Gates/Rohloff setup.  Put on a new belt and two new sprockets a week or so before Tour Divide then pound it to test. Carry one spare belt. Have the phone number with you for Gates customer service plus the exact part numbers for all three of your Gates parts.

I did S&S couplers when I had my frame built and have happily used them many times. However, if I had to do it again, I wouldn't get them. If you want to be talked out of them, let me know.

Seconding cjell, unless you can boil water, bleach/chlorine is a safe, reliable method.  If you must drink surface water, 5 drops (5 ml) per liter for 30 minutes plus one drop on the outside bottle nipple. This is well over the normal percentage needed for decontamination and should be enough to break giardia's outer shell.  Since bike bottles are not fully air tight, as you pedal along the chlorine evaporates and most of the pool smell escapes. The taste is noticeable but not horrible. Even if you don't drink surface water, all riders will be exposed to giardia and other bugs just from road spray on their bottles, water tubes, or hands. I ended up drinking quite a bit of surface water. For me the sketchiest was the stretch between Rollins and Brush Mountain Lodge. I fully expected to develop giadiasis but never did. The best surface water I had was a spring just after topping Union Pass. One day last fall I was touring with my wife out in western Virginia. We crossed a slow moving creek and she remarked how gross the water looked. I smiled but didn't tell her I drank water like that a few times, and was glad to have it, on the GDMBR.

Howdy Greg this is Mike from DC.  I enjoyed meeting you on the Tour Divide - I think we were nearby from the top of the big pass before Lima through to Rawlins. Dude you're a strong, fast, and smart rider and I like how you're fine tuning your rig to complement those qualities.  I've run a belt drive Rohloff for three years and wanted to offer my insights.

The first generation Gates belt is rubbish - the tension required to keep it from skipping kills driveline bearings and creates drag. Plus the rear sproket is aluminum and wears quickly and gets noisy.

The second generation "Center Track" Gates belt is fenominal. I wish I had had it on the Tour Divide. It requires almost zero tension and runs perfectly.  The rear sprocket is now stainless steel. Be sure to carry a spare belt.

Rohloff - I love mine and wouldn't/couldn't do the Tour Divide without it. It is quite heavy, though, especially hanging out back.  Plus even after about 20,000 miles and many oil changes, there is still slight drag, especially in the lower seven gears. Particularly after sitting outside overnight below freezing.  It's a bomber piece of kit, but, if you needed it, parts/service are slim pickings while you're out there.

I really like your single speed direction. Maybe add the Schlumph drive to create a climbing ratio?  I don't know how rugged it is, but the weight and complexity would be great relative to the Rohloff.  Plus the weight would be more centered. Cjell had good luck with it on the Tour Divide.





 

Not sure why the big fuss about the speed limit. Yes it's technically 15 mph. I've never seen a speed trap on the C&O in 42 years.  It's flat, so it's not like you're bombing downhill. I often ride an 80 mile loop with about 35 C&O miles. If I maintain a 15 mph average on the gravel/dirt, I'm thrilled. I've not once in my life gotten grief from a park ranger. The key is to be cool to the other park users, which are very few except for two relatively small sections.

Primary was Oakley sports glasses with perscription Transitions lenses. Worked fantastically well day and night. The humidity is generally very low. Except when actually raining, no fogging issues. I did get fine scratches on the lenses from trying to clean off muck with dirty hands/clothes.

Backup was a set of contact lenses, never used.

I see both sides:

Pro - It would be fun to race from Georgetown to Cumberland and back with a "grand depart" from Georgetown at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, June 7th.  372 miles round trip. Equestrians and pedestrians have the right of way - dismount for horses and slow down for people, always with a generous warning.  I usually see one horse each way.  Pedestrians, though, can be heavy the first 15 miles from Georgetown to Great Falls and for a few miles near Harpers Ferry.  The rest is nearly all wide open, and, so long as riders follow the trail rules, the the U.S. Park Service can't do anything about 10 through riders starting out about the same time.  The trick would be to keep things on the down low and be outside the DC area during weekend daylight hours.

Con - It would be an easy, boring race but a great fast tour.  Plus the U.S. Park Service would not allow any sort of organized bike race on their prized trail.

http://www.nps.gov/choh/planyourvisit/upload/parkmap.pdf

If you start in Georgetown, I'll ride it with you out to Cumberland and back to Georgetown. I'd race it, but would prefer not to, as I'd probably bring one or both of my sons (eleven and nine) and/or a friend. We've done it many times and do move along pretty well, between 100 and 150 miles per day, depending on the mud situation. It's a fun comradery trip mostly because it's an easy, flat ride with nice scenery of the Potomac River and Chesapeak and Ohio canal system.  It has awesome, free camping, water, and bathroom facilities. The paid services are ok but not great. Depending on the weather/wind, the mosquitoes would most likely be annoying that time of year.

Not Spring Break or Memorial weekend.  If my kids don't want in, my schedule would be flexible. If either of my kids wants in it would have to be after Standard of Learning testing, coordinated around baseball, and before swim team starts. We'd need a four day allowance, ideally Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.  So the first or second week of June, depending on the baseball schedule, which comes out in March.

If we did all out race, I'd most likely not bother with Spot service.  For verification, each racer could record/share GPS track/stats.

At some point, I'm going to chart out a mostly dirt road route from Georgetown to Blacksburg, Virginia and back.  Racing it would be seven to ten days with tons of climbing and big miles.

mkerley at comcast dot net

I used the printed narrative as primary and iPhone 4 MotionX GPS app as backup/double checking.  It does not do turn by turn with the arrows and all that. if you run your gps continually and/or want turn by turn, your best option is a AA battery dedicated gps device.

Cell signal is not required to receive gps signal on the model I have.  In fact a friend helped me lock out the SIM (cell, data, SMS) so only satellite signal was searched and received and power was not wasted searching for non existent cell service (AT&T/Apple support the sim lock feature if you search).

I used the gps to check that the blue dot was on the red line.  It ran on background without the screen on most of the time.  I would leave the screen on for long descents or areas with lots of turns. Otherwise I'd periodically turn it on just to double check I was where I thought it was.

Battery was ok but not great, depending on how much I used it. I recharged from AA batteries as needed. Usually once per day while on the go. I would also do a full charge if I stopped in a town.

20 hours a week is a good base especially if it includes lots of hard intervals.  That training is averaging three hours per day training with 21 hours of recovery. Invert those numbers, and do it day after day, that's the harsh TDR reality.  It's beautiful but painful and will for sure bend your mind.

No matter what riders will be cold - you have to accept that you'll be uncomfortable. The key is to keep functioning and moving. In 2012 Canada, Montana, Idaho, and northern Wyoming had overnights in the 30s going up to the 40s or 50s during the day. Relatively little time is spent at high altitude, but you sure feel the cold up there, especially the top part of the long descents.

Hey Chris. Come see me in DC again!  I've got great training rides to show you.

I'd love to ride this year, but can't for family reasons. I'm hoping for 2014, though.

- printed narrative/resupply on waterproof paper
- AT&T iPhone 4 with Lifeproof case and the SIM lock feature enabled
- 2012 GPX file from Scott
- MotionX GPS iPhone app with predownloaded detailed topographic and road maps
- backup of the printed narrative on the iPhone as Goodreader documents
- wall charger (the small adapter with the short cable)
- AA battery charger (that uses the wall charger cable)
- AA battery flashlight that fits my helmet

The only change from 2012 would be using waterproof paper.

The narrative is primary.  The GPS is for double checking and backup.

My biggest issue in 2012 was lack of big picture situational awareness. This summer and fall I finished the route study and rewriting the narrative that I should have done before 2012. Plus having actually been there for about 2/3 of it helps a bit.