TOUR DIVIDE 2014

[Marshal]

Looks like Lindsay is back on track after a early stop yesterday (per her mtbcast call).
She looks to be  well on her way to Abiquiu.

But can anyone tell me why there are two routes shown on Trackleaders between Cuba and Abiquiu.  Yes I know one is the normal route (red line) and the other (orange line) is a detour but why show the detour now? 

Is this now a ‘allowed’ option, or is this detour shown in anticipation of a fire closure? 

Anyone?

[MattL]

Looks like the second ITT'er, also NOBO, set out this morning.  Does anybody know Gene?

[mtbcast]

I got the Wolf Tooth Component items in for the racer packages. Some cogs, socks and tshirt!

[MikeI]

Just returned from Antelope Wells after dropping off Gene Espinosa for his Northbound ITT.  Go Gene !!

Some notes regarding the border crossing at Antelope Wells ( this may have been somewhere else, but I was there this morning (May 30 ) so here goes … )

The border is open from 8am to 4pm.  When you cross now, you go through the newly constructed and now manned border substation.  The old gate that Matthew and Mary went under in the movie is still there but you don't go near it to get to the Border Commission Plaque that everyone takes their picture at.  The border is NOT accessible at other times, it has a locked chain link fence with some barbed wire on top and it's pretty obvious that y'all ain't supposed to go thru there.  Gene and I waited at the car for about an hour for the CBP guys to show up and open the joint up.

The CBP guys were very nice, knew what we were up to, and wondered when the grand depart happens.  Gene rode his bike by the substation,  and I parked my car in the dirt parking lot outside the fenced area and walked over to the the Boundary Commission marker, got the obligatory "this is where we start picture" and then we both "crossed" through the new substation back into the USA.  A Coke machine is there and they have bathrooms.

There still are buffalo about 5 miles north of the border.  Also lots of critters on the road, rabbits, snakes, and a zillion birds that tended to fly towards my headlights.

The CBP guys said they get 7 or 8 of those 10 passenger shuttle vans going north each day and about 6 or 7 cars and that is everything for border traffic.  ( Mostly due to the dirt road that is still down in Mexico)  They get no produce trucks.  I did see one 18 wheeler turning from a farm onto the highway just below Hachita, and that was it for traffic.

There is nothing at Hachita.  It's starting to look like something from Syria or some other damaged place.  Sad….

The Separ store ( Continental Divide store ) is open every day of the week from 7am till 8 pm.  They have soft drinks, ice cream, candy bars, chips, some sort of shrink-wrapped sandwiches and tomahawks and fireworks and western wear.

Any questions, jump in and I'll try to answer.  Looks like Gene has made it to Hachita !!

[woody]

I know that was the fire detours last year so maybe they haven't been updated for this year.
Woody

But can anyone tell me why there are two routes shown on Trackleaders between Cuba and Abiquiu.  Yes I know one is the normal route (red line) and the other (orange line) is a detour but why show the detour now?  

Is this now a ‘allowed’ option, or is this detour shown in anticipation of a fire closure?  

Anyone?

[cobbnat]

Looks like Lindsay is back on track after a early stop yesterday (per her mtbcast call).
She looks to be  well on her way to Abiquiu.

But can anyone tell me why there are two routes shown on Trackleaders between Cuba and Abiquiu.  Yes I know one is the normal route (red line) and the other (orange line) is a detour but why show the detour now?  

Is this now a ‘allowed’ option, or is this detour shown in anticipation of a fire closure?  

Anyone?

I hope that doesn't become the accepted route from Abiquiu to Cuba. The existing "alternate" routes (Chaco Alternate from Cuba to Grants, and El Malpais Alternate south of Grants) already skip some beautiful and classic Tour Divide roads, and it would be a shame to emasculate the route further unless there is a fire closure. I can understand why most SOBO riders would be happy to just ride on pavement and knock off some easy miles by that point in the ride, but that's not really what this is about, is it?

Nat

[SlowRide]

Thanks for the report Mike, I've been getting my logistics in order today since it's a rainy day here in Oak Creek, CO and have been bluedot stalking Gene and Lindsay all the while.
I can't believe I'm leaving this Wednesday to begin motivating towards my eventual arrival at the GD in Banff.

A quick report:
I rode through Lynx Pass two days ago and it's now clear, it thawed about 4 days ago and has dried up nicely. Here's a couple shots to contribute to the stoke:

Lynx Pass looking south:



Something about the following stretch of road on RCR 16 southbound in between Lynx Pass and it's intersection with hwy 134 has always made me think of TD:



Cheers all, hope everyone's preparations are going well, I'm completely stoked.

[megand]

I just saw notification from Parks Canada stating that the Spray River Bridge on the Goat Creek Trail is officially a closed area until the bridge replacement is complete (that's the bridge 12km from the start in Banff that was half washed away in the floods last year).

Details:
"Construction is underway to replace the Spray River Bridge on the Goat Creek Trail (12km from Spray West Trailhead in Banff).  An area closure is in effect for the construction zone surrounding the bridge area. The Spray River/Goat Creek trail is inaccessible from Banff to Canmore due to washed out bridge.  Fording of river is not recommended. Spray River West and East trails will remain open, however users must be cautious of trucks hauling rock.... Construction is slated to occur for June and July...       The Spray River Bridge area is closed to the public, under section 36(1) of the National Parks General Regulations. Violators may face a maximum fine of $5000."

[mtbcast]

MTBCast: Okay I went back and got the app! The first approval is from Google so Android users can go to the Google Play store and get the app. You can also go to http://app.mtbcast.com/ and download the app for Android or you can just run the HTML5 version there. Apple iOS and Amazon approvals are still pending but you can point your iPhone and iPad browser to app.mtbcast.com and run the HTML5 version on your device. One cool feature for racers is that you can launch a call in from the app.  Let me know what you think!
http://mtbcast.com/site2/get-the-mtbcast-app/

[cossrider]

We had planned to ride from Canmore to Banff Tuesday of the TD. Presumeably on this route, is there any alternative?? Thanks

[megand]

We had planned to ride from Canmore to Banff Tuesday of the TD. Presumeably on this route, is there any alternative?? Thanks

I don't know about official alternatives, but there's the Rundle Riverside singletrack - it is on the east side of Mount Rundle (Goat Creek is on the west).  There's a few kilometres of that trail with quite a lot of deadfall at the moment though, I did it on foot last weekend, and it would be annoying to haul a bike through that section.  Or there's a paved multi-use trail that roughly parallels the highway between Banff and Canmore.  You can see them both on Google Maps (or OSM! )

[mtbcast]

Episode 174 – Check out our interview with Billy Rice!
http://mtbcast.com/site2/category/podcasts/

[stappy]

Rundle riverside is a great trail, lots of deadfall right now from what I've heard. 30-40 trees. It's also significantly harder than Goat Creek. I think the best alternate would be the Banff Legacy bike path. It would end up being slightly harder longer than the official course, once you include climbing back up the Smith Dorrien road to the east trail head of Goat Creek.


http://www.bikepirate.com/x-country-trails/banff-legacy-trail/

[MattL]

Parks Canada's bulletin is here.

[tuhduhvuh]

A lot of folks have posted gear lists and weights of their setup.   I KNOW that experience will be a great teacher,  and I'll learn a lot about my choices by "living with them"  as I ride.   I'm a rookie and would be happy to have anyone critique or comment on my choices before the GD.   I know I have a lot to learn.  My bike seems really heavy,  but not ever having done the route,  have no idea ....
My bike is going in for a major tuneup so before taking off the bags I figured I would "document" what I have (at this point!),  but I'd be happy to modify if it makes sense to do so.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Egc7_HhIsBj0FHQhyNIZNtJOCI_OYaSXPhP-eaJhOFA/edit?usp=sharing

[Marshal]

A lot of folks have posted gear lists and weights of their setup.   I KNOW that experience will be a great teacher,  and I'll learn a lot about my choices by "living with them"  as I ride.   I'm a rookie and would be happy to have anyone critique or comment on my choices before the GD.   I know I have a lot to learn.  My bike seems really heavy,  but not ever having done the route,  have no idea ....
My bike is going in for a major tuneup so before taking off the bags I figured I would "document" what I have (at this point!),  but I'd be happy to modify if it makes sense to do so.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Egc7_HhIsBj0FHQhyNIZNtJOCI_OYaSXPhP-eaJhOFA/edit?usp=sharing

Overall I would say you are packing a middle-of-the-road system.  Certainly not a minimalist system but also not too much either.  And if one system worked best for everyone we would all have identical systems. Your overall system looks pretty good to me, I could certainly run with it (all except that SS)

At one time I could have placed my ‘cold winter training ride influenced’ gear selection directly on yours.  But here are a couple of minor questions to think about, along with my ‘personal’ answer/gear selections. 
1) Don’t winter weight tights cover limit your comfort zone to a fairly narrow set of riding conditions?  While they will be super nice for the cold parts of the day, and perhaps much of the first week or so why not go with a more flexible layer approach?
2) Why 4 sets of gloves?  Why not 3--Regular cycling gloves for all the time padding, thin overgloves for cold but dry and waterproof overgloves for extended cold/rain.
3) Why neoprene booties AND Sealskinz oversocks.  Why not replace the neoprene with lighter more packable goreTex + thin wool socks for waterproof feet.  And replace the bulky Sealskinz overcovers with lighter more packable set of covers for extra insulation

Finally-Why not ditch the extra chain and simply be able to- ‘repair and then replace on down the route’?

See--just minor personal preference type stuff--if you are happy with your system stick to it--like I said its pretty much in the middle of what most will be rocking.

[Marshal]

Rundle riverside is a great trail, lots of deadfall right now from what I've heard. 30-40 trees. It's also significantly harder than Goat Creek. I think the best alternate would be the Banff Legacy bike path. It would end up being slightly harder longer than the official course, once you include climbing back up the Smith Dorrien road to the east trail head of Goat Creek.


http://www.bikepirate.com/x-country-trails/banff-legacy-trail/

Yes, looks to me (& Google earth) like we should use the bike path from Banff down to Canmore. 
And then maybe we could cross the ‘old train bridge’ bike path and on the past the hydro station-- then climb up to Smith Dorrien road and follow it on to the east trail head of Goat Creek.

[aschuhmann]

A lot of folks have posted gear lists and weights of their setup.   I KNOW that experience will be a great teacher,  and I'll learn a lot about my choices by "living with them"  as I ride.   I'm a rookie and would be happy to have anyone critique or comment on my choices before the GD.   I know I have a lot to learn.  My bike seems really heavy,  but not ever having done the route,  have no idea ....
My bike is going in for a major tuneup so before taking off the bags I figured I would "document" what I have (at this point!),  but I'd be happy to modify if it makes sense to do so.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Egc7_HhIsBj0FHQhyNIZNtJOCI_OYaSXPhP-eaJhOFA/edit?usp=sharing

An entire spare chain is pretty unnecessary in my opinion, and very heavy. I'm bring three quick links and calling it good. Shave a lot of weight right there.

[tuhduhvuh]

An entire spare chain is pretty unnecessary in my opinion, and very heavy. I'm bring three quick links and calling it good. Shave a lot of weight right there.

Totally agree!  It's an accommodation to my lack of skills with tools...  just don't seem to "get it".  But with a couple weeks of reduced riding,  I should try to work this out.  Yes,  it is heavy, and lots of folks have commented on that!!  Thanks for the feedback!

Tom

[tuhduhvuh]

Finally-Why not ditch the extra chain and simply be able to- ‘repair and then replace on down the route’?

Thanks for writing Marshall!   As I responded to Andrew,  this is/was an accommodation to my fear of not being able to fix a broken chain.  I just need to buckle down in the next couple weeks and make this part of my skill set...

Tom