Tour Divide Questions

[phil_rad]

Hi,
I'm planning on doing the tour divide race next year and well, I've got a bunch of questions. I won't ask them all at once though, just a couple at a time, so I don't get on everyone's nerves        :-)

About navigating and staying on route, I know there are maps from ACA but do you guys & girls use gps also? And what about the spot, is it manditory to have one? And if so can I rent or borrow one from someone? Or do I need to buy one?

Thanks!

Phil

[Slowerthensnot]

The ACA maps are top notch you don't need a gps unless your unsure sure of yourself or get lost ez...  Make sure your cycle computer is fairly accurate in its mileage...

The spot is not mandatory but is cool for folks back home and the armchair endronuts... I think spot has hooked ML up with a number of units for folks to use email at the tourdivide site and you can get that sorted out....

[phil_rad]

Hey Dave,

Unsure, kind of. I think i'd rather be on the safe side. Did you use a gps on your gdr rides?

Happy Trails

Phil

[ScottM]

Phil--

The ACA maps are good, but I raced with a GPS track, and so have many others.  Especially when night riding it's nice to look down at the screen and confirm you are still on the route.  It also takes some of the mental work / confusion out of some of the turns.  Just follow the line rather than decipher the route instructions.

Definitely don't go GPS-only though.  Hard to plan for services or get a 'big picture' view of where you are on the GPS.

SPOTs should be free for everyone again next year, but not mandatory.  I don't think anyone has turned one down for TD yet.

[DaveH]

I'd highly recommend using GPS.  Just look at the *avoidable* DQs this year related to navigation.  Imagine how it must feel to reach the finish only to later discover your SPOT unit had "ratted you out" for missing that 3 mile section of the route.  It's a recurring theme this year in multi-day self-supported events.

Conditions change, signs get mowed over by rednecks, some routes are poorly (or not at all) marked, thinking gets fuzzy in the wee hours.  GPS solves these issues provided  you have decent route data, and it's available for TD I believe.  Not sure of the Canadian section but the rest should be with possibly a tweak or two made according to any ACA changes.

[phil_rad]

I would definitely take a spot, if nothing else so that my family and friends can see where I am. As for the gps, i'm convinced now to take one along, also the maps from ACA. That would really suck to finish the race and find out later that I cut the course. Like a few did this year.
Do you guys know if the Flathead section will be in next year?

Cheers!

Phil

[Jilleo]

The GPS is a definite advantage. I talked to an old-school Divide racer who used one this year and said it "felt like cheating." In a way, it does, because they do take the mystery out of some of the more confusing sections of the route that the old-school Divide racers had to deal with as part of their race. But, technology changes, bikes get better, gear gets lighter, etc. I think GPS navigation is great.

You certainly wouldn't want to go "mapless" however. The available track that I know of was made a few years ago and the maps change a little every year. You certainly have to pay attention and sometimes go off the GPS track to stay on the main route. A reroute near Ovando, Mont. comes to mind. Plus, the maps reveal so much other valuable info that I usually failed to pay attention to (such as actual services available in towns.) Maybe because I was too busy staring at my GPS.

The track doesn't include the Canadian section. If you decide to go with Tour Divide, you have to navigate yourself through that (not an easy feat in the Flathead reroute. Maybe the cues will be a little more accurate or at least less vague by next June.) But I managed to do it, alone, which probably means anyone could do it. I'm the kind of directionally challenged person who will leave a hotel room and always turn the wrong way down the hall.

I too wondered whether the Flathead reroute would be included in next year's race. I felt a little dubious that it would make it on the official maps. The more primitive areas of that route are fine for an adventure race, but I get a little chuckle every time I think of fully loaded tourists dragging their bob trailers up that "singletrack" connector that for a quarter mile climbs up a 50-percent grade over a veritable muddy waterfall, and then continues several hundred yards over piles and piles of felled trees. If ACA doesn't improve that section, it just seems cruel to include it on the maps. We'll see, I guess.

Good luck!

[phil_rad]

Hi Jill,

A congrats to you too, awsome ride!

Anyways, I ordered the 6 maps, border to border but I'm very interested in the Tour Divide Race. Hopefully there will be decent map on the new Candian section. You said the course changes slightly every year, then maybe I should have waited before I bought the maps. I was so stoked about getting them, oh well.

Thanks for your advice.

Phil

[flatfishy]

where do you order the maps from?

[phil_rad]

where do you order the maps from?

http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/greatdivide.cfm

[Pivvay]

I raced with a GPS and computer this year. The GPS is awesome and I wouldn't race without it as it takes the nerves out of the navigation. You still have to pay attention to the cues and map addenda but frankly it's not a big deal. You're bored enough at times, watching for the "sign at mile 114.3" is a good diversion. The GPS is not always right but if you're not "on the line" then you darn sure better know why like because of a map addenda change.

Having duplicate computers or a computer and GPS is a good idea in case one dies since you're pretty much dependent on mileage cues out there. Don't expect much good signage.

[phil_rad]

Thats what I was planning, to have both a gps and my bike computer. Good to hear a divide "veteran" confirm it. :-)

Cheers

Phil

[phil_rad]

What is better for the divide; a water filter like the hiker pro, or the purification tabs? In "better",  I mean the most efective, I don't want to get sick out there cause of improperly purified water. 

[Pivvay]

If you wanted you could carry all your water from towns on the Divide. I'm fond of a steripen and/or MP1 tablets for treatment. I used MP1 a couple times on this year's TD and it was fine. I used the steripen on the CTR and the Divide time trial the year before and that was also fine. I use the steripen on a regular basis in areas with mountain water and carry tabs for backup or just in case when I'm not planning on treating any water. I've never been sick from water.

A filter is really handy if you want to drink nasty ass cow pond water or very low flow sources. I prefer to haul more "good" water and only drink from those sources as a last resort. The faster you are, the more realistic this strategy is. My max capacity this year was 4L badder, 20oz bottle and a 32oz gatorade bottle in the driest sections and I never needed it all. YMMV, I'm a camel compared to quite a few people.

[Slowerthensnot]

I'm a camel compared to quite a few people.

Just a slight understatement!

[DaveH]

Just a slight understatement!

Just for perspective:  a few years back I recall Chris doing Rim Ride with 2 bottles.  I used about 140 oz.  Sure he can get all water in towns...he only needs to fill up every other day!

[Pivvay]

Okay so they can size up to a 6L bladder...sheesh!

And I totally had a secret 1L Platypus stashed in the frame bag on that Rim Ride!

[Jilleo]

I'm more of a water hog, carried a hiker-pro-type filter and hardly used it. But I think that has to do with my water hog habits more than anything. I rarely left a town without at least a gallon of water on my back, and I had the capacity to carry 2.4 gallons. It also helps that the temperature only rarely even broke 80 degrees, at least in the weather window I marched through.

At 11 ounces, the water filter will buy you a lot of peace of mind, however. I'm sure tablets are perfectly safe and I've used them before myself, but I've also noticed that even in extreme desperation, I have a hard time forcing down what seems like "dirty" water, and never drink enough.

[phil_rad]

Thats a good point Jill, I've never drank, like you said "dirty" water before. I can imagine that it would be hard to drink enough.

[intheways]

With regard to a cyclcomputer, what is better:  wireless or wired?