Tour Divide Day 6

Tour Divide Day 6- Wise River to Lima, ~145 miles

I started the day pretty late from Wise, 6 am. I knew that I needed at least 5 hours of sleep to feel ok in the morning so I gave myself an extra hours in the sack. As I was packing up my bike I spotted the Eurotrain leaving town.

I shot this video as I was riding away from Wise. My saddle sores were really hurting this morning and it was obvious by the fact I spent the first 30 minutes riding out of the saddle. The roadway out of Wise was really smooth, which made the hiney less painful at least.

I shot this as I was riding out of Wise. I look like crap but I swear I don't remember feeling that bad... except for my bootie. 

The nice paved roadway lead towards the large paved pass that Mary Collier rides down in Ride the Divide (I think Mike D says something like, "You guys should get her riding down that pass, it will really lift her spirits"). The pass wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be from the movie. Don't get me wrong, it was steep and killer and oxygen depriving and I rode the whole thing in granny gear and it was all around brutal but it just didn't seem mentally as hard as I expected. Maybe my mind was getting 'fitter' as the race progressed?

The descent into the next town was pretty fun and the movie was spot on about that part. I saw several bikes stopped at the local restaurant/inn, The Grasshopper. I stopped in and grabbed some lunch with Dave G. and the Eurotrain, who regaled that they had been waiting 'forever' for their food. I walked right up to the waiter without hesitation and just ordered what I was hungry for.

As the waiter got my order going I prepped my bike and refilled my water. I asked about the local mercantile and they said it was 'closed on Wednesdays'. I then asked what day it was, because I literally lost track after day 2. And, they answered, "Wednesday". Of course. I didn't want to wait for them to make me another order of food since they were so slow. So, I rounded up some junk food from the associated Grasshopper Inn; two boxes of frosted flakes and three bags of chips.

This had to last me the 90 miles to Lima.

The down side of an efficient resupply, having not enough food AND the food you get isn't even appetizing. The up side, I was out the door with Dave G, who had beat me there by an hour, and I beat the Eurotrain out the door by 30 minutes. 

The road between The Grasshopper and Lima begins as mostly rolling pavement and then it hits a dirt road that is a super long undulating climb. The riding was fun but really unremarkable, just more dirt road cruising. However, from a logistical standpoint I learned a lot.

Leaving The Grass Hopper I took three liters of water, that's one liter per 30 miles. Pretty much a good estimate for me. However, about 30 minutes after I headed out it go hot, like 85 degrees hot. Now that's not saying much but I'm from Alaska and I haven't raced in weather above 75 since Xterra Worlds in 2008.

I became very concerned about the water situation and I basically stopped drinking except for a few sips because I just didn't know if there were going to be other water resupply points. I continued riding without drinking until I hit 40 miles. Then I started to feel really thirsty so I stopped to check my supply. I had only consumed 9 oz of water in 40 miles..... That's only about HALF of a SMALL WATER BOTTLE. WTF?????? (Apparently this race makes you very mentally strong.) At that point I started drinking more and thus I could eat more, although two mini boxes of cereal and three mini bags of chips isn't really a feast.

After I topped out the pass and started riding down I noticed the sun was beginning to fade. A quick watch check told me that it was getting really late. I started to worry that I wouldn't make it to Lima in time to get a room and that also mean NO FOOD. In a panic I started TTing (time trialing) down the pass. Now, I might be a cripple but if there is one thing I learned to do when I raced triathlons it is 'how to drop into the aerobars and ride like an @$$hole'.

As I closed the distance towards Lima I began to really drop the hammer until I was riding the downhill rollers in the big ring. I only had food on my mind. Day dreams of pizza, and burgers, and shakes, and fries, and steak, and eggs, and pancakes, and thai food danced through my head. The fading light made my day dreams even more vivid, I think I could actually see food floating around over my aerobars.

All of the sudden I saw a flash of movement out of the bushes. I wanted to grab for my brakes but there wasn't time. I braced my self for an inevitable collision as the biggest-freaking-lion-I-have-ever-seen-in-my-life ran out across the trail. I thought I actually saw my front wheel hit it but I never fell over. That cat must have had some serious Matrix skills. I still don't understand how I missed hitting it.

In short order I hit the last pavement stretch into Lima so I stopped to call the hotel. I was in luck yet again. They had a room left so I reserved it.

Cruising into Lima, still feeling high on adrenaline post mountain lion near death experience

As I rode into Lima I called my wife, MTBcast, and a few friends. I just wanted to talk I guess. At the hotel the manager told me that the Eurotrain had arrived ten minutes after I called. That means over the 90 miles distance they were only about 20-40 minutes faster than me, not a bad showing for a fat cripple. (I had seen that several bikes were over at the bar, likely their corresponding riders were drinking beer and eating.) He also told me that nothing in town opened until 7 am.

I reasoned that a few beers would make all those riders forget about resupplying for the morning and thus they would have to wait until at least 7 am to get going, not to mention the fact that a sleepy divide racer a few beers makes. I decided to buy up most of the food at the front desk and hope that the others didn't think about logistics until they tried to leave at 6 am. I scrambled off to my room to prep my bike, body, and gear for the morning.

A Tour feast. Those frozen hot pockets are even less awesome tasting when they are half thawed at 8 am the next morning. 

The blog entry for Day 7 will tell us if the Rookie Gambit pays off......

Tour Divide Day 1

Day 1- Banff to Sparwood, 145 miles 16 hours

Day one was cray fun. I had been in Banff for a few days prior to the race. I basically hung out at Starbucks and watched old reruns of TV shows online, whatever I could do to keep myself away from my bike and all that nervous energy up at the Banff Y hostel. I went to breakfast at Mcdonald's with some other racers. Man, that was the first of many a greasy meal!

I rode back up to the start and it was like a who's who of endurance biking. I saw most of my favorite riders, even Aidan Harding! (More on that sneaky fella later...)

Here is a picture of Mike Dion from Ride the Divide!

I learned they were shooting film for another sweet movie, The Path.

Crazy Larry, an infamous Divide character, announced he was going to lead the group out. And just like that we were off! It was really interesting riding out in such a huge group of mountain bikers loaded down with tons of gear, food, and water.

As the peloton made its way down the bike path to the official start of the trail I heard some guy making wise cracks about the Canadian Forest Service. I looked over and it was none other than Kurt Refsnider! I was just super stoked at this point. I had worked so hard just to be where I was and overcome so much that I was nearly in tears thinking about it all.

This would not be the last time that I was in tears.

The scenery was stunning all day long. It really reminded me of riding back home in Alaska. I think I had a level of comfort all day long that lots of other people didn't. After a few brief conversations I figured out that I had trained a lot more than most people ( Few people had even done a multi-day ride..... WHAT?!) and I had organized my gear WAY more (Lots of riders in the group hadn't even decided what to take with them until the morning of the race.... WHAT?!).

As the race progressed I was steadily passed by many riders, I actually don't think I ever even passed a moving rider the entire race. The reality of my injury and the toll that it took on my speed was obvious. I walked many climbs that other riders just whipped right up. However, I also realized that I was trained to ride long hours without stopping while others were stopping frequently and for long periods of time. This would play out to my benefit over the weeks to come.

I rode with a few other riders into the first little shop at about 60 miles and then I was quickly off, passing about 15 riders that were laying out on the grass for a break and eating. I continued on through the rolling hills of the Canadian Rockies (Hahahahaha, I said 'rolling hills'!) for sometime until I came to Elkford. I hit up the gas station for some food but only enough to make it to Sparwood, I would later regret this decision a bit.

Just out of Elkford there is a HUGE paved climb that sapped the life out of me. I'm not sure what it was about the climb that got to me, other than the fact that I wasn't expecting it. I recovered from the climb on the nice rocky descent towards Sparwood as the sun set.

Once it got dark and I hit the pavement, I started to get COLD. I didn't want to stop because I wanted to make Sparwood so I just pushed on through my chattering teeth. As I made it to town, about midnight, I quickly realized that all the stores were going to be closed. I even flagged down a local who laughed when I asked if anything was open. In retrospect I should have grabbed a bit more food in Sparwood so I could have a good dinner in the trees past Sparwood.

Without food and the fact I was shivering like crazy I decided to pop into the hotel and get a room. The hotel kitchen was closed but I did find a vending machine.... Mmmmmmmm nothing satisfies like sour gummy worms, doritos, and cornnuts.

I washed my shorts, gloves, and socks in the sink, cleaned up the bike, and hit the sack about 1 am. As I dozed off to sleep I was still excited and ready to go, I guess that's why it was still easy to set my alarm for 4:45!

Overall it was a great day on the divide. My kit was working out very well and I felt rewarded for all the work that I had put into it.

Ah but the adventure was still begining, many glorious hard days to come......

Look at that sweet kit on the Niner. It looks like it only weighs about 30 pounds because it does only weight about 30 pounds! A post about my bikepacking setup is coming.....