I am still alive

Sorry for the late post but I need all the time I can grab for recreation. The race exceeds all my expectations and is more than just tough. All the tons of stuff I read, learned and all the preparation are nothing against to be live on the trail. The slogan for every day is: "Survive" Somehow! Within the first two days I've done all that things I was just to avoid. Riding in the dark, drinking water from a stream and camping. Mentally the race is a blast. Two times I was about to pull the plug. On day two you leave your own comfort zone. And with day two or three you open the door to the kingdom of pain. The critical days are day seven to ten. Many riders are dropping the race either they are not able to handle the mental stress or the different pain sources are not bearable anymore, even with painkillers.

I am compared to other riders more or less fine. My sores and pain(s) are surprisingly at a decent low level. Mentally every day is a new fight. Why am I getting myself into? Where is the reward? Nobody and really nobody can imagine the incomprehensible beauty of this continent that we are travelling through its backyard. After every corner a new highlight. And it doesn't matters if it's raining or the sun is shining. The people are absolutely amazing. Many of them are knowing what we are doing here. They cheering from their cars and encourage you where they are able to. For them we are something like national hero's.

Today I entered the state line of Wyoming. Unbelievable! 99% of the day I am riding alone. This is one part of the race I really enjoy. After day eleven you see always the same riders during the day and in the evening.

Many, many things are worth to mention but sleep deprivation is one of the main diseases here at the Tour Divide. But I am gonna tell all these stories after the race. I promise.
 

Day 1: Sparewood

I couldn’t say that I was really exited this morning. Actually I felt like I would start to one of my multi day trips in the Alps. But my heart rate told another story.
We had our “last meal” in the hotel and I was busy to pack all my seven things together. Every time I dream about a marathon or a race I am either to late at the start line or I go lost during the race. Latter wouldn’t remain just a dream, unfortunately!
When I arrived at the Y-Lodge Crazy Larry was in his element already and instructed all riders for the final group photo. After he celebrated his ceremony we headed out to the trail head for the final go.
Getting to the border tomorrow would mean getting to Sparewood today, 140 miles and more than 9000 feet of climbing. Even under perfect conditions and without riding myself against the wall just at the first day it would be a big achievement for me, because I am slow! An unknown risk I was facing off. But for sure I could count on my natural brake, my lumbar. Normally if I ride with bigger gears in the first days of a multi day event my lumbar starts to hurt so much that I have to go off my bike.
Just after a few miles on the Spray River Trail and the whole pack was stretched like a lindworm. Some very remote looking single trails were calling for the first use of my whistle. Fortunately I was not alone.
The first 12 miles until we hit the Smith-Dorrien Spray Road was peppered with some smaller nasty ramps. Not a real problem for the first day but it would be for future days. My heart rate was far beyond good and evil. But I knew this would be just a phenomenon of the first two days.
I remembered my family and I took this wide road to Canmore on our vacation in 2009. The weather was the same - cloudy, windy and cold. The weather forecast failed for today.
Every time a car came across or passed by I was covered with a cloud of dust. I was happy leaving the road and crossing the dam at Spray Lake. Somewhere along the lake shore drizzling rain came in. I put my rain gear on. But even in the rain the scenery was amazing.
The Boulton Creek store was crowded by riders. I arrived when Mirko and Thomas were just about to head on, a scene that will tend to be repeated during the whole race. How I will make it to Sparewood today? Some snacks and two Coke’s later I was back on the trail. Elk pass was a monster. Some parts of the ascent were simply too steep. Every time when I am as fast with my bike as I would walk I prefer to walk. I call it my power save mode. But with this uphill gradient it was difficult to save any power. The bumpy track traversed some power lines. I alternately pushed and rode my bike up this nasty track. Okay I couldn’t really complain about that when I was thinking at the poor wretches who pushed their bikes in the cold and snow up the pass last year. So I was just fine with my situation.
The rain came and passed by alternately. One hour after I crested the pass my legs started to cramp. What was that? The first day and just cramping? Did I drink to little? No, not really.
I started to take some highly dosed magnesium but without any visible success. A deficiency of magnesium I excluded after one further hour. On a light uphill at another wide gravel road I had to stop due to my cramping legs. Sparewood goodbye! What was the reason for it? Perhaps missing salt? My bladders were full with a mix of water and some energy powder. But obviously this first day was more demanding as I thought. Water in Germany has normally a very high mineral content. During my training rides I was using water with a very high salt content. Here the water is poor in minerals. I rummaged around in my bags for some salty food. That was not very much but it worked. I had to slow down my pace and before I reached Elkford in the evening the rain passed by. What now? It was 6:30 pm. Normally I would looking for a room and a hot meal. Where were Thomas and Mirko? I checked the gas station, Kap’s Pizza (where some other riders had already dinner) and the motel in town. No trace of them. Apparently they headed on to Sparewood. First day and the first hard decision. I had been exhausted but not completely done and there were just 30 miles left until Sparewood. The elevation profile reflected one climb and the rest downhill. I did a resupply at the gas station that was also part of the movie and left Elkford at 7:00 pm. I bought a lot of salty nuts to lift my salt balance. And really, after Elkford cramping was no issue anymore during the whole TD.
The uphill on the nasty paved road was long and steep. There was a short hiking section above a river over some very bumpy rocks.
The clouds made room for a beautiful afterglow (the late bird catches the worm). On the final push to Sparewood I had to switch on my flashlight. First day and first ride in the dark - what a way to start. At 10:30 pm I arrived to the town with the perception that all restaurants were closed. I checked in at a hotel where a lot of other riders already had found a bed for the night. Fortunately I bought two bigger sandwiches in Elkford that I put into the microwave for dinner. Nice! After a shower I filled my blog with some words from today’s ride. But writing some lines on a Smartphone after 15 hours on a bike was a bigger challenge like the whole day itself. I decided this would remain a one night stand and fill the blog after the race! In any case I had to review my race strategy. More days like this and … . 

 

 

 

Climb to Elk Pass

Goodbye Banff

Getting into the right mood

Now things get serious. If anyone has told me years ago that I am going to race someday the longest mapped mountain bike route of the world over more than 2700 miles across the Rocky Mountains, I'd have called him insane.

A lot of ifs and buts are left, something I am not able to deal with, though. I am excited how to handle with the discomfort during the following days. I don't like discomfort at all, but if there is a slogan I am writing on my flags, it is the statement from the Blog of Jim Stansburry who rode the TD last year: "Discomfort is not a reason to quit the race!" 

What do I expect? I'm really looking forward to some locations which earned a certain reputation over the years. The Outdoorsman in Butte, Kirstin from the Brush Mountain Lodge, Pie Town Café, Absolute Bikes in Salida just to name a few. Otherwise I expect to finish in one piece, nothing less or more.

Weather forecast for tomorrow is not bad at all. 30% chance of rain at sunny up to a cloudy sky. The forecast for Montana (I expect to cross the border at Saturday night) sunny and hot for the next few days. Here some pics from Banff:

Legal doping

No, I don't get money from Starbucks for some advertising. But the coffee from this brand is a real treat, in face off the deprivation of the next few weeks.
 

The bags are packed

More than 120 items I've got on my gear list. Dispersing all those of my belongings for 4 weeks in just a few small bags and a backpack is a strange feeling. At least here is the point where you say goodbye to the daily business and where the (ad)venture begins.
Here the final gear list:

 

Last minute jobs

Five days before leaving Germany not all the things are sorted out. Last Sunday I did my last longer training ride after a month with literally washed out weather.

I removed all my bags and released them from the mud of the last few weeks. My bike got a complete service. Replacing the tires, grips, pedals, derailleur pulleys, bottom bracket, the complete drive train, liner and shifter cable and service to the suspension fork with changing the dust wipers and finally a full service to the free hub with changing the pawls and all the bearings took me two evenings in the basement. But the To Do List doesn't want get smaller at all. I am really fed up with the many odds and ends that are wasting so much time and I can't wait lining up next Friday in Banff.

It's ironic - Now, where the weather here in Germany finally turns to be warmer and more dry I've to disassemble my bike and pack it into a box.