Tour Divide 2015 for armchair viewers

[Blackhound]

JP and NB in Abiquiu together earlier. Of the chasers Seb Dunne is out with broken ti forks. Could have been painful I believe.

Jameso - what do you make of JP's bb issues in last photo of the link above?

[johnnystorm]

Jameso - what do you make of JP's bb issues in last photo of the link above?

I'm amazed he got as far as he did, my Salsa PF BB conked out after about 500 miles!

[Bearbonesnorm]

I read that Salsa were blaming the BB failure on JP removing a BB from his old bike and fitting it to his new frame ... doesn't really explain everyone elses pf BB woes though, does it

[jay91]

Lael is smashing it if she had a better start without breathing problems etc she would be right with jay/Neil

[johnnystorm]

I read that Salsa were blaming the BB failure on JP removing a BB from his old bike and fitting it to his new frame ... doesn't really explain everyone elses pf BB woes though, does it

*cough* Bullshit *cough*

He does appear to have fitted a double/triple instead of the 1x but then surely he's done this enough times to fit a new one at the start...

[johnnystorm]

Lael is smashing it if she had a better start without breathing problems etc she would be right with jay/Neil

Has the hoo-ha about her going through Rawlins been settled?

[jay91]

I think she was let off?

[Mart]

Gabe now at Brush Mountain Lodge
they posted fine pics on Facebook, struggling to link with phone

[jameso]

JP and NB in Abiquiu together earlier. Of the chasers Seb Dunne is out with broken ti forks. Could have been painful I believe.

Jameso - what do you make of JP's bb issues in last photo of the link above?

I saw that, 'interesting' mechanicals huh. I'd say Salsa are raving mad making a 'TDR' bike with BB30, with respect to what they do which is generally really good. And ti forks .. almost as risky a choice imo as BB30. Easy to sound like a smart-ass pundit though, not intending that, just seem like failures of parts that would feel like a risky choice before starting. A real shame for Seb Dunne, he was riding so well. I saw he'd not moved in a while and wondered what had happened.

Front 3 headed for a sub 15-day finish, not much over 14 possibly?

[Blackhound]

Yes, looking like about 14 days which is nuts, ~200 miles a day pace. From Grants the navigation and route is fairly straight forward which will help NB who does not know the route. I was in pretty bad shape which might shape my recollection but the 12 miles section from the camp ground towards Silver City was tricky to navigate. Although I found the trail rough between Beaverhead WS to the road, a distance of about 50 miles, it was straight forward to navigate. Just about my fastest 100 mile section on the route was Pie Town to Beaverhead WS and Grants to Pie Town is only 2 or 3 roads.

Seb was doing well, very hard on him. I recall Aidan Harding having a ti failure (frame in his case) in 2011 but as it was near Steamboat he was able to get it repaired.

[whitestone]

What sort of ground is being covered? Mostly fire road type tracks or closer to what we'd term singletrack? I take it that the route is virtually all off-road, maybe a mile or two here and there to link things up. 200 miles a day is a ridiculous amount of riding for a single day let alone 14

[GregMay]

Jameso - what do you make of JP's bb issues in last photo of the link above?

I'm amazed he got as far as he did, my Salsa PF BB conked out after about 500 miles!

Funny, I've done over 2,000km on mine with no issues. Then I broke the frame.

[atk]

Spent most of the morning reading Josh's account from last year: http://faroutwanderings.blogspot.co.uk/ ... ients.html

[johnnystorm]

Jameso - what do you make of JP's bb issues in last photo of the link above?

I'm amazed he got as far as he did, my Salsa PF BB conked out after about 500 miles!

Funny, I've done over 2,000km on mine with no issues. Then I broke the frame.

I shouldn't complain then!

Mine never went out in the wet apart from two rather muddy rounds of the Thetford Winter series so probably 100 muddy miles. It was an FSA fwiw. I'll probably put in an HT2 threaded adaptor.

/diversion over

[jameso]

What sort of ground is being covered? Mostly fire road type tracks or closer to what we'd term singletrack?

Fire roads mainly, a lot of county roads which are just unmaintained (edit, dirt/gravel) back-roads. Some sections are quite rocky and much of it is loose and sandy, there's some singletrack and doubletack typical MTB trails but maybe only 10%. The fire-road ground isn't as smooth as some assume and washboard dirt roads can really beat you up after a while, but it's not like welsh/lakeland trails.

[whitestone]

Had experience of washboard roads in Peru - after 50Km you are knackered.

[Blackhound]

As jameso says, there is a 12 mile descending stretch to the road near the Sapillo cg that I still get hot sweats about. Badly washboarded I was so pleased to reach the road and so addled I set off on the wrong side of the road - the only time I did this. The road into Pie Town was rough as well.

[jameso]

I remember hitting sections of washboard at speed and thinking it was the worst thing I'd ever felt on a bike no Morzine braking bumps are that bad, ever. A rhythmic shaking that made my brain rattle and all my muscles shake, horrible. You get up to speed downhill and try to take a line that minimises it, or 'manual' the worst bits if they're short, then get caught out and vibrate to a near standstill while blaspheming to a level that means I'm now convinced there really is no god, if there were I'd have been hit by lighning in one of the storms for sure.

It's that washboard that makes me look at the new Salsa TDR bike and think there's no way I'd want to ride something set up like that on those roads. Your hands are right above the front axle. Makes my hands hurt just looking at it. Jay P must have hands of leather and steel cables for tendons.

[Scattamah]

The section between Hartsel and Salida has hours worth of washboard that never seems to end.

The front runners will be sweating buckets out on trail...it's clear blue sky and easily over 30C outside here in Albuquerque. Alex Harris must be disappointed to be ahead of the record but still have 4 riders in front of him.

In other news...my right ACL is coming good slowly. All twist and pivot motion on the right side is compromised still, but it's better than it was last week. Left ligaments have responded much better to KT tape. Itching to get back on the bike.

Greetz

S.

[Blackhound]

And the run to Del Norte had some bad washboard. There must have been some nice bits;-)

Good to hear you are healing Scott even if slowly.

[Pirahna]

The first Tour Divide I've really paid attention to and I've been giving this more attention than I give the Tour de France, which is a lot. I can't get my head around the daily mileage these people are putting in. Can I give a mention to Lael Wilcox, rode 2000 miles from Alaska to the start and is in sixth place. Also Billy Rice who rode north solo and is riding south on a tandem with his 16 year old daughter.

I've even registered on bikepacking.net so I can look at the pictures.

[Bearbonesnorm]

I've been giving this more attention than I give the Tour de France, which is a lot.

What was it someone once said ... "the toughest cycle race in the world, isn't in France"

[Pirahna]

What was it someone once said ... "the toughest cycle race in the world, isn't in France"

On my evening rides I've been pondering what a pro road racer would make of this. Alex Dowsett frequents a cafe I use, he's usually in there with a few Sky riders and Cav. If I see them I'll ask.

[Richpips]

I know a couple of ex pros and they are impressed with bikepacking.
One is interested in having a go in a bimbling style, the other thinks it's bonkers.

[jameso]

what a pro road racer would make of this.

Classic campfire debate .. I suspect anyone with pro road fitness has the capability to win the TDR but I'm not sure you could step out of that world into this one easily, the demands on the body etc mean it would at least have an impact on road-race form? Even doing a few shorter races for experience could have that effect. Maybe it's only a matter of time before races like this are big enough (in reputation if not prize funds) to tempt an ex-pro into a new type of racing. But it's so different, I think the suggestion (from some, not here) that a pro could come along and wipe the floor with the current TDR/CTR/AZT best is lacking respect for the specialist abilities of the few real front-runners in these events. A road pro's base fitness could come in really useful though!