Trans Am Bike Race - June 7th, 2014

[the tortoise]

Borrego Springs Chamber of Commerce web site: http://www.borregospringschamber.com/

Metal sculptures around the valley: http://www.galletameadows.com/

Average weather for Borrego: http://www.weather.com/outlook/recreation/outdoors/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/92004

[MJS95]

Well, I am in! Looking forward to seeing y'all in Astoria!

-Michael

[the tortoise]

Trans Am Borrego Springs training dates have been picked. March 24th to March 28th. Looks like 5 people so far.

[Nathan Jones]

Trans Am Borrego Springs training dates have been picked. March 24th to March 28th. Looks like 5 people so far.

I had some trouble navigating amtrak's site to see what I would need to connect to the coast starlight if I wanted to get close, any ideas?  I'll look more into it later but I'm maxed out for the next few days.  Would love to make it down for some warmer weather!

[the tortoise]

I had some trouble navigating amtrak's site to see what I would need to connect to the coast starlight if I wanted to get close, any ideas?  I'll look more into it later but I'm maxed out for the next few days.  Would love to make it down for some warmer weather!

Nathan,
For $129 each way from Portland to San Diego:
•   Saturday, March 22, 2014
•   Portland to Los Angeles
•   2:25 pm -  9:00 pm  (Sun, Mar 23)
•   30 hr, 35 min
•   
•   11 Coast Starlight (Amenities)
•   1 Reserved Coach Seat
•   Sunday, March 23, 2014
•   Los Angeles to San Diego
•   10:10 pm -  12:59 am  (Mon, Mar 24)
•   2 hr, 49 min
•   
•   796 Pacific Surfliner (Amenities)
•   1 Unreserved Coach Seat

You could ride to Julian ( 70 to 80 miles?) or we could pick you up in San Diego

[Long Haul Greg]

Greetings, all.
    I was planning on a repeat Tour Divide this summer.  I finished last year's effort, but I crashed hard just north of Steamboat Lake, about 25 miles north of Steamboat Springs, CO.  After nursing my wounds overnight in Steamboat Springs, I didn't feel any worse than the day prior, so on I went.  But from that point on, I was only good for about 100 miles a day.  If I tried to go beyond that, my right arm was getting pretty sore.  It turned out I fractured my Radius, chipping off a little wedge right at the elbow.  I definitely want to get back out there now that I've rehab'd my arm.  I was even contemplating running the route single speed after encountering Cjell, Ron, Prentice, and Scott Thigpen, among others throughout last year's ride.  However, my Tour Divide thoughts were totally derailed when my good friend and fellow bikepacker Ed sent me the Trans Am Bike Race link.  Like so many other respondents, the thought of getting in on the inaugural event is very appealing.  I think it's my must-do event this year.

    That said, let's talk equipment.  My road bike didn't survive a road-sharing encounter with a VW Beetle three years ago.  I've since invested my time, effort, and resources on my belt-drive Spot Honey Badger 29er.  It's a bomb-proof commuting machine right now with rigid fork, Rohloff hub, and Schwalbe Big Apple 2.3 slicks.  It's very, very comfortable and I'm confident I can put in 200-mile days on the pavement, but I'm not sure how to fine-tune my wheels for long-distance pavement.  I live in eastern Virginia and have to find bridge spans just to get some vertical terrain.  Because of my very flat route from home to work, I will often swap the Rohloff wheel for a single speed setup.  The straight gearing is so very efficient and there's about a 2 lb difference in the bike's rear end.

    I love the way the Big Apple tire volume soaks up the seams, cracks, and other surface imperfections I encounter in my 38 mile round trip commute, but I wonder if I should down-size to a more representative road-touring tire for Trans Am.  I also wonder if I should leave my heavy Rohloff wheel at home and use my 50:20 single speed setup.  When considering a 4,000+ mile endeavor, it's a question of payoff.  Is the comfort of the high-volume tire set worth 3x the weight penalty imposed over a reinforced touring tire weighing 1/3 as much?  Is the range (low gear climbing, high gear straightaways) of the Rohloff wheel worth the weight penalty imposed over a single speed wheel with only one gear ratio?  My own limited wisdom has me thinking the Rohloff wheel will be more of an asset than a liability since all the weight is at the axle with minimal inertia and the nature of the route will have me using the more efficient upper gear range vice the low range where the less-efficient gears kick in.  So that leaves the question of tires.

    Any recommendations from those of you with Trans Am route experience?

[Nathan Jones]

Greetings, all.
    I was planning on a repeat Tour Divide this summer.  I finished last year's effort, but I crashed hard just north of Steamboat Lake, about 25 miles north of Steamboat Springs, CO.  After nursing my wounds overnight in Steamboat Springs, I didn't feel any worse than the day prior, so on I went.  But from that point on, I was only good for about 100 miles a day.  If I tried to go beyond that, my right arm was getting pretty sore.  It turned out I fractured my Radius, chipping off a little wedge right at the elbow.  I definitely want to get back out there now that I've rehab'd my arm.  I was even contemplating running the route single speed after encountering Cjell, Ron, Prentice, and Scott Thigpen, among others throughout last year's ride.  However, my Tour Divide thoughts were totally derailed when my good friend and fellow bikepacker Ed sent me the Trans Am Bike Race link.  Like so many other respondents, the thought of getting in on the inaugural event is very appealing.  I think it's my must-do event this year.

    That said, let's talk equipment.  My road bike didn't survive a road-sharing encounter with a VW Beetle three years ago.  I've since invested my time, effort, and resources on my belt-drive Spot Honey Badger 29er.  It's a bomb-proof commuting machine right now with rigid fork, Rohloff hub, and Schwalbe Big Apple 2.3 slicks.  It's very, very comfortable and I'm confident I can put in 200-mile days on the pavement, but I'm not sure how to fine-tune my wheels for long-distance pavement.  I live in eastern Virginia and have to find bridge spans just to get some vertical terrain.  Because of my very flat route from home to work, I will often swap the Rohloff wheel for a single speed setup.  The straight gearing is so very efficient and there's about a 2 lb difference in the bike's rear end.

    I love the way the Big Apple tire volume soaks up the seams, cracks, and other surface imperfections I encounter in my 38 mile round trip commute, but I wonder if I should down-size to a more representative road-touring tire for Trans Am.  I also wonder if I should leave my heavy Rohloff wheel at home and use my 50:20 single speed setup.  When considering a 4,000+ mile endeavor, it's a question of payoff.  Is the comfort of the high-volume tire set worth 3x the weight penalty imposed over a reinforced touring tire weighing 1/3 as much?  Is the range (low gear climbing, high gear straightaways) of the Rohloff wheel worth the weight penalty imposed over a single speed wheel with only one gear ratio?  My own limited wisdom has me thinking the Rohloff wheel will be more of an asset than a liability since all the weight is at the axle with minimal inertia and the nature of the route will have me using the more efficient upper gear range vice the low range where the less-efficient gears kick in.  So that leaves the question of tires.

    Any recommendations from those of you with Trans Am route experience?

Stoked to hear your enthusiasm Greg. 

I would recommend gears all day, single speeders would survive the big climbs, but I can't imagine the winds of east CO and KA and only one gear choice.  Okay, I can imagine it, and if that doesn't sound so bad then hey, you might be on to something.  I wouldn't be caught dead, love my gears. 

As for tires, I'm a bigger guy, load me and the bike up and things will weigh around 250 pounds at least, I raced/ITT'd a Schwalbe Marathon Racer 35c kevlar on the Trans Am across Oregon just last August, I swear it's the perfect tire for my needs.  I suspect a set could make it across the country if they were rotated half way through.  I shy away from a meatier touring tire or a full on 29er tire.  Though something like a 2.0 that has like an inverted tread with a smooth center strip could be a major comfort factor resulting in less rider fatigue.  I like the big tire strategy as well, but I've spent the past 3 years trying to decide on tires for this and I'm pretty certain I'll go with the Marathon Racer or Marathon Supreme in a 35, I feel like the Racer wears better but the Supreme rolls faster and allows lower pressure. 

I like the idea of something like the Dureme Tandem in the 40mm size, that would look to me to me a good choice in terms of durable, weight, and volume.  I ran the old regular Duremes as a 2.0 on the divide and 2010, loved them for the most part, super fast, but realized I'll never run tires that slim on the divide ever again, super stupid on my part, beat me up too much.  I'll never run below a 2.4 again on the divide, I swear it!!! 

These days I'm riding fat bikes and though I'm loving the virtues on wider tires, I'm still sold on a fast 35c tire for the trans am. 

[Long Haul Greg]

Nathan,
    Thanks so much for the reply.  Your response addressing both my gearing and tire selection uncertainty is much appreciated.  I hadn't considered the prospects of relentless headwinds while envisioning a single speed Trans Am run.  Now that you mention it, the inability to downshift and spin at a higher cadence would be a recipe for some very sore knees and low morale on my part.  A couple decades ago, maybe not such a factor, but these days I really feel the effects of pushing the legs hard.  Thanks again for sharing your opinions.

[LenzMan]

4 months people.... 

[andrea19801]

yes only 4 months....

and I' curious about  the most famous pass that will cross during the Trans AM Bike Race,,,;
i know Willow Creek and Hoosier Pass, but during the track there are so many .... and  i'd like to know which are the most important and/or the hardest to achieve
Moreover checking deeply the track from 0 to 1350km we have 17000mt D+ and from 1350km to 2500km further 12500mt D+,

[pablito]

Greetings, all.
    I was planning on a repeat Tour Divide this summer.  I finished last year's effort, but I crashed hard just north of Steamboat Lake, about 25 miles north of Steamboat Springs, CO.  After nursing my wounds overnight in Steamboat Springs, I didn't feel any worse than the day prior, so on I went.  But from that point on, I was only good for about 100 miles a day.  If I tried to go beyond that, my right arm was getting pretty sore.  It turned out I fractured my Radius, chipping off a little wedge right at the elbow.  I definitely want to get back out there now that I've rehab'd my arm.  I was even contemplating running the route single speed after encountering Cjell, Ron, Prentice, and Scott Thigpen, among others throughout last year's ride.  However, my Tour Divide thoughts were totally derailed when my good friend and fellow bikepacker Ed sent me the Trans Am Bike Race link.  Like so many other respondents, the thought of getting in on the inaugural event is very appealing.  I think it's my must-do event this year.

    That said, let's talk equipment.  My road bike didn't survive a road-sharing encounter with a VW Beetle three years ago.  I've since invested my time, effort, and resources on my belt-drive Spot Honey Badger 29er.  It's a bomb-proof commuting machine right now with rigid fork, Rohloff hub, and Schwalbe Big Apple 2.3 slicks.  It's very, very comfortable and I'm confident I can put in 200-mile days on the pavement, but I'm not sure how to fine-tune my wheels for long-distance pavement.  I live in eastern Virginia and have to find bridge spans just to get some vertical terrain.  Because of my very flat route from home to work, I will often swap the Rohloff wheel for a single speed setup.  The straight gearing is so very efficient and there's about a 2 lb difference in the bike's rear end.

    I love the way the Big Apple tire volume soaks up the seams, cracks, and other surface imperfections I encounter in my 38 mile round trip commute, but I wonder if I should down-size to a more representative road-touring tire for Trans Am.  I also wonder if I should leave my heavy Rohloff wheel at home and use my 50:20 single speed setup.  When considering a 4,000+ mile endeavor, it's a question of payoff.  Is the comfort of the high-volume tire set worth 3x the weight penalty imposed over a reinforced touring tire weighing 1/3 as much?  Is the range (low gear climbing, high gear straightaways) of the Rohloff wheel worth the weight penalty imposed over a single speed wheel with only one gear ratio?  My own limited wisdom has me thinking the Rohloff wheel will be more of an asset than a liability since all the weight is at the axle with minimal inertia and the nature of the route will have me using the more efficient upper gear range vice the low range where the less-efficient gears kick in.  So that leaves the question of tires.

    Any recommendations from those of you with Trans Am route experience?

Greg, So glad to hear you are coming to join in the craziness in June.

Here is my take on your question. Decidedly different from Nathan's. Still learning myself, but I am going with a endurance road bike with 28mm tires from Specialized. Armadillo Elite All condition. I ride 25mm all the time and think running a 28mm at about 90lbs would feel like cushion enough. I'll be testing it out for the next few months on the salty Utah roads.

As for gearing, I also like the gears. Going with a standard compact road crank and an 11-28 in back. My gear is lighter than ever and I should be able to climb most stuff reasonably well. I intend (so far so good) on dropping body weight equal to my gear to negate any extra load overall. Wish me luck!!

[DocTrike]

I was so interested in doing this myself, but as a caregiver for two family members I just can't get away for that long. So this does open up another chance at TDR for me this year. Hope you all have a great inaugural event and stay safe. I will probably make it down for the start it's a nice easy day ride from Portland.

[robinb]

I played around with the gpx file in topofusion. Simplified it into 10,000 points and split it into 20 tracks which should work with most garmins. If you put it in topo fusion you can look at each track, see the mileage elevation profile, elevation gain and loss of each segment.

Let me know if this works or not.

Attached is the file

This is great, thank you. I have a question about why you simplfy the tracks (keep in mind I am very un-educated in the GPS world to date).  I have an old Garmin etrex vista HCX and would certainly need to have the file broken down to fit in the unit's 'saved tracks' area of memory (this wording is right from the topofusion upload tutorial) - but this unit also takes a SD card - could I not put the whole un-simplified track on it? Or is the SD card primarily used to hold maps - not tracks?

thanks

robin

[andrea19801]

cuoriosity:

Trans Am Bike Race(red colour) and Race Across America(blu colour) tracks ... only 60km in common after El Dorado;
at this point TABR racers will achieve 4000km ......

[the tortoise]

This is great, thank you. I have a question about why you simplfy the tracks (keep in mind I am very un-educated in the GPS world to date).  I have an old Garmin etrex vista HCX and would certainly need to have the file broken down to fit in the unit's 'saved tracks' area of memory (this wording is right from the topofusion upload tutorial) - but this unit also takes a SD card - could I not put the whole un-simplified track on it? Or is the SD card primarily used to hold maps - not tracks?

thanks

robin

Robin. Many Garmin units can only take a track of a maximum of 500 points, but they can take 20 tracks, hence simplifying and splitting.

[mikepro]

Y'all are incorporating some balance work and road bike tech skills in your TABR prep, right?
http://www.lezyne.com/en/media-main/news/entry/danny-macaskill-helps-martyn-ashton-complete-road-bike-party-2

[hikernks]

Where the two routes join up in the west is right about where you will start smelling the meth cooking.  It'll be pretty strong given that it will almost guaranteed be over 100 degrees with 90%+ humidity and a brisk 30mph cross/headwind. At least it's really flat, though.  ;-)

That being said, haha, I know it's a self-supported race, but if anyone needs to be picked up in Eastern Kansas, shoot me a message.  I'll probably make it to Eureka or Newton to snap some pics, and will post them here and on the FB page.  Also, the bike shop in Newton KS is also a hostel for Trans-Am riders/racers.  They have showers, a bike wash station, etc.  I don't own the place or have any business affiliation with them, just wanted to give everyone a heads up.  Good luck to everyone racing, and enjoy Kansas!

[the tortoise]

Where the two routes join up in the west is right about where you will start smelling the meth cooking.  It'll be pretty strong given that it will almost guaranteed be over 100 degrees with 90%+ humidity and a brisk 30mph cross/headwind. At least it's really flat, though.  ;-)

At that point of the race, you might need a little pick me up!

[Long Haul Greg]

Nathan,
    When I signed up a few weeks ago, I received a tweet with lots of info, but I lost access to the tweet after the first viewing and didn't have a chance to review the information.  I tried to access the tweet with both my telephone number and my e-mail address, but your message doesn't appear in my Twitter account.  Can you resend the info that was on that tweet, maybe to my e-mail account this time?

[Long Haul Greg]

Greetings All,
    I've got my maps and I'm in the process of building a GPX route for each of the 12 map sheets.  I've got Garmin Base Map, Ride With GPS (RWGPS), and Map My Ride (MMR).  I like building routes with both RWGPS and MMR.  Any suggestions/recommendations on using one over the other?  I plan on using my Garmin ETREX 30 for primary navigation.  I'm using the basic, free version of both RWGPS and MMR, so I don't have them set up for turn-by-turn navigation using the smart phone.  So far, I've used MMR to build the first two routes to Coburg and Baker City Oregon.  Looks like some awesome territory.

    Once the weather turns, I'm going to take a long weekend and ride Map 12 from Christiansburg to Yorktown to familiarize myself with the home stretch and confirm the Etrex and gpx file will provide the navigation capability I'm expecting.  I think with my stomach when I ride, so I might even experiment with waypoints for specific restaurants along the routes to use as incentives along the way.  The new Google Maps search function is a great way to zero in on their exact locations.