Mountain Biking

My first mountain biking experiences were marred by mud and minor crashes. But there is something magical about being well away from cars and civilization and in tune with nature. Especially now that I live in Fort Collins, CO — home of Fat Tire beer — expect me to be having more knobby tire adventures.

Tour Divide: The Transcripts

Photo
Mar 2nd, 2010 (Tue) - Tour Divide

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 »

Cranky is Back! Sort of…

Photo
Apr 14th, 2009 (Tue) - Mountain Biking

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 »

The Beauty of the Tour Divide

Photo
Dec 24th, 2008 (Wed) - Tour Divide

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 »

People of the Tour Divide

Photo
Sep 4th, 2008 (Thu) - Tour Divide

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 »

Assessing the Damage: Part 2

Photo
Aug 29th, 2008 (Fri) - Tour Divide

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 »

Assessing the Damage: Part 1

Photo
Aug 13th, 2008 (Wed) - Tour Divide

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 »

Close
E-mail It