Tour Divide 2010

[JF-mtnbiker]

Like JP, I'm right here in Teton Valey and would like to go out and catch John to cheer him on. However, I can't figure out where he is. The spottracker leaderboard still shows him at Henry's Lake at mid afternoon??  Wondering if he's still a go, turned off his spot or just poor leaderboard updating. Man, today is a blue bird beauty. 60 degrees at 7:pm. I am hoping he is on his way to Flagg Ranch and not hold up in a hotel. Daylight's a burnin and so is the clock. Mash them pedals John.

[Mathewsen]

Dang!

[JMeiser]

Divide in the fall...Riding those passes must be a beautiful thing.  Lima seems to be a crux move...If you can make it to Idaho you can make it to Mexico.  After stuffing yourself with a hot meal and pie at Jan's Cafe'.  John's approach is legendary and I feel for him if in fact he is making the call.

[Mathewsen]

...talk about legendary

From Bicycle Rider Mag 1985

[robinb]

...talk about legendary

haha... brilliant - says you gain 240' per mile advantage, so that would = 658,800' or 125 miles savings over the course of the whole divide.  he might be on to something there. and it looks like it holds a lot of bananas!

[JF-mtnbiker]

"Dang" is right Matthew. Looks like a plot towards Idaho Falls. He cranked out a few inspiring days and I thought he was getting in the groove.  You surely can't blame him for bypassing that washboarded obsidian railroad bed. HaHa. Yeah, Robin, I was looking forward to checking out that legendary aero set up. Good run, John!!

[bmike-vt]

...talk about legendary

from the ACA:

[Jeff Tomassetti]

I would be very happy if I made it to Lima in seven days!

[ScottM]

Dang!

Shoot... Congrats on giving it a go, John. 

[Jeff Tomassetti]

Did John ride the Titus 26" FS this time? I rode the same bike on tour this year and it seemed fine with full lock out capabilities. I am considering a 29" Hard tail for 2011 but is it worth the cost?

[Mathewsen]

Did John ride the Titus 26" FS this time? I rode the same bike on tour this year and it seemed fine with full lock out capabilities. I am considering a 29" Hard tail for 2011 but is it worth the cost?

John did ride his Titus. He's an engineer and says he's done some of his own study on wheel size. His opinion re. the GDMBR is that if it's hard and fast, a 29er offers advantages. If it's soft and muddy, he feels those are negated.

I have personally chosen a hardtail (HT) for the GDMBR due to all the long smooth climbing out there. As I ride into Divide racing form, my style morphs to incorporate lots of sustained, out of the saddle climbing. This style has merits in a grand Tour-scale effort but is better suited to an HT. So, if I am going HT, I am going 29er, no matter what the slight mechanical advantage/disadvantage may be. It's just softer on the body --especially for washboarding and emedded river rock-style pave. There's also the rear shock failure question. Sometimes it happens. you're kind of screwed then unless you carry one of these: http://www.topeak.com/products/Mini-Pumps/PropShock

[phil_rad]

Bummer! John's spot is in Idaho Falls. I guess the knee pain was too great.

[Jeff Tomassetti]

Yes, I did carry a tiny mini pump and used it for both front and rear, probably because I hit some bigger stuff with both locked out. Thank you for the out of the saddle tip, it would give a different hip/knee flex and gets the butt off the saddle as well.

 I am still on the fence about 'racing' the route. My nephew and I did enjoy the fast touring mode  (80-100 per day) though. It was fun to take side trips and deviate from the official route and stop early in the pouring rain .

[JMeiser]

...talk about legendary

I didn't say original, just legendary...It could be done on a 20" wheeled aero hutch as well. 

So if no rear suspension as a result of technique and potential for failure why front suspension?  Some know first hand that there is always an opportunity for failure and reducing those is part of the game.

[SimonK]

I didn't say original, just legendary...It could be done on a 20" wheeled aero hutch as well. 

So if no rear suspension as a result of technique and potential for failure why front suspension?  Some know first hand that there is always an opportunity for failure and reducing those is part of the game.

Fully rigid works OK, unless you are susceptible to nerve damage in your hands - like you suggest, it's all a matter of trade-offs. Personally, I've switched to a Cannondale 29er and am enjoying the extra comfort of the suspension up front. Am looking forward to trying it in the next Grand Tour down under.

[elobeck]

2 cents

I debated on the front suspension thing as I unfortunately know a thing or two about failure. I ultimately went with because I expected to spend a lot of time in aero bars, which I did. The chosen Lefty did a great job of taking out the small bumps thus allowing me to ride longer, and through all sorts of gnar leaning on the aeros. However, if running drop bars or no aero's a la salsa, going without could be a safe, sound decision. Generally it's pretty smooth out there. All sorts of shite can fail out there, so reducing the potential for failure by eliminating failure points is a good strategory. Some of the best riders rode without susp. (JM, pivvay)

Erik

[SimonK]

True indeed. I put an extra layer of 10mm closed cell foam on the aero bar elbow pads, which helped heaps. But if I'd had suspension, I might have used them even more and that's gotta be all good for your hands.

[phil_rad]

I had damage to nerves in my right hand, and that only after six days. Was using a sus. fork and had ergon grips. Who knows maybe the grips weren't in the proper position for my hands and maybe I should have used my TT bars more/changed hand position more often.

[JF-mtnbiker]

My fingertips were so trashed after the Divide, it was a good month before I could enjoy a good, proper nose pickin session.

[Jeff Tomassetti]

The tips of my right pinky and ring finger are still numb from 23 days on the Divide in July. It is my dominant hand so maybe I was gripping too hard.