2011 Tour Divide

[sherpaxc]

A lot of people lurk on forums and don't post.  Trust me, look how many views this thread has.  People are reading and taking notes.  I would venture to guess a good portion of people toeing the line this year are new (ie...within the last year) bikepackers and don't feel comfortable contributing to the thread.

This is a very supportive forum though.  The veterans are very helpful.  It's kind of interesting actually.  There was a ton of cloak and dagger when bikepacking first started.  That's not the case anymore.  I think mainly it was because the original "crew" were racing each other and looking for that advantage.  Nowadays us mere mortals just want to FINISH!   

[Jeff Tomassetti]

A lot of people lurk on forums and don't post.  Trust me, look how many views this thread has.  People are reading and taking notes.  I would venture to guess a good portion of people toeing the line this year are new (ie...within the last year) bikepackers and don't feel comfortable contributing to the thread.

This is a very supportive forum though.  The veterans are very helpful.  It's kind of interesting actually.  There was a ton of cloak and dagger when bikepacking first started.  That's not the case anymore.  I think mainly it was because the original "crew" were racing each other and looking for that advantage.  Nowadays us mere mortals just want to FINISH!   

Yes, I can remember when someone would post a picture and say " I got all this stuff in this little space and it only weighs X" but they would not reveal the details. I was looking at photos of 2009 TD rigs and some of them carried an enormous amount of stuff.

[dhorton]

I have been reading this forum for a few months.   I am planning on doing the Tour Divide this summer.   I was an ultrarunner for many years but have had two knee surgeries in the last year and have taken up mountain biking.
My major question is how do you get the TD route put on a GPS and how do you use it?   Do reservations need to be made to stay in the hostel in Banff or are there rooms set aside for the TD riders?
I look forward to a great adventure

[RyanWriter]

Well, I finally got around to pulling my photos and short video clips together. Anyone interested in seeing what the 2010 race was like for me can watch the video at: http://teamkaker.com/tour-divide-2010-movie-gear/

Fantastic movie! Thanks for sharing it. I followed the race last year online and only just now caught up on this thread. Very inspiring. I'd like to give it a shot but won't be ready this year! Lots of great information being posted, though, plenty to think about.

[BigPoppa]

Hey Blackhound and anyone else who may be interested. I'm going to be riding from Calgary, I was tentatively thinking wednesday the 8th. If you arrive in Calgary on tuesday the 7th, I can take you on great warmup ride. We'd start around 8am with breakfast and coffee at Cadence cafe, a cycling meet up spot in NW Calgary. Then I have inner city single track that leads to great back country roads, through Cochrane, the Ghost river valley, finishing off with 30 km of single track into the park. About 130km. It would be an honor to share some our best roads and a cool trail. It's the second half of this ride but in reverse.
Epic Devils Gap loop.

I'm down with that.

[Blackhound]

Strappy - many thanks for your offer. We now fly out on 2nd June and after 2 nights in Calgary and a day or two to ride to Banff I anticipate arriving in Banff on the 5th or 6th depending on the ride from Calgary which I have still not looked at.  A ride on the 8th sounds good but not sure I would want to go so far a couple of days before the TD depart, probably a shorter ride and plenty of fuelling up was to be my strategy.

[6thElement]

I'll be there on the afternoon of the 8th, the 9th I'll be going on a little leg stretch ride, making sure I put the bike back together properly.

Than we can all start panicing about our kit compared to everyone else around us

[EMathy]

I'll be there on the afternoon of the 8th, the 9th I'll be going on a little leg stretch ride, making sure I put the bike back together properly.

Than we can all start panicing about our kit compared to everyone else around us

Hahahahahahaha! Does this framebag make my Fargo look fat?!?!?!

I'll be arriving into Calgary on the 7th at 11:24am. Just booked my flight.

[BobM]

I'll be there on the afternoon of the 8th, the 9th I'll be going on a little leg stretch ride, making sure I put the bike back together properly.

Than we can all start panicing about our kit compared to everyone else around us

Kit, hell - QUADS!

[6thElement]

[krefs]

I'm not sure if the ACA que/map updates will reflect this or not, but the shelves on the general store in El Rito are empty and the building is up for sale, so don't plan on getting any ice cream or water there!

[caseygreene]

I'm not sure if the ACA que/map updates will reflect this or not, but the shelves on the general store in El Rito are empty and the building is up for sale, so don't plan on getting any ice cream or water there!

Kurt,
I'm trying to figure out what facility this was. Cause i dont think we have it on the current map.
Is that the restaurant or bar (or both)?

[krefs]

Is that the restaurant or bar (or both)?

Casey, it was Martin's General Store. The bar down the street and restaurant across the street both still seemed to be operating, but those are now the only places to get any rations since there's not even a gas station there.

[caseygreene]

Sweet, thanks Kurt.
That's a bummer there will be no ice cream.

[BobM]

Has anyone been to the Northern New Mexico College El Rito campus to know if they are open late June - early July?  From their website:

El Rito Cafe
Monday – Friday

Breakfast is served from 7:30am to 10:30am
Lunch is served from 11:30am to 1:30pm
Dinner is served from 5:00pm – 6:00pm

[krefs]

Has anyone been to the Northern New Mexico College El Rito campus to know if they are open late June - early July?  From their website:

Nope, no idea. The campus is tiny, so I never even thought that there would be a cafe there, but what do you know? In the end, for southbounders, Abiqui is only 15 miles of downhill pavement farther with a few more options for food with slightly longer hours (at least at Bode's General Store), so unless you roll in well after dark, resupplying post-Brazos Ridge shouldn't be an issue.

[Marshal]

Casey, it was Martin's General Store. The bar down the street and restaurant across the street both still seemed to be operating, but those are now the only places to get any rations since there's not even a gas station there.

Abiqui is better for re-supply but the small El LLano Bar, El Rito, NM is also a small store and will work if needed
http://www.flickr.com/photos/americanbackroom/4086736308/#in/photostream/

[Giegs]

Has anyone been to the Northern New Mexico College El Rito campus to know if they are open late June - early July? 

The college was serving cafeteria-style meals June 7 of last summer, which was a Monday.  Students take summer classes there, so it should be open when the TD passes through.

They weren't keen on our idea of camping in the quad area, but offered an unoccupied dorm room to stay in overnight.  We used their computer lab and continued northward, anyways.  The next town sobo (only 15 miles) is Abiquiu, which has a decently stocked gas station/grocery.  If you want to stay overnight indoors there, your only choice is the Abiquiu Inn.  It is very expensive, but the rooms have a partial kitchen and are well decorated and the showers had quite an assortment of scented soaps (which racers may find necessary).

[brunch]

Hi Everyone:

I'm not racing this year but I wanted to keep you all up to date on the Cordillera Volume 2 since it is pertinent to Divide Racing, especially the TD.

There will definitely be a second Cordillera (a collection of Divide Racing stories and poems, basically a Literature and Art Review for people with big lungs) with all proceeds going to benefit Linnaea Blumenthal, daughter of Dave Blumenthal who tragically died in the 2010 race.

Hopefully the second Cordillera will go on sale in mid-May via Amazom.com so keep that in mind, the book will be great prep for this year's race but you'll have to order it quickly to get it before the start.

Until then, if you want to purchase the first edition which benefits the Adventure Cycling Association there's information at www.thecordillera.org on how to do that.

Eric

[elobeck]

As an FYI APB, Steamboat Springs has a new bike shop directly on route, called "Wheels" They are new in that location, but have been around for more than a decade. Orange Peel has done an admirable job of servicing TD'ers needs, and will continue to do so, but given the quantity of racers this year, if you limp into Steamboat Springs with a bike in need of service and there is a queue at OP, you have another option. It's right down the street (east) by a few blocks.