TOUR DIVIDE 2014

[jnos]

Thanks for all the replies.  The general consensus seems to be that I won't get majorly lost (picture cartoon character crawling through desert on Looney Tunes).  Time to start logging miles and doing a few multi day trips on the east coast.

[Marshal]

Thanks for all the replies.  The general consensus seems to be that I won't get majorly lost (picture cartoon character crawling through desert on Looney Tunes).  Time to start logging miles and doing a few multi day trips on the east coast.

humm--actually you need to work very hard 'pre race' and during the race to avoid crawling along (on or off route) like a Looney Tunes character --  

getting off route could cause a water or food issue-- but many (most I would say) racers suffer resupply errors on route!

IE: running out of food or water is usually not a navigation issue per say--but rather can be traced back to some type of faulty judgment earlier that day, or the day before

[Briansong]

It really depends on what GPS you use. My Garmin 800 lets me download the entire track as a single file.

Yeah, I guess that would help. Etrex 30.

Thanks,

Steve

[spoke537]

I have a question about the GPX (TD) files to download, how many are there? I read Cjell's blog and he was all worked up about too many files and how complex it was?

Thanks!

Steve

Steve - I was able to download the entire TD route (as well as other routes) in a single file on the eTrex30.  No disrespect to Cjell but he is a bit different in his ways. 

-Les

[BobM]

Steve - I was able to download the entire TD route (as well as other routes) in a single file on the eTrex30.  No disrespect to Cjell but he is a bit different in his ways.  

-Les

It may depend on the file used and the settings on the GPS.  Scott's full topofusion TD file is very detailed and others have reported that when they loaded it in, only the first 10,000 points loaded, leaving them somewhere above Helena.  Scott recommends running the file through Topofusion first and trimming it to a total of 10,000 points before loading.

[Briansong]

Steve - I was able to download the entire TD route (as well as other routes) in a single file on the eTrex30.  No disrespect to Cjell but he is a bit different in his ways. 

-Les

Hi Les,
Thanks for the beta. Exactly what I was looking for.

Regards and Merry Christmas.

Steve

[sthig]

2014 won't be my year.  My best friend and I have wanted to race the divide since 2004 or 2005 and the stars may finally align for 2015. 

Can one of the veterans give me some insight into navigation.  I can read a map (and have not seen the ACA map in person, just the cover of it), but wonder if one of you could give a general overview of how the cue sheets are written or how I actually ensure that I am still on the trail and haven't severely swerved off course.  I'm sure I'll be able to figure it out, but would love a bit of reassurance that it isn't too difficult.  Navigation is really my only concern since I just keep picturing myself helplessly lost.  Haven't fully planned my gear choices or food situation, but that worries me much less.

I never looked at a queue sheet, just the purple line on my GPS (I used a Garmin Oregon).  I got lost 3 times, that was it.  I was easily back on course following the purple line

[sthig]

This may be an opportune moment to ask a Q about powering the GPS.

Last time I rode with an Etrex HCX and a fist full of batteries. This time I have the SON dynamo laced to some plastic wheels. The question is; how good is the mini USB connector in this unit and is there an issue with the plug working loose/ damaging the socket in the unit?

The socket is on the underneath of the unit (so quite well protected from the weather) but my thoughts are that the wire will come out...


Regards

Rob

at every stop I stocked up on lithium batteries for me GPS.  I only had trouble just before union pass where I ran out of lith's and switched to regular batteries. 

[sthig]

I have a question about the GPX (TD) files to download, how many are there? I read Cjell's blog and he was all worked up about too many files and how complex it was?

Thanks!

Steve

I used one file.  My GPS went on the fritz in New Mexico after Pie Town - that was a 2 hour venture trying to do tech support in the middle of nowhere.  Finally my GPS came back to life and the maps loaded once again...but there for about 40 minutes... I figured I was hosed.

[HughieP]

I ran the etrex30 off a son dynamo and didn't have a problem, no change of batteries, able to quickly correct any wrong turns. Only real issue came with the reroutes where fatigue and my own nervous disposition had me concerned about not having the safety and comfort of the thin blue line but found it surprisingly easy to follow the route cues provided once you break it down.

[Briansong]

I ran the etrex30 off a son dynamo and didn't have a problem, no change of batteries, able to quickly correct any wrong turns. Only real issue came with the reroutes where fatigue and my own nervous disposition had me concerned about not having the safety and comfort of the thin blue line but found it surprisingly easy to follow the route cues provided once you break it down.

Awesome! That's my same exact power set-up. Did you use "the plug" or USB-Werks? I am being forced to use the USB-werks. My carbon fork crown isn't thru drilled.

Thanks to all for the valuable info.

Steve

[BobM]

2014 won't be my year.  My best friend and I have wanted to race the divide since 2004 or 2005 and the stars may finally align for 2015. 

Can one of the veterans give me some insight into navigation.  I can read a map (and have not seen the ACA map in person, just the cover of it), but wonder if one of you could give a general overview of how the cue sheets are written or how I actually ensure that I am still on the trail and haven't severely swerved off course.  I'm sure I'll be able to figure it out, but would love a bit of reassurance that it isn't too difficult.  Navigation is really my only concern since I just keep picturing myself helplessly lost.  Haven't fully planned my gear choices or food situation, but that worries me much less.

The ACA maps are excellent route maps and contain lots of good info on services, elevation profiles, etc, but they are very vague about things off-route, even by a mile or so.  This is not a shortcoming, it is by design.  The cues are excellent.  Put them into Word and make them your own - I color-coded services, turns, etc, and inserted notes on how far to next supply point, etc.

Now, for the opinion section and this is just my opinion:

There are many ways to post your fastest time on the route; some are OK according to the rules, some are not.  GPS is allowed. If having the fastest possible time is your goal, then GPS is the way to go.  For me, I prefer the way the map and cues keep my head in the moment.  My cue sheet is front-and-center in my cockpit and as I pedal I enjoy thinking "Hey, in a mile I'm going to cross a creek." or "Another 10 miles to the store."  I like the slightly uneasy feeling of standing at a turn and making sure it's the right one.  I rode with a guy for a while who was using GPS and at one point I slowed down to check whether a turn was the right one as it was a bit too soon.  He kept on pedaling, saying that the purple line was going straight.  I felt a bit like a sheep just then - bahhhh, keep following the line.

Again, it's all about what type of experience you want to have.  GPS = fast and accurate; map & cues = more adventure.

[HughieP]

Awesome! That's my same exact power set-up. Did you use "the plug" or USB-Werks? I am being forced to use the USB-werks. My carbon fork crown isn't thru drilled.

Thanks to all for the valuable info.

Steve

I used the eWerk. Great bit of kit.

[Snowbd2u]

I have the 510 with out maps.... But can download routes. Is everyone downloading the routes off the tourdivide page? Anyone out there using the 510 in this way?

[chainagent]

Getting familiar with the route and the location of resupply resources is one further key for crossing the finish line at the end. At the turn of the last year many issues of the Tour Divide project were just construction area. But my conception how a decent navigation has to look like was quite clear. Navigation just with the cue sheets, speedometer and the official ACA maps was not an option for me. One requirement was leaving the bulky maps at home and put all the cue sheets information on the GPS. I scanned all the maps and put it on a smart phone.

Getting all the text from the cue sheets into the GPS was a big achievement. It costs me more than hundred hours at the desk at least and produced a big Excel sheet with all the information I need. Elevation profiles, distances between different kinds of facilities like campgrounds, motels, grocery stores, restaurants, supermarkets, towns, bike shops, Starbucks :-), gas stations and a lot of more. The Excel sheet also moved on the smart phone. For every section in the cue sheets that is marked with the star symbol I created a POI (Point Of Interest). So it's possible to move the text of the section to the comment of the POI. I used the Excel sheet after some filter steps to create the corresponding gpi-files for the GPS. Getting the coordinates for the POI’s and the Excel sheet means scanning every inch of the route with Google Earth. The first time I got a very good impression of the whole route and a steady increasing respect with every further mile I virtually headed on southward. To add the POI’s for the towns I used Street View (if available) for the location of the different resources (just for double check). In bigger towns I didn't want stray through the streets on the search for a special facility as long as absolutely necessary. Arrival and relax was the slogan.

              Michael

[wickerer]

Awesome! That's my same exact power set-up. Did you use "the plug" or USB-Werks? I am being forced to use the USB-werks. My carbon fork crown isn't thru drilled.

Thanks to all for the valuable info.

Steve

plug II didn't work for me and I switched to e-werk three weeks before the TD. I had absolutely no problems with it and highly recommend it. But maybe Supernova resolved their issues with the new plug III?

[Christopher R. Bennett]

Awesome! That's my same exact power set-up. Did you use "the plug" or USB-Werks? I am being forced to use the USB-werks. My carbon fork crown isn't thru drilled.

Thanks to all for the valuable info.

Steve

I used the Plug II with my Son generator and it worked OK. HOWEVER, I would advise against that setup since there is no cache battery so when you go too slow my Garmin 800 gave the annoying message 'External Power Lost'. The same will happen with the e-werk.

For the 2014  Transcontinental Race I'm testing the Pedalpower+ http://www.pedalpower.com.au/ which connects to the GPS and also has a cache battery. I'm quite impressed. There is also the Reecharge (from Amazon) which is smaller than the Pedalpower+.

If anyone is keen on an e-werk I have one to sell :-)

[Briansong]

Passport card information: I had planned on getting a passport card, rather than haul my passport around for three weeks. I just learned that a passport card is NOT intended for air travel and won't get you through immigration if you FLY into Calgary.

Could make a difference to some...(including myself)   

[dp]

Question for those using drop bars: what brake/shifter combo did you end up using? I know the Fargo is a popular choice: for those who have gone before, did the SRAM Apex brake/shifters (stock components on the Fargo) meet your needs, or would you change anything?

[dp]

Hi All,

I've just uploaded the latest version of the Cordillera to Lulu.com:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/christopher-bennett/the-cordillera-volume-5/paperback/product-21330778.html

The book is 251 pages long, with contributions from 51 people. Sorry about the higher price ... but don't forget, all proceeds go to the education fund of Dave Blumenthal's daughter Linnea.

Volume 5 of The Cordillera describes the 2013 race. The record number of starters had conditions that were near perfect. While we had the first sub 15 day finish, there were still the usual challenges of broken bikes, broken bodies and broken spirits.  But as always, the Cordillera is about focusing and getting on with the job of trying to reach Antelope Wells. Even if your frame has cracked and is being held together by duct tape. The common thread to all stories is the incredible strength of the human spirit, and what can be achieved if we really try.

There will also be e-books available. I've submitted a file to Amazon for a Kindle version, and I'm also trying an e-book with Lulu.

Thanks again for all the support from everyone - especially Scott Thigpen for his cover work, and the authors.

The book also contains the results of our first ever 'Gear Survey'. A must read for all future Tour Divider's. Many nuggets of wisdom.

Hope you find the book interesting and inspiring.

I got my copy of The Cordillera V5 (Christmas gift from my sweety).  Worth every penny!  Thanks Christopher et al for the outstanding work.  I've already made my first pass with the highlighter, and I'm sure I'll be re-reading bits & pieces as my own journey moves forward.