2016 Tour Divide Preparation

[BrianR]

I did some reconnaissance over the weekend and just wanted to let all of you Tour Divide 16 hopefuls know that the Brooks Lake/Barbers Point section is currently mud free...

[GregMay]

Had my final meeting with management after they'd spoke to HR. The joys of multiple levels of ownership in a university!

I now have 32 days leave to get there from the UK - race -then get back for work.

Game on Wayne. Game. On.


Weather here is crap. Loads of flooding. Lots of trail damage. But hey, it's good training for when the weather craps out!

[Redpath]

My 2 cents:

Tent vs. Bivy: Tent hands down. Being able to get a good night’s sleep anywhere under any conditions? Priceless. I used a Tarp Tent and loved it. No condensation issues at all. Roomy and bug proof too. Lots of amazing places to camp out there. And some equally horrible ones….My sleep setup is the one luxury I would not skimp on.

Tires: I used a Seguaro TNT 29 x 2.0 in the rear and an ICON EXO 29 x 2.2 up front both with Stan’s Sealant. Both tires went the distance. Had only one flat due to operator error-front pressure too low for high speed encounter with a large rock-of which there are legion. Blew the bead, crashed, bled. Put in a tube at that point and never touched it again. I rarely had to even add any air. I would not hesitate to use the identical setup again. It’s incredibly rough country. Long, fast descents in the rocks are an everyday occasion. No place for light weight tires.

Bears: Over rated. Forget the bear spray. Do take a whistle and have a bell on your bike. Bears don’t want to be seen.  They are very shy creatures. They have poor eyesight, fair hearing and incredible noses. When you start seeing bear sign let them know where you are and what you are. Make noise, ring the bell, blow the whistle-sing even. Be especially alert at dawn and dusk and don’t do stupid stuff like cook in your tent and you will be fine. I found this technique to work well with all the cattle on the trail as well. Personally I think the cattle are way more dangerous than the bears. And outnumber them 10,000:1. Scariest encounter for me was in Montana with the biggest, blackest, meanest bull I have ever seen half in the road looking straight at me. He was not happy. I think I saw cattle everyday-mostly in the road-from Montana to Mexico. I did not see a bear although I think I saw just about everything else.

Drive train: 2x10 with a 34t granny and a 11/36 cassette worked perfect for me. I could ride just about everything and rarely had to walk-Lava Mountain trail notwithstanding. I saw lots of folks having troubles with the 1x setups. Especially in the heavy mud which derailed the chain in a heartbeat. Seems like the extra gears, better performance in adverse conditions and only a marginal increase in weight makes a 2x10 setup the better choice. I used a KMC chain that also went the distance.

GPS: Don’t even think about riding this thing with only maps and cues. I had trouble enough staying on route with GPS and maps! I actually considered not taking maps. This would have been an equally serious mistake. Tons of information on the maps as well as the route. I carried only half of the maps at a time and switched sets in Steamboat where I sent my self a drop package.

Dyno hub: I used a SP front dyno hub but not for lighting. I prefer a separate light with back up batteries for lighting. Dynos don’t work when you’re walking or stopped. Or going less than 6mph which is pretty frequent for me anyway. I used the hub to charge my stuff and run the GPS and for this it worked great. Although I don’t think I would take it again. You have to carry batteries anyway and there are plenty of places to plug in a charger. Best to keep it simple.

[THE LONG RANGER]

I'll ride the TD again, I'm positive, I just don't know when The Single Speed record is just too enticing. I'm sure it'll fall this year! I really enjoyed having zero problems with my drivetrain during the race, except uh: having to replace my entire back wheel because of a ratcheting problem in the hub itself! (good idea to have your hub serviced before hand and not have 5k+ miles on it!). Y'all are pushing those times down, down, down! I'd have to step up, up, up my game!

So many fun things to do out there, the TD falls just when summer's just getting started in CO, and then you're trashed afterwards (or it seems, I am) for the rest of it! I'm hoping to get out for the AZTR in April again, then see what the summer holds - may have a CO trip planned out again...

[Adam Alphabet]

Anyone know what the fastest Nobo race time is?

Cjell rode it in 18d 12h 07 min in 2012 on his Schlumpf Dingle (geared) Black Sheep (One of the best looking bikepacking bikes in existence imo). I think that was the full route that year, not 100 on that.

In 2013 he made it to the border on a SS...
"I ended up getting to the border almost exactly a day ahead of last year." from his blog. After spending time in Salida having Don McClung repair his frame!  That would've put him in the 17 1/2 range had he finished in Banff.

Such a great read for anyone who hasn't yet. Makes me *almost* want to pedal 2700 miles!
https://cjellmoney.wordpress.com/2013/09/25/tour-divide-2013-ballin-halls/

Don't know of any faster full course north bounders.
Get it Josh! PNW!

[Dinodinodino]

Is the SS record still Plesko's at 19 days?

[phil_rad]

Is the SS record still Plesko's at 19 days?

Yes it is. It's ripe for the picking too.

[cmn529]

Maybe a little early to think about, but is anyone driving by Colorado on their way to Banff in June and want gas money for a passenger w/ bike??

Christina

[kiwidave]

Is the SS record still Plesko's at 19 days?

Yes, and Chris Plesko is racing in '16 on a SS and aiming to drop some time off that record.

[FullFat]

I have not finalized my travel plans to Banff, but I may end up driving to the border, from Albuquerque, NM. Then riding to Banff on bike.

Any Suggestions?

[THE LONG RANGER]

Yes, and Chris Plesko is racing in '16 on a SS and aiming to drop some time off that record.

WOOOO! I'll have to ping Chris and see if I can harass him about getting faster

[mtbcast]

The 2015 Funnies are up! Hopefully they get you fired up for the 2016 season!

These moments courtesy of Greg Goodman, Marty Johnson, Doug Wenger, Jen Marsh, Erik Richenberger, Eijai Oxford, Alexis Ault, Troy Hopwood, Lindsay Shepard, John Fairbairn, Jesse Carlsson, Mark Caminiti, Mike Kunnecke, and Rich Wolf!

Music: “Had A Plan, Had To Change It” – Derek K. Miller and has been edited to fit this podcast.
Courtesy of Penmachine.com and available on Derek K. Miller’s “Penmachine Sessions” CD.

http://mtbcast.com/site2/category/podcasts/

[Christopher R. Bennett]

Hi All,

I'm wondering if anyone knows of someone who has tried to get rid of the SPOT lithium batteries and just run it from the USB. Since it is 5 v would seem possible to use a pass-through cache battery charged from your dynamoe with USB output and just toss away the lithiums.

I see that the Gen 3 have a usb line power option. Anyone tried that rather than the batteries?

Regards,

Chris

[phil_rad]

Yes, and Chris Plesko is racing in '16 on a SS and aiming to drop some time off that record.

Nice!

[Dinodinodino]

Sounds like a lot of single speeders this year. It would be cool to see one win the whole thing!

[GregMay]

Makes me wonder if I should drop my gears! Think I've rode SS more in the last 6 months than geared.

[PhotoJB]

I am trying to track down Josh Kato - last year's winner - for an interview for Canadian Cycling Magazine. Anybody have his contact details?

Cheers,

[BobM]

I am trying to track down Josh Kato - last year's winner - for an interview for Canadian Cycling Magazine. Anybody have his contact details?

Cheers,

You could try through his blog http://faroutwanderings.blogspot.com/  You can also try contacting him via personal message through this forum:  http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/profile/?u=8564

[Celtic Dragon]

Just been announced, Guy Martin has thrown his hat into the ring for this years race! The name probably won't mean a lot to people unless you're a Brit, but hes a GWR holder, 24 solo racer, etc etc.

http://singletrackworld.com/2016/01/guy-martin-skips-2016-tt-to-do-the-tour-divide/

[si]

Be prepared for more media coverage!