Where is the google doc that someone started for the LOI's for 2012? 

yea, it is weird after spending so many years focused on this.  I feel like I have lost a friend. 

    Well, I am out of the TD for this summer.  My work boss just cancelled my vacation time.  What a week! 

Would like to hear the race from Vet's on gear selection and trail conditions as am riding a three wheel mountain trike. Where are all the race Vets? 

Doc, I saw some of your other posts.  Keep in mind, riding a trike is one thing.  There are many miles of pushing, carrying and lifting your bike, which should be considering into your ride selection.  With snow fall catching up to a normal years volume and still at least a month until it peaks, you will be faced with many miles of pushing / carrying your ride through snow. 

The other concern I would have with a trike would be spare parts.  If there are trike specific parts, you will want to pre-position these through the general delivery mail boxes through the USPS. 

For me, I would be more inclined to bring / carry more stuff that might not really be needed on a trike. If you are touring the route, this might not be an issue.  If you are racing, this will slow you down, when the speedy ones will be flying on 34 lbs mtb's....fully loaded. 

Would you post a pic on one of your trikes or what you plan on riding?  I am definitely interested. 

Im planning on a s to n trip starting june 1st if snowpack allows

Dave, come with me on a NOBO trip on 20 May.  Please?

Just a word on Maxxis Crossmark Non LUST tires... I was running the LUST and loved them but like you I thought it might be beneficial to save the weight and run the non LUST.  Unfortunately they blistered on me.  Googling around, this is a common issue with maxxis non LUST tires.  So, I called Maxxis directly to see if they support/warranty non LUST tires with Stans. I had to leave a message and never heard back.  So I used their warranty web site... no response.  I asked all the folks on my team and no one had ever had these problems on their DH tires... Needless to say I was bummed about losing the $ on a new set of tires.  Now I'm back to LUST :-)

The non-LUST tires  blistered on you?  That is strange.  I have been running non-LUST Crossmarks for nearly 3 years and the only problems I had were with the LUST ones.  The non-LUST have been bullet proof with Stans.  I got 3,000 miles out of my first set.  I rode 5,000 miles on my first set of non-LUST Crossmarks last year.  I put on a pair LUST Crossmarks that I bought by accident and only got about 1,000 miles out of them before the rear tire separated from the bead, because the rubber was blistering and coming unwrapped from the bead. 

I AM COMING BACK FOR YET ANOTHER RUN AT SUB 20 OR 19 AFTER RIDING TO AW THE LAST 2 YEARS AT A LEISURELY 21 DAY PACE. THINKING OF MAYBE RIDIG A LIGHTER BIKE (NAW) I AM ALSO THROWING OUT A CHALLENGE TO ANYONE WHO WANTS TO JOIN ME STARTING IN APRIL AT THE AZT 750, THE TDR IN JUNE AND THE CTR IN AUGUST--I HAVE DUBBED THIS THE "TRIPLE CROWN OF ULTRA SELF SUPPORTED MTB" (OPEN TO OTHER NAMES AND IDEAS) AND WILL PUT UP A WEBSITE SHORTLY FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO TRY THE ULTIMATE BIKEPACKING SUMMER OF LOVE.

DAVID (BEARDOG) GOLDBERG
FT COLLINS, CO

Dave,
You are my hero!  I wish you the best!  Keep us posted my friend.

Vance

I'm contemplating racing south to north.  Anyone else?

Was there a northbound grand depart last year?  If so did that start at the exact same time as the southbound grand depart?  I followed the race fairly closely last year but I can't remember how things worked.  I'm just wondering as I think it would be cool to start out with other racers as opposed to a pure ITT. 

Fun stuff to think about!

Aaron:
I am also riding NOBO, but starting early.  Probably on or about 20 May, we have a baby due on 10 June. 

Yes, there was a NOBO GD at the same time, roughly, as the SOBO GD.

Other than a change of wheels did you run the Stumpy in its "off the peg" configuration?

Most of the stuff I read has people using Ti/Steel.
Do many people use Al/Carbon off the peg bikes from Trek/Specialized/Scott etc?

I changed the XT group to XTR too and the seat.  There isn't much left after these changes.  The stock parts are the forks, bars and seat post. 

At this point, I have close to 11,000 miles on her and she still rides great.  I rode a ton of 29'er hard tails and the Stumpy Expert 29'er was the last one I rode. 

I didn't ride the Giant.  After riding many others, a lot of 29'er hard tails are race bikes.  Meaning they are super stiff and lack compliance that we want on the the TD. 

The Trek / GF Superfly was my first choice, but after finding out that they had the highest frame failure rate in the market, I changed my mind.  It appears this has been resolved for the 2012 models, but I don't have any knowledge on it.

My plan is to watch the weather through the winter.  I am currently considering an early, 28 May, NOBO ride or a late, end / mid August, SOBO ride.

I am also riding NOBO this year.  I will most likely start around 20 May, because we have a baby due around 10 June.




Our cleaning method will give you the most thorough carpet cleaning ever, plus protect your family's health. You will feel completely overjoyed with your beautiful looking, soft, fresh smelling carpet!

Bike choice is another item that is highly personal. FS bikes IMO are over kill, a good hardtail is all you need, if you go with suspension make sure it's reliable. Overall though I'd say the spearfish is a top bike.

You can certainly ride a full sus, but the risk is of not finishing.  A rear suspension failure could end your TD attempt.  Yea, the wash board section would make it nice, but that was only 30 to 50 miles out of 2,700.  IMHO, I never wanted for a full suspension.  My Specialized Stumpy Expert 29'er really was fantastic.  I got a smok'in, killer deal on some carbon wheels, which were nice too.  You gotta think reliability. 

3 years, 6 Maxxis Crossmark Tubeless 0 flats.

Ditto! 

Sure, best preparation is to take a large portion of the original route. But for us, living in Europe that is not that easy. So the best in this case is to prepare oneself physically and mentally, do things which are similar to portions of the TD ... prepare for unexpected situations. A good preparation can never give a guarantee to manage it, but it is better than just go with a "I just do it".

Amen brother!  My position doesn't apply to our European buddies. 

The challenges you will want to address in training are riding in completely unfamiliar areas, navigating the same way, with the same gear you will use on the TD (use a gps), planning resupply.  Ride a lot.  My biggest month earlier this year was 1,100 miles and I didn't have any fitness challenges.  If you have access, spend time at altitude.  Don't worry about riding single track / trail. 

For what it is worth, you can't really "train" for this. Just do it.  Even if you can get a few days or a week to ride part of the route, it is worth it.  I strongly recommend at least attempting a portion of the route this year, rather than waiting until 2013.  Without this experience everything you are doing is based on assumptions. 

Singular Gryphon w/Rohloff and Phantom Pack bags.

Fineally figured out how to upload pictures directly to the site :-) I'm not too computer savy.

Phil, nice setup.  How many gears are in your Rholoff hub?  I rode with a guy this year that had the same.  It worked well.  The only problem I could see is experience on the trail at a bike shop. The few I stopped into, that was the first time they had seen one. 

Just switched to a 29er, 26 inche wheels feel so tiny now.  I'll be using my new bike for the TDR this year.  Going to post my bike setup soon.  Here is a picture.

Foster:
Nice bike sir!  However, keep your receipt.  The GF / Trek Superfly has one of the highest frame failures in the market.  The failures are usually in the seat stays.  There are a few TD'rs which had this problem and I was about to pull the trigger on one last year and changed my mind after I found this out.

Anyone else thinking about NoBo? Would be interested to discuss offline travel logistics and sharing to get to Antelope Wells. Chris Bennett chris [a] lpcb.org.

Yep, I will most likely be heading NOBO, because I need to get going around 21 May 2012.  I have a ride already planned out of Austin, TX.  That is where I live.  You are welcome to join us. 

does anyone by any chance have a route or track that is compatible with a Delorme PN60w?  Topofusion does not support Delorme.  My bad on the Delorme purchase, but it's too late now.

I used a PN-60W this summer on the Tour Divide and all of training up and am still using it in my continued build for next years run on the TD.  You can use a gpx file as a track file and follow it on your PN60.  If you need help with it, private message me and we can work through it together.  It is really easy. 

I'm keeping my fingers crossed - I'm really not that interested in doing the Tour DeTour.

Come on Bob, don't you want to go again.  My wife and I were just talking about coming up to Copper Mountain the next time we come up to the Upper Peninsula.  Copper was mentioned in this quarters IMBA magazine. 

In case any of you are watching: Canada, Montana and Wyoming   http://www.nwrfc.noaa.gov/snow/  Nothing extraordinary at this point, but the best is yet to come.  

Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico  http://www.cbrfc.noaa.gov/gmap/cmap2.php?con=snow