Fantastic thread! Thanks for all of the informative posts.

I recently became horribly intrigued with the Tour Divide. My plan is to tour out of Banff next summer and perhaps try the whole route the following year. With that goal in mind, I'm putting the pieces of the puzzle together. i.e. Increasing my personal fitness, picking up gear as needed, and assembling a bike.

For the assembling a bike part of the puzzle. It will be a 29" aluminum frame of some sort. I have opted to focus on a 1x10 setup with a Shimano XTR RD. What kind of RD are you folks using on your 1x10s?

I currently have a Giant TCR carbon road bike that I love and a Giant Talon mountain bike that I also love. But, once I get the TDR 29er assembled, I will weight it as would be expected on the TDR route and that will be my ride all bike. Commute to work? Ride the TDR. Go do repetitive mountain climbs? Ride the TDR. Go play on single track? Ride the TDR. I'll still occasionally get on the tandem with the wife and use my old Scwhinn circuit

I'm game for a July or early August departure. I'm only planning on 5 to 7 days of touring just to get an idea of what it is like and I'd certainly prefer to ride with others for my first exposure to the TD route.
John

I'm going to follow along on this thread if that's alright. I have been fascinated, infatuated almost with the TD ever since I first heard about it. I'd like to know what I'm up against before ever attempting a full TD race so I'm wanting to do a touring pace from the start in Banff (July or August 2015) and see what it is like. At my current fitness level, I can easily handle 50 to 60 miles a day. But I am ramping up my training regimen so that I break out of this upcoming winter in the best shape that I've ever been.

If, after touring for a week, I see that I can handle the physical, I'll shoot for the full route in 2016. If I am not at the physical level that I need to be or it is not for me, then I either up the training a notch or just be satisfied that I at least checked it out.

I am new to the forums here, first post actually, and just recently became fascinated with the TD. As such, I'm devouring all of the information that I can about the race.

I'm not currently in the kind of shape that is necessary to make a full TD attempt in 2015, but the chances are real good that I'll get to Banff sometime next Summer and go spend 5 to 6 days touring on the route to get a feel for what I'm up against. You can look at pictures and read about other people's experiences, but sometimes you have to personally look at what you're up against in person.

I know that at my current fitness level that I could easily handle 50 to 60 miles a day, but when, and if, I make a full attempt, I want to put every advantage that I can in my corner. There are some great resources here and for that I am grateful. So thanks for letting me post and lurk around.
John