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Melted ergon grips from the Southern New Mexico sun. |
Tour Divide Training:
I started training for the tour about a year out. I was still recovering from a brutal injury that I incurred as a police officer and had just recently started riding again (my first ride post injury was 35 seconds). At the point about a year before the race, I had worked my way up to riding for ~2 hours and I was feeling ok about my progress.
From this point I continued to push my long rides further and further. Slowly and consistently I pushed out to one ~6 hour ride a week. I then started riding with my bike loaded in preparation for a 100 mile snow bike race on the Iditarod trail in late winter. In my opinion, one of the best things that I did for my training was riding with a loaded bike. It really helped strengthen my tendons and my mind to the load (literally) that I would be bearing during the Divide.
The 100 mile snow bike race that I did too me exactly 24 hours and I did it with only an accidental 30 minute nap at the last check point. (I fell asleep sitting upright in a chair while I was eating soup.) This was about four months out from the tour. My goal for this race was to be able to ride ~16 hours at a continuous pace that I felt I could hold for the entire divide, about a 5 out of 10 on the ol' effort scale.
After this race, I took a few easy weeks because I was mentally burned out. After some mental recovery I eased back into training. I took this opportunity to really refine my gear and load on the bike.
I then set a goal for my first multi day ride, which was actually a road ride since the trails are far too muddy in spring to be of any use. In order to maintain my tour divide positioning and such, I switched my mountain bike saddle and pedals to my road bike. I also wore mountain biking gear (to include shoes) and loaded my full gear load on my bike.
For the training ride I rode from my house for two full days and ended up in a city where there was a 130+ mile race that covered lots of elevation on the third day. I rode this race after camping in a friends yard on the second night. During this training ride I was completely self supported and I only wore my biking clothes just like I was planning to do on the divide. This ride was done ~2 months before the divide. It gave me the confidence to know that I could go the distance.
Finally, I rode a 140 mile race that was all on dirt road about three weeks before the divide. For the race I rode completely loaded even though the other racers were on tricked out cross country rigs. I camped out in my divide sleeping kit, woke up at the crack of dawn, and did the course as an ITT (I left about four hours before the race started). The winner and I finished within a few minutes of each other. It's not bad considering the fact I was carrying camping gear, food, and 7 liters of water the whole time!
After that, I just chilled for about 3 weeks and slowly cranked down the miles. The week of the divide start I only rode one time. It was a good mental break from the bike and all the hard work I had put in.
So, that about covers what I did. I have three other pointers that were crucial to my training:
1) For the love of all that is holy, ride with a loaded bike! I know I harp on this like a mofo. But really, you MUST condition your tendons and mind to handle the load. It is so important! I firmly believe that anybody can condition their bodies for the miles of the divide during the race so long as they have put in the work to make their body hardy enough for the work load.
2) Peak for the finish, not for the start. It is important to remember that this race is 20-30 days long for most riders. That is the longer than an entire training cycle for most elite athletes (By that I mean, most athletes build for three weeks and then take a recovery week each cycle of training.) You need to work hard in training but you also need to show up ready to put in a full mental effort from the get go. It seemed to me that too many riders were taxed to the max on the morning of day 1.
3) Bike commute. The entire year before the divide, I commuted by bike most days. I even rode to training sessions. I became infamous for riding across town to a group training session, crushing the interval work and then cruising home. This not only helped me build fitness but it taught my body to keep riding even after I was whooped from hard riding. Nothing teaches you body to survive a bonkfest like forcing your body into a bonk on a regular basis.
Things I wish I would have done:
1) I wish I would have done more heat training. I suffered in the souther parts of the race. I failed to anticipate how hot it was going to be. Some of this was due to the fact that they had an incredibly hot and dry snap right as I hit New Mexico, it was literally record setting. (See above picture of my MELTED handlebar grips)
2) I wish I would have concentrated on loosing more weight. I was too heavy when I started. Part of this was due to my heavy training load (all I could do was eat after a three day ride) and part of it was due to my lack of discipline in the diet department.
3) I should have trained more climbing. If it was possible, I would only ride uphill for the entire year before my next attempt at the divide. That's right, I would do my best to never coast, never roll on flat terrain, and never take it easy.... I would just climb. (Yes, there was THAT much climbing on the divide)
Well, that about does it for the training section. Good luck to all you racers and be sure to post any questions in the comments section!!!!
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