TDR 2012

[Georg66]

In my opinion "Official TD Race Route" means the route as described by ML or others on www.tourdivide.org. The page http://tourdivide.org/the_rules states that one has to ride 100% of the main ACA Great Divide Route with the exception of the three NM Alternates: 116miles-Cuba-Grants, 40miles-Grants-PieTownRoad, 12-miles-CDT-SapilloCmpgrd-Hwy35 (actually the 3rd alternate is no alternate anymore since it is contained in the main ACA route).

I regard the mentioned web-page as the single source for the rules and routes, so even if ML or others will publish any changes in this forum, I assume that it will also be changed on the site. (There might be riders not looking in this forum here.)

I understand Phil being interested in the exact route (and would be happy about any sign of life from ML :-), but on the other hand, if GDTrail is in or is not, is not a that big point at all. There might also be some other reroutes this year and I'm curious about discussions here and in Banff the days before GD.

[Georg66]

http://www.syntace.com/index.cfm?pid=3&pk=349

These things freaking rock. Light, comfy, and durable as hell. If they can carry my 230 rear end across the divide, they can carry you!

I will use the same bar ... made good experiences during an ironman event (ok, you can't compare a 5hrs-ride to a >20days-ride)

[sluttyduck]

I have an email from Matthew from June 9, 2011

oh yeah...for years to come. [The Gold Dust Trail] will be the required line in the future.
I was told it will only add 30min to your time. It's nearly all downhill

But I agree with Georg66, if it is official it should be on the official site.

I regard the mentioned web-page as the single source for the rules and routes, so even if ML or others will publish any changes in this forum, I assume that it will also be changed on the site. (There might be riders not looking in this forum here.)

[BobM]

I have an email from Matthew from June 9, 2011
But I agree with Georg66, if it is official it should be on the official site.

I agree as well, especially since Gold Dust is not a part of the GDMBR.  If anyone wants to add it to their personal ITT, no problem, but for TD purposes I think we should all try to follow the rules as written.

[woody]

I believe I use this model:

http://www.rei.com/product/796329/profile-t1-viper-aero-bars

I picked it out, as you're able to change the forearm pad's fore/aft position, instead of having it fixed near your handlebar. To me, it was a lot more comfortable to have them quite a bit back from where you'd have them on a road/tri bike. You can see this illustrated on Kurt's setup:

http://salsacycles.com/files/blog/Kurt_Front_Setup.jpg



You may/may not like the bar's shape itself, a lot of people like the S-shape better.

So Justin what kind of handlerbars do you have these mounted to?
I bought a pair of these and I have low-rise bars, but the 31.8mm area of the bar is on the low-rise part of the bar and it's too narrow. If I try and mount the TT bar on the upper portion the spaces are not big enough.

Big Poppa - what kind of handlebars are you running as well?

Woody

[DenisVTT]

Question-Can you guys give me some recommendations on aerobars?  I am going to get some for the divide for sure, but there many to choose from. Looking at the profile design brand and there are many different designs and configuration.  Looking for something that is simple to mount onto my current carbon bar.  Any bits of info would help out.

The problem with aerobars is that none are made for mountain bike bars. So in my experience it's a bit hard to make them fit well, and it's even harder to make them fit well for long. Mine kept getting loose.

That can be a serious problem when you're downhilling with your arms on them at 25 miles an hour over rough terrain and all of a sudden one of the sides sort of caves in.

In time, I kinda stopped using them, and when I broke my rear rack, they actually became a front rack. Which was far safer than putting my arms on it. .

YMMV, of course.

If I redo it, I will get Jeff Jones' loop H bars. Plenty of hand positions, plus room galore for lights, GPS, etc...

http://www.jonesbikes.com/h-bar.html

[sluttyduck]

Newer mountain bike bars and road bars are 31.8 mm at the clamp.
Flat mountain bike bars will taper down to 22mm at the end(rough guess at work right now..).
Riser bars are problematic due to the rise.

The profile bars are for 31.8 and have a (laughable) shim to 26mm.
ditch the shim, buy a shim from your LBS to convert a 25.4mm bar to 3.18, cut it in half and it will work(on a 25.4 bar).
The syntace bars are 26mm you can get a 25.4 to 26 shim.

I have no experience using 31.8mm bars, my stem choice has me at 25.4mm.

[woody]

The profile bars are for 31.8 and have a (laughable) shim to 26mm.

ain't that the truth

[jryter]

Aerobars. You should really ride with the bars a bit--if you are leaning too far out, your back and hamstrings/calves can get strained and your balance is off. You really need to get adjustable ones like the REI version so you will be able to bring them back farther (like on Kurts bike). Most tri bikes have a goofy geometry and they push the seat so far forward the bars are mounted out farther on the handlebars. But really, don't you feel like a dork talking about aerobars on a mt bike. But they do make a big difference. Also you can add a cross bar at the end of them to mount lights, etc.

Route. I was talking with a friend from last yrs race and down south the route on my new maps was quite a bit different from the route they took. They did most of the alternates, the single track just before Silver city, and the route is also changed on the roads coming into Silver city bypassing a busy road. I plan on going with the GPS track that will hopefully be posted by Mr. Morris.

[krefs]

Route. I was talking with a friend from last yrs race and down south the route on my new maps was quite a bit different from the route they took. They did most of the alternates, the single track just before Silver city, and the route is also changed on the roads coming into Silver city bypassing a busy road. I plan on going with the GPS track that will hopefully be posted by Mr. Morris.

The route we used in NM last year followed exactly what the new ACA maps show, but it's a combination of main and alternate routes. The TD rules clearly explain this, although quite a few people still managed to miss the CDT singletrack section somehow, and that part of the CDT is FAR tougher than riding around it on the pavement.

--------
Here's what the TD site says:

# Challengers must always ride 100% of the 'main' ACA Great Divide Route as defined by the most current edition of the ACA maps. Previous map editions may not be used unless updated with the most current ACA Addenda.

Alternates: At times along the GDMBR, ACA maps provide cues for 'Alternate Routes'. No ACA Alternates to the main route may be used with the exception of the following THREE in NM.

   1. The 116-mile section between Cuba and Grants, New Mexico. The main route is impassable, potentially dangerous when wet, so racers have the option to follow the alternate paved route.
   2. The 40-mile section between Grants and the Pie Town road, through El Malpais National Monument. Zuni Canyon (main route south of Grants) is commonly closed for fire danger.
   3. The ~12-mile section of Continental Divide NST between Sapillo Campground on NM Hwy 35 and NM 15 (just North of Pinos Altos / Silver City)

Alternates Notes: A & B are optional for TD challengers, however both are paved/faster, have evolved as the standard route for 'records-seekers'. Alternate C is new for the 2011 printing of Map 6 and the required TD race route.
--------

The Gold Dust trail was intended to be added last year, but due to snow, it was axed for 2011 and never made it into the rules. JayP took it in his ITT, and I assume Matthew will include it in this year's route for you all since he seems set on adding more singletrack.

[sluttyduck]

anyone know about this:
http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/addenda2.cfm?id=163020295&rt=Great%20Divide
At mile 155.6, the north end of FR 212 is now closed and unrideable. A new road has been built to connect FR 206 to FR 212. You no longer need to turn onto State Hwy. 134 to reach FR 212. At this time (Oct. 2011) there are no maps available to view this new connection and we haven't been able to collect mileages or see if signs are installed. If you can get this information and send it to us it would be appreciated.



That cue is just a few miles after rock creek. before that you pop out onto 134 for 2/10 a mile then onto 212.
I remember it being rutted real bad but it was not unrideable.

[jryter]

I think the problem is that the race is so long. The first time I got the maps I looked at them and by the end my head was spinning with names of towns all muddled together. It wasn't until I'd gone over the maps several times and read a book that I finally started to get things straight. I even camped out as a kid down in NM around Chama a bunch but the first time you look at the rules you're clueless. The other thing that confused me the first few time over was that the route stuck to the "main" route for so long that you just keep following the main route on the maps.  But in NM it seems pretty much standard to take the alt routes. It wasn't until I looked at the Trackleaders route and talked to friends that I realized the route everyone racing takes is not the main route in NM.

So it took a while for the rules to make sense with the maps for me. The other place I thought was different-- I was looking at the new "cycling the great divide" book and they had the route going left on Hwy 35 away from the CDT alternate and down to Hwy 152 to silver city. I had the book first so that got stuck in my head and I didn't realize the route went up sapillo creek for quite a while and then the alt CDT trail.....

That's half the fun of this is just figuring out where to go and seeing new country right in my backyard! Thanks for helping clear it up!

[THE LONG RANGER]

So Justin what kind of handlerbars do you have these mounted to?
I bought a pair of these and I have low-rise bars, but the 31.8mm area of the bar is on the low-rise part of the bar and it's too narrow. If I try and mount the TT bar on the upper portion the spaces are not big enough.

Enormous FLAT bars, with barely a sweep to them. I can see how risers would cause issues. I had to flip the clamp that you attach to your handlebars around, to get everything to fit in the 31.8 area of the bars, themselves, as any other place remotely near the center of the bar was tapered and nothing would ever hold tight there. Worked great.  (and also all that sluttyduck  said).

I remember Kurt posted that he felt that the TD was really more of a road race on dirt/gravel/roads, rather than what you see for the CDT/AZT/etc. In that respect, arrow-dynamik bars seem to make a lot of sense, as does a rigid fork. (as does the minimal tread 2.1 tires everyone seems to fancy). This does come into focus if you do use those aero bars on a technical single track - I've almost, multiple times, almost gouged my Adam's Apple out hitting up an abrupt incline in my way.

Did Jay P last year, on his ITT run aero bars? I remember he started with them, but they broke, never saw if he ever got a replacement pair. If he didn't, goes to show they're a preference, rather than a requirement, but really a number of different hand positions is pretty darn important - I can't think that anyone is using a'bars for a being a bit more slippery - like DenisVTT mentions, if you're going fast down a rocky road, you don't want to be on them, anyways.

[DenisVTT]

The other thing about aerobars: they're not supposed to go on carbon bars!

[JF-mtnbiker]

I ran a 25.4 stem and bar in 2010. The 31.8 taper just seemed like something I would have to always tinker with. The 25.4 made the whole cockpit (including aeros) bomber and I never thought about it again.

[candrus]

http://www.syntace.com/index.cfm?pid=3&pk=349

These things freaking rock. Light, comfy, and durable as hell. If they can carry my 230 rear end across the divide, they can carry you!

Syntace sells an adapter for the C2 Clip model so that it will fit a 31.8 diameter bar (#1540102-S).  The C3 model is designed for a 31.8 bar but is impossible to find.  The C2 is also hard to find but here is one place that has them in stock:  3-athlon.com.  An accessory for the C2 is called an Aerolink Fibre, which links the two ends of the bar.  This is handy for mounting a light, computer, or whirly toy.

[elobeck]

ok,

1_spare derailleur, check
2_spare chain, check
3_fitness, check
4_mental preparedness, check
5_spare usual tidbits, check
6_TD rulebook, 1014 pages, 2012 edition, read and memorized, check
7_snowshoes, maaaaaybe
8_race organization? ummmm......
9_dynamo powered welder, check
10_gear geekery, check


chuckle...

[phil_rad]

7_snowshoes, maaaaaybe

Maybe we'll gt lucky on that one, snow is melting fast.

[Christopher R. Bennett]

I'd be interested in how TD veterans have handled being caught in lightening storms. I was in one a few years ago on Brazos ridge in New Mexico and it was the most terrifying experience I've had. Do you shelter in place, ride, get on your knees and pray? All of the above???

[DenisVTT]

I'd be interested in how TD veterans have handled being caught in lightening storms. I was in one a few years ago on Brazos ridge in New Mexico and it was the most terrifying experience I've had. Do you shelter in place, ride, get on your knees and pray? All of the above???

Ride!

I just don't know what else to do.