Tour Divide 2013

[BobM]

Hi bike addicts,
We are planning to ride the divide in 2013. Since we have only a time window between 05/25 - 06/30 we were wondering if there is a benefit riding northbound to avoid some of the snow...

1) is there a difference riding north vs southbound, regarding snow level (considering early start)?
2) if we go northbound, when/where do we have to expect the first snow?
3) seems not a lot of people riding full-suspension, any reasons against a fully, except weight?

Thanks in advance,
Office-escape

I think you are stuck with NB with that timeframe. You would be almost guaranteed some horrendous snow if you left Banff before June 10 or so (depending on the Spring melt).

Fully suspended = more complexity and possible breakdowns far from a bike shop.  Also not really necessary.

[Christopher R. Bennett]

This is my main issue without having a suitable clue at the moment. My flight back to Germany is leaving from Vegas. A rough idea is to hire a shuttle from AW back to Silver City. No internet address or phone number of someone who is running a shuttle up to now. Worst case scenario is to ride the whole way back to Silver City. Great Lakes Aviation Airline is flighing out to Phoenix for fairly small money (bike transportation $50). In Phoenix I am going to rent a car for the last few days. I hope to ride the Rainbow Rim Trail before heading on to Vegas, because I missed them during my 2010 USA Bike trip due to very snowy conditions. Catching the train from Lordsburg or Deming is not an option for me, because you need a bike box and the train is not running every day.

                      Michael

Consider heading to El Paso. It's only 35 miles further than Silver City (171 miles to the airport according to Google Maps). There is a bike shop near the airport who will surely box it for and more flight options. That's my exit plan. Two years ago Paul Atalla and I got the bike shop to drop us off at AW so they may pick you up, or a shuttle, or just ride it!

[Marshal]

Hi bike addicts,
We are planning to ride the divide in 2013. Since we have only a time window between 05/25 - 06/30 we were wondering if there is a benefit riding northbound to avoid some of the snow...

1) is there a difference riding north vs southbound, regarding snow level (considering early start)?
2) if we go northbound, when/where do we have to expect the first snow?
3) seems not a lot of people riding full-suspension, any reasons against a fully, except weight?

Thanks in advance,
Office-escape

1)   Yes riding NB you should avoid the worst of the snow (mud is actually a much ,much bigger issue)

2)   Go to google maps—insert the TDR gps file—look/study areas over 8,000 to 9,000 feet in N NM and all of CO—these higher areas might hold snow or catch a late storm.  That said, barring a real time storm, snow is not that big of a concern for a late May NB depart. (Also I am assuming you might be willing to detour around a spot if needed?)

3)   FS is not needed, overkill for this route—however at some point everyone wishes they had FS from a comfort point of view.  If the ‘tour’ is more important than the ‘race’ then absolutely no reason not to run a FS if you have one --but not 1st choice for most.  

IMO--the most critical bike related choice for the TD is achieving a comfortable fit/position—this truly trumps all other ‘bike’ considerations.  Protect your hands, feet, knees, back, tendons etc from repetitive injury and life is good.  Neglect this and the light’est fast’est cush’est best’est bike in the world is just a two wheeled nightmare

Best of luck!!

Marshal

[Georg66]

IMO--the most critical bike related choice for the TD is achieving a comfortable fit/position—this truly trumps all other ‘bike’ considerations.  Protect your hands, feet, knees, back, tendons etc from repetitive injury and life is good.  Neglect this and the light’est fast’est cush’est best’est bike in the world is just a two wheeled nightmare

Best of luck!!

Marshal

I agree, and it could be helpful if you have different hand positions you can choose. I used a tt bar, ergon grips and bar-ends. So it is possible to change between different positions very often ...

[Georg66]

Consider heading to El Paso. It's only 35 miles further than Silver City (171 miles to the airport according to Google Maps). There is a bike shop near the airport who will surely box it for and more flight options. That's my exit plan. Two years ago Paul Atalla and I got the bike shop to drop us off at AW so they may pick you up, or a shuttle, or just ride it!

Gila Hike&Bike in Silver City can provide you a (private) shuttle from somewhere (AW) to anywhere. A nice older couple picked me up in Lordsburg and shuttled to Tucson. It was a nice trip and they told me interesting stories about other guys they shuttled out of the desert the years before ... Stop by at Hike&Bike (maybe your bike will need some updates :-)) and talk to Jack ... or call him one or two days before.

[Gila Hike@Bike's vcard attached]

[vmjim]

I finally posted a blog about my TDR 2012 at http://jimtdr2012.blogspot.com/ 

It’s intended to return a favor.  I owe much of my success in finishing my TDR 2012 adventure to learning from other people’s TDR experiences.  So I thought I would return the favor and offer my experiences in hopes of helping future riders.  My advice and opinions are from the perspective of a 57 year old with two bad knees and possibly definitely suffering from midlife crisis.  Thanks to all the TDR riders who went before me for your blogs, experience and advice.  I benefited greatly from all those who went before me.  I feel like I stood on the shoulders of giants. 

Jim

[sthig]

vmjim,

thank you for this. 

[mtbcast]

Working on gearing up for this year's race coverage. Don't forget to take advantage of the call-in line. It's a good way for family and friends to hear how you're doing. I hope to have some cards ready for everyone at the race start. Not sure if I'll be there as I may be intersecting folks on the route in Colorado somewhere instead. We'll see.

Does anyone think a sticker (vinyl, easily removed) or maybe a heavier duty card with the call-in number would help? Is a card sufficient? Any ideas are welcomed.

JP

[BobM]

Folks, don't forget that little "PayPal donate" button in the right-hand sidebar at www.mtbcast.com - it works great!

Thanks for all your great work, Joe!

[mtbcast]

Folks, don't forget that little "PayPal donate" button in the right-hand sidebar at www.mtbcast.com - it works great!

Thanks for all your great work, Joe!

Thanks!

[Longtrailahead]

@MTBcast. Personally, I think either of the two options mentioned regarding the call-in number are cool. With so much on the mind, I'm guessing it could possibly fall to the bottom of the to-do-list. Further discussion here possibly, will reveal the winning decision perhaps.

[sthig]

I made 1.5 call-ins for the TNGa.  With it being a short race, I was pretty focused on not stopping much and I was honestly either trying to charge my phone, was in an area with no service or was just too spent to even really deal with calling in.

For the Divide, I'm going to be a little more methodical about that and call in more.

[stappy]

Thanks Joe. You are a real value added for everyone racing and following along. Stickers would be cool, I'd leave it on after too, street cred bling.

[JDP]

Working on gearing up for this year's race coverage. Don't forget to take advantage of the call-in line. It's a good way for family and friends to hear how you're doing. I hope to have some cards ready for everyone at the race start. Not sure if I'll be there as I may be intersecting folks on the route in Colorado somewhere instead. We'll see.

Does anyone think a sticker (vinyl, easily removed) or maybe a heavier duty card with the call-in number would help? Is a card sufficient? Any ideas are welcomed.

JP

I love the vinyl sticker idea. Lost your number last year a couple times. Or a badge, like the boy scouts.
Love mtbcast


Jdp

[kcampagna]

A sticker sounds like a good idea.  Thanks for all the hard work!

[mtbcast]

Cool! I already have someone offering to print them up. We'll get to work on a design!

[Christopher R. Bennett]

Hi All,

We've finally got it done. The Cordillera Volume 4 - on the 2012 Tour Divide Race - is available for purchase from:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/christopher-r-bennett/the-cordillera-volume-4/paperback/product-20711257.html;jsessionid=4FD9605CA9BBB2FFC8909FE016364BCB



The Cordillera Volume 4 is about things that break– broken bodies, broken bikes and broken spirits. Between these covers are tales of people at their lowest, their most physically and emotionally depleted. But the Cordillera Volume 4 is also about fixing, about getting busy and racing south. You will be amazed and heartened by the true stories in this volume. You will laugh and possibly cry as athletes plumb the depths of their endurance and then live to share it with you.

We've some amazing stores and for rookies, the Cordillera's are an invaluable resource to get you ready for the race.

Many thanks to Eric Bruntjen, Scott Thigpen and Eddie Foster for all their efforts in getting this together, and to the 20 riders who contributed.

All the profit from sales goes towards the college education fund of Dave Blumenthal's daughter.

[bgerould]

What is the best way to download the TD route on my Garmin Edge 800 and will it hold all the data

[Christopher R. Bennett]

Have a look at Topofusion:

http://topofusion.com/tutorials/uploading-tracks-edge-800.php

I've got some general advice on navigation (including a few tips for the Edge 800) on my blog:

http://triduffer.wordpress.com/2012/12/28/navigating-for-the-tour-divide-race/

BTW: Be sure to get a screen protector. You won't regret it.

[Cosmo K]

Hey...I was reading through the rules for the Tour Divide again since I'm racing come June and I just noticed a change (since I initially read them in 2011) in the rules for the Tour Divide.  If you haven't read the lately here's what I believe to be a change (if this has been discussed already, I missed it).  Note the term ANY direction:

4a. In the event of a serious mechanical that renders a bike unrideable, a rider may hitchhike[3] by motor vehicle in ANY direction to repair the problem. The location of the incident must be well-documented by SPOT tracker or other GPS logger. A rider may also receive assistance returning back to the exact location of breakdown to begin forward progress. Again, the entire incident, from breakdown to return to the trail must be well-documented by GPS.