2011 Tour Divide

[DenisVTT]

Otherwise, hotel in Deming or Lordsburg or camping in Hachita seems to be the best choice and that makes 9 am about the earliest manageable time if we want to treat it like a Grand Depart.

There is a (mostly) disaffected church in Hachita that is occasionally used by illegals (because the cops won't go in) that can serve as a nice place to spend the night. Advantage: no tent or bivy to pack in the morning so you can be in AW faster. Also, no worry about storms (frequent at night in the area).

[ridingman1]

Hi Folks - made flight reservations today for Calgary Start. Training with 2010 finisher Shawn Sheppard tomorrow. Looking forward to meeting the 2011 participants. Check my blog out - It's not TDR focused - but will give give some insight about me. Currently undergoing mental toughness training.  www.1inthezone.blogspot.com

Richard Ridlehuber
Spartanburg, SC
Age 46, married, father of 3

[mcmurv]

Hi Folks - made flight reservations today for Calgary Start. Training with 2010 finisher Shawn Sheppard tomorrow. Looking forward to meeting the 2011 participants. Check my blog out - It's not TDR focused - but will give give some insight about me. Currently undergoing mental toughness training.  www.1inthezone.blogspot.com

Richard Ridlehuber
Spartanburg, SC
Age 46, married, father of 3

Richard:
What are you guys doing for training?

[ridingman1]

Low intensity, heart rate based - zone 1/2/3 endurance. Tomorrow is 4 hours.

[Boney]

Hey All,

I'll be lining up with you folks in Banff and just wanted to say hi (and to have the site alert me of future posts in this thread).  I've been lurking the forum for several months now and have already found it to be one of the best resources out there.  Thanks to everyone who has contributed to TD discussions thus far!

Ben Oney
Northfield, Minnesota

[Norb]

Getting down to the real business TD rookies and even sophomores need to know: Where are the brew pubs on route? Search criteria are not ideal for vagabonding. One ought to be able to search by a KML file. Maybe Scott can whip up some TF code for them.

Been away from the site for a few days and I come back and I see the important issues are finally being discussed!  Let's talk IPA's as a full on TD recovery drink!!  Great carbs, makes you feel good, improves metabolism, cleans out the arteries and is a scientifically proven stress buster. 

Thank you, Mathew, for bringing this very important issue up...........I've been kicking around and thinking through decisions regarding the new GPS and the options for good hops on the route.........lots to ponder.

[6thElement]

A 2745mile pub crawl, just need a few months off work 

[tlideen]

hey guys i have the new garmin edge 800.  will i be able to use this during the divide in june?

[Marshal]

hey guys i have the new garmin edge 800.  will i be able to use this during the divide in june?

I am sure you could ‘use it’, but to get the full navigation benefit of a GPS you need to somehow be able to upload into it’s memory the TDR route-file

So can it load/use a gpx file(s)?  If so then you are probably good to go

And if not gpx type file, then can the TDR’s gpx file be made compatible with what ever format it uses?

Assuming the TDR file can be made to work there are the typical battery issues—has a rechargeable I assume?  If so not a game stopper but you will need to carry and use your wall charger ---or check out what some of the guys are doing with dynamo hubs and recharging

[BigPoppa]

I have a question for the veterans out there.

What do you think of the 2x10 vs the 3x9 set up for the tour?

I know it is a personal choice but I am looking for perspective from those that have ridden the climbs. From what I have read, there is a lot of climbing but the grade of most of the climbs isn't horrible (i.e. It was carved out for steam locomotives).

Thoughts?

[Slowerthensnot]

I have a question for the veterans out there.

What do you think of the 2x9 set up for the tour?

I know it is a personal choice but I am looking for perspective from those that have ridden the climbs. From what I have read, there is a lot of climbing but the grade of most of the climbs isn't horrible (i.e. It was carved out for steam locomotives).

Thoughts?

go with what you have the most saddle time with... plenty of flater stuff that i've been wishing for a big ring on the route

[MrWaves]

Assuming the TDR file can be made to work there are the typical battery issues—has a rechargeable I assume?  If so not a game stopper but you will need to carry and use your wall charger ---or check out what some of the guys are doing with dynamo hubs and recharging

I tried that trick - had a garmin edge and a Schmidt dyno-hub. I bought a power supply from ebay. For some reason they set the signal line for the USB cable up wrong so every time I plugged the Garmin in, it thought there was a computer and changed mode. I also used the charger to charge my USB rechargeable head torch, which worked until the input smoothing capacitor in the unit finally expired. Either the charger dosn't like not having a load, which happens when the device gets fully charged, or it was the high speed descents which generated too high a voltage. If you go this route check out your kit beforehand and ensure that the charger unit has protection against overvoltage.

The alternative is to charge the Garmin from disposable batteries, as a solar collector needs to be quite big and unless you stay in a motel every night you won't get enough charge during the day. I didn't want to carry a pile of batteries to power all the kit and wanted good lights on the bike, which is why I opted for the hub solution. Next time I ride the route I'll build my own charger circuit!

[sigma7]

Next time I ride the route I'll build my own charger circuit!

Solid design, field proven, popular solution: http://www.forumslader.de (Available in German only right now.)


-- sigma7

[Area45]

Next time I ride the route I'll build my own charger circuit!

What about the PedalPower or the E-Werk?

[MrWaves]

Solid design, field proven, popular solution: http://www.forumslader.de (Available in German only right now.)

-- sigma7

What about the PedalPower or the E-Werk?

Thanks both of you for the information. I used a Kemo M172 device (Manufactured in Germany - clearly the home of engineered kit for long distance riding) that is a very neet unit, and potted so I can't look at all the circuitry, but had the two faults I mentioned in my post. The Australian designed PedalPower unit is quite a beast, great if you also need a power store. The E-work has the problem of setting switches that makes it slightly more vulenrable. The forumslader site showed ideas similar to mine, but yes I will still build my own charger to optimise weight and efficiency. The Kemo would have been ideal if it had worked properly!

[sigma7]

A friend of me has good experience with the B&M E-Werk and a Gamin Oregon 300. A good solution includes a buffer to  avoid 'loss of external power' messages on Garmin devices.


-- sigma7

[wookieone]

Ok got a couple questions, Start time and place? Place looks like Banff springs hotel? Time? Just planning thats all....
Oh and another question about Cabins/Hotel rooms, what is the official stance on such things. Obviously folks share rooms, but say one comes across one of the free cabins, (first come first serve) and someone else is there already, same thing with a hotel room. When is it ok to ask to share, and when is that working together? Jefe

[mkomp]

Are there any more complimentary "loaner" SPOT devices this year? I borrowed on in 09 and wondered if I could save some cash this year and do the same. Or does someone have one I can borrow? Thanks

Michael K.

[BobM]

Ok got a couple questions, Start time and place? Place looks like Banff springs hotel? Time? Just planning thats all....
Oh and another question about Cabins/Hotel rooms, what is the official stance on such things. Obviously folks share rooms, but say one comes across one of the free cabins, (first come first serve) and someone else is there already, same thing with a hotel room. When is it ok to ask to share, and when is that working together? Jefe

Matthew will be sending out info on the start, etc, but last year it was the back of the YWCA (ended up being in front of the Y).  We then did a neutral mile parade formation to the start line.  I imagine Matthew did this so that 50 bikers wouldn't be hogging the main street - hard to be underground that way.  Time will probably be 9am - Matthew moved it back from 10 to allow more time to get to open services in Elkford and Sparwood.

"Working together" has been defined as pre-arranged prior to start of race.  You can even call ahead to services on route to make reservations once the race has started, but not prior - i.e. you cannot reserve a room in Sparwood pre-race, but you can call from the start line at 9:01.  You can certainly plan to meet up and share a room at any point in the race.

There was a report last year of someone asking to share a room and being turned down and then the asker got a bit huffy; IMO we all need to remember that this is an individual event and not EXPECT another racer to accommodate our needs.  If you read Marshal Bird's blog you will also see the pitfalls of too many people finding out you have a room.

Bob

[krefs]

Ok got a couple questions, Start time and place? Place looks like Banff springs hotel? Time? Just planning thats all....
Oh and another question about Cabins/Hotel rooms, what is the official stance on such things. Obviously folks share rooms, but say one comes across one of the free cabins, (first come first serve) and someone else is there already, same thing with a hotel room. When is it ok to ask to share, and when is that working together? Jefe

Glad to see your name on the start list, Jefe! There aren't many bikepacking racers with more experience and passion than you out there, so it's great to see that you'll finally be able to sink your teeth into the Divide!

As far as I know, the start time is still to be determined for this year. As for the cabin/hotel issue, my personal approach would be in accordance with my philosophy for self-supported racing. If someone offers to share a hotel room or cabin, I'd take it, but I'm not going to ask. There aren't many free cabins along the route (maybe just the one in the Flathead, unless you count the outhouses/bathrooms in a few of the ranges in Montana), but I'd hope that any occupants (unless they are non-TD racers) would be inviting if there's any space remaining.