One year and seven months after the event, I’ve finished transcribing notes from the ‘08 Tour Divide, the epic self-supported MTB race from Canada to Mexico I finished sixth place in. This includes notes I scribbled daily inside a notebook inside my ultra-light one-person tent under the glow of a blue pen-light, usually at night after at least 15 hours of riding. They also include cleaned-up versions of the transcripts that Sherry (wife of one of the racers) took from my race call-ins. Continue reading »
It’s kind of hard to believe but nine months after last year’s 2,700-mile Canada-Mexico MTB race, my mountain bike was still laying in pieces on the basement floor. In fact I had done basically nothing with Cranky the Cannondale since unpacking her from the joke of a bike box I hastily constructed from a dozen discarded cardboard pieces in the parking lot of a dollar store in Lordsburg, NM one day after finishing the epic journey, aside from cleaning and noting all the broken or seriously worn parts. It’s not that I was so “done” with the crisis-ridden adventure that I didn’t want to mount an MTB ever again, but with all the two- and four-wheeled machines I have and other hobbies I do, Cranky was inadvertently left forlorn and forsaken. Continue reading »
Now that I’m housebound here in rain-soaked Northern California, I can resume posting about the Tour Divide, the 2,700-mile Canada-Mexico adventure of a lifetime I finished five months ago. I even brought the notepad I was scribbling on in my one-person tent under the glow of a one-LED finger light each night just so I could transcribe its daily notes while I’m on vacation.
In July and August, I mainly posted about “look at how ridiculous/difficult/nutso this race was,” so this time I thought I’d begin posting about how scenic the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route is. Here are scenery photos from the Tour Divide. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever done. Continue reading »
On Day 8, when I encountered Mike Dion taking a breather under the only tree in southern Montana for miles, I couldn’t help withhold my excitement.
“You’re the first person [from the Tour Divide] I’ve seen in a week,” I exclaimed. We chatted and rode together for about 10 minutes before I took off, only to see him one more time later in the evening in Lima. If I had known he would be the last Tour Divide racer I’d see for the rest of the race, I might have stayed back just to talk with him longer. Continue reading »
I suppose I can’t say I hadn’t been warned — even if it was at the last minute.
“You will get numb hands,” advised the other racers in the Tour Divide. Not “might,” but “will.” Continue reading »
I already had a reputation for breaking bicycle parts — and that was on the road. So before the Tour Divide, I couldn’t help but wonder what was going to break during a 2,700-mile mountain bike race that was >85% off-road.
Turns out, a lot! Continue reading »
&title=Tour Divide: The Transcripts "Felix's blue dot on the official online leaderboard on Day 4 of the Tour Divide. (Courtesy of Tori)")
&title=Cranky is Back! Sort of... "At least Cranky is pretty much in one piece again... (Photo: Eddie M.)")
. Think I can repair it though...&title=Assessing the Damage: Part 1 "My poor bike, now with a hole in the seatstay where a rack eyelet pulled out (a result of overstressing that side after losing a rack screw). Think I can repair it though...")