Tour Divide 2013

[Jeff Tomassetti]

Speaking of Jay P. Petervary; he and Tracey have put together a TD Race camp in late May. This is a good way for someone to learn a lot about the TD and have a great weekend of training. http://www.fitzgeraldsbicycles.com/about/tour-divide-tune-up-pg289.htm

[Chew]

Speaking of Jay P. Petervary; he and Tracey have put together a TD Race camp in late May. This is a good way for someone to learn a lot about the TD and have a great weekend of training. http://www.fitzgeraldsbicycles.com/about/tour-divide-tune-up-pg289.htm

 
Rarely i have a moan, but come on...

If you're going to race the Divide, needing someone else to help you out train isnt going to help you ride 100+ miles back to back for 3 weeks. And its only a few weeks before the start of the race, not really the time to be praticing using a GPS, Biving, gear selection.....

We've all been caught out of our depth at times, but having gone through this you learn what you're capable of what to do differently next time. This is the only way to learn these things not via a powerpoint presentation.

Its even worse when you read Jays thoughts on the volume of people turning up for the race start 
http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,2019.msg18374.html

[Done]

Its even worse when you read Jays thoughts on the volume of people turning up for the race start 
http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,2019.msg18374.html

Yeah, I noticed that too. Apparently it's not OK to "study someone else's kit," but it is OK to buy/sell the same information?

An amusing contradiction. Even eagles have their price, eh? But it's not the first time that someone has profited from popularizing what many hope will remain a low-profile sport (TD movie being the biggest example). In Jay's defense, he's probably just trying to make a few bucks to fund his next adventure. I don't think that he's got a trust fund, so it's hard to blame him for leveraging his experience. For newbies with the money, his camp is probably worth the bucks.

[THE LONG RANGER]

If it helps JayP and Tracey keep doing awesome things, I'm all for it - they've paid their dues

Is it MY (personal) style? Hell no, but I'm an idiot and "out of my depth" is more modus operandi than it should as I get to be wizened and old.

Its even worse when you read Jays thoughts on the volume of people turning up for the race start  icon_scratch
http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,2019.msg18374.html

Maybe his rant was more about unprepared people on the route, and if so, a clinic is a solution to the problem. This is a great example of stepping up, rather than just complaining. The person who dislikes the grub, becomes the cook, and all that.

[sthig]

I'm sorta just living by Niner's motto these days...

[Mario]

Reading Toby's comment on JayP's race camp and going back to older post about who should take part in TD all I could think of was the video:
http://youtu.be/UOXsmNhvPEU

[Done]

Reading Toby's comment on JayP's race camp and going back to older post about who should take part in TD all I could think of was the video:
http://youtu.be/UOXsmNhvPEU

Funny video.

I'm still a diehard believer that anyone who wants to try a bikepacking race should get out there and give it a go. Those who aren't prepared will learn valuable lessons (and hopefully come back stronger). That which doesn't kill you, makes you stronger! I'd hate to see this sport evolve into something that excludes amateurs and adventures like myself. Used to be that almost anyone could race the Tour de France--now you've got to be career cyclist with deep-pocketed corporate sponsors (and a secret stash of HGH, EPO, etc). I don't have anything against elite riders, so long as they don't decide that regular folks can't join the game. Let's not make the Tour Divide the Tour de France!

I'm also an advocate of sharing knowledge. NOBODY has prepared for a race solely on their own. Even the pioneers swapped ideas and borrowed from ultra-light backpackers, traditional bike-tourers, etc. When I started, I read dozens of blogs. And now I try to contribute lots of information on my blog to "pay it forward." There's still lots of room to screw up, make improvements, and develop a personal style.

I have been somewhat concerned of the inevitable commercialization of the sport. Money has a way of fucking things up sometimes. But I don't think that Jay's training camp crosses the line at all. In fact, I'm amused that he's now in the camp of encouraging, training, and helping newbies. Jay obviously knows more about gear, pacing, etc. than a lot of people, and it's cool that he's sharing some of his hard-earned experience. From a selfish perspective, I wish that he'd do it for free on a blog or something as guys like Kurt have done--but he's more than justified in earning a few bucks to pay for his adventures.

There are ways of keeping these races small enough to prevent the Forest Service (and other land-use agencies) from shutting them down. More races, multiple starting dates, different directions, more ITT efforts, etc. are ideas that will reduce the starting numbers. Narrowing the field by speed and experience, as Jay advocated, is something that I'd hate to see happen.

[sthig]

I'm also an advocate of sharing knowledge. NOBODY has prepared for a race solely on their own. Even the pioneers swapped ideas and borrowed from ultra-light backpackers, traditional bike-tourers, etc. When I started, I read dozens of blogs. And now I try to contribute lots of information on my blog to "pay it forward." There's still lots of room to screw up, make improvements, and develop a personal style.

FWIW: Everything I've learned, I've put on my blog at http://www.driven2divide.com

[mtbcast]

BTW, I'm still doing some work on MTBCast. To be honest, I really wanna get back into the commentary and interviews and such. Hopefully this year will be a return to the GDR and early TD days. We'll see. Big thanks to Toby Gadd for getting the stickers. Essentially, I plan to have stickers at the start to put on your top tube with the call in number.

Still working on some website changes, more to come. Also, if anyone is interested in getting on the phone for an interview about your approach, setup, gear, etc. Let me know. MTBCast_AT_gmail. I'm shooting for getting some shows done with some interviews leading up to the GD in June. Maybe stoke interest and get the Tour Divide's juices flowing! Let me know what you think.

[sthig]

speaking of spreading the wealth of knowledge and interviews.  I just wrapped up an interview with Hunter Weeks, co-director of Ride the Divide in podcast format
http://www.driven2divide.com/2013/03/21/podcast-interview-hunter-weeks/

[the tortoise]

I don't think it is too late to take any sort of class if you are planning on this year's Tour Divide. If it wasn't from the help of others I would never have been able to toe the line or finish the Tour Divide last year. I met JP at Stagecoach last year and he shared all sorts of information that helped me out. I didn't plan for the Tour Divide until one month out.
I think we are all conflicted human beings. We love nature but we also love things that destroy it.
No one is holding a gun to your head to take any class, but you might wish they had if you are unprepared and get yourself into deep doo doo!
It is funny how people lament the good old days, even though they were just a few short years ago. In my opinion the more people on bikes the better. If you want the purity of the experience just do an ITT.

[dream4est]

Hey maybe there wouldnt be an issue if we self-policed the sport and ran all the cheaters, drafters and bloggy Warholian fame seekers out on their azzzes?

Ride The Divide is a great flik, but lets face it that movie is the main reason there are 90-110 ppl wanting to race TD and almost that many lining up for CTR. In my shop I have had people who dont even ride MTB's know who Matt Lee is!!! Great for Matt, but then every time I race someone is making their own rules, ordering pizzas, etc. And I am just supposed to ride my own ITT now to have a "good time"? Why cant all these poser folks ride ITT's without SPOTting on the leaderboard?

Sorry to be a negative nancy, but when a slow fukkk like me has to wake up at 2am 2 days straight to beat cheaters in azt300, I develop a strong opinion that totally gets a mindset like JayP's.

JayP has every right to offer a camp and is not contradicting himself by offering a camp. He has forgotten more about divide racing than most of us will ever know. 2 straight record runs in ITT format? Not human might be part Borg.

If new people want to race, thats awesome. But drafting in the TD should be self-policed. I know I sell a product to Bikepack folks and this strong opinion may ruffle some feathers, but I dont care. It needs to be said so everyone can remember the past and not duplicate in the near future. Other sports self-regulate we need to as well.

[BobM]

Hey maybe there wouldnt be an issue if we self-policed the sport and ran all the cheaters, drafters and bloggy Warholian fame seekers out on their azzzes?

Ride The Divide is a great flik, but lets face it that movie is the main reason there are 90-110 ppl wanting to race TD and almost that many lining up for CTR. In my shop I have had people who dont even ride MTB's know who Matt Lee is!!! Great for Matt, but then every time I race someone is making their own rules, ordering pizzas, etc. And I am just supposed to ride my own ITT now to have a "good time"? Why cant all these poser folks ride ITT's without SPOTting on the leaderboard?

Sorry to be a negative nancy, but when a slow fukkk like me has to wake up at 2am 2 days straight to beat cheaters in azt300, I develop a strong opinion that totally gets a mindset like JayP's.

JayP has every right to offer a camp and is not contradicting himself by offering a camp. He has forgotten more about divide racing than most of us will ever know. 2 straight record runs in ITT format? Not human might be part Borg.

If new people want to race, thats awesome. But drafting in the TD should be self-policed. I know I sell a product to Bikepack folks and this strong opinion may ruffle some feathers, but I dont care. It needs to be said so everyone can remember the past and not duplicate in the near future. Other sports self-regulate we need to as well.

"ordering pizzas"?  Where's the "no pizzas" rule?

As for drafting, yes, it's illegal and unethical (also impractical over much of the course).  If you see it, snap a picture and shoot it over to Matthew and he can sort it out. People have been relegated for rules violations in the past.

[hikernks]

I, as a complete rookie with very little experience, think this:  We need to have a serious discussion about this race.  As others have mentioned, the simple fact, for better or worse, is the start group is getting too big.  For whatever reason(s).  I think there are a couple of good alternatives available.  

1.  Either Matt Lee or Jay P or someone like them can/ should organize a Tour Divide Invitational, separate from the grand depart.  Kind of a who's who of Divide Racing.  If nothing else, this would be awesome to blue-dot creep.

2.  Split the grand depart into two or three groups, leaving on different days.  IE - 18 days and faster leaves on Thursday, midpack leaves on Friday, and the red lantern contenders leave on Saturday.  I think this would be the best way to do it, but again, I'm just a newb.

3.  My least favorite option, by far, is to completely nix the grand depart, and go with an ITT only option.  I'm looking forward to meeting the other "crazies" in Banff, and I know others are as well, so I hope this doesn't happen.

4.  Leave everything as is, and hope the Banff Natl Park and USFS folks don't try to press the issue legally against someone.

[Longtrailahead]

I think common sense dictates that when someone is seeking, and or choosing to undertake anything out of the ordinary, that said individual would be expected to educate thyself into just exactly what they are getting involved in. Especially when it is so far removed from what your accustomed in daily normal life. Yes, the Tour Divide ride is not something that should be taken lightly. Being responsible to survive, navigate, and look after yourself really takes on an entirely new meaning during an event such as.

I am sure that many of those who are taking part in this years event, have approached differently in their own preparation IE,. training, gear selection, navigation, and so on. Many different individuals, with many different backgrounds for sure. In reading some of the above previous post made in proceeding days, I am constantly reminded of several other well documented, and personal stories known surrounding ultra-long distance cycling trips already having been made.

Story after story can be found online by individuals whom have cycled across the entire United States. Several of those successful stories, were completed by persons that really didn't have extensive cycling backgrounds behind them. Many others did! I myself have some friends from Europe, that had absolutely NO cycling experience, or backgrounds found between them. Somehow though, they came up with the bright idea to cycle across the U.S. a few summers back. Some simple planning between them, and some basic research on gear, and they were off out of Boston. A few months later, they cycled into San Francisco having successfully biked across the entire United States. They survived throughout all the difficulty's faced. The specific distance they rode is/was much more longer than the listed 2745 miles of the grand divide.

Overall I guess what I am trying to add to the conversation is, never ever under estimate the will, determination, and perseverance of a human being. Despite adversity, humans can over come just about anything if they really want too! Perfect example of that, is Jay Petervary himself. Just look at the attached video of Jay P., shot shortly last year right after kiwi Ollie Whalley pulled into Antelope Wells in first place with a course record time of 16 days, 2 hours, 46 minutes. Anything is possible!

Jay Petervary Tour Divide Record Ride on Vimeo

[Done]

"ordering pizzas"?  Where's the "no pizzas" rule?

As for drafting, yes, it's illegal and unethical (also impractical over much of the course).  If you see it, snap a picture and shoot it over to Matthew and he can sort it out. People have been relegated for rules violations in the past.

You inspired me to write a blog post:
http://tobygadd.blogspot.com/2013/03/miscreants-to-goody-two-shoes.html

[BobM]

You inspired me to write a blog post:
http://tobygadd.blogspot.com/2013/03/miscreants-to-goody-two-shoes.html

Interesting.  How did my post inspire that?

[sthig]

all I can say now is that I want pizza...

[BobM]

 

all I can say now is that I want pizza...

Well, in the Tour Divide you can call ahead for it (once the race starts)

[sthig]

probably already said this - I'm a rookie, but I like endurance cycling and have trained hard for this race.  I aim to compete - and I aim to not give up but as I've said before, if it weren't for the movie, I'd not even known about it.