Tour Divide 2013

[BobM]

I think a daily goal (figured out in the morning) is good, but trying to plan out the whole route in advance is problematic, especially if you haven't done the whole thing.  Mileage can vary but hours pass no matter what.  Even that first day - Banff to Elkford - it's always 110 miles, but how long it will take varies; dry, hard conditions with a tailwind = one time; soft, wet conditions with snowpack, mud, and a headwind = another time.  If you have good conditions and you get there at 7pm will you stop so as to keep on schedule?  Your second day is super-tough - can you keep going until 2 am to reach Roosville if necessary and then get up at 6 in order to keep on schedule?

Falling "behind" on a pre-determined series of goals can really mess up your mental game.

Hi folks,

I´m planing on 24/25 Days for the TD13, so an average on about 110 miles per day. One question to the veterans: Would this time-schedule make sense?

Day (average milage / real distance milage) Location (note)
Day 01: (0/0) Banf  7th June 8 a.m.
Day 01: (110/109) Elkford (Motel)
Day 02: (220/253) Roosville (close to)
Day 03: (330/353) Whitfish (close to)
Day 04: (440/465) Holland Lake Lodge (close to)
Day 05: (550/563) Lincoln (close to)
Day 06: (660/693) Butte (close to)
Day 07: (770/779) Elkhorn Hot Springs (at least to)
Day 08: (880/883,5) Lima (at least to)
Day 09: (990/968,5) Sawtell Ressort (& far behind)
Day 10: (1100/1080,5) Buffalo Valley Cafe (& a few more miles)
Day 11: (1210/1242) Pinedale (close to)
Day 12: (1320/1328) Atlantic City (with an early start)
Day 13: (1430/1462) Rawlings (as close to as possible)
Day 14: (1540/1548) Brush Mountain Lodge (around)
Day 15: (1650/1680) Kremmling (as close to as possible)
Day 16: (1760/1763) Como
Day 17: (1870/1882) Sargents (as close to as possible)
Day 18: (1980/1992) Del Norte (as close to as possible)
Day 19: (2090/2041) Plataro (and some more miles)
Day 20: (2200/2186) Abiquiu (& a few miles into the climb)
Day 21: (2310/2265) Cuba seriously passing as close towards Grants as possible
Day 22: (2420/2469) as close to Pie Town as possible (picking a PIE breakfirst next day)
Day 23: (2530/2626) as close to Mimbres as possible
Day 24: (2640/2645) Silver City
Day 25: (2750/2769) Antelepe Wells

Planing is traning! Cheers M-M

[Foster]

From having the experience at trying the TDR last year I can say that I over-planned in this area.  I looked into the details too much for how far I was going to get each day.  It seems like something that you would need to think about before the ride in order to make a certain time goal but once you start riding that's not the case at all.  When you leave Banff everything like this doesn't really matter, like the other guys said, there are lots of variables that you can't plan for.  Plus all that stuff you spend time planning seems to somehow not matter once you start and all that matters is riding.  I would suggest just going over the maps and getting to know the route that way than trying to plan where you are going to stay each night.  Because you will likely highly deviate from the plan once you start.  I know there is anxiety for your first TDR and you want to plan lots of stuff for it but this is one of those that you really cant plan for.  Just show up prepared to ride and once you get on the bike all those worries will vanish.

Also, one thing I can say for your schedule is that making it to Rooseville by the second day is pretty difficult if the weather doesn't cooperate like it did last year.  It was rainy, snowy, cold and windy for the first 2 days last year and my plans of making it there by the end of the second day vanished.  So already by the second day my route plans were already obsolete. 

[Beardog]

just ride as far as you can each day-have extra food and sleep where you bonk-I have finised this 3 times all around the same 21-22 day time frames but slept in completely different spots each year except maybe the first day you should push past Elkford to Sparwood -it is an easy extra 20 miles with minimal climb. You will have 200 mile days and also 90 mile days so don't overplan it-just ride it as it comes.

[Mental-Miles]

Hi Folks,

hupps I might should had have told some more background details (I am into longdistance cycling for over 20 years, coming from the racing HPV-scene to Brevets (PBP) and entered the SelfSupportRacing-MTB-Thing in 2008 ..) So for sure I am a TD-rookie, but not a Biwak-Bike-Rookie. Therefore my focus of questions is pretty much on the TD-Route and all the factors interacting and make your day mileage in- or decrease.

You make it to the finish-line first in your mind ... rolling your bike physically over the finish-line is "just" second. Therefor one need/must (sorry for my bad spelling/grammar ... spent the time on bike and off school in the early schooldays...) to cut the "whole thing" into mentally manageable pieces. This is pretty easy for races lasting only one day/24 ... But once the distance implements "continuing next morning/day" things changing dramatically. So I always start the mental preparation by a piece-sheet. This sheet will be modified till it suits to my abilities and to the race itself. If it is not fitting to both of these aspects, I would never even start the race ... Nevertheless, this timetable is just a tool to make sure not to waste time and not the waste energy by putting in to much effort to early in the progress. In the past I have learned, I am not winning the ride in the first days, but I may loose it because off going to fast/inefficient in the beginning. For Example: Due to my SRM-files I was getting better every day during this years Grenzsteintrophy, because I started relaxed in "trainings-pace" (low watts, but long time) and ended up (higher watts some amount of time).

However, this sheet was the first "scribble" to be modified in the next weeks. Next steps are:
a) adding all pass/climbs
b) adding all "mud"-risk-passages
c) adding all "hike/snow"-risk-passages
d) adding all "wind might be a factor"-passages
e) adding the opening ours of the resupply
f) after that I will higher/lower the approx. mileage of every stage
g) compare this plan with former 24-days-TD-finisher

This sheet helps to check if my progress brings me in time to the airplane. I have 2,5 "spare days" before my flight departures ... so I do not worry or getting stressed if reality is different to my plan ... btw. that is what these rides are made for, aren´t?

M-M

[the tortoise]

Well there is something to say about over planning, BUT in my case I came in under prepared and under planned.
I think the more you know about the route and having some sort of game plan of where you want to be each day is important, particularly where  the places are that you can re-supply.
Of course you will have to readjust things on the fly so be prepared for that, but know what is coming and have a big picture of the route in your mind.
I do think that you should be prepared to spend some nights out in the middle of no where in super foul weather and have the proper gear to do it. Can you survive out there in the cold when it is in the 30's and raining and windy?? If not you are putting your life at risk. Practice being out there in those conditions before you start the TD. I didn't and it almost cost me big time.
A lot of people get all nervous about bears but the weather can kill you. Invest in the right gear and practice using it, before you buy bear spray!

[Mental-Miles]

Sure, I will geared up properly (Yeti Passion 3 sleeping bag, Neo Air, MLD Soul Bivy ... made me a superb "home" over 20 times this year). I am looking forward to spent nights out there on the Great Divide!

[BigPoppa]

just ride as far as you can each day-have extra food and sleep where you bonk-I have finised this 3 times all around the same 21-22 day time frames but slept in completely different spots each year except maybe the first day you should push past Elkford to Sparwood -it is an easy extra 20 miles with minimal climb. You will have 200 mile days and also 90 mile days so don't overplan it-just ride it as it comes.

This is TRUTH.

My shortest mileage day was post Brush Mountain Lodge. It was raining heavily for two days prior so I had to hike through ankle deep mud for 10 miles until I hit 8 miles of snow and then hike through mud down the back side of the pass. It took me most of the day just to get to Steamboat and then I was in town forever getting my bike fixed up right. By time I hit the hay I had only covered about 60 miles.

My longest day was through the Basin. I did something like 230 miles. I literally didn't even touch the ground of the Basin with my feet and going in I was sure it would take two days.

You just can't ever tell. The most important thing is that you know where you can get food and water. Then take enough from one pit stop to make it to the next.

[stappy]

All the advice is spot on. Great to see all the vets chiming in, notice that they all sound alike? I agree with the Long Ranger- "Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way round or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves.

Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend."- Bruce Lee

I think Eszter might be onto something but how do you know you're a 24/25 day rider, maybe you're a 22.

When you're racing, if you are pushing and really racing, you'll find yourself always thinking 6, 12, 18 and even 24 hours ahead. It will shape the resupply points in your mind and let you know what you have to carry.

This past year, if you spent night two in Roosville, you'd be sitting in 3rd place.

I'm also amazed by the biggest day mileages down through the field. Ollie and my biggest day was only around 200, shortest was 140-150. Winning strategy is consistency and luck with conditions.

[stappy]

I have a bit of a divide addiction. I recently discovered a great source of divide information. Some of you probably already know of these but for rookies there's tonnes of great info. Written at touring pace but usually with more detail than race blogs. You can probably find a picture or description on every important piece of the route if you look long enough.

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/search/?query=great+divide&main_type=all

[phil_rad]

I agree, trying to guess daily mileage is a surefire way for disappointment. Just way too many variables in the mix. better to concentrate your time on route knowledge, knowing where resupply points are and how far in between.

[BobM]

I agree, trying to guess daily mileage is a surefire way for disappointment. Just way too many variables in the mix. better to concentrate your time on route knowledge, knowing where resupply points are and how far in between.

On my cue sheets at each resupply point I noted the mileage to the next resupply and highlighted it in yellow for a quick reference.

[Georg66]

I agree, trying to guess daily mileage is a surefire way for disappointment. Just way too many variables in the mix. better to concentrate your time on route knowledge, knowing where resupply points are and how far in between.

Indeed, since mileage differs due to different conditions that might be very disappointing. For me it was a good experience to look back and compare the mileage already done to that which has to be done  (even on the first and second day).
I only made  a fix plan for the first 2 days reaching Sparwood and Rooseville/Eureka, and it worked fine (but was hard). Without that plan, I would have called it a day in Elkford and I am not sure if I had reached the US/Can border the next evening.
But as  Dave Goldberg pointed out, even if I will finish in 2013 in 22 days, I might spend the nights at almost different places ...

[hikernks]

Alright, it's official.  I'm in.  Vacation has been approved, and flight and hotel are booked, and I'll be arriving the 12th.

Here's some travel info I found while booking everything:  If you are planning on staying in Banff, I would book your room immediately.  I checked hotels.com, and most of the hotels in the area only have a couple of rooms left if they're not already sold out, and they ain't cheap (~$150+).  I'm staying at Irwin's Mountain Inn, and I think it was $125 (I'm splurging on a king-sized bed, though).  The Banff Y said it had 3 rooms left, and they were around $90.  Also, if you have friends in Calgary, or know someone who knows someone in Calgary, haha, I'd sweet-talk them because a shuttle from the airport to Banff was ~$55. 

For flying, I'm going Air Canada.  They have the cheapest bicycle prices that I found.  It's $50 for bikes, as long as it's under 50 pounds, so I'd stuff your carry-on to the max.  Man I hope they don't lose it! 

This is just what I found out while doing my booking, hope it helps!  See you in Banff!

[the tortoise]

I am shocked that lodging is tight at this point. I got lodging less than a month out last year and it was cheaper than that.
I flew Air Canada too and stuffed my bike box full of gear. I am pretty sure it was over 50 pounds. Doubtful that they checked it (at least in my case)
An important note. When you go through customs and you don't fly directly into Calgary, you must claim you bike (and other checked gear) and recheck it for the final flight into Calgary. If you assume your bike and gear will be checked through (which I almost did!) it will be a major bummer.
The $55 shuttle (which includes free bike transport) is quite the deal. It is close to a 2 hour drive and they are very professional: Here is the one I took: http://www.banffairporter.com/ I believe they give a discount for TD racers.
Having a budget is a good idea, but fully expect it to get blown out of the water big time!

[hikernks]

Thanks for the info, sir!  Did you just pack your bike in a regular bike box, or did you use something else?

[the tortoise]

Thanks for the info, sir!  Did you just pack your bike in a regular bike box, or did you use something else?

I just used a cardboard bike box. Most shops will give you one or charge you a small fee. Customs did tear into mine but they taped it back up OK

[BobM]

Thanks for the info, sir!  Did you just pack your bike in a regular bike box, or did you use something else?

I just used a cardboard bike box. Most shops will give you one or charge you a small fee. Customs did tear into mine but they taped it back up OK

Don't bother sealing it up - TSA needs to inspect it and they will tape it shut when they are done.  Thankfully they just visually inspected it and swabbed it with some kind of explosive-detecting stuff but didn't unpack it.

[Pizzaz]

I've managed to get a room at the Y (thanks all for the tip about calling / e-mailing rather than relying on the booking form) and checked out the air port shuttle but was wondering about the feasibility of riding Calgary - Banff (maybe via Canmore)?

Anyone localish with an idea of what that might be like?  Yes riding to the start of the race doesn't sound that smart but I'm planning on getting there about 5 days before the grand depart anyway so may as well work the kinks out of a long flight (Sydney - Vancouver - Calgary... about 17 hours or so) with a ride...

[Foster]

I've managed to get a room at the Y (thanks all for the tip about calling / e-mailing rather than relying on the booking form) and checked out the air port shuttle but was wondering about the feasibility of riding Calgary - Banff (maybe via Canmore)?

Anyone localish with an idea of what that might be like?  Yes riding to the start of the race doesn't sound that smart but I'm planning on getting there about 5 days before the grand depart anyway so may as well work the kinks out of a long flight (Sydney - Vancouver - Calgary... about 17 hours or so) with a ride...

Lots of riders bike their way from Calgary to Banff.  I have heard that it is about a 10 hour bike ride.  I don't think its too bad of an idea, you will find out if everything is working properly on you ride to Banff that's for sure.  That way if anything was damaged on the plane or there was something that you forgot you will know and will have time to get it before the actual start. 

[THE LONG RANGER]

Banff is also surrounded by Provincial Park; the first 10km of the GDMBR has ample primitive camping spots. It's curious that the Y has so little lodging left - or, are you talking simply single rooms? Staying at the dorms in 2011, it felt like, without the TD people, the place was empty.