Big Bang Theory

Well, it's official. My blog is blowing up. I have readers from every continent except Antarctica (though I'm sure those will be coming soon!). 


Several readers are, like me, stoked on bikepacking. Given the stoked-ness of my general readership and my apparent 'expertise', many readers have turned to me with questions. 


This post is dedicated to answering some of those common questions about my tour divide set up, the race, and logistics. If you have more, feel free to post and ask. As I get a second collection of commonly asked question I will post another blog entry along these lines.


Without further ado...




Did you stay in hotels very much?


I stayed in hotels sporadically. The first week, I stayed about every other night. The second week, about two nights. After Del Norte I camped every night and didn't shower until the finish.


Did you use a tent or bivy sack? make and model?


I used a special home made Tour Divide set up. I literally spent more than 200 hours researching, testing, and making my own gear JUST FOR MY SLEEP SYSTEM. In hind sight I would change a few things but they would be minute in nature. 


The sleep system itself, including the dry bag that held it, weighed 1 pound 14.6 ounces.


This included:


1- Western mountaineering highlite (long) that I cut down and re-sew into a quilt that covered up to my mid chest.


2- Neo Air (short) that I cut down and resealed so it was torso length.


3- A backpacking light bivy. This bivy weighs about 5 ounces, has a water proof bottom, and very breathable top.


4- A sil-nylon tarp that I cut down to be JUST big enough to provide SOME shelter from rain.


Below is a picture (albeit poor) of the tarp set up. The tarp is attached to my bike with a custom/home made system. Next to it you can see the dry bag that held all my sleep goodies. 

Next is a photo showing how my sleeping bag/quilt fits with the pad underneath.

Finally the quilt and pad in a bivy.

It is important to note that this system is VERY minimal. I only trusted myself out there because I know my skills. More importantly, I know my suffering threshold. For example, the race I did before the Divide was the Susitna 100, a 100 mile snow bike race on the Iditarod sled dog trail. At the beginning of the race it was -12 F. The course took me 24 hours and it got well below -25 F during the night. I know what kind of cold I can handle for hours on end because of my training. It is very important that each and every divide racer understands what their particular physical limitations and strengths are. If you need something that is a bit warmer than what I took, pack it up and take it. A warmer sleeping bag is only a few more ounces of down for chrissake!


Don't imitate my system based on my experiences... FIND OUT WHAT WORKS FOR YOU. I would hate to see a racer need rescuing off the course because they became hypothermic using a system based off of mine. Unless of course they were in front of me. Then I wouldn't mind so much gaining a place in the standings (I kid, I kid!).


Did you use a GPS? If so, what make and model?


Yup. Garmin eTrex Vista HCx. I have also used the Delorme unit that is now mate-able with the latest Spot device. It was a good unit as well. I switched to the Garmin because it is compatible with my Mac (Damn you Mac addiction!!!!).


Did you have Cue cards? I know some of these racers did, but not sure were they got them.


I did not use cue cards. I used home made profile sheets with notes on them about different services along the way.

This should give you an idea....

The information that I used on my profile sheets was gleaned form the ACA maps, bikepacking.net, and dozens of blogs. I read, read, and re-read each blog. I felt like this was strength also. I had the most veteran knowledge that a rookie can have in this race.


Some racers made cue cards off of the electronic version of the cues that you can get from ACA.



Did you use the ACA maps?


Yes and no. I used the maps for intel when route planning and note taking. No, I did not carry them. Again, I would NOT RECOMMEND DOING THIS. I almost got seriously lost out there a few times. Sometimes it was just so hard to tell where to go exactly with out the cues in front you.


Every now and again the cues just refer to a general direction and some feature that can be seen. Like on Fleecer. At the top the cues point you through a field to 'lonely fence post' that is in a random direction. Had I not seen another racer going that direction, I would have been seriously bewildered up there in the dark all alone wandering aimlessly along the general direction of a gps heading. 


How difficult did you find figuring out where to go? 


It was really easy to figure out where to go (most of the time!). The problems came when I would get tired and stop paying attention to my GPS. Then I would occasionally make wrong turns and get in some bonus mileage (Only really about a few bonus mile altogether throughout the race thanks to the GPS. However, those miles probably cost me a couple hours of being lost altogether.). 


I found it easiest to miss turns while I was bombing down hill. Sometimes I was too concentrated on staying up right and not looking at the GPS. Then I would get to ride BACK UP the hill and take the correct turn!


I found it best to just slow down a bit and watch what I was doing. 



I would like to see your complete gear list


And I would like to see Matthew Lee's complete gear list!!! But really, you can see a list that I have that is close to what I brought. Go to bikepacking.net, look up posts by the user BigPoppa (that's me!). Early on in the Tour Divide '11 discussion (not the race update thread, the prerace discussion thread that is now locked) I posted my gear list asking for advice. That list was closely unchanged for the race. 


It's like an easter egg hunt! Go find that intel!




What did your Tour Divide set up look like?


Here is my ride. Straight pimpin'.

Compared to most other racers I looked like I was out on a day ride.

Aidan Harding referred to it as 'the bare, bare, ultra-minimalist set up'.

The guy at the bike shop in Banff said, "Matthew Lee's ride is the only divide bike I've seen with less gear." (Now THAT is an endorsement!)

How much money did you spend while you were actually on the route?
I'm not really sure how much I spent each day. Some days the rooms were 50-100, and some days I camped. Some days I ate at a lot of restaurants and some days I resupplied at a supermarket. It was just highly variable. I would say if you motel it, maybe 150-200 a day..? If you camp, maybe 50-100..?

It's really just hard to estimate the cost.


Did you have to hang your food any where?

I never hung my food. Every crevasse of clothing was filled with grease and crumbs by the end of day 1. Hanging wouldn't have done me any good. In fact, the only smart and 'bear safe' thing would have been to hang myself from a tree.




What was the most amount of food you carried between resupply points?

I planned my resupply by the distance to the next resupply. I would make sure I had a 'meal' for each meal that I thought I would be out there for. And, I brought plenty of snacks.

For example, it was ~140 miles from Atlantic City to Rawlins. I thought that would take about 24 hours (including some sleep) and I was leaving at noon. So I took a late lunch, a dinner, and a second dinner for bivy time. Then for the next day I took a breakfast and a lunch. Then I filled up with snack foods after that.

Really though, what food you need depends on your needs and you will learn that with experiences out there. You will learn by day 4 what you need and it will be second nature.


What would you do different next year?

I wouldn't really change a thing. I had worked and practiced with my kit extensively. I had done a few multi day training rides. I knew what it would take.

Maybe I would do a few small gear changes but only to save MAYBE half a pound. Other than that, it was gold




What gear companies do you use? 


I ride and recommend:

Niner bikes, Revelate bikepacking gear, Wester Mountaineering stuffs, SRAM components, WTB Nanoraptors, Cheap bottled water bottles, Dumonde Tech, Princeton EOS lights, Syntace aero bars , Ritchey carbon accesories , and Granite gear drybags.


I just wish these people would sponsor me!!






Ok, that's all I have for now. There will be more to follow on Tour Divide set up, logistics, and general gear geekery!