It likely won't have a car buried on top...

Everyone has their own interpretation of self supported.

Boy is that ever the truth. Over the last couple of years I've watched a few of those 'Impossible Route' things on YT. They claim they are 'self supported' but have a cook making meals for them at their intended stopping point for the night, as well as of course, a film crew. They don't seem to carry much in the way of bikepacking gear with them... despite that they can be interesting. But I don't see them as 'self supported'.

Thank you for that explanation! Why did they change it?  I did hate that "singletrack" section just south of elkford... Lol...

Koko was a response to a bridge washed out in the Flathead Valley in 2017. Its since been repaired but Koko remains.
 

Thanks!

So the current gpx file shows the Swan Valley reroute from last year rather than the original route? I'm not clear on this.

The Colorado monsoons start in June and slowly increase in intensity until about September, dropping off pretty quickly by the middle of that month.

What shelter works for you will have a lot to do with your temperature tolerance, your elevation and how much rain you get. There's a lot of pushing and hard climbs so the shelter weight and overall sleeping kit will affect you one way or the other.

I used an OR Bivy which worked great as all I had to do was find a place that was level. I stayed dry and had no troubles with condensation. 

The gpx file for the race is usually available about a week or so before the Grand Depart.

I've been looking at the Wahoo Elemnt Roam for use on the Tour Divide. My experience so far is mixed. I like the battery life (about 17 hours claimed, about double what my Edge 1000 can do) and it has membranes to control functions instead of a touch screen. I'm not a fan of the touch screen on my Garmin; during rain it can change screens and more than once I've found it gone from displaying the route to a settings page! So buttons seems a better idea since rain is simply a thing on the Divide.

But the Roam has its own ...personality. It really seems as if its really meant for shorter routes, like a 100 mile race or the like. It took a while figuring a way to load last year's TDR gpx file. Wahoo recommended loading it directly from a computer and not using the app. But the Roam refuses to be recognized when I plug it in to the USB port on my Mac.

To talk to it you have to use the app which you install on your phone. There are good and bad things about that. You have to enable Bluetooth, and it wants location services on too. Its a gps and doesn't need my location! or shouldn't. I don't get that part. The app isn't that well laid out; IMO they needed to get a User Experience Analyst to work out some of the usability bugs. One of them on my iphone 12 is that when I want to load the route (and the TDR being the only one I have loaded) you have to navigate the menus and it does not show up on the route page- until you have scroll it to see it listed. On my Garmin to load a route is a lot easier- you can see what to do as soon as it boots up. 

The other thing it wants to do is sync between the phone and the gps itself. This apparently takes a while. I'm just at home right now, but the way this seems to be playing out is that to run the Roam on any given day I'll have to interface it with the phone on each day, load and sync... which will be a 5-7 minute delay?? If that's real I'll be looking at something else. With my old Garmin I can just start where I left off...

Sweet

Since the spray can go for 30 feet, no you don't pour it on the bear, you spray it with the spray. Often bears do a mock charge and stop to assess things before leaving or attacking. Since they can run at 35 miles an hour you can't run away or ride away. You have to stand them down.

People who have and use bear spray are far less likely to be injured or killed by a bear.

Interesting. And what are these cylinders?

Compressed pepper spray, enough to send the spray in a fine line for about 30 feet. In the US and Canada, if you go into 'bear country' you are never without bear spray. So the canisters are sold in all Banff sporting goods shops.

In the northern US, yes.

At least there will be water on the route....

Its on!

http://trackleaders.com/ctr21

Durango to Denver this year.

Finally I'll get to cross the one off my lists of things I have to do a least once and get addicted to.

There is no other sign up requirement. The original 'unofficial sign up sheet' was created back in the day for the purpose of those interested in contributing to the Cordillera. It is not required nor used by the RD for official purposes. A lot of riders do not put their info on that spreadsheet. Totally up to you.

Isn't that list also used for the trackleaders page? Its been so long (2019) now I just don't remember

If it were me I'd keep the CDT singletrack in NM too. I prefer the TDR route through the Basin as well. More scenic and more water... 

A concern coming in from my friends in New Mexico - the Navajo nation is still experiencing very high levels of coronavirus outbreaks. A two  week required quarantine was implemented to pass through that territory. Last summer, they closed the interior N.M. border to neighboring states. I'm not sure as of this morning what the status is. Hopefully health will progress rapidly.
In some regards, it would seem prudent at this volatile time that the TD not be an organized event this year due to the unpredictability of Covid and its rippling effects, and thus subsequent liability or negativity to the race director. Several other favorite races have canceled this year for these reasons.
Riding our bikes in events is a privilege given to us by those who have worked hard to create them. Waiting a year or two for the next opportunity so that safe passage, community health, and city, state and countries are fully on board is certainly worth it IMHO. I would rather wait than jeopardize future opportunities or a race directors ability to continue to provide racing opportunities.
Do we miss the races? Of course. Passion courses through our veins. But patience does as well - we're bikepackers. Let patience have its way, ride the endless supply of open trails available across the US and know that the Tour Divide, if not this year, will most certainly be back in '22. Whatever decision is made by Matt I will support. Either way, my sights are set on '22.

This says nothing about June so is merely a glimmer of hope. I think Colorado is not considered 'high risk' at least not right now.

From the

Effective February 11, New Mexico will no longer require self-quarantine for visitors arriving into the state from "high-risk" states.

from https://www.newmexico.org/covid-19-traveler-information/

I recently had to get surgery on my thumbs for something called 'trigger finger'. Trust me it sucks. Prior to that operating thumb shifters was really painful.

What I like about twist grip shifters is you can grab a handful of gears and shift across the range instantly and without effort. I have the shifter integrated into the primary hand position on my handlebars.

But you are quite correct!!- to each his own.

If the solution is not having to stop in Pinedale or Steamboat to replace a chain, in fact not having to stop at all to service the bike other than brake pads and possibly a flat, count me in. No lube/cleaning, maybe a dowse of water if it squeaks too much with dust.

The Gates lasts so much longer, you could easily do a yoyo before thinking about replacement. And if it fails- a spare is quite lightweight. The downside is that you have to carry the spare.

There are people that do the Divide on a single-speed, so what gears a person has seems a matter of what they want to claim. I've thought a lot about doing the Divide on a vintage bike right down to the 3-speed hub and waxed canvas bags, heck- its been done on a unicycle (yikes), but after a while I think about how hard enough it is to do with modern gear and so think about something else like dinner. So I'm not going to argue with anyone about what gears they do or do not want on the bike. But I can say this after riding Rohloff hubs for the last 15 years or so- being able to shift when you want to is really nice. As soon as the grade turns down- put it instantly in high gear and pedal lightly- the bike picks up speed sooner than you can do on a derailleur. The weight issue is gone if the belt is in play- so is the drag compared to modern 1:X drivetrains (so long as the Rohloff is broken in, which seems to take a good 1000 miles...), so it comes down to reliable shifting, not having to worry about rocks or mud snapping the derailleur mount or bending a cage... for me its peace of mind and the extra range of the gearing.

Lets talk gearing - what's everyone thinking?
2x or 1x
pro's con's and exp.
What do you have in the back?

Hope to be able to see everyone in 2021.

Brad

I'm doing Rohloff with Gates belt drive as well.

Still trying to sort out how to pack everything in a handlebar roll, framebag and seatbag. I managed the sleep system in the handlebar roll, but the seat bag engages the rear wheel when I hit bumps. So I'm very likely to run my Rouge Panda panniers and Tubus rack again. They've held up really well over the last 4 years...