Tour Divide Basics

[Marshal]

nothing wrong with doing this but it helps to have a best case scenario plan and a somewhat worst case scenario plan. depending on soil content + road surfaces, various sections of the route are drastically affected--or not at all--by rain or snow. this can rewrite your split chart in a hurry.

It’s got that and that’s understood….

My ‘virtual’ split chart is really a ‘nightly destination/goal’ but also includes a ‘short’ and ‘long’ destination.  I don’t really expect to ‘follow’ the chart, as pointed out, to many variables.  In other words I don’t ‘over-value’ what I am doing.  

But for me it’s both great winter time fun and a small stress remover, ie a mental trick.  Building the chart makes me look at all the ‘re-supply’ possibilities in detail, hence I have ‘done’ all I reasonably can to prepare in that regard, and thus can discard worrying about it, ie: check it off the list so to speak.  For example, now the map symbol for ‘Lodging’ in say Sparwood (my ‘long’ destination on night 1) means just a bit more than just some names & numbers.  Also it’s very interesting to build up 2-3 days of virtual splits and then compare that to actual splits.  And it really is fun, in a silly sort of way-ha-I see I am about ½ way done and it seems I am on a pace to exceed my finish time goal by about ½ to 1 day.

But in all seriousness, this little exercise is influencing my final decision on my basic race approach and sleep system/gear.  The virtual chart tells me that if I ‘stretch’, and I plan to, then many nights I may be camping --and-- I am still thinking about Chris’s earlier post about basically being ‘confident enough’ in one’s sleep system to plow on past that comfy hotel room/cabin at 8:00pm and on into the cold night for a few more hours  --  and also your posts about ‘simplicity’, ‘circadian rhythms’ and getting it done between 5am/– 11pm.  

When I add it all up, the good advise in this thread, my personal racing style/experience, the virtual chart etc etc -- I come up with a melding that envisions using a semi-robust sleep system to feel personally ‘confident’, combined with quickly settleing into my personal ‘circadian rhythm’ and busting out my max daily mileage, between 5am – 11pm.

A basic race approach of ‘hit my maxed rhythm’ and have the required/individualized gear to sustain that rhythm till the end.


General comment about any ‘Plan’ -- It’s well understood, and goes without saying that ‘adaptation’ is a given

Marshal, as an experienced BPer, finishing is not going to be as difficult [for you] as you think unless you have 'terrible' weather, making existence that much more uncomfortable. The real challenge to racing the Divide (well) is to avoid falling victim to ennui, which can lead to a subtle yet erosive form of depression that undermines one's ability to remain focused on the extreme macro scale/cope with the tedium of 150mi/day. Loss of focus can skim 15-20% off daily production right off the bat. This has a cascading effect of making a finish all the more difficult. The longer it takes you, the further apart resupplies occur, the more worn down, homesick, apathetic about your relationship to the racing you become. The volume alone can make it truly a suffer-fest, so again, be familiar with your suffering threshold (ST) and be ready to feed (day-to-day) on little victories, brief yet quaint encounters with locals, the fun of gorging, that one beer at dinner, the cloud formations, the scenery, etc. Whatever it takes to get through. It's hugely mental. There will be very un-fun moments. These may persist across 'great basins' or through entire mountain chains.

Instead of using the 1 or 2mi scales in G-maps to study the route, I suggest you focus on the 50-100mi scales. Use the macro-geography and 'macro goals' to help you get through. Like driving a car across country, it's best not shallow-focus on the foreground road surface for very long or it makes your eyes hurt. Think 'deep focus', which is to say (figuratively), always keep the foreground and the background in somewhat equal focus.

I guess the above's part of why in this "basics" thread you hear some of the veterans talking hokey-like about 'transcendence' and all the philosophical mumbo jumbo. The suffering can put you on the roller coaster real quick-like. Perspective, emotional equanimity, rational, sensible thinking are key to not letting the roller coaster sap your mojo. Dave Harris refers often to "mojo". I'm not sure if he's using the 'personal magnetism' definition or mojo as 'magic', but for the Divide you need some of both kinds to fill the seemingly endless hours of fireroad. You need to 'like being with yourself' and, you need those magical moments. Mum-nature has just the show to get you through if you're paying attention.

Like anyone who has done some ‘personally maxed out’ BP events I have been through some tough ‘why am I out here, in the middle of nowhere, doing this’ moments.  Some were handled with grace, some not well at all.  Actually I look forward to the ‘extended’ mental challenge of the TD.  And barring illness or injury, I feel reasonably confident in my ability to finish the route.  And finishing is the main goal for me.  

It’s the secondary goals I am a bit up in the air about.  Anyway it’s fun and instructive to me, and hopefully to others, to pick away at all the experiences being shared in this thread.  

edit: just re-read your comment above, alot in there I did not 'see' 1st reading -- warning heeded -

[JMeiser]

Marshall,

The primary, secondary, just finish tryptic of goals is a great strategy!  My goal was to finish, if my primary and secondary goals fell through.  My primary goal was to get it done in under 25 days.  25days is very attainable at a 'fast tour' pace for anyone with significant enough touring or ultra experience.  I had never done a tour on a bike longer than one night out prior to TD, but was confident enough in my 4-season hiking experience. 

My secondary goal was a sub-20 finish.  This was my stretch and all was going as planned until the mud on the way into Lima...Here's a tip, it sits in the troughs on the roads, it's pointless to power through, save yourself, save your drivetrain and head for the sage brush.  I had no idea how my body would respond to B2B 140+ mile days.  It responded suprisingly well with some adaptation of recovery methods for the next day.  In the end, it wasn't physical strains that put me in over 20, it was emotional/mental strain brought on by exhaustion.  What I lost was my drive.  I didn't want to push up Boreas into the rain sitting over it.  I didn't want to get out of my sleeping bag and be exposed to the cold.  I didn't want to leave the illusions of comfort. 

Any racer will need to overcome these challenges and develop the mental fortitude to continue on...that has been said over and over again. 

[Marshal]

Marshall,

The primary, secondary, just finish tryptic of goals is a great strategy!  My goal was to finish, if my primary and secondary goals fell through.  My primary goal was to get it done in under 25 days.  25days is very attainable at a 'fast tour' pace for anyone with significant enough touring or ultra experience.  I had never done a tour on a bike longer than one night out prior to TD, but was confident enough in my 4-season hiking experience. 

My secondary goal was a sub-20 finish.  This was my stretch and all was going as planned until the mud on the way into Lima...Here's a tip, it sits in the troughs on the roads, it's pointless to power through, save yourself, save your drivetrain and head for the sage brush.  I had no idea how my body would respond to B2B 140+ mile days.  It responded suprisingly well with some adaptation of recovery methods for the next day.  In the end, it wasn't physical strains that put me in over 20, it was emotional/mental strain brought on by exhaustion.  What I lost was my drive.  I didn't want to push up Boreas into the rain sitting over it.  I didn't want to get out of my sleeping bag and be exposed to the cold.  I didn't want to leave the illusions of comfort. 

Any racer will need to overcome these challenges and develop the mental fortitude to continue on...that has been said over and over again. 

Mental balance over the long haul is a personal goal………

Point taken on physical exhaustion but……

I followed your Spot, along with Kurt’s and Chris’s from pretty much day 1.  A few days after you got your bike going again in Lima it seemed you might have settled into a slightly different pace.  After your extended forced lay over was it more difficult to re-gain and hold your mental balance?  Do you think some of the resulting “emotional/mental strain” was brought on by the resulting ‘stress’, as well as the mounting physical exhaustion?

A small example of what I mean: In the 08 CTR, on the Sergeants mesa section I miss-judged a fast corner and snapped off my derailleur hanger on a 4 inch log.  Standing next to my broken bike, in the middle of a remote section I could suddenly picture my whole race collapsing.  I had a spare hanger, but even with a deliberate mental effort to work slowly and methodically I lost one of the small hanger screws in the dirt for about 25 minutes.  Ha-I was drawing search squares in the dirt before I found it. Then I semi-striped the derailleur retaining bolt head with my short multi-tool allen key.  I had to use the screw driver tool to gouge out the head a bit before I could re-fit the short allen key to tighten the bolt. Ahhhh was I ‘stressed’.  By the time I got back on the trail I had lost just an hour or so in ‘time’ but my mental balance was destroyed for the rest of the day.  I realized in retrospect that the resulting stress affected my decision making (to my detriment)  for the rest of the day.

In much shorter races than the TD I have seen 1st hand how racers have a difficult time mentally re-focusing after set back, a few miles/hours of missed turn and backtracking is a common set back, a gradual realization that they will not be able to finish as fast as hoped for is a more subtle one.  It’s inspiring to see a racer overcome such set backs, but not un-common to see the opposite.

From what I have read it seems these type experiences, big or small, are magnified on the TD.  I think the unexpected ‘stress’ contributes to the physical exhaustion which---a snow ball rolling down hill, getting bigger and bigger……..

[JayP]

Marshall,

The primary, secondary, just finish tryptic of goals is a great strategy!  My goal was to finish, if my primary and secondary goals fell through.  My primary goal was to get it done in under 25 days.  25days is very attainable at a 'fast tour' pace for anyone with significant enough touring or ultra experience.  I had never done a tour on a bike longer than one night out prior to TD, but was confident enough in my 4-season hiking experience. 

My secondary goal was a sub-20 finish.  This was my stretch and all was going as planned until the mud on the way into Lima...Here's a tip, it sits in the troughs on the roads, it's pointless to power through, save yourself, save your drivetrain and head for the sage brush.  I had no idea how my body would respond to B2B 140+ mile days.  It responded suprisingly well with some adaptation of recovery methods for the next day.  In the end, it wasn't physical strains that put me in over 20, it was emotional/mental strain brought on by exhaustion.  What I lost was my drive.  I didn't want to push up Boreas into the rain sitting over it.  I didn't want to get out of my sleeping bag and be exposed to the cold.  I didn't want to leave the illusions of comfort. 

Any racer will need to overcome these challenges and develop the mental fortitude to continue on...that has been said over and over again. 

When people asked me in 07' my goals for the GDR I always said the same thing over and over, finish first, winning second, gaining a record if possible third. This is actually my philosophy and what I express for every single race I do, even when deep inside I know I can perform beyond the first...knowing anything can happen anytime goes along way. Keep an open mind is the best thing to have right there with experince.
When we rode the tandem, I sort of had no idea and no experince from either of us on a tandem, but I did no we both had the right attitude and experince to finish this beast. Deep in my mind I just wanted to force my competitors to go a little faster, espically Matt, for all good reasons, to have somebody else resestablish a new record.
I hope one day I get to finish this lovely tour again...solo...time trial.

[JMeiser]

I followed your Spot, along with Kurt’s and Chris’s from pretty much day 1.  A few days after you got your bike going again in Lima it seemed you might have settled into a slightly different pace.  After your extended forced lay over was it more difficult to re-gain and hold your mental balance?  Do you think some of the resulting “emotional/mental strain” was brought on by the resulting ‘stress’, as well as the mounting physical exhaustion?

Very astute of you. 

At first, no it wasn't...What kept me from moving was to some extent circumstances.  When I left Lima I hit rain that literally stopped me dead on the way into Lakeview.  It was 8 o'clock.  I had the choice to go through the night in the rain to Mack's Inn, or bivy.  Idaho-Buffalo Valley was plagued with cold and rain.  I reached the Buffalo Valley Cafe' just before close, had a couple of meals and stayed the night there.  Then it was over Togwotee and Union passes on the way into Pinedale.  Togwotee and the roads following were the worst mud all trip...I was wishing for more snow to push through.  I, and probably most racers carried there bikes through the mud.  Union Pass, while not as bad, was sandy on the front side and a cow trodden mud pit on the descent.  I got to The Place Cafe just before close and while I sat, eating frozen pizzas the storm I had been chased by all day poured down rain and hail.  Faced with the same experience as the previous two nights I chose to share a cabin with the Italians.  These were three brutally slow days that set me up for the next two. 

From The Place Cafe I rode to Pinedale, did some maintenance on my ride at the hardware store, and finished up the night 50 miles across the basin.  I believe it was a 170 mile day, or close to.  Day after that, it was another long one to Slater, CO.  the last 20, or so miles were all pavement, downhill, into Slater.  Kiersten at Brush Lodge wondered if I wasn't going to come in that night, but I decided not to after reaching the post office.  Best coffee all trip at BL by the way.  I took the pavement at night and saved myself for the next day. 

I spent 4+ hours in Steamboat munching on organic goodness and rebuilding my bike.  Brock and crew did and incredible job at Orange Peel.  Mid-afternoon, Fettis and I headed for Lynx pass and I rolled into Radium well after dark and took shelter in the back of a Subaru. 

Radium to Breckenridge was a tough day, this is where I began to break down mentally..., but it really began on the Basin if you watch any of the video.  In Breckenridge, Fettis and I decided not to go up Boreas in the rain and instead took a short day.  This was a mistake.  Boreas would have some challenges in the rain, but it is fully manageable.  I believe we would have made it to Como and caught the 'peloton' if we had made the decision to go on (mental fortitude).  The next morning I didn't want to leave the comforts of coffee.  I called my wife while Fettis went on.  After an encouraging discussion I chased.  Fettis and I got caught in a storm, pushed through ditches, and caught Leighton White.  The three of us rolled out of Salida and up Marshall, specifically to get away from the comforts of town. 

This mid-section of my race was the most difficult with the mix of conditions, over-exertion, and transition in my plans all as contributors.  I resolved my angst on the way up Marshall, I would not chase the lead 4(5).  Fettis, Leighton White, and I put in a 140 day to Del Norte and The Peloton was formed.  This put my resolve into question, I initially thought, I'll rest for a day or two with this group and push on solo.  This was a fast group of riders!  The Peloton wasn't slowed down by the ride pace, but the time in towns... Think, table of eight, eating for sixteen-twenty four in small town restaurants... slow...  When the group started to break up in Cuba, Leighton and Blaine Nester went off the front solo, we all gained a bit of speed at stops. 

The Peloton has had some conversation about traveling solo v. a group and I think we all agree that to go fast, go solo.  Steve Wilkinson posed this proverb 'To go fast, go Solo.  To go far, go Together.'

[robinb]

As a potential TD racer, I must commend all who have posted on this thread. By far the most informative resource I have stumbled across to date.  I have a question - albeit a little off topic - to all those TD vets regarding post race recovery.  How long did it take you to FULLY recover?  And by fully I mean back racing in top form.

I am seriously contimplating the TD this year but I have a very (to me) important road ultra the end of August and am not sure if should even attempt a double such as this.

thx

[Mathewsen]

I have a question - albeit a little off topic - to all those TD vets regarding post race recovery.  How long did it take you to FULLY recover?  And by fully I mean back racing in top form. I am seriously contimplating the TD this year but I have a very (to me) important road ultra the end of August and am not sure if should even attempt a double such as this.

Rob, we will be gutted if you put off TD!

Not an off-topic query at all. Potential ill-recovery for late season events scares many away. I have a very simple formula: For every hour of sleep you lose ultra racing, you need one night of full sleep (8-9hrs) to recover. If you figure you will lose about 3 hours sleep/day, at a 18-19day pace--which I think you're good for even as a rookie--that's about 60 nights of good sleep needed.

That said, with meticulous, conservative active recovery, excellent diet (no post-divide excess weight-gain), low stress and semi-daily naps, you can be pretty well recovered by early to mid August. September is usually when emotional hunger returns, but you may not need hunger if your RPE (for the important-for-you ultra) seems easy by comparison to TD (good chance). How well you might race in that ultra (post-Divide) may also depend on how fast it goes out/whether it allows drafting or not. I would think you should be able to kill it if you can focus on maintaining fitness thru July recovery. That's where many Divide alum fall short in prep for fall racing. Stag-nation is no country even for tired racers post Divide.

Are you talking the Hoo Doo? NM heat/Divide racing would be good training for that one!

No matter what you decide, get your BP kit order in with Carousel or Epic asap. Those boys already have clogged up cues!!

[Marshal]

Racers train and race off carbs for ‘normal’ durations so……

Over 25+/- race days I am wondering if it would be reasonable to attemp to deliberately seek out & consume hi carb food during the day vs just any ol food.  And then to max out on protein and fat at the end of the day.

A) Carbs for quicker muscle glycogen -- sustained daily performance

B) Protein and fats to max the cals & replenish the ol body during down time.

Caveat) I know doing this would be extra effort and might not fall into place each and every day but if non-meat eaters can successfully race the GD then this should be possible?

And if it’s possible would it be worth it in terms of daily, and hence total performance??

[JayP]

As a potential TD racer, I must commend all who have posted on this thread. By far the most informative resource I have stumbled across to date.  I have a question - albeit a little off topic - to all those TD vets regarding post race recovery.  How long did it take you to FULLY recover?  And by fully I mean back racing in top form.

I am seriously contimplating the TD this year but I have a very (to me) important road ultra the end of August and am not sure if should even attempt a double such as this.

thx

Rob - I think you are flirting with being in top form for a late August race of focus. It will depend a lot on how you race the TD, totally going for it vs. doing it, espically if you are not familiar with self supported multi week racing. The time spent afterwards is uber important and your lifestyle must allow you to focus 100% on recovery.
When I did the GDR in 07' it took about 2 weeks afterwards just for my endorphins to calm down, then into the tired can't stop eating phase. I did do a 24 hour MTB in early September that I felt strong for and won but by no means did I have the high end spark that I usually have.
This year on the tandem, similiar feelings were felt and I was pretty fine tuned for a 200 mile road race in early September.
A situation like yours I think has great wieght of the experince you have on racing for say 7 days +. The body reacts very differently from racing a few days vs. a few weeks and knowing how it feels and what it does will be very important if considering being in top form for another event ~ 8 weeks away. I guess it will depend on the event as well, being road, your strength and power will definitly be there, going for the sprint on the other hand...
I am all for Ultra after Ultra after Ultra...get'er done, life is short.

[robinb]

Matt - Jay.

Thanks for the feedback to my recovery post.  It's encouraging and daunting both at the same time.  For context, yes it is the Hoodoo 500 (which unfortunately they moved ahead a few weeks this year) 835km - no drafting - just ride as long as it takes.  My guess is there won't be any sprinting at the end! rather just a very TD like race pace for 30hrs straight.

Is it possible - there is only one way to know...

[Fettis]

Great to see this open and frank discussion on racing the Divide. As a first timer in 2009 here’s my take on the issues raised.

Maps – I found them useful a couple of times when the cues weren’t 100% clear and one time when I’d missed a turn. The profiles give a heads up of the major climbs but not the difficulty of the riding.

Cues – vital and well worth investing time in them to add services, water, hotels, gradients, and of course the ACA addenda. Formatting them to be easily readable on rough tracks and to fit your map holder is all time well spent - more important than those extra couple of training rides. Print them on waterproof paper. If I ride TD again I’ll also take a macro level route summary to keep an eye on the distances between re-supply points.

GPS – I wouldn’t rely solely on a GPS in which case it’s additional kit so gets the axe.

Bike computer – the best advice I got was to get a computer with navigate function, basically a trip meter you can adjust to match the route cues. Be sure to test it in wet weather before TD.

Bivy kit – I went with a basic bivy and a 0C bag. Twice I wished I’d taken a tent. Once due to mosquitoes on the Flagg Ranch road and one time in a thunder storm in the Gila. The bag was a bit warm overall but perfect on the cooler nights - the Basin and Brazos Ridge – these were also the best rest I got. Having a good bivy kit might help you push on past that siren motel room.

Motels – can be a distraction from the objective of getting to AW as fast as possible. On the other hand if they help restore your physical condition, they might get you to AW. Only you can decide.

MP3 – Didn’t use it that much but really appreciated it at times. Re ergogenic aids, try riding to Iggy and the Stooges and staying below that 69% sweet spot.

Preparation – with time constraints (work & family) I rarely rode more than 10-12 hours per week but mostly at higher intensities. Riding long distance at steady pace is easy no? I only did a couple of long weekends in the lead up to TD. Better to arrive in Banff strong and healthy than tired / stressed from trying to fit too much into your busy life. But follow Jay’s advice – you have to decide what will work for you.

Saddle sores – this was a worry but not a major issue. I suffered with the bruised sit bones type for which I blamed the saddle. I gambled & bought a new one in Steamboat that was equally uncomfortable but a different kind of discomfort. Be sure to get plenty of chamois time in on your chosen perch.

Recovery – it was also early Sept before I felt the power and desire return. July was hopeless for me, even handling skills had gone (fatigue impact on reaction time or some kind of nerve damage?). I told myself the top end had gone but in reality I was burnt-out. I put this down in part to my lack of big miles in preparation. Also, going straight back to work when you just want to sleep is awful but there’s no option if you’ve used your year’s vacation.

Ultimately racing TD is hard and something you have to really want to do. Mental toughness and determination are the fundamental attributes you’ll need (then zen maybe). If you ask yourself “why are you doing this” you’ve entered the wrong event. But, it’s also a fantastic life changing experience.

[kaparzo]

do most race with a pad or sleep on the ground/pack?  i've gone without for a few days but feel like it makes it harder to find a decent spot to put down for the night.

[kaparzo]

Any good suggestions for quality cycling computers that last in the rain and are reliable/don't need constant attention?  I'm thinking of bagging the gps and just going with a computer if its worth it...seems like they're necessary and I haven't had reliable ones that lasted in the past...

[Fettis]

Sleeping mats- I used a Thermarest prolite 3 short and was happy with that. From memory a few other members of the peloton had the same. It's reasonably compact when packed and doesn't take long to inflate or pack away. We rode with Kevin Dean for a couple of days and he was really happy with his full length NeoAir, I heard the phrase '3" of loft' a few times. Watch out for the puncture risk though as pointed out by Joe Meiser although you could probably repair one of those with glueless patches?

Computers - I took 2. A Ciclo one (can't remember the model) which I'd used on a big brevet event in Wales (it rained a lot as usual) but when I got to Banff it was dead so got posted home. I relied on my backup Cateye Strada wireless. It worked ok but only allows you to adjust the odo which requires taking it off the bracket and was a pita.

Alan G used a Ciclo one (the one with a large display) and was happy with that. I'd also tried a VDO one in training but found it totally unreliable (got a refund at least). Steve W had 2 older VDO ones and had no problems. Chris Plesko had a VDO (from his photos on line). It seems some of VDO's recent stuff was dodgy looking at reviews on mtbr, but I noticed they have a new range and I plan to buy one of those.

[JMeiser]

Watch out for the puncture risk though as pointed out by Joe Meiser although you could probably repair one of those with glueless patches?

I used an Exped Airmat 7.5.  I'd tested it a bunch in winter(with a closed cell mat) and in the spring with zero problems.  The problems came when I made a bad decision to sleep on a pile of glass outside of Butte...I ended up with holes in my bivy, mat, and bag that night... I loved the comfort up until that point though. 

I've just found all of the holes from that night, 4 in all from rolling around.  I continue to use the Airmat 7.5, a Z-Rest for winter, and now I've picked up an insulated Big Agnes and a Jacks R Better down quilt to test.  I'm thinking this spring I'll get a Gossamer Gear 1/4" Evazote mat to try for UL, go fast situations.

With a foam mat, down quilt, and small tarp I could get down into the sub 3lb. range for a sleeping kit and be covered in 'most' situations.  Even with a luxury setup; add the BA mat, a Tyvek groundsheet, and a bug net for my head I'm in the sub 5lb. range.

What I found on the divide was that I needed something to insulate between myself and the ground mostly.  On the Brazos ridge I used an old blanket under my torso that I picked up in Platoro.  The second problem I had was discomfort on hard ground...I'd wake up with sore points where my bony hips and arse were in contact with the ground. 

Yeah, I've obsessed a bit over my sleeping setup since a couple of bad nights on the divide.  At the time, I felt a bad night's sleep was a bad day on the bike.  Waking up cold made it harder to move on for me, even though I knew that once I got moving I'd warm up.  Not having shelter made it harder to move on and too easy to stop when it was right there at dusk. 

The kit that I've assembled is based on my experience and it needs quite a bit more testing before I'm comfortable with it.  Now that it's winter, that just isn't going to happen for awhile...

[LWhite]

Happy Holidays, and good to see some of the boys from the peloton throwing in their 2 cents.

I'll add mine, along with the usual caveats: your results may vary, a man's got to know his limitations, and any others which may be applicable.

Sleeping pads: was very impressed with the Term-a-Rest Prolite Regular (full length). 16oz, but the comfort was well worth the weight. As Joe alluded to, a good nights sleep more than makes up for any 5-6 oz weight penalty. I was meticulous in grooming where I laid the pad each night. Removed little pine cones, pebbles, anything even remotely sharp. A minute of prep can make all the difference. Mated the pad with a 14 oz. 30 degree down bag and a 7 oz. MSR tarp for a sub 3 lb sleeping system.

Computers: in '08 I used a single wireless Ciclo Sport which worked flawlessly the entire ride. It died over the winter, so I bought the same model for '09. It quit working before we were even out of BC. I got a second computer in Whitefish, wired Cateye, it croaked before Seeley Lake. Rode sans computer to Steamboat, having the distinct advantage of having ridden the course before, where I got a wireless Cateye which is still alive today. So my advice, take two.

And now some inspiration for rcktfanatic; you can absolutely ride TD on seven (now almost six) months preparation. Of course your goals, and reality, have to mesh. See caveats above. But it can be done. In '08 I rode TD on less than 650 miles of training in the six months leading up to the race. Life, a monstrous winter, and a lack of motivation to ride the windtrainer conspired to deliver me to Banff in pathetic shape.  Since I knew I wasn't going to be setting the course on fire, my mantra became "I'll take whatever the gods and my body give me." I ended up turning in a semi respectable sub 24 day finish.

In my humble opinion, this really is a race of the mind. Baring illness or injury, your body will (may?) adapt, and your mind will dictate how far and fast you travel. My tortoise approach has served me well both years. I quite enjoy riding at night, and had little problem leaving towns at 6-7 pm and riding until 10-11 in the evening. Those 30-50 mile evenings add up, and a beautiful night out under the stars beats any roach motel; unless it's pouring rain and then a whole new cost/benefit analysis comes in to play.

Yes it is a mammoth undertaking, but one that can be achieved without every conceivable duck lined up. Don't suffer "paralysis by analysis," and keep waiting for everything to be perfect. Pull the trigger, be smart, and be ready for one of the craziest mental and physical roller coaster rides you never imagined. Good luck.

LW

[sherpaxc]

So I have to ask.  What about a hammock for a sleep system?  How many days (total) would it have been virtually impossible to set one up?

[jonesy792]

I heard the phrase '3" of loft' a few times.  Watch out for the puncture risk though as pointed out by Joe Meiser although you could probably repair one of those with glueless patches?

3" of loft aaaaaand a full length matress packs down to the size of a water bottle.  And yes both regular glue patches and glueless patches work on neo air, I also put a layer of duct tape over the patch for extra protection.  Biggest problem can be finding the leak, I had a tiny hole on top of the pad that would air it down over 1-2 hours I only found it when I sprayed it with soapy water.  

[Marshal]

Anyone ever self medicated with Tinidazole (brand names- Tindamax or Fasigyn) for Giardia? 

[JMeiser]

Nope, just Arnicare, antibacterial ointment, and the occasional ibuprofen...

Unnecessary IMO, just use your water treatment when you have to and make sure you wash your hands before eating when possible.  There are always a few cases of Giardia each year...