Thanks for the info

I am considering riding from Yellowknife to Colorado this summer.  Plan to pick up ACA routes in Jasper National Park with a mix of road routes and Great Divide Mountain Bike, but the roads from Yellowknife to Jasper are an unknown.  Anyone have experience riding the highways of Northern/Central Canada?

Border traffic?!!  LOL.  That's funny.  There is no border traffic at AW.  That place is deadsville.  The majority of the vehicles out there are Border Patrol and one killed a cyclist outside of El Paso this past Fall....said the rider weaved in front of him.  I think they are on a bit of notice to give cyclists plenty of room.  

Yes, I should have qualified what I meant by traffic.  The only vehicles were the trucks, and only about ten passed me.  But still, double long trucks traveling at probably close to 80 MPH can be a bit unnerving.  The only other vehicle I saw was the one BP agent, who kindly stopped and asked if I was doing okay.

I stopped at Separ a year ago, December, and they seemed fine.  I've driven by a few times, since, and they've been in business.  I'm not sure I've ever seen them not in business.  I don't know what keeps them open, since there aren't any gas pumps.  They aren't a 24 hrs operation but I don't know the hours.  We may be passing thru there again in the next few weeks.  I'll see if I can find their hours.

When I stopped there last year, I found a working water faucet at the NW corner of the building.  I'm not sure I'd drink the water without letting it run for a while and/or treating it since it's hard to tell how long it's been sitting in those pipes.

Did you ever make it by the store to find out the hours?

I did it as an ITT last year about a month prior to the real start. 

Sleep:  I which I was like some of those guys and could just avoid the entire sleep thing, but no, I must sleep.  I only had one cold night.  It was after leaving San Diego in the hills outside of Escondido.  I had an ultra light 30 degree bag plus bivy and was fine.  It was probably more than I needed, but I was using this as a warmup for the TDR and wanted to carry same equipment.

Water: I carried 100 oz camel back plus 4 liter bag in my frame back and still ran out through the wash.  I drink more than most people, but still, it's the desert and there is no water out there after entering the wash.  No need for a filter, extra weight that won't be used. 

Tires: I think going with fast running tires is best.  It will be more difficult in the wash, but the remainder of the course you want fast tires.  I used Schwalbe racing raplhs.

Having to stop from losing a hub, that hurts........
 
How soon would you need to start to avoid the border opening traffic?
Did you stop at Separ?

I'm thinking about 4:00 AM should get you off the main highway in time to miss most of the traffic and still make Separ for open hours.  The border station opens at 8:00 and it is 65 miles to the interstate.  So, if you can average about 15 mph, you should be good.  I left about 7:00 AM and probably will try for 4:00 AM this year.

Separ is a nice stop for sports drinks and ice cream.  Friendly people in the store that know about the race and are willing to let you set and cool off as long as you need.  I am not entirely sure what the hours are for the Separ store or how regular they are open.

What hub did you have?

Chris King ISO with only about 700 miles on it.  I recently sent it back to manufacturer that did little more than a re-lube and suggested the failure was due to spoke tension, without adjusting the tension for me.  Really, no spoke tensioners at the factory?  I withheld for naming the manufacturer to give them a chance to do the correct thing, but now that the "help" is complete, I'd have to say I am very disappointed in the service received. 

On the other hand, my previous CK hubs had ten years of hard riding without any servicing or any issues.  I am hoping my recent case was just a bad assembly and I plan on using the same hub again next year, but will bring a freehub tool just in case (can always borrow a wrench and fabricate a chain whip).

I started ITT from AW in 2013 and plan to do the same in 2014, may mid-May.  Unfortunately, my rear hub failed at the northern end of New Mexico and I had to drop out.  I loved the solitude of the NM ITT start.  The only real problem (other than the hub) was too many flats near the start.  The cactus needles even near the side of the road were tough on the tires (four flats the first day).  I will probably start much earlier in the day to avoid the trucks coming up across the border and enable riding in the middle of the road.  That being said, if you start any time near when the border opens, expect big cattle trucks to pass you going well above the speed limit.  The trucks were very courteous giving plenty of space, but double long trucks doing 80 mph past you is just a tiny bit unsettling.

I thought the advantage of less heat at the start would be good plan, but my first day high of 107 showed even the first week of June can be very hot down there.  Plenty of water in cattle cisterns so water resupply is really not an issue if you don't mind sharing with the cows.

2013 was my first attempt, so not able to make comparisons.  One final note, NBers skip the single track near Breck, so you will need to modify your GPS file accordingly.  Easy enough to do with garmin software.

On day six (northbound) my rear hub failed.  It would engage and disengage randomly, ultimately forcing me to abandon the race.  I was really disappointed and surprised a new for the season hub made by a quality manufacturer based in Oregon failed.  Got home and rebuilt the hub and it was fine.  Next year, I will bring a cassette tool and hope to be able to borrow a wrench and fabricate a chain whip if needed.  Of course, many flats in southern NM.  Non-mechanical and funny story was hitting a broken bottle with my front tire and sending it into my leg with a cut down to the bone.  Glad I had a first aid kit.  I have a great scar to tell stories now.

Hi All, I had a mechanical issue that has forced me to drop from the race.  Chris King freehub died.  Good luck to all other racers.

Dan Sweeney

Anyone know if the Thompson Ridge Fire should be a concern?  It looks a little close to the route on Trackleaders, but unclear if there are any closures.

I cannot seem to acquire Rocky gore tex socks anywhere in Los Angeles. REI said they were waiting for their restock shipment to come in, and then the next time I went in they said they would no longer carry them. Any recommendations for a place to purchase them before I leave for Banff on Tuesday?

I just got mine from Nashbar with two day shipping.  Cost a little extra because of my poor planning, but I am sure will be worthwhile.

Well said Toby.  I amazed at the level of volunteer effort that the organizers have put into these type of events.  As I was riding the Stagecoach 400, I couldn't help but think how much work went into linking so many disparate sections of trail into one big loop.

FYI everyone, I have received several emails from Matthew Lee with 2013 specific race details and trackleader registration information.  If you have not received these emails, you probably need to get in touch with Matthew Lee.

Does anyone know if it is safe to leave a vehicle at the kokopelli Trailhead in Loma, CO for a few days?  If not, is there a good place to park in Fruita?

Thanks

From my understanding, yes, there is water that can be filtered along the way and some at the ranger station.  Do a search on this website for Kokopelli PGXfile and you can download the file created by Toby Gadd.  It is a great file with all the water stops marked.  I will be heading out there for an out and back to Moab next week.

Where are you parking?  Any idea if it is safe to leave a vehicle for three days at the trailhead in Loma?

Crap, I should have checked.  I asked the guys at the fire station if any stores were around and even specifically about that place across the street.  They told me it had been closed for a while.  I should have ridden over to verify.  They looked pretty bored, maybe they were trying to set me up for failure so they would have something to do.

Hey All,

Thanks Brendan for a great course.  I had a blast and the course was very challenging.  A couple of things I can pass along.  At Sweetwater reservoir, the course takes you though a new fence.  I am not sure if I missed a gate or something, but ended up having to lift my bike over the fence.  If there is a gate I missed, maybe someone can point out where that is located.  Second, the Circle K leaving the north end of San Diego is the last resupply until Sunshine Market unless you go off course to Lake Henshaw.  I wasn't sure how far off course the Lake Henshaw store was, so skipped it ad ran out of food three hours prior to Sunshine Market, luckily I had plenty of water.  The owner of Sunshine Market is super nice and very excited about the racers coming through in April.  Her hours are 9-7, but if you can't make it during open hours, she said to call ahead and let her know what you need and she leave it with one of the campers.  Phone number 951-763-1057.  If she doesn't answer, keep trying, se is often out doing things.  She is a huge supporter of the race and I can't say enough how friendly she is.  Best of luck to everyone and have a blast during the race.

Dan

Jeremy,

Yes, I plan to roll out from Cafe Aroma at 7:30 AM on the 18th, providing everything makes it on my flight.  That would be great to have someone to start with.  It looks like there is still some snow now, but should easily melt off this week.  90 is going to be very hot for me because I am in Colorado and my morning commutes lately have been in the low 20s.  Scott from track leaders has sated he will have the track up and running by the time we start.

Dan

Hey Forest,

I am doing the Stagecoach as an ITT starting March 18th.  I'll let you know if there is any snow, but hopefully all clear.  I'm not trying for a good time as much as  testing out my race setup for the Tour Divide.  A good website for snow accumulation is NOAA's:  http://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/earth/  Overlay with race course in google earth.  This week would not be a good week to be there.

Dan

Hey Northbounders,

I am still undecided on direction of racing, but the biggest thing holding me back on northbound is trying to figure out travel home.  It seems like getting a no notice flight out of Canada might be difficult, and purchasing early would be a gamble based on race time. 

What do the northbounders typically do for getting home after the race?