Tour Divide 2013

[Christopher R. Bennett]

Hi All,

I was recently contacted by someone about my experience with a Smartphone.  I use Android (Sony Xperia Active) rather than an iPhone. Mike #2 recently posted to forum on his experiences last year navigating with one of those Borg phones.

If you have a GSM enabled phone which is unlocked, your best bet is to get a pre-pay AT&T SIM card.  They have the best coverage - which isn't saying much: you'll be out of cell phone range for most of the time, but it still is the best of a bad lot. The disadvantage with pre-pay is that it does not have a data plan. For this you need to subscribe to a full plan. That is also an option since you can cancel the within 30 days of activation. Just enough time to do the race ... but not really worth the hassle.

I found the absence of a data plan not to be an issue. In the US there are free wireless hot spots all over the place - cafes, motels, etc. Just leave your Wifi notify on and you'll know when you've found somewhere. I remember sitting outside of a shop in Lincoln eating an ice cream while sending all my messages and photos thanks to their free WiFi. Other times it was in a cafe. In most of these places there was no cell phone coverage anyway ...

What also worked well for me was using Facebook's system that allows you to post photos/messages by sending it to an e-mail address. I'd just send the photo which was stored in the phone until I found a Wifi connection. I also used Dropbox to automatically sync my photos and audio log so my wife and family could follow.

[chainagent]

Thank you Chistopher for sharing your experience! 
It's not so easy to handle all the cell phone stuff for those who come from abroad.


        Michael

[pickupel]

Just to add to Christopher's comments about using foreign unlocked smart phones in the US. I am from the UK, but lived in North Carolina for a year — due to the lack of a Social Security number I was unable to get a US phone contract without putting down a massive deposit. The way around it was to use Walmart's own phone plan — this does not require a deposit or a Social and provides decent service in most places, including data, for around $40 per month.

On previous trips visiting the US — including when I rode the TransAm in 2009 — I used a data roaming plan from my UK phone provider, O2. This cost around £45 per month at the time, but allowed me to use AT&T's network and meant that I didn't have to worry about sorting out a phone plan when I arrived in the US. I think, if I can find a similar deal this year, I will go for this option purely for the lack of hassle.

I'll also second that in most places in the US Wifi is available and free — far more so than in Europe. Because of this I'm way more concerned with having the ability to make calls, when signal will allow, than having a data plan on my phone.

[chainagent]

Does anybody know, maybe Christopher, what's about Volume 4 of the Cordillera? Will it be released in near future or is the project burried already?

             Michael

[Christopher R. Bennett]

Hi,

I've had a lot of queries on this. I finished compiling the text of the volume before Christmas and Scott Thigpen has completed the cover. It is now with Eric Bruntjen to so the final publication, get the ISBN, put it up on Lulu to buy. He hopes to get it done any week now.

I used four themes in putting it together: 'Broken Bikes', 'Broken Bodies', 'Broken Spirits' and 'Finishing' and we have contributions from 20 of the riders in 2012: Aaron Hershberger, Billy Rice, Christopher Bennett, Cjell Money, Elena Massarenti. Eric Foster, Erik Goedhart, Eszter Horanyi, Fred Arden, Georg Deck, Jarral Ryter, Jim Woodruff, Katherine Wallace, Mark Farnsworth, Mikey Intrabartola, Ollie Whalley, Phil Fogg, Rich Wolf, Robert Marr and Ryan Correy.

There area some incredible stories, like Eric dislocating his knee, putting in back in on the trail, and riding off. Ollie beating the breakfast challenge, and Rich going to the dark side and eating meat. The quote of the year comes from Katherine:

One day I ventured into a bathroom and actually got a glimpse of myself in the mirror. OMG. OK, I get it!
I looked like an anorexic crack-whore.
With bad tan lines.
And surprisingly muscular legs!

All proceeds will again go to the college fund of Dave Blumenthol's daughter (he died two years ago in the race).

Hopefully Eric will publish the news soon to http://www.thecordillera.org/ that we can buy a copy at Lulu.com. Thanks again to Scott for the cover deisn, Eddie Foster for the brilliant photo, all the contributors, and Eric for his final polishing work.


Now for those riding in 2013 ... I'm going to be editing the book again covering this year's race so *please* consider contributing. I can tell you the ride was easier than getting people to share their stories or submit to a virtual interview. But the Cordillera is a great resource and snap shot of the race, with the funds going to help the family of one of our own. So please be sure to include your e-mail address on the log in sheet, or look me up in Banff.

[chainagent]

Ok, thank you! I officially declare my contribution for Volume 5 after the race. But before I'll write any sentence I've got to improve my lousy English.

         Michael

[Christopher R. Bennett]

Ok, thank you! I officially declare my contribution for Volume 5 after the race. But before I'll write any sentence I've got to improve my lousy English.

         Michael

Ihr Englisch ist viel besser als mein Deutsch! Außerdem bin ich ein großer Editor. Und wenn im Zweifel ... www.translate.google.com.

And for those who want to contribute, it is (relatively) painless. Can be a short or (reasonably) long as you like. I'll send a template and you put everything for me (with my supportive wife!) to fill in the details. Having bought Volume 4 (and even better, one to three as well!) you'll have lots of inspiration (besides the ride itself!).

In an ideal world, get the submissions done by early September. I have a six week work trip to the Pacific Islands from mid-September and sitting on airplanes, in lounges, dingy one (or zero) star hotels is the ideal time to work on the book. And don't forget photographs! For the finisher's section we have a photo of everyone at the finish line as a collage. Looks great.

[chainagent]

Regarding photos - What I don't understand, but I thing I know the answer, is the fact why so many books in the US and Canada are decoreted inside just with black and white photos? I've held countless books like hiking guides, trip reports and so on in my hands. The cover - always in color, but inside only black and white photos. I was very astonished the first time I saw that. Here in Germany it's hard to sell these special kinds of books just with black and white photos inside, even if the edition is running in low quantities. Color photos are a sales argument!
Of course, books with more color photos are increasing the price and mimimize the profit at the end. But maybe it is worth to think about including some more color photos for the fore coming 2013 edition?? Even if the price of the book is a little bit higher. But the most important thing is that in the end it shouldn't reduce the donation for the college fund!

           Michael

[sthig]

I'll be contributing

I moved from the iPhone to an Android HTC ONE X.  I love it however I was not going to really rely on it for route finding - but hotspots were going to be essential.  skype, etc...

[pickupel]

Count me in to contribute to vol. 5 of the Cordillera!

[Pa Lew]

Could anyone clue me in how you do the appropriate reporting with the SPOT tracker?  How often should the position reporting be done and what site do you log the SPOT into?    Thank you.

[BobM]

Could anyone clue me in how you do the appropriate reporting with the SPOT tracker?  How often should the position reporting be done and what site do you log the SPOT into?    Thank you.

Much closer to race time all those who are signed up will get an email with additional instructions.  Basically you just send the number from the inside of the Spot Tracker case to Trackleaders along with a small fee ($25 last year) and they take care of the tracking.  All you have to do is put the tracker in tracking mode each morning; the unit automatically relays your position about every ten minutes or so (unless blocked by trees, terrain, etc).  So no need to send a position - just set it in the morning and forget it.

[pickupel]

Hey guys,

I sent my Letter of Intent to the TD website last Friday and haven't heard back from them. I was wondering if this was normal or if I should send another message. Has anybody received a reply from them and if so how long did it take?

[sthig]

I keep forgetting, is the LOI required?

[BobM]

I keep forgetting, is the LOI required?

Nothing is required - it's an underground event 

You need to let TD know you're starting so they can put you on the email list for instructions later on, but theoretically you can just show up at the start.

[sthig]

k.  well I'd like to do everything formally to say I did it

[BobM]

k.  well I'd like to do everything formally to say I did it

Matt/TD haven't published the LOI in years, so if you do submit one, post it here so we can all hold you to it!

[pickupel]

Good idea BobM,  I think it's a shame they stopped publishing them. I just created a new thread on the Ultra Racing forum entitled 'TD 2013 Letters of Intent' and posted mine on there. I thought anybody who wants to share could do likewise.

Ed

[falkenjaeger]

Matt/TD haven't published the LOI in years, so if you do submit one, post it here so we can all hold you to it!

Hi everyone!
I just put my name on the spreadsheet two days ago and submitted an LOI to the website. I haven't received an answer either which is not supposed to be completely unusual and reportedly takes some time. However, I have also put the LOI on my blog (http://tourdivide2013.blogspot.de/) so everyone feel free to read it. I look forward to meeting you guys. Hopefully snow and ice will melt very soon over here in Germany  . It makes preparation and long rides quite complicated. As I now have my TD bike since last weekend I can't wait testing the little beast ...

Best, Mirko

[Christopher R. Bennett]

Good idea BobM,  I think it's a shame they stopped publishing them. I just created a new thread on the Ultra Racing forum entitled 'TD 2013 Letters of Intent' and posted mine on there. I thought anybody who wants to share could do likewise.

Ed

Good idea. Found it at http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,5241.0.html. Just posted my LOI. I know Matt is checking them.