This is the link but it fails as a "duplicate" ... maybe the music got it deleted? Was pretty grim first week until that morning in Ovando when the sun came out ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EpGcDxYZ_M

Thanks Dave, That would have been the video, I don't remember any music but that doesn't mean there wasn't any. That first week was wet and wild for sure.

Thanks to both of you, Two Tired and bikelite.
That was more than I could find!
Calvin passed me like I was standing still in 2014 (he'd taken a lot of time off in Ovando)
Amazing to see how much ground he managed to make up.
That guy can ride.
Cheers, Dave

Does anyone have a link to Calvin Decker's youtube footage from the 2014 Tour Divide?
I can't find it and would like to remind myself just how miserable it can be out there.

Note: The start in 2021 will be on Friday June 11th ... don't give them a one day head start!!

Hello Dave, Can you post the links to the google forms here when you get a chance? Thx, Dave

I turned off the background map. Much preferred it like that, with just the pink line to follow.

I’m not planning on 2020, but I am curious about the inclusion of a start in Jasper in the start list. Is that an unofficial unofficial thing or unofficial? , if ya know what I mean.

You are talking of a Banff start? Following the route released for that year's GD?
It's quite an interesting thought

I’m riding this year. I almost wish I wasn’t, ‘cause it does look like an interesting year to be watching on the screen.

Looks like the unofficial list is up.

The input form for 2019 starters is here:
https://goo.gl/forms/NRQUFTxRU4uTMUiW2

and the unofficial list of 2019 starters is here to see who is entered:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VhPG0NJSpLqF6J2YZT3Ql3m2l1X8vfxwQRCg8zm3M6k/edit?fbclid=IwAR2Td1JbLRqbSJTXd7i-itbmHs2YGV708h5obfcdmB6eNDe7HaT9H73VFds#gid=781387452

"riding" the Crossing Creek trail?  Best of luck!

Ha! Fair enough. I’ll let you know how it goes!

Tour Divide will continue to use Crossing Creek Trail, aka Koko Claims, in trade for the 50mi of pavement the ACA GDMBR travels through Sparwood, meth capital of BC. Yes, Koko is more challenging, and doesn't support Bob trailers, but other dividends are there. It makes sense to support the town of Fernie, too, and all they do / have done for Divide racers through the years.

Not having done Koko, and only having seen a few limited pictures, I can firmly state that I am looking forward to riding the Crossing Creek Trail this June. And I know I like Fernie.

, any experience with bringing a puffy vest opposed to a puffy jacket?

I used a vest very briefly in the spring before TD, I switched pretty quickly to a jacket. The small weight penalty was more than offset by the added warmth of sleeves and a hood. The Divide has the potential to be way colder than you would have thought ( well, it was way colder than I thought it would be ). I am interested in how you end up running your lights. I've been happy with a dyno light, and keeping things as simple as I can figure. Still room to work on that for me though.

Megan said she hasn't created it yet but will get to it.

OK. Thanks for the info.

Is there an "unofficial start list " out there yet for TD2019?
And an address for it?

Curious. Is the FB group & bikepacking.net/forum the only sources for current TD info now?

It would certainly appear that FB is going to be the best source of info. I'd prefer if it was this site.
I am showing up for next year's TD (2019). I feel overwhelmed and under prepared, and I've been down the route twice before.
The start of cold weather here in Ontario always reminds me of what TD can throw at you.

A very unofficial list. And kinda hidden this year.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Wgily7rwXq0G5OaC_IeXllI-VzZEcIBY6HugfQ3UzQs/edit#gid=2026310916

How did you handle the cold/wet weather?

I’ve been trying to write an answer to that question, and everything I write sounds like it came out of a cheap self-help book. Dealing with the wet and the cold is more of a mental game than anything, I believe. You can have all the right clothing, but you’re still going to be wet, cold and tired at some point. Perhaps even very wet, very cold and very tired. Accept it, keep going, enjoy it even, but always be ready to stop and go to ground in that warm sleeping bag (kept really dry, inside a dry bag and plastic bag) if you need to.
I didn’t enjoy TD2014 as much as I thought I would. It bugged me that I hadn’t. When I got back I started doing internet searches on “being happy”. A lot of what came up was the idea that happy is an internal state. That “happy” doesn’t really have anything to do with external factors, like your job, or money, or hunger, or the weather. Something in what I read must have stuck, ‘cause I really enjoyed 2016, even the cold, wet bits. Anyway, that’s my answer, for what it’s worth. ( and  I cursed,  but just a little bit )

I think my biggest concern is cold wet weather too. I rode in 2014 and 2016. Both times it was wet (rain or snow) and sitting right at freezing for a couple of days at the start. I was soaked and cold both years. And either a motel room or my sleeping bag was the most amazing place in the world. That I think is the most important thing, to have a dry sleeping bag or somewhere that you can get away from the cold and wet, and recover.

I've got my bike under control ( True North custom steel, just a mountain bike but it works ). It's everything else that I spend time thinking what ifs about. As in "what if I change to a bivy instead of my tent".
What if I use gore-tex socks instead of booties? What if I get rid of the frame bag and just go with bottle cages?
Bah! It's all good, never perfect!
Cheers, Dave

Hi wondering if someone can provide some advice on checking up on a rider. Got a text from my son Brad Ryan last night that he was not feeling well and haven't been able to reach him since. His tracker has not reported any movement over the last 12 hours.  He's between Boulder and Atlantic city at the 1284 mile mark.

Looks like your son just woke up and is back on the bike. Hope he's feeling better too!