It's about time...

Well, here I go as I enter the world of blogging.  There are 60 days until the Grand Depart from Banff and I am compelled to get this blog off the ground.  I told myself April would be a good time to launch this thing. 

My motivation?  Simply to document my preparation, training and experiences during the 2011 Tour Divide mountain bike race.  It has been an amazing several months, since about October when I decided to pull the trigger on this epic event.  How did I get here?  Let's see if I can make sense of it...

It all began with a couple friends inviting me to see a documentary playing at the local theatre in September of 2010.  This inspiring and moving film was Ride the Divide, which is an exceptional movie about the 'world's toughest mountain bike race.'  That alone hooked me plus the chance to have some beers and hang out with friends.  But, it really was the amazing beauty, the remote landscape, the isolation and the possibility of such an adventure that just captured me.

That same night I started doing some research on 'Bikepacking' and had all sorts of thoughts of getting out and doing some cool trips in the Idaho backcountry.  I was all amped up, quickly sending good friends John and Darren emails suggesting we start incorporating bikepacking into Ironman  training.  My thought was simple.....get a rigid frame 29'er and hit the backroads and trails like I do for dual-sporting on my motorcycle.  This would be a great way to log triathlon training miles while getting off the pavement.  Throw on some gear for an overnighter and suddenly your building an adventure!  I was later told that when they left the theatre the night before they were wondering how long it would take for me to start planning some bikepacking adventures..........my friends know me well!  My interest at the time was simply bikepacking, learning and getting in some off-road training miles.

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Rewind to a chapter further back in time, I have always had a love affair with all things two-wheeled.    Early recollections include tricycles and bicycles - riding in rain and mud and snow.  Wheelying around the 'hood on a Schwinn Stingray and riding trails and dirt on my sisters 'big bike'.  Graduating to motorcycles and motorcycle racing, back to bikes and long distance bicycle touring, then back into motorcycles and adventure touring - and bikes!  Why two wheels vs. four?

'Two wheels move the soul to distant horizons, clearing the mind of clutter and eliminating the noise of our everyday world.  One is in the moment - there is no other choice'

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Sometime in October I was on a training ride out in the desert on some pavement training for Ironman Arizona.....long miles and lots of hours in the saddle.  Two months earlier I had competed in Ironman Canada and was very fatigued - mentally - with pounding out these long rides on pavement.  I was ready for a change but had to stay focused and get through the Arizona race. 

However, the Tour Divide had wrapped itself around my brain by this time and that seemed to be all I could think about.  An obsession?  Definitely!  A compulsion?  Probably!  So many questions: Could I do this race - mentally get through it and physically not blow up?  Could I handle being essentially ALONE for that long - emotionally?  Could I take the time away from family, business and commitments for three weeks, a month?  And what could I learn from the process of preparing for a race of this scale?  What kind of spiritual journey would present itself?  Another awakening?

"A ferocious and sadistic itch.....

I am obsessed and sick of you Tour Divide!

You are a life sucking apparition and I hate you for ruining my life!"

                                                                                                                                             ~ Anonymous 

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Ironman Arizona hit in November and after the race I was in full Tour Divide research and planning mode.  Equipment, logistics and planning ensued.  All of this was done quietly and family and friends were not aware of my covert operation.  I avoided questions about my race calendar for 2012.  I had to make sure I was commited and had a long way to go before I threw this out there.

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The Tour Divide accepts letters of intent annually, from the Winter Solstice until the Grand Depart on the 2nd Friday in June.  My letter of intent was drafted and this adventure was becoming real.  Time to have a discussion with my soul mate and best friend, Evadna, my lovely wife of 30 years.  A romantic dinner downtown, snow falling, drinking wine and talking over the race.  She was on-board with little hesitation and since has been drawn into the vortex of the divide race.  I am damn lucky and blessed to have such an amazing, supportive and loving person in my life!  Forever and Always.  

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The next day we had breakfast with our two daughters, Erin and Ali.  I told them of the plans for the Tour Divide and I guess they were not terribly surprised.  Ali had seen the film with us in September and she even made the comment, "how soon before dad decides to do that?"  They were interested and engaged and I think it captured their own imaginations.  Life without so many borders.....

I truly hope my beautiful daughters have a life of love, passion and adventure and that they find their own Ironman or Tour Divide or whatever it may be that ignites their imagination and creativity.

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So here I am, the 2011 Edition of the Tour Divide is coming up very soon.  I'll have the luxury of riding my bike for - how long?  Who knows how long it will take me to pedal 2,745 miles.  I'll be racing in the shadows of the fast guys and will feel very fortunate just to make it to the finish line.  But for now I dream of spending several weeks in some very beautiful and remote mountain and desert landscapes. 

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"The most difficult thing in life is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. 

The fears are paper tigers.  You can do anything you decide to do. 

You can act to change and control your life;

and the procedure, the process is its own reward."

                                                                                                                          ~ Amelia Earhart