Up up up!

Don, do half the people you know call you Dandy Don after the football player?

I'm going to do a little recon on Saturday from the Alabama side to get an idea of the lay of the land. I'll post up my notes for whatever they're worth.

I suspect a Matt Lee-caliber racer will set the mark around 48 hours. I'd be happy to knock it out in 72, but only after the weather cools!

Great point Emily, thanks! I'm going to get some route recon in over the next couple months since I am totally unfamiliar with the area, and mine the race reports for useful nuggets as well. Should make for a beautiful fall trip.

My father is giving serious thought to being at the start line in AW also! He will be 66 at the time of the race. He is looking at a 100 miles per day pace. He wants to ride like Kent, but with gears.

He plans to follow all the rules for his ride to be counted as a legitimate TD finisher. If he does make the start line I will ride with him to Banff while also staying within the rules - there's no way I can pass up riding the Divide with my dad!

It will be great recon for a 2012 attempt to set my best S - N time, assuming the world doesn't end. 

It's a perfect tribute.

6/10/11 at noon sounds good to me.

Nice tech. I'm looking at a generator hub but those batteries would be so much nicer.

Avoiding the heat down south and the mud up north is the primary reason for me.

But in no particular order there is also:

It's never been done within the context of TD.
I won't be competing for the win so best for me not to take up space at the grand depart given Parks Canada's concerns.
I'd rather end in Banff, which a pretty darn nice place to spend a few days recovering from the race.
If I succeed my name will be on the same list as Fixie Dave's in the record book, underneath of course.

Please! majcolorado at gmail dot com

I can't make the race but it's looking good for a late October ITT.

Anyone else having trouble downloading the GPX file? I keep getting an HTML document full of code.

Nice pics and route. What's your rig?

so whos in? whos thinking hard?

*raises hand* Thinking hard about AW to Banff next year.

Beautiful.

So, other than good fit, pills and minimizing standing what can you do to avoid and possibly deal with knee pain??

If you haven't already, check out this http://www.hammernutrition.com/za/HNT?PAGE=PRODUCT&PROD.ID=4057 or similar products. I have had good luck with them, YMMV.

We invest so much time in this, prepare for everything possible to prevent failure.

Risk/reward ratio. As a privateer that races for fun, I'm not willing to risk not finishing to try and shave a little time.

I'm sure if I made my living racing I'd feel differently and I'd be willing to take more risks.

Beauteus!

Good luck, NI.

Nice write up, and nice job salvaging your trip!

+1 Play by the rules and keep the other trail users off our backs. 

Sounded good to me as well... I owned a trucker for several years before Salsa launched the Fargo.  The drop bars were versatile for long days in the saddle.  I spent most of my time on the hoods, evidenced by the calluses after the race, but spent plenty of times in the drops on descents and into the wind. 

The million dollar question is 'Would I ride the Fargo again?' The answer: Yep, I sure would...but if I did I'd consider having a custom Ti Fargo built. 

My Fargo now resides in my fleet, needing a new drive train that will come in spring.  It's always ready with my Epic bags for an overnighter, or long day ride on mixed terrain.

Thanks, that's great info. A couple other questions if you don't mind - did you run tubeless? a suspension seatpost? I'm thinking of ordering a Fargo frame and doing a lightweight build that wouldn't work for fully loaded touring but would be ideal for TD.

Enlightenment please, if you can...

To gain knowledge, add something every day. To gain wisdom, remove something every day. - Lao Tzu