Tour Divide Mileage Log
Here’s a table summarizing my progress during the 2008 Tour Divide mountain bike race, including miles and hours ridden per day, along with where I started and stopped.
On a typical day I’d start riding at 6:36 a.m. and stop riding at 9:13 pm—for a ride time of about 14.6 hours/day. On average, I rode 99 miles/day (96 on-course + 3 off-course, the latter due to getting lost or having to re-supply).
Remember that this was well before GPS and smartphones became ubiquitous. With either of those two technologies, navigation would have been so much easier.
| Day | Date | From | To | On-course Miles | Off-course Miles | Start Time | Finish Time | Hours Ridden | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6/13/08 (Fri) | Banff, AB | Tobermory BC Forest Service Recreation Site | 71 | 4 | 10:00 | 22:14 | 12.2 | |
| 2 | 6/14/08 (Sat) | Tobermory BC Forest Service Recreation Site | Baynes Lake, BC | 117 | 2 | 6:00 | 21:45 | 15.8 | |
| 3 | 6/15/08 (Sun) | Baynes Lake, BC | Red Meadow Lake, MT | 99 | 1 | 6:00 | 21:45 | 15.8 | |
| 4 | 6/16/08 (Mon) | Red Meadow Lake, MT | Between Swan Lake & Condon, MT at Fatty Creek Rd. informal campsite | 103 | 4 | 4:50 | 21:50 | 17.0 | |
| 5 | 6/17/08 (Tue) | Between Swan Lake & Condon, MT at Fatty Creek Rd. informal campsite | Lolo National Forest, MT miles past Morrell Rd. summit | 57 | 8 | 6:30 | 22:00 | 15.5 | past the “death trap” snow section on Richmond Peak |
| 6 | 6/18/08 (Wed) | Lolo National Forest, MT miles past Morrell Rd. summit | 22 miles past Lincoln (Grady Ranches informal camping #2) | 97 | 1 | 6:30 | 22:00 | 15.5 | |
| 7 | 6/19/08 (Thu) | 22 miles past Lincoln (Grady Ranches informal camping #2) | Basin, MT (Merry Widow rental unit) | 79 | 2 | 7:00 | 19:00 | 12.0 | |
| 8 | 6/20/08 (Fri) | Basin, MT (Merry Widow rental unit) | 4.6 miles from Elkhorn Hot Springs, MT (Price Creek Campground) | 109 | 1 | 8:15 | 23:00 | 14.8 | |
| 9 | 6/21/08 (Sat) | 4.6 miles from Elkhorn Hot Springs, MT (Price Creek Campground) | 14 miles past Lima, MT (stealth camp before Lima Reservoir) | 123 | 1 | 7:00 | 21:40 | 14.7 | |
| 10 | 6/22/08 (Sun) | 14 miles past Lima, MT (stealth camp before Lima Reservoir) | Caribou-Targhee National Forest, ID (Squirrel Creek Elk Ranch) | 118 | 6 | 6:30 | 21:45 | 15.3 | |
| 11 | 6/23/08 (Mon) | Caribou-Targhee National Forest, ID (Squirrel Creek Elk Ranch) | 22 miles past Moran Junction, WY (Togwotee Mountain Lodge) | 83 | 0 | 7:00 | 21:00 | 14.0 | flat tire in front of Togwotee Mountain Lodge |
| 12 | 6/24/08 (Tue) | 22 miles past Moran Junction, WY (Togwotee Mountain Lodge) | Bridger-Teton National Forest, WY (Whiskey Grove Campground) | 78 | 0 | 6:50 | 23:00 | 16.2 | |
| 13 | 6/25/08 (Wed) | Bridger-Teton National Forest, WY (Whiskey Grove Campground) | Atlantic City, WY (Miner’s Delight Inn) | 126 | 1 | 8:15 | 20:30 | 12.3 | |
| 14 | 6/26/08 (Thu) | Atlantic City, WY (Miner’s Delight Inn) | Rawlins, WY (Econolodge) | 134 | 2 | 4:50 | 20:20 | 15.5 | |
| 15 | 6/27/08 (Fri) | Rawlins, WY (Econolodge) | 25 miles past Slater, CO (primitive camping in Routt National Forest) | 98 | 2 | 9:15 | 23:59 | 14.7 | |
| 16 | 6/28/08 (Sat) | 25 miles past Slater, CO (primitive camping in Routt National Forest) | 2 miles past Stagecoach Reservoir (stealth camping) | 60 | 7 | 8:15 | 21:00 | 12.8 | Steamboat repairs + lost |
| 17 | 6/29/08 (Sun) | 2 miles past Stagecoach Reservoir (stealth camping) | Dillon, CO (Heaton Bay Campground) | 107 | 1 | 6:00 | 20:30 | 14.5 | |
| 18 | 6/30/08 (Mon) | Dillon, CO (Heaton Bay Campground) | Salida, CO (Woodland Motel) | 110 | 2 | 5:30 | 20:45 | 15.3 | |
| 19 | 7/1/08 (Tue) | Salida, CO (Woodland Motel) | Carnero Pass, CO (primitive campsite) | 113 | 1 | 5:45 | 20:45 | 15.0 | |
| 20 | 7/2/08 (Wed) | Carnero Pass, CO (primitive campsite) | Summitville, CO (stealth camp 2 miles past Indiana Pass summit) | 66 | 1 | 6:00 | 18:00 | 12.0 | hypothermia |
| 21 | 7/3/08 (Thu) | Summitville, CO (stealth camp 2 miles past Indiana Pass summit) | La Manga Pass, CO (informal camping outside cabin) | 54 | 2 | 8:45 | 19:00 | 10.3 | look for cyclometer |
| 22 | 7/4/08 (Fri) | La Manga Pass, CO (informal camping outside cabin) | Cisneros Park, NM (primitive camping) | 47 | 28 | 7:30 | 21:30 | 14.0 | look for cyclometer; camp 0.5 miles away from loud campers |
| 23 | 7/5/08 (Sat) | Cisneros Park, NM (primitive camping) | Santa Fe National Forest, NM (stealth camping 33 miles past Abiqui, NM) | 100 | 2 | 6:15 | 21:00 | 14.8 | |
| 24 | 7/6/08 (Sun) | Santa Fe National Forest, NM (stealth camping 33 miles past Abiqui, NM) | Grants, NM (Sands Motel) | 170 | 0 | 5:45 | 22:30 | 16.8 | |
| 25 | 7/7/08 (Mon) | Grants, NM (Sands Motel) | Gila National Forest, NM | 127 | 3 | 4:30 | 23:30 | 19.0 | |
| 26 | 7/8/08 (Tue) | Gila National Forest, NM | Gila Wilderness, NM (30 miles from Mimbres) | 77 | 0 | 6:15 | 21:15 | 15.0 | started rolling at 7:15 due to flat |
| 27 | 7/9/08 (Wed) | Gila Wilderness, NM (30 miles from Mimbres) | Silver City, NM | 45 | 1 | 6:00 | 18:00 | 12.0 | |
| 27.5 | 7/10/08 (Thu) | Silver City, NM | Antelope Wells, NM | 122 | 7 | 4:00 | 20:37 | 16.6 |
Total on-course miles: 2689
Total off-course miles: 90
Total hours ridden: 408.9
Average on-course miles per day: 96
Average off-course miles per day: 3.2
Average start time: 6:36 AM
Average end time: 9:13 p.m.
Average hours per day: 14.6
![[Day 5] Camping in grizzly bear territory inspired paranoia about what to do with food, how to fend of bears, etc. I resorted to a "mark your spot" strategy someone in Grant, MT advised me about.](https://felixwong.com/gallery/images/t/td08_travails-9.jpg)
One comment:
It's cool to see it laid out like that. I'm working on something similar for myself, only not so "engineer-like." Wasn't Lincoln where you had to stay the night and pick up your package though? It's crazy to see where we stayed at the same places only a few nights apart. I was just thinking last night that I got to stay in more cool places than everyone except Stephen - since we dragged it out for so long! :)