The Tour Divide is a 2, 745 mile unsupported, off-road mountain bike race from Banff, Alberta, Canada to Antelope Wells, New Mexico, on the Mexican border, following the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route created by the Adventure Cycling Association. The route closely follows the spine of the Continental Divide from Canada to Mexico. It is mountainous and remote with over 200,000 vertical feet of climbing and 29 crossings of the divide. Weather is unpredictable - high passes are snow-covered; torrential rain showers are common; and heat persists in the badlands of the New Mexican plateau.



The route is unmarked and circuitous, traveling through Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, and the US states of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico (map). It travels through remote back country on dirt roads, jeep trails and forgotten mountain passes.



The Tour Divide tests ones endurance, navigational, mechanical and decision making skills; along with hydration, nutrition and shelter challenges. And of course the Grizzleys and Mountain Lions call this land their home!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Training and Unpredictable Weather.

It has been an interesting evolution to ween myself from swim, bike and run training to a more focused effort on simply riding my bike.  I've been getting in more long, off road endurance oriented rides along with bouts of single track.  All of it includes as much vertical elevation that I can throw in.  However, a major issue is the continuation of unpredictable weather.  On rides north the snow line is at around 5,400 feet.  This limits your options for mountain rides and the desert is just too wet.  Cold hands and cold feet just seem to be the norm these days.

April 26 - NWS Treasure Valley Forecast:   TODAY...PARTLY SUNNY WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN SHOWERS. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS IN THE MORNING. CHANCE OF  PRECIPITATION 20 PERCENT. HIGHS 48 TO 53. BREEZY. NORTHWEST WINDS 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH. 


But I gotta keep training on the hills.  The Great Divide route has some serious elevation gain!

Elevation Profile for the Tour Divide

A few hours mountain climbing turns a rogue and a saint into two roughly equal creatures. Weariness is the shortest path to equality and fraternity—and liberty is finally added by sleep. —Nietzsche
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