How do I know when I'm ready?

[Oylerz]

Hi!

I'm brand new to bikepacking and adventure riding, but have absolutely fallen in love with it... at least with the idea of it for now.

I've been riding for a long time, although not necessarily endurance riding, and I have lots of experience wilderness camping from several canoe trips I've taken. Never thought about combining the two until recently when I started looking for a new bike and stumbled into this world of bikepacking.

I bought a great bike (Bombtrack Beyond) last fall to replace my stolen road bike and have been riding it as much as I can. Being a northerner (Ontario, Canada) I avoid the roads when they are covered in salt so it's tough to get much riding in this time of year. In 2016 I cracked 3500 km (a little less than 2200 mi) over the late summer/fall, I plan to up that significantly in 2017.

Working full time most of my riding is done on my morning commute. During the riding months (March to November), most days I try to do a bit more than 60km (~40mi) before work. It would be tough to up that much with the time I have in the mornings. I'm planning to do a couple of week long routes (~500km or so) this summer, but I'd love to start planning to try the TD in 2018 or 2019. At 42 yrs old now, maybe it's a pipe dream, I don't know.

Beyond the training I'm avidly reading everything I can about bikepacking and starting to get some proper bike packs and other gear to make it happen.

I guess what I'm asking is how would I know when "I'm ready" to consider an attempt the TD? What kind of tours should I have done before I attempt the big one?

Thanks for your feedback! I admire all of you who have done things like the TD or other ultra-tours. Y'all are amazing!

-Jonathan

[GrizzlyAdam]

Start with an overnighter, and build from there. Most of my trips are sub-24 hours, fairly close to home. You can learn a lot in a short time.

As far as the TD goes, there are plenty of guys older than 42 that have been very successful.

[dskunk]

I guess what I'm asking is how would I know when "I'm ready" to consider an attempt the TD? What kind of tours should I have done before I attempt the big one?

I don't think you will ever know that you are 100% ready. I've raced the Tour Divide twice now. Both times I wasn't completely sure that I could finish. My advice, especially since you already ride a fair bit, is to decide when you're going to attempt the TD, ramp up your mileage (slowly) to something that you figure you can handle, mix in hard days and easy days, and stay as consistent as possible over the coming years before your attempt. Being comfortable living outdoors is a huge bonus for TD, so you've got that going for you eh? There are quite a few TDrs in southern Ontario, sitting down and having a chat with one or more of us would be quite beneficial.

[THE LONG RANGER]

Packing for 3 days is similar to packing for 30. Go on a long weekend tour, sort your gear out, and you'll  be fine. TD, although long, is not very technical, and is gentler to those that overpack - you won't be hike-a-biking if you pack 10 pounds too much, for example.

Before I first did the TD, I had done 3, month+ long tours. But before that first month+ long tour, I had only done one overnight. You get into a rythm of getting up, riding your bike all day, eating everything in sight, going to sleep and doing it over again. Not to be feared

[Oylerz]

Awesome! Thanks all!

I definitely will be doing some S24O trips this summer as well as a couple 5 day trips if I can swing it. Biggest thing for me now is finding the most appropriate gear within my limited budget to get started.

Appreciate all the feedback.

[bakerjw]

Last year I rode 3 days on the TD route out of Banff. I was in decent shape and still managed over 100 miles per day.

This year, at 53, I'm already lighter than last year. My bike is set up better. My gear is better. I know the pitfalls that took their toll on me. We'll see what happens this year.

One of the biggest pitfalls was not eating enough. Even though I was running out of energy, my body wasn't letting me know that it needed something. Probably the overwhelming scenery.

[Oylerz]

Cool!

Due to mainly financial reasons, I've set a tentative goal to do the TD in 2019. I am planning to do a few trips this year starting with a S24O in a couple months and a couple 4 or 5 day adventures later this summer.

I am still short on some appropriate gear - mainly I need a decent, small tent as the only one I own is an 8-man which I don't want to carry on my bike. Have a few bookmarked on Kijiji, but no dough at the moment.

So excited for the next few years of biking and beyond. Many adventures planned. 

[bakerjw]

For a 1 man tents both the Eureka Midori Solo and TarpTent Moment DW are good choices.
The Eureka is a bit heavier but is freestanding and also cheaper.

FWIW. I am a tent and not a bivy person.

[Briansong]

I am going to force myself into being a "bivy person." I've come to realize the time to set up and tear down is prohibitive. I think just that decision will put me on the bike for at least one more hour, all else being the same.

as an aside, has anyone EVER been able to drive one of these stakes that come with these one man set-up, into the ground? I just tied extra long strings and tie them to my bike/tree/bushes. They're useless. 

[Ailuropoda]

Get a tent.  You'll be much happier if your only concern is setup time.  I had a tarptent Protrail last year that took about two mintutes to set up and it was worth the effort (to me) to not sleep in a bivvy bag.    It weighed about a pound and half which is practically nothing for the extra comfort you get.

I'm going to use a Tarptent Rainbow this year.  A few ounces heavier but it has enough space inside to comfortably sit up and change in and out of clothes, something you can't do in the Protrail.    I think my total time to unpack, setup, take down, and re-pack is about ten minutes total without even trying.   It really is easy.  Insert the arch pole and drive in six stakes.  

As to being ready, that is of course a personal thing.  I wasn't ready last year and suffered from some poor gear and clothing choices as well as my race strategy.   I really overthought the thing, too.  

A hundred miles a day doesn't seem like much and I can do this easily here in rural Louisiana...but those mountain passes are long and grueling.  They will really knock down your average speed, not to mention contrary winds and suboptimal dirt roads.   Not to mention rain and snow (it snowed on me several times particulary going up the pass out of Eureka heading towards Whitefish).  

This year I know more of what to expect.  I'm going to leave on Grand Depart day but I might leave at 530AM and not wait for the official Grand Depart.   It seems a shame to wait until 8AM and burn all of that daylight.  I only got to the Bolton trading post on the first day last year (I had a derailleur failure and a snapped chain that cost me several hours) but I'd like to get to Elkford this time.

I'll keep an eye on the weather forecast and I haven't ruled out a Northbound attempt if the weather is predicted to be bad.  

[Briansong]

Get a tent.  You'll be much happier if your only concern is setup time.  I had a tarptent Protrail last year that took about two mintutes to set up and it was worth the effort (to me) to not sleep in a bivvy bag.    It weighed about a pound and half which is practically nothing for the extra comfort you get.

I'm going to use a Tarptent Rainbow this year.  A few ounces heavier but it has enough space inside to comfortably sit up and change in and out of clothes, something you can't do in the Protrail.    I think my total time to unpack, setup, take down, and re-pack is about ten minutes total without even trying.   It really is easy.  Insert the arch pole and drive in six stakes. 

As to being ready, that is of course a personal thing.  I wasn't ready last year and suffered from some poor gear and clothing choices as well as my race strategy.   I really overthought the thing, too. 

A hundred miles a day doesn't seem like much and I can do this easily here in rural Louisiana...but those mountain passes are long and grueling.  They will really knock down your average speed, not to mention contrary winds and suboptimal dirt roads.   Not to mention rain and snow (it snowed on me several times particulary going up the pass out of Eureka heading towards Whitefish).   

This year I know more of what to expect.  I'm going to leave on Grand Depart day but I might leave at 530AM and not wait for the official Grand Depart.   It seems a shame to wait until 8AM and burn all of that daylight.  I only got to the Bolton trading post on the first day last year (I had a derailleur failure and a snapped chain that cost me several hours) but I'd like to get to Elkford this time.

I'll keep an eye on the weather forecast and I haven't ruled out a Northbound attempt if the weather is predicted to be bad. 

I can't argue the good night sleep part. But again, I have never had stakes just push into the ground, ever. I  looked at the set-up video on that protrail, looks fast and I might give it a try. I only used my hexamid on nights that the weather showed any reason to keep out of rain or snow.

[Ailuropoda]

Hi!

I'm brand new to bikepacking and adventure riding, but have absolutely fallen in love with it... at least with the idea of it for now.

I've been riding for a long time, although not necessarily endurance riding, and I have lots of experience wilderness camping from several canoe trips I've taken. Never thought about combining the two until recently when I started looking for a new bike and stumbled into this world of bikepacking.

I bought a great bike (Bombtrack Beyond) last fall to replace my stolen road bike and have been riding it as much as I can. Being a northerner (Ontario, Canada) I avoid the roads when they are covered in salt so it's tough to get much riding in this time of year. In 2016 I cracked 3500 km (a little less than 2200 mi) over the late summer/fall, I plan to up that significantly in 2017.

Working full time most of my riding is done on my morning commute. During the riding months (March to November), most days I try to do a bit more than 60km (~40mi) before work. It would be tough to up that much with the time I have in the mornings. I'm planning to do a couple of week long routes (~500km or so) this summer, but I'd love to start planning to try the TD in 2018 or 2019. At 42 yrs old now, maybe it's a pipe dream, I don't know.

Beyond the training I'm avidly reading everything I can about bikepacking and starting to get some proper bike packs and other gear to make it happen.

I guess what I'm asking is how would I know when "I'm ready" to consider an attempt the TD? What kind of tours should I have done before I attempt the big one?

Thanks for your feedback! I admire all of you who have done things like the TD or other ultra-tours. Y'all are amazing!

-Jonathan

I think a big problem for a lot of us is the lack of training time.  I'm an ER doctor and I work nights so I can ride during the day...but I do need some sleep and things tend to come up; life mostly, that cut into training time.

I can get seven hundred miles of riding in a month, generally, but that's about it most months.   It will have to do.  I go to the gym on days when I can't do a meaningful ride which has really helped.  Especially abs and back. 

[dream4est]

This is a race that is not about being super hardcore or professionally trained or having perfect bikepack touring gear. IMO the TD is not really difficult as most splits are from town to town, most of those moves are possible to make for normal cyclists and so many people race that it is easy to find riding partners and "hotel up" with them. So really the TD is not a "race". Its a fast tour for most and inside that group of racers almost all stay in hotels whenever possible until Colorado (end of grizz country).

I have done it both ways and IMO going from town to town is NOT the intended way Matt Lee wants people to enjoy the TD. Its really about racing and pushing limits and riding as much as possible, not just to the next town.

So if one is really racing tents are almost never used. And then some type of training comes into play. If one is simply touring but saying they are in the race, then tents are of course fine but in reality hardly used because people with tents end up in hotels as they realize they cant ever get ahead of the "hoteliers" by staying out at night ahead of them as the group is simply faster and "catches" them all the time. Basically if one is not good enough to be top 20, that person isn't strong enough to move up and is continually caught attempting to race. So the tents sits in the bottom of the pack unused. And all that training that people thought they needed is not even being used because the racer is "pacing" themselves without knowing it.

In 2014 and 2015 hardly anyone in 20-50th place stayed outside regularly until NM. And all of them had more sleeping gear than I did. And heavier kits and such. Most of it was unused. Heck if one decides a few days into the race they need more gear, it can always be purchased along the way.

IMO dont worry about training or tents. Worry about how you are going to react when you want to quit. Toughen yourself up so when the fight or flight instincts are triggered you react appropriately. This is all about training yourself to react correctly under fire. If you are the type of person who doesnt think and runs into the burning building to save someone you will be fine finishing the race. If you are someone who reacts late and thinks about it, then you will be wondering which tent to use or how to train, instead of just DOING it and not overthinking it.

Going out and doing overnighters is okay, but one has to push themselves like its a race. In 2010 I went out for a S24O before the first AZT750. It was late march on the Colorado Trail first two sections from Waterton. I had to walk up the nastiest hill in snow and mud and water and rocks etc. By myself at 1am. Did not need to. Felt I had to for some reason just to see if I could do it in spring clothing and winter conditions. I did something that was hard, like the race I was about to go to. It worked. The race was so hard I was shocked, but I had already been in hard conditions, so I felt like I was in my office so to speak.

[dream4est]

Here is another idea to think about. If one is not good enough to be about top 25, IMO the riders fitness level will not be sufficient to ride at race pace in aero for any period of time. The aerobars will be used for coasting and downhilling mostly by average racers. So basically you ride a bit harder in non-aero than you think you are going to, and that speed ends up being where you were riding in aero while training. I was able to ride like that for one hour in training, but at race pace I couldnt handle five min of aero cranking. The racers that could? Well they were gone. The ones on day 1 that used it to coast, dh and get extra momentum out of corners and such? I was with those same folks most of the way.

[Ailuropoda]

This is a race that is not about being super hardcore or professionally trained or having perfect bikepack touring gear. IMO the TD is not really difficult as most splits are from town to town, most of those moves are possible to make for normal cyclists and so many people race that it is easy to find riding partners and "hotel up" with them. So really the TD is not a "race". Its a fast tour for most and inside that group of racers almost all stay in hotels whenever possible until Colorado (end of grizz country).

I have done it both ways and IMO going from town to town is NOT the intended way Matt Lee wants people to enjoy the TD. Its really about racing and pushing limits and riding as much as possible, not just to the next town.

So if one is really racing tents are almost never used. And then some type of training comes into play. If one is simply touring but saying they are in the race, then tents are of course fine but in reality hardly used because people with tents end up in hotels as they realize they cant ever get ahead of the "hoteliers" by staying out at night ahead of them as the group is simply faster and "catches" them all the time. Basically if one is not good enough to be top 20, that person isn't strong enough to move up and is continually caught attempting to race. So the tents sits in the bottom of the pack unused. And all that training that people thought they needed is not even being used because the racer is "pacing" themselves without knowing it.

In 2014 and 2015 hardly anyone in 20-50th place stayed outside regularly until NM. And all of them had more sleeping gear than I did. And heavier kits and such. Most of it was unused. Heck if one decides a few days into the race they need more gear, it can always be purchased along the way.

IMO dont worry about training or tents. Worry about how you are going to react when you want to quit. Toughen yourself up so when the fight or flight instincts are triggered you react appropriately. This is all about training yourself to react correctly under fire. If you are the type of person who doesnt think and runs into the burning building to save someone you will be fine finishing the race. If you are someone who reacts late and thinks about it, then you will be wondering which tent to use or how to train, instead of just DOING it and not overthinking it.

Going out and doing overnighters is okay, but one has to push themselves like its a race. In 2010 I went out for a S24O before the first AZT750. It was late march on the Colorado Trail first two sections from Waterton. I had to walk up the nastiest hill in snow and mud and water and rocks etc. By myself at 1am. Did not need to. Felt I had to for some reason just to see if I could do it in spring clothing and winter conditions. I did something that was hard, like the race I was about to go to. It worked. The race was so hard I was shocked, but I had already been in hard conditions, so I felt like I was in my office so to speak.

Your post is very encouraging.  I am fit and but nowhere near professionally trained.  If I had the time I'd ride a lot more but work and other responsibilities limits my training time.

As for using a tent, one of my problems last year was that I had a "town-to-town" strategy.  I want to have a distance-per-day strategy this time around and get at least a hunded miles a day and keep riding through towns if I have daylight left on to the next place to camp.  

[eec]

Your post is very encouraging.  I am fit and but nowhere near professionally trained.  If I had the time I'd ride a lot more but work and other responsibilities limits my training time.

As for using a tent, one of my problems last year was that I had a "town-to-town" strategy.  I want to have a distance-per-day strategy this time around and get at least a hunded miles a day and keep riding through towns if I have daylight left on to the next place to camp. 

I think the majority of us has to deal with a lack of training time. And I struggle with the idea of not being able to ride enough miles to be ready, but you can do a lot within a short period of time. If I only have time for a 20-25 mile ride, I'll ride HARD. Intervals, hill repeats, sprints, etc., on a loaded bike. In fact, the majority of my training is like that, so I find that when I do have time to get out for much longer rides, they're pretty easy, physically. With that said, being in the saddle for 8+ hours is something you really have to experience and be able to do, and comes with its own obstacles. Not to mention sorting out overnights...waking up before you want to, packing up, putting on damp clothes while it's cold out and sitting a sore butt on the saddle can be a motivation sucker.