2011 Tour Divide

[Slowerthensnot]

 letter of intent in movie qoutes:

Dont forget any gear...

Them clothes got laundry numbers on them. You remember your number and always wear the ones that has your number. Any man forgets his number spends a night in the box. These here spoons you keep with you. Any man loses his spoon spends a night in the box. There's no playing grab-ass or fighting in the building. You got a grudge against another man, you fight him Saturday afternoon. Any man playing grab-ass or fighting in the building spends a night in the box. First bell's at five minutes of eight when you will get in your bunk. Last bell is at eight. Any man not in his bunk at eight spends the night in the box. There is no smoking in the prone position in bed. To smoke you must have both legs over the side of your bunk. Any man caught smoking in the prone position in bed... spends a night in the box. You get two sheets. Every Saturday, you put the clean sheet on the top... the top sheet on the bottom... and the bottom sheet you turn in to the laundry boy. Any man turns in the wrong sheet spends a night in the box. No one'll sit in the bunks with dirty pants on. Any man with dirty pants on sitting on the bunks spends a night in the box. Any man don't bring back his empty pop bottle spends a night in the box. Any man loud talking spends a night in the box. You got questions, you come to me. I'm Carr, the floor walker. I'm responsible for order in here. Any man don't keep order spends a night in...

How many times have i attempted this....

I know what you're thinking. "Did he fire six shots or only five?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?

I missed the divide this year....

Disneyland? #uck, man, this is better than Disneyland!

And what I think about anybody's doubts about the fixedgear thing on the divide this year.....

Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.

Just when I thought you couldn't possibly be any dumber, you go and do something like this... and totally redeem yourself!

Lack of good coffee....

Mmmm! Goddamn, Jimmie! This is some serious gourmet shit! Usually, me and Vince would be happy with some freeze-dried Taster's Choice right, but he springs this serious GOURMET shit on us! What flavor is this?

ummmm thats all i could come up with.....

[Marshal]

letter of intent in movie qoutes:

Dont forget any gear...

Them clothes got laundry numbers on them. You remember your number and always wear the ones that has your number. Any man forgets his number spends a night in the box. These here spoons you keep with you. Any man loses his spoon spends a night in the box. There's no playing grab-ass or fighting in the building. You got a grudge against another man, you fight him Saturday afternoon. Any man playing grab-ass or fighting in the building spends a night in the box. First bell's at five minutes of eight when you will get in your bunk. Last bell is at eight. Any man not in his bunk at eight spends the night in the box. There is no smoking in the prone position in bed. To smoke you must have both legs over the side of your bunk. Any man caught smoking in the prone position in bed... spends a night in the box. You get two sheets. Every Saturday, you put the clean sheet on the top... the top sheet on the bottom... and the bottom sheet you turn in to the laundry boy. Any man turns in the wrong sheet spends a night in the box. No one'll sit in the bunks with dirty pants on. Any man with dirty pants on sitting on the bunks spends a night in the box. Any man don't bring back his empty pop bottle spends a night in the box. Any man loud talking spends a night in the box. You got questions, you come to me. I'm Carr, the floor walker. I'm responsible for order in here. Any man don't keep order spends a night in...

Up with first light, anyone caught in the sack after the rooster done crows…you spend the night in the box……


humm—but now I wonder if the box is warm and dry, who knows it might be better than the ol Mt Hiltons???

[luckylarue]

"Living on the road
 My friend,
 Is gonna keep you
 Free and clean..."

Well, maybe not so clean

[firetwofire]

Slowerthensnot

If you keep using all the good quotes we won't have any left for the Letter of Intent, haha.
This is going to be a fun year!!!!

[JF-mtnbiker]

No crying about the weight of your kit. Could be worse. http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/heavy-bicycle-loads-10-photos

[Nathan Jones]

"You see, me and the lord, we got an understanding...

We're on a mission from god."

Blues Brothers quotes work for just about anything.

[6thElement]

"What would you do if some miracle happened and we could walk out of here tomorrow morning and start all over again clean? No record and nobody after us, huh? -Well, uh, I guess I'd do it all different..."

Or three combined:

"I wake up and I piss excellence. I wanna go fast! I'm all hopped up on mountain Dew.

[trebor]

"Stupid is as stupid does."

Outside looking in, most folks think I'm insane for doing this.

[forest_on_bike]

Well, I finally got around to pulling my photos and short video clips together. Anyone interested in seeing what the 2010 race was like for me can watch the video at: http://teamkaker.com/tour-divide-2010-movie-gear/

[Jeff Tomassetti]

Thank You Forest. Did you ever discover what was causing your chain suck problem? Did you have a GPS or just cues? Congrats on such a fast ride!
Jeff

[forest_on_bike]

Thanks Jeff.

I emailed Salsa after the race. They blame the Race Face crank. I've pasted their response below.

I had the maps, handmade cues, and a computer (and one as backup). No GPS. Now, having done the race, I would strongly recommend using a GPS.



Hi Forest,
   Thanks for the link and the great pics.  The like the South Pass sign with the population reading 17!  I want to first off let you know that I have come across this before and what we have found is that the problem lies with the crank itself, not the frame.  So regardless of a new frame, it would happen again with that crank. We are in the process of speaking with Race Face about it.  They have recommended two things.  First is to replace the rings and the second is to remove the drive side BB spacer and place it on the non drive side.  Thus bringing the whole chain line in towards the frame 2mm.  We have spoke with other consumers and dealers who have stated that replacing it with a Shimano crank solved the problem.  So my suggestion would be to take it back to your local shop and have them give Race Face a call.  If you need help determining the condition of your frame, feel free to email me directly with photo’s. After we get the shop involved we can see what we can do.  Even though it isn’t directly our product, I want to work with you and the shop to help out in any way we can.  Please let me know if you have any other questions,

Eric
Salsa Cycles

[Jeff Tomassetti]

Thank you Forest. I am going with full XTR (to reduce compatibility issues) on a Salsa El Mariachi frame. I wish my knees were as reliable!
Jeff

[phil_rad]

"all work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy"

[JF-mtnbiker]

Enjoyed it Forest!.
I used a one side spacer with my XT crank and the Lynskey frame because of the BB width.
Speaking of components... Unless you have it lucky with rain and mud (not very likely), you are going to TRASH whatever components you install to do the Tour Divide race. The XT crank is about the same weight as XTR and just as reliable. Keeping that in mind, I would show up with good, easy to work on sensable components not the most expensive... I had a Sram XO rear derailer and twisters as my only top of the line parts. Put the money in your wheels and extra butt lube.

[Mathewsen]

Great stuff, Forest. I look forward to finishing the second half (instead of netflix) before bed tonight. There's lot's of great 'what to expect' content in your vid. Please send me a link to your stills if file-shared anywhere. I thoroughly enjoyed kicking it with you this year at the end.

For the record, you did the right thing in Polaris when you passed up the High country lodge's TD Superfan 'snack stash' out on Polaris Hwy. I have spoken with the lodge owner already, and he knows that since he's not offering the cooler-cache all season long, he should not be setting it up for the Grand Depart. It's potentially a significant stash too, as the lodge itself is like half a mile off-route and hours of all local Grasshopper Valley services are limited. He's a new lodge owner and stoked about the contest, but now down with 'the plan'.

As for using GPS--or not, the conventional wisdom is that IF--and ONLY IF--you can keep a very accurate cyclometer is GPS 'totally unnecessary'. Though increasingly sacrilege, I still think a GPS-free TD would be neat terms to race by. It's one surefire way to level the navigation playing field...but yeah, 'why spend time lost', instead of riding. I see both sides.

Thanks again for producing your excellent TD`10 Doc. We were a special GC in an emotional year. We can really benefit from the 'processing' that storytelling affords us.

[Jeff Tomassetti]

OMG Forest.....an amazing, wonderful movie made while you were racing. It moved me more than that other movie that gets so much press. Thank You.....and yes, we all miss David B. I cried....

P.S. What camera did you use?

Jeff.......(now more nervous than ever.....2am riding? 200 mile daze?)

[forest_on_bike]

Glad that you enjoyed the video.

I wanted a camera that ran on disposable batteries, which I found out are not all that common. I ended using an inexpensive Olympus point and shoot digital camera. I've got to dig it up and find the model number.

As far as the miles and night riding, I'm not a good example to follow. My mileage varied wildly from one day to the next. When I felt good, I pushed. So many things would change my "plans" for the day. Believe me, I wanted more regularity to my mileage, but it just wasn't in the cards.

[6thElement]

I just sat and watched the video from start to finish, apart from superlatives I don't know how to sum it up other than thank you.

[racing4thesun]

Forest-- that movie was so great!! Ditto on it being better than the other Divide movie that is out.

So inspiring to say the least!

Thanks for putting that together.

[Marshal]

Thanks for the movie Forest .  Very nicely done, both your race and movie!!!

Sort of ‘flashback’ alley for me.  Funny how this race is so deeply etched into my brain………..wonder how long till it wears off?

Marshal

RIP DB