New Record Set

Up before sunrise this morning. I'm going to get out and ride soon. Yesterday I didn't go out first thing but I did make the time for a ride. Right now I'm more focused on getting out each day rather than the distance or time. I want to get out there riding or running each day and build that habit of riding regularly.

Yesterday Ollie Whalley set a new record for the Tour Divide with a 16:02:46 time!

For most of the race Craig Stappler stuck with him, but then Craig had a mechanical issue with his pedal and fell behind. He got something worked out and made good time after that but then his spot just stopped. Either he turned it off or it stopped working. No telling if he is done or not, but the next two guys are racing toward the finish right now. Kurt Sandiforth and Garrett Peltonen. Way up north Cjell Money is riding up into the Flathead section in Canada. He might make Banff today, if he can pull in a long day. David Nice is still going up in Montana. The line of riders stretches across the route right now. People will still be rolling in to finish for the next week or longer.

Riders on the Tour Divide

I'd like to do the ride in 21 days or less. No idea yet if that's something I can manage or not!

Tour Divide 2012

I'm not out there riding, but I'm watching the Live Tracker and the forum discussion at Bikepacking.net. There's so much going on right now, with so many projects it'd be great to be out there riding like David Nice. This is the sixth time that he's hit the ride, I wish him the best of luck in finishing this year!

With all that's going on I'm not doing my 'Mock Tour Divide' ride this year, but I encourage anyone else to give it a shot. The idea is simple: ride every day that the riders are out on the divide. Ride with them in spirit. You might not do 100+ mile days under brutal conditions, but if they endure all of that how come it can be hard to get out each day on a bike when you're not faced with those conditions? That's my biggest problem. I'd like to ride the tour divide for real, but right now even pulling three to four weeks of riding every single day is a challenge.

2013 suddenly doesn't seem that far away and I've got so much to do before I could get ready for something like the tour divide. I just don't know if that's realistic given my multiple jobs and family life right now. But I don't want to push it out too far either. I'll see how everything goes. If it comes together, great. If not, well then maybe 2014 will be the year. Or some other year.

Spots Gathering for Tour Divide 2012