Heel Spurs From Age or Ultra running Multi Day adventure is The GDR Next

[Meepmeep]

Any Ultra Runners retired that turn into the ultra mountain biking? Or anybody gone great distances without a huge background in cycling?, I  have back-to-back 200 mile distances for the past two years is it conceivable for me to attempt the GTR this coming summer I would think anything within the mind is conceivable but is it realistic I live on Maui so there's not a lot of single-track trails but I can start to do some adventuring on my, doing a few hundreds or centuries on my bike  multiple West Maui Loop don't know just looking for another Outlet as I like being out there a long time, bike its a 2005 roubaix specialized carbon is it possible to turn that into a GTR bike backpacking bike or do I need to drop some money on a mountain bike Mahalo for your time and inspiration PMA

[bikeny]

Wow, slow down! First of all, periods are your friend, use them to form sentences, it'll be much easier for people to figure out what you are trying to say. In general, sure, it's possible, but you have a LOT of work to do if you want to tackle something like the GDMBR (I assume that's what you're talking about when you say GTR) this summer. Don't worry about riding singletrack, there is pretty much no singletrack on that route, it's mostly dirt and forest service roads. Your Specialized Roubaix is not going to work, tires are just to narrow as it's a road bike. You need something with at least 2" tires, most people use mountain bikes, lots without any suspension. You will also need to acquire a bunch of gear if you don't have any bikepacking or backpacking stuff.

First, you need to figure out how long you want to be out there. Do you want to ride it fast, like race pace, or more like tour, with some easy or rest days?  Sounds like you have a very good endurance background, which will certainly help. Best thing to do right now is read everything you can find on the route. Trip reports from racers and people touring the route, bike setups, weather conditions, trail descriptions, other riders training routines,etc...

Don't ask any more questions until you do a ton of reading and have a really good idea of what the route is like, what kind of setups work, how long you think you want to be out there etc.

Good luck!

[offroute]

Don't tell Masa the Divide is not possible on a road bike... https://twitter.com/hashtag/earthride Desire trumps gear; any bike can be made to work on some variant of the Divide. Agreed, mountain bike tires are nice off the paved sections.

There really is not much mystery about riding the divide. Eat/sleep/ride; common sense rules. I suggest touring it (or a section of it) without the pressure of making any certain time. You will discover how your body reacts to many successive long riding days. That part is a mystery until you're there, but as an ultramarathoner you will have a decided advantage with your knowledge of your own physiological limitations.

Have fun with it!

[sdr]

Yes I would suggest dropping some money on a mountain bike. Good training for the GDMBR on Maui would be riding up Haleakala with a loaded mountain bike.