Cycling is my original passion. Be it racing against cars by Lodi Lake during my teenage years, struggling up Salsberry Pass in Death Valley with my faithful Cannondale or recumbent, or riding in the historic Paris-Brest-Paris 1225-kilometer bicycle race, the memories are large and plentiful.
“I think other than the two passes, the highlight of today was passing by South Park,” I reported during my daily call-in on Day 18 (July 1) of the Tour Divide. “Previously, I thought South Park was a fictional town in CO so I was very happy to see it is a real region… In fact, I resolved that after this race is over and I am back home in Colorado, I would do a South Park Marathon. By which I don’t mean running 26.2 miles but instead I will be laying on my couch with my feet propped up on a some pillows and watching this season’s episodes and maybe last season’s also. Right now that is sounding really good to me.”
Unfortunately, due to too much work, I haven’t been able to do a South Park Marathon yet. Instead, I’ve only watched a single episode since returning home. You can say I’ve done the South Park Sprint. Continue reading »
A friend just sent me this five minutes ago saying, “Thought you would find this sign amusing considering your travel through bear country.”
In fact, I found it amusing enough that I am posting it here. And I don’t mean just the Canadian-speak about the “out of doors.” Continue reading »
When I arrived in Antelope Wells on Thursday, July 10th and completed the Tour Divide mountain bike race, I thought I had just finished an adventure of a lifetime. It would only register a little later that just getting home was going to be a little adventure in itself. Continue reading »
Here are photos from the Tour Divide, the 2,700-mile self-supported Canada-Mexico mountain bike race hailed as “the most difficult cycling event in the world.” As it took me 27.5 days, here are 27 30 photos representing what I remember most from each of the days. Continue reading »
It’s been almost two weeks since arriving at the Mexico border and completing the Tour Divide mountain bike race, so this post is way overdue. Here is a bevy of excuses: numb hands that make it difficult to type; hundreds of e-mails and snail mails to catch up on; unpacking from not just the race, but the weeks of travel preceding it; a front and back yard waving weeds like flags as if to cry out, “tend to me!” after weeks of neglect; and a near-overwhelming amount of work of the paid variety.
But in no way does being busy diminish the gratitude I hold for the dozens of people who had helped me through the race. While this was supposed to be a self-supported, individual effort, I think every Tour Divide racer finished feeling that there is no way any of us could have completed this oft-absurd event completely alone. In my case, I’d like to thank all of the following people: Continue reading »
