TOUR DIVIDE 2014

[james-o]

Im thinking about running a fully rigid Niner One 9 RDO with SRAM X01 or XX1 setup on next years tour divide. Anyone have success with a 1x setup last year? Wish you did something differently?

Yeah, I wished I had more gears ) Higher ones. 34 x12-28 was mostly fine, but there's some flat, fast road miles at the end. It made no difference to my experience on the Divide though and I chose 1x for a reason.

[dp]

Yeah, I wished I had more gears ) Higher ones. 34 x12-28 was mostly fine, but there's some flat, fast road miles at the end. It made no difference to my experience on the Divide though and I chose 1x for a reason.

At 34x28, did you have trouble on the climbs? Was that a low enough ratio to keep the pedals moving? Did you have to do a significant amount of walking?

[james-o]

Deepee, I usually SS and the climbs here in the UK tend to be much shorter but steeper, so 34-28 was ok for me. There's not much steep stuff on the TD, I walked a short climb towards Elk pass but I doubt many ride that. I'd like to have spun a lower gear at times of course, but with ~10lbs load on the bike +food/water I didn't use bottom gear that often. Depends on your riding habits I expect and I did have sore knees, as did others with much lower gears. I'm glad I didn't SS it though .. a couple of days, no probs. A couple of weeks... ouch )

[Chew]

Before everyone starts booking flights etc, has anyone checked with Matt that the GD will be from Banff with all of the flooding from this summer?
Have all of the washed away bridges been restored and is the trail rideable?

[BobM]

Before everyone starts booking flights etc, has anyone checked with Matt that the GD will be from Banff with all of the flooding from this summer?
Have all of the washed away bridges been restored and is the trail rideable?

Here's from October 6 - appears rideable/walkable in places:

Been gleaning some info from the Canadian parks sites:

Elk Pass - Warning
Open with significant flood damage near Fox Creek;
caution advised for equipment and crews on trail.

Bike Path in Peter Lougheed Park - Partially Open
Open, but bridge out between Lower Lake Day Use and
Lower Lake Campground; also pavement missing between
Boulton and Lower Lake Day Use
--------------------
Banff NP:

Warnings are in place for trails with severe erosion or bridges out. Where trail warnings are in place, hikers need to be prepared for wilderness travel conditions.

Spray River Loop    Warning    Bridge(s) out. Caution while fording creek(s).

Goat Creek    Warning    Bridge is closed.

[Mike McElveen]

Regarding the Canadian section I toured the GDMBR August/September and found the upper Flathead River section, after Flathead Pass, to be a potential problem.  The creek has appropriated the road for much of its course.  In August it was a "simple" matter of carrying your bike over boulders and unrideable talus.  This exists for several miles.  In June the problem could be runoff and the added volume of water running down the road.  It's the uppermost road that's the problem and therefore the most difficult to get to for repair.  I also envisioned Canada's focus to be on more heavily used roads and trails.

The reroute around the upper trail from Banff, used after the floods, could be used without detriment to the TD.  The road down from Elk Pass should be repaired by next year as well as the washed out bridges.

The other area of concern is the completely washed away road in the northern Gila, just after the Plains of San Augustin.  Here again, the creek has taken the roadway as its new course.  However, there won't be much Spring runoff in New Mexico in July.  Just getting all the stranded trucks and road grader out of there will take some work.

I have photos of all this in my journal at:  crazyguyonabike.com/doc/Yampa

[BobM]

Regarding the Canadian section I toured the GDMBR August/September and found the upper Flathead River section, after Flathead Pass, to be a potential problem.  The creek has appropriated the road for much of its course.  In August it was a "simple" matter of carrying your bike over boulders and unrideable talus.  This exists for several miles.  In June the problem could be runoff and the added volume of water running down the road.  It's the uppermost road that's the problem and therefore the most difficult to get to for repair.

Hi Mike,

The back side of Flathead Pass always has a creek for a road - is it worse now than in the past?

Bob

[Mike McElveen]

Bob,

Having not ridden it before this year I can't say.  It was clear, however, that the road before this flood did not run in a creek bed exclusively.  I experienced brief stretches of smooth, capped roadway interspersed with long stretches of broad talus deposits and running water over pour-offs and through long pools.  You may be describing a road that is periodically crossed by a creek or running alongside a creek, but in August much of the road was an un-rideable creek.  In places it was uncertain where the road was.  Did my photos look like the "road" you remember?  (There's one photo in the "Elkford to Butts Cabin" entry and a more representative one in the final "Rehash" post, captioned "The road is not always smooth.") 

I KNOW the photos of Forest Service Rd. 28 in the Gila will not look like what you remember.

[BobM]

Bob,

Having not ridden it before this year I can't say.  It was clear, however, that the road before this flood did not run in a creek bed exclusively.  I experienced brief stretches of smooth, capped roadway interspersed with long stretches of broad talus deposits and running water over pour-offs and through long pools.  You may be describing a road that is periodically crossed by a creek or running alongside a creek, but in August much of the road was an un-rideable creek.  In places it was uncertain where the road was.  Did my photos look like the "road" you remember?  (There's one photo in the "Elkford to Butts Cabin" entry and a more representative one in the final "Rehash" post, captioned "The road is not always smooth.") 

I KNOW the photos of Forest Service Rd. 28 in the Gila will not look like what you remember.

Here's what the descent was like for me in 2012:

https://vimeo.com/78443674

Bob

[megand]

For the record, this bridge: is the only issue for the section near Banff now.  It's possible to cross, and may even be fixed by next June.

[Mike McElveen]

Bob,

Yow, I see what you mean.  I think the main issue would be that much water running over a creek bed no longer graded or smooth.  I have other photos of the drop-offs requiring bike carries as well as boulders deposited in the "road".  It was the coarseness of the bed, not the amount of water running through it, that was the difficulty.  There were some ATV's trying, without success, to come up the road from the south while I was in there.  My assumption is that the course will remain unchanged as long as it's not felt to be dangerous.  It'll just become another hike-a-bike section until the road is repaired.  Your video makes you wonder how long a season the repair crews have up there if there's still that much snow in mid-June.

The other striking thing about your video was how COLD it looks!  At least the wading was warm in August.   

[pablito]

Im thinking about running a fully rigid Niner One 9 RDO with SRAM X01 or XX1 setup on next years tour divide. Anyone have success with a 1x setup last year? Wish you did something differently?

I ran a fully rigid niner air 9 with a 1 x 11 sram. 32t with a 10x42 in the back and it was flawless. I know of one other that did the same. Also loved it.

[pablito]

Here's what the descent was like for me in 2012:

https://vimeo.com/78443674

Bob

Bob,
Flathead in 2013 wasn't quite that bad. No snow for sure on the sides. Still got plenty wet though. Just goes to show that every year is its own year. Snow, bear, storms, cold, heat. The only constant seems to be the changes in the race conditions.

[BobM]

Bob,
Flathead in 2013 wasn't quite that bad. No snow for sure on the sides. Still got plenty wet though. Just goes to show that every year is its own year. Snow, bear, storms, cold, heat. The only constant seems to be the changes in the race conditions.

Here's the snow video clip from 2012.  2 miles on the climb and 3 miles on the descent.

https://vimeo.com/78495517

[Briansong]

hey I get to call myself a vet now!!!

Don't want blown out kneecaps and tendons... right now, not tomorrow and not 2 months from now but RIGHT NOW go get fit on your bike...professionally.  Like pay a lot of money for it.  It'll be THE MOST IMPORTANT GEAR YOU BUY.  Busted headlamp? No problem, bike in day.  Tent got a hole in it?  No worries, stay in a hotel.  Kneecap on the back of your leg? You're not seeing Antelope Wells.

Interesting couple weeks of preparation. I've been on a planned "off the bike" two weeks. Coach called it. More yoga, gym, core stuff, feel great. I got back on my road bike last week and rode 4-5 hours at a pretty moderate pace first day out. Hmmm no hip discomfort. It's been kind of a chronic thing since my time and distance has gone way up.

Called my fit pro at Cyclologic and told him about no hip issues. He made the determination that shorter cranks are probably in my future. He speculated that since there was no hip issues on the road bike coming back fresh, it is highly likely the 172.5's on my road bike are OK but my hips do not like the extra hip flexion of the 175's on the MTB. Ordered up some 170's, installed them. Had a fit appointment and made a few more adjustments, moved the seat forward about 5MM also. Put enough hours in, all zones, all intensities, climbs and flats. Seems to me the pain source was in fact the 175mm cranks.

My bike shop also sent me some links to some articles (by Cervelo) about shorter cranks and their potential advantages over the longer and more traditional 175's. Power output has no change. Actually they tested 140's-220's and there was no wattage change. There was in fact a small aero gain with the shorter cranks. Power delivery starts sooner in the pedal stroke with shorter cranks also. I personally feel smoother and that's really it as far as feel.  

Sharing information that could impact someones results to the better.

Steve

[james-o]

http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php?topic=539.0

I had a mail from a rider asking for advice on the 2014 race and I mentioned this thread (link above) to him. It was useful for me to read through it in my early planning stages. Many good posts by experienced riders, it helped me commit to my approach and prompted a few important questions that I had to answer.

I don't want to bump the thread and de-rail any discussion here, just worth a read if you've not found it so far.

[GregMay]

Nice tip off, thanks for that

Not much happening in my end of the world - working more than I'd like in the lead in to christmas, bike shop quiet but orders for festive bikes are coming in so processing them. Spending some time talking to anyone in the NW of the UK area who's ridden the TD and picking their brains. Costing me a fortune in beers

[SlowRide]

I owe you a beer james-o, great thread there that I hadn't found, valuable info.... thanks 

Winter has come to the rocky mountains so I'm starting to shift gears from my summer of long training rides on/near the divide to cross training, doing more strength/core training indoors and nordic skiing/backcountry telemark skiing to keep the legs/body/cardio strong. It's probably about time for me to buy an indoor cycle trainer so I can keep those cycling specific muscles moving forward through the winter as well. My biggest obstacle after riding almost 9000 miles this summer in training seems to be financial, hopefully I'll be able to get this all worked out and make it to the starting line. Like GregMay, I am also picking the brains of everyone in town that's done TD trying to get more info. Hope everyone's training and planning is going well, and hope to meet some of you in Banff(and to meet some of the northbounders on the trail). Cheers all.

[mikepro]

http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php?topic=539.0
I had a mail from a rider asking for advice on the 2014 race and I mentioned this thread (link above) to him. It was useful for me to read through it in my early planning stages. Many good posts by experienced riders, it helped me commit to my approach and prompted a few important questions that I had to answer.

Ah, yes, the good 'ol days of 2009.  It's still good as a re-read years later.  Very straight-forward and uncluttered posts in that thread, as well as the preserved emotion-stirring posts of the late Dave B (Blumenthal).  And, it was pre-Ride the Divide movie era.  Tons of good info there, as well as within all "TD 20xx" threads for each subsequent year since.  Keep in mind the advances in technology and refinement of strategy in the 4 short years since then (example: no one was really talking dyno hubs or rigid carbon forks back then).  Additionally, I recommend looking through the past pages in the Forums/Ultra Racing genre (or search) for the "TD 20xx Race Discussion" threads and read through those as well.  The race discussion threads contain photos of what some of the places look like, intel on strategy employed, areas notorious for causing navigational miscues (as in "another rider misses the turn at ..."), and so on.

[james-o]

the preserved emotion-stirring posts of the late Dave B (Blumenthal).

Oh... I just realised who 'gave me' the tip for the VDO navigator computer that was so helpful for my racing cues-only decision. Didn't click at the time despite having read the cordillera of that year.
RIP Dave B. One more racer here who owes you.