North vs. South

[Wyatt72]

I'm seriously considering north bound instead of starting in Banff. Any thoughts from those with recent experience? I live in Arizona and logistically it would be a lot easier.

[MikeI]

Northbound for me.  An easy drive to AW to get started and no bike assembly at some far off place required. I think the weather is better going northbound ... It seems that NM usually hasn't caught fire yet and the rains haven't started yet, and then we will hit snowy country quite a bit later, so some of the snow in Canada and Montana should have melted.  A big downside is there will be a pretty small group starting ( last years grand depart had 5 of us ) and folks spread out and were never seen by each other again .. compared to all the tales of groups riding together going southbound.

[Wyatt72]

All valid points. How long are you planning on it taking you to complete?Do you know if it still counts toward the Triple Crown if you start at Atenlope Wells?

[BrianR]

I started Northbound last year and pulled out of the race in Pinedale.  I enjoyed the quiet start and the fact that the services weren't slammed.  It was a little lonely though as I didn't see any other riders after the start until northern CO. New Mexico was generally dry other than a cold and wet night out on the Brazzos Ridge.  Disadvantages are that you will have no one (or group) pushing you along.  You will need to motivate on your own.  I had a headwind in the Basin and the southbounders had a tailwind.  It could be different in 2015.  Tradeoffs.  I have no interest in pushing a loaded bike for miles over snow covered passes and that was an important decision in where I started the Tour Divide.  Monsoon storms in NM were also a factor.  Good luck to you!

[bpeschka]

I'm seriously considering north bound instead of starting in Banff. Any thoughts from those with recent experience? I live in Arizona and logistically it would be a lot easier.

I live in Chandler, have done Southbound twice.  Chose Southbound for logistical reasons.  Unless you are good at predicting your finish, it's difficult to arrange your return home from Banff.  With Southbound, my wife uses the blue dots to figure out when to leave home and start heading towards Antelope Wells to pick me up.  It's only a few hours from here.

As far as Banff goes, it's more trouble to get there or back from there regardless.  So far, my wife has turned taking my to Banff as the beginning of a road trip.  Then she tours Yellowstone, Colorado, Southern Utah, etc depending on the year for a little more than a week on the way back to AZ. 

Lindsay Shephard, also Chandler, went NoBo in 2013 and 2014; is signed up now for SoBo in 2015.  Don't know if she's on this forum but could provide some insight opposite mine.