TDR 2012

[woody]

Hey All,
I just noticed that the Tour Divide 2012 "official" GPX files are available.

"Updated 5/15/12
Tour Divide files use three alternate routes in New Mexico, as allowed by the event, and has been updated for 2012 to include a portion of the Gold Dust trail in Colorado."

http://www.topofusion.com/divide/gps.php

Woody

[groundedkiwi]

Thanks Woody,
Much appreciated.
That announcement deserves it's own thread!!!
See you in Banff, groundedkiwi

[groundedkiwi]

Hey everyone...
Just curious...when the track is reduced to 10,000 points, how much detail is lost?  Is it worth taking the more detailed full track and breaking it up?  Or is the 10k pretty sufficient?
I'd just hate to miss a corner coz that track point was deleted/morphed into another etc etc.
Thanks in advance,
Grounded

[BobM]

Hey everyone...
Just curious...when the track is reduced to 10,000 points, how much detail is lost?  Is it worth taking the more detailed full track and breaking it up?  Or is the 10k pretty sufficient?
I'd just hate to miss a corner coz that track point was deleted/morphed into another etc etc.
Thanks in advance,
Grounded

I would ask that question of Scott over at Topofusion.com.  I would hope that his algorithm would not allow deletion of turn points.

[groundedkiwi]

Thanks all,
And one more things, where in the heck is the Golddust trail (other than in Colorado), and does anyone have the Cues for it?
I have all the ACA maps and cues, and I don't believe it's on any of their products.
Thanks everyone.....

[BobM]

Thanks all,
And one more things, where in the heck is the Golddust trail (other than in Colorado), and does anyone have the Cues for it?
I have all the ACA maps and cues, and I don't believe it's on any of their products.
Thanks everyone.....

It's not part of the GDMBR, which makes it a weird requirement.  It starts at the top of Boreas Pass and leads down to Como.  Not sure where the cues are.

[woody]

Here's a Spreadsheet I found a while back:

It's about 1/4 - 1/2 off the top of Boreas Pass on the north side heading towards Como. Has a little brown fiberglass forest service sign and will be on the right side of the road.

https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?hl=en_US&hl=en_US&key=0AkjYTTBAyG5KdEw3OTRtQzBTYm1WNE4tbnQ3NE9OREE&output=html


Hope this helps you out,
Woody

PS it's the only part of the course I know like the back of my hand  

[groundedkiwi]

BobM, Woody,
Thanks VERY much!  I appreciate it.
Woody, I think I'll be in touch for some local knowledge here soon! 
I'll get to work on downloading this and working it into the cues.
Groundedkiwi

[rooster14]

are any of you shipping your bear mace/co2 cartridges? i think im going to do this tomorrow...or will i be more wise just to buy these things in Banff?

[sniz]

are any of you shipping your bear mace/co2 cartridges? i think im going to do this tomorrow...or will i be more wise just to buy these things in Banff?

Buying in Banff, figure bear spray is easy to come by in those parts.

[rooster14]

i am so on the fence because im betting there are about 48 other people assuming the same thing 

[mtbcast]

I still have Hodge's Bear Mace here in my office. :p

[annoying crack]

i am so on the fence because im betting there are about 48 other people assuming the same thing 

There are thousands of people visiting Banff that go out walking in the woods. I'm sure the several outdoor stores or the visitor center will be able to provide you with some. I bought mine in Banff last year the day before the start and there was absolutely no shortage! There might be 100+ tdr racers but that's still a small number of people compared to the number of visitors Banff sees throughout the year and I guess the locals use it too. I'm sure you'll be fine getting it there. If you are worried about not getting one, you could just phone a store to have one put aside for you.

[the tortoise]

A few questions for the resident experts:

1. Bear spray. Does everyone carry it? How many times have people used it on the tour divide race?

2. I have the Book the great divide with maps and mileage at all the turns. Would this and the GPS 2012 downloads be adequate for navigation? Should I also have a separate cyclo computer too?

3. I am reluctant to carry a water filter. Best tabs for killing bacteria without a nasty taste? I have 4 cages on my bike and a 100 ounce bladder.

Thanks in advance!

[Georg66]

A few questions for the resident experts:

2. I have the Book the great divide with maps and mileage at all the turns. Would this and the GPS 2012 downloads be adequate for navigation? Should I also have a separate cyclo computer too?

Thanks in advance!

No "resident expert", but in my opinion, the map is almost useless without a cyclo-computer. And this part does not count too much in weight (also the spare battery is very light). And you can always run out of (gps-) batteries ...

Georg

[THE LONG RANGER]

2. I have the Book the great divide with maps and mileage at all the turns. Would this and the GPS 2012 downloads be adequate for navigation? Should I also have a separate cyclo computer too?

The book's cues are going to be badly out of date (unless there's a newer printing than 2000), so don't use them. You can probably augment the maps in the book, if you had the actual up-to-date aca maps - they're nice and small. Be wary of the info in the book they give you as well, since it'll also be out of date when it comes to the resources on the route. There's a lot of, "Make sure to bring enough food and water for x days" that you can also just gloss over.

Yes on the speedo, calibrate that thing, beforehand.

Not sure about your reluctance on the water filter - why so? Last year, I went with iodine pills and just got used to the taste, or augmented it with Emergen-C/Gatorade - iodine pills seem to come with Vitamin C pills as well, to try to cut the taste.

[sluttyduck]

bleach, 2 drops per liter.

[elobeck]

bleach, 2 drops per liter.

Hmmm. You did appear unusually pale in your photos.....

[jryter]

I just looked at a govt site and they say 5 drops/L (7 drops if cloudy) and let it sit for 30 min.

check out these webcams
http://www.explorerockies.com/banff-webcam/

and rainy? weather? doesn't look so bad in web cams above.
http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/Banff+Canada+CAXX0023

[krefs]

I just looked at a govt site and they say 5 drops/L (7 drops if cloudy) and let it sit for 30 min.

Just so you all are aware, these guidelines are for treating municipal water that may have been contaminated in floods. For treating water in the backcountry, bleach should be used in higher concentrations, and any organic matter, iron, or manganese will react with the chlorine in the bleach rapidly, rendering your treatment rather ineffective. So if you do use bleach, you're better off filtering the water first to remove at least the organic matter. That and chlorine alone is relatively ineffective at killing giardia, the most problematic 'bug' in water sources, because of its protein shell when its in the cyst stage. Chlorine dioxide and iodine are far more effective at killing giardia.

Be careful with water treatment out there...it's definitely not worth risking getting giardia just to save a few grams or minutes on your treatment method.