In an attempt not to have a rear cogset that weighs a pound I was thinking the action tec front 20tooth chainring might be a good solution to getting my low back, with a 34tooth big cog in rear. This seems like it would eliminate derailleur problems in the back. Anyone have any experience with this? Does the shifting in the front still work reasonably well?

With regard to the bivy setup and bugs, I too am afraid of bugs and utilized a bibler bivy with bug screen last year. Slightly heavy at near 2 lbs, but lots of room to move and fully waterproof. The bug screen provides great ventilation. Not ideal, but something I borrowed from a friend.

Anyone know of a company making a bicycle oriented scrolling cue sheet holder? I'm thinking of making one. If anyone has one or has made one can you post pictures?

I'm sure this has been addressed somewhere on this site but not sure where. Anyone have an opinion on best GPS unit for divide trail racing as far as being 1) able to handle the files
2)ease of use for a newbie 3) accuracy of turn information

I am planning on purchasing a unit and trying it out in the next two months. I thought a dakota would be it but it apparently can't handle file quantity?

Please help...thanx!

With regard to the training, on the positive side, the energy and excitement of the first few days( and finally starting after all that prep) of the race will really help move you down the divide, and you will forget about a missed training ride opportunity. You will have aches and pains, but the term Matt Lee throws around "Inner diesel Power" is very real and does start to kick in around days 3-6, when occasionaly the legs turn over by themselves. After that it seems you're well into the race and its a lot of mental power. I found last year that training consisting of repeated climbs (of any distance) really helped take the edge off the flathead and Montana, where repeated climbing is a daily phenomenon. I also got a cold last year during training and found a week or so of not training to not really be a big deal. Do what you can, as for me, I went out in crappy weather rather than ride a trainer, that was good prep for the crappy weather on the trail. Carry on and do what you can. Perhaps all those participating in warmer climates should receive a handicap?

Soo, experienced bike packer, inexperienced GPS'er. Is it possible to navigate and ride/race the AZT 750 with GPS only? (with map as backup of course) in other words will a gps and Scotts track allow me to navigate this behemoth somewhat flawlessly?

As for tour divide dangers, and my experience last year, I would add a pesky little cyst named giardia to the list. It sounds ridiculous and trite,  it rendered me useless in about half a day. I felt great in the morning, and before I knew it I had a beast in my belly and by midday. I took the usual precautions when filtering water and was super careful and steri penned the hell out of anything I drank from an open water source. Ultimately the conclusion I came to as to how I got the bug was from water/mud/crud splashing onto my water bottle during the wet year that it was. There's a lot of cow shit out there. If I were to give it a go again, I think I would utilize water bottles with lids over the nipples (Blaine had some nice ones) and/or have a camelbak with a nipple/hose that can be stowed in a frame bag. I also would see a doctor before hand so I could get the requisite drugs to self medicate if need be. The Flagil that I took to get better kicked in after only one day. This would be sufficient to get out of a sticky situation if need be. Perhaps not a danger as obvious as bears, but worth considering...
I also heard giardi has an incubation period of about two weeks. I suppose if you can race the route in less than 14 days you're fine 

Hey all, I'll add another intro. My name is Erik Lobeck and I've been bike touring "heavy" since I was about 20. I grew up in Germany, but have been living in Steamboat Springs, CO for the past 12 years. I started touring light last year when I rolled the tour divide(2009)with "near" success.( Everything went well until Giardia set in in pie town on day 19.) I have a desire to race the route again this year, I daydream about it a lot, but the side effects of wall street gambling has hit my profession hard, and I'm finding I need to reinvent my career somehow. We'll see if this proves too distracting to concentrate on prep. Regardless, I will enjoy using my gear to do short exploratory rides throughout COlorado and Utah. I have ridden a few rides through the alps of Austria, Germany and Switzerland with "heavy" gear and managed quite well. Panniers work well as "bumpers" on tight alpine singletrack. I hope to visit the alps again, and attempt to map out a tour divide style route traversing the alps, perhaps winding up in Italy. That would be a fun event! This is a spectacular website and I love being along like minded individuals. Carry on!

New to this site, forum. Great site/thread. Just curious to know how some of the racers dealt with smelling like bear bait during the TD in bear infested areas while bedding down for the night. I imagine clothes reeked of powerbars, burritos etc. Did the frame bags get pulled up into trees at night? Did jerseys smelling of food also get pulled up into trees? Or were racers okay with the risk?