GDR Versus Tour Divide

After a couple of year's of forum chatter about differences of opinion regarding the running of the GDR, Matthew Lee has started a second race, Tour Divide, along the GDR route with the addition of the 211 mile Canadian section and without the time cut-offs and cell phone rules that were implemented last year. Looks like some of the previous riders are lining up behind Matt's new venture. For me this is a tough decision to make.
If the future of this route being raced heads in the direction of the Banff to Antelope version than I would want to be part of that just to avoid any nagging doubts later about "I wish I had done the Canadian section". The idea of switching to the Tour Divide changes my planning more than just adding 211 miles to the total mileage. I was planning on riding to the start in Roosville from my house (a 235 mile tribute to Kent Petersons 500 mile doorstep-to-start warm-up). This additional mileage seemed like a nice prologue that I was going to take slowly to adapt to the touring lifestyle. If I was to do the Tour Divide I would have to have fly or have someone drive me to Banff. Looking at these two options it is hard for me to say that I would enjoy the Canadian section so much that it would offset the flying/driving and missing out on my own prelude.
There is the other question of starting times. Some people were not happy with the June 20th starting time of the GDR this year (Tour Divide starts June 13th), though it adhears to the tradition of starting the first Friday after the Summer Solstice. I am not sure a week matters that much for me. Moving the departure one way or the other isn't an effective way of avoiding the random wrath of Mother Nature. Despite the daunting heat of 2007, previous years have endured more problems from rain than anything else. The first year the race was run some people had to have their bottom brackets replaced enroute due to damage from wet conditions. Also, with it being a La Nina weather pattern this year we are off to a good start for snow pack. All of the Montana Basins are above average for snow. Could be a lot of snow on the passes regardless of which time you start.
I do worry about the growing number of people on the route. Having done some major bike touring routes in the Western US I have discovered that business and locals eventually become less welcoming of the stinky cyclotourists that want to use bathrooms and fill water bottles. Historically this race has benefited from incredibly friendly people along the route and I hope that I am able to pass through their burgs before the hospitality dries up. I think about how many stories I read from last year that involved a cook reopening a restaurant kitchen to fix food for a GDR racer. With 20 years of cooking experience I assure you that this is a heroic act of selflessness that should not be counted on repeating indefinitely. Having a week head start on a second group of riders could avoid encountering some of the hospitality fatigue.
I will be following the hubbub and will not worry about making a decision until some of the dust settles. For my own selfish reasons it is unfortunate that this had to happen this year. This is not something that I want to spend too much time thinking about. I don't have too many strong opinions about who is wrong or right in this debate. Like many things it will work itself out but probably not this go around.

Quick BIts

Tomorrow I will be heading out for an all day ride in the snow with some friends, The route will be mostly country roads with not a lot of climbing but knocking out 85 miles on new year's day sounds like a good way to start off 2008.

This clever device seems ready made for the future of mutli-day racing. I can't see myself plucking down $300 bucks for the device and the service so that friends and family can track my exact wherabouts but I like the gadget anyway. I might have to get creative.

Getting Away

I took a little vacation up to Schweitzer for some skiing, eating and relaxing. My cycling lans flashed before my eyes when I took a spill and I twisted my leg pretty good. I don't know much about anatomy but I know enough to realize the pain was coming from the ACL, three letters that strike fear in the hearts of anyone who chooses to be physically active. I stayed cool and realized that it was possible to ski. Certain movements would activate the pain and I tried to avoid those as much as possible. I spent some time icing the area up and did some improvisational jazzercise to warm up the next morning before heading out. Lots of fresh snow made it more difficult to avoid the forbidden movements so reluctantly I finished early. By the third day I was feeling a lot better. I was confident that I had not done anything too terrible to myself and would not have to cancel any of my cycling plans.
Upon returning home I had an email from Jeff Boatman at Carousel Design Works letting me know he had sent my map case out on Monday. The bag came out just like I wanted it too. Jeff has said that he has been getting a steady stream of GDR riders contacting him about bags. I imagine that when they see my map case they will want one of them. I am grateful for the test ride I did last summer at Seeley Lake because it heavily shaped my ideas for what I needed from a mapcase. I am most happy with my idea to use a dry erase marker to keep notes on the map case clear plastic top. I always like to write things down so that I don't have to think about them.
When the mapcase gets here I am going to try and do a full packing load ride to begin the long process of dialing in the set up.

Winter Riding

You never know what winter is going to bring. Training is not important enough to me to workout indoors so I throw myself on the mercy of mother nature. Recent snow disappeared quickly when rain and upper 40 degree temperatures blew into town. I enjoyed a sunny ride in shirtsleeves and then a few days later Ben and I were making fresh tracks though some powdery snow in 20 degree sunshine. Both were great rides.

Flat But Not Easy

Last Monday I took advantage of what would be the last snow free day for awhile by riding the Columbia Plateau Trail out to Amber Lake. The 50 mile out and back has an imperceptible 800 feet elevation rise and is 95 percent dirt. By dirt I mean rocks, railroad bed rock. The route is scenic but monotonous and has a way of breaking me down mentally. If at any point I stop pedaling the bike does not coast but slows to a stop. This makes the ride a 4.5 hour workout with non stop high cadence spinning. I really wanted to ride longer so I climbed up Hatch hill to give the ride a nice metric century total. Not a bad ride for November.

Cold Sunrise Ride

I always like to take advantage of the Thanksgiving holiday by getting a long ride in early before the big feast. It was 17 degrees when I left the house. I broke the cable on my Lake winter cycling boots (they replace them free I have found out) so I was wearing my summer shoes with booties. Other than the cold feet I felt good and moseyed out along the river to CDA. It was a good chance to try my new extra warm Black Diamond gloves. Within an hour they were too warm and my hands were sweating. Luckily I brought a lighter pair as well.
I stopped and got coffee at Doma ( I was surprised to see them open because that whole town was closed) and meandered north soaking up some nice sunshine. The five hour ride was flat and paved and not the most exhilarating ride to do on the mountain bike but it gave me a chance to start dialing in my new bags.
I replinished my calories and then some
and promptly fell asleep on my parents living room floor. I woke up long enough to get home and be in bed by 8:oo pm. I am going to blame the turkey not the ride.

Bad Weather

With temperatures just a hair above freezing, winds that were steady at 20 mph and gusts that reached 45 mph, I convinced Ben to ride the rail trail out to Cheney. Normally this 37 mile out and back would have been nothing more than a jaunt but it was so much more because of the conditions. The Columbia Plateau Trail varies from a short paved section to energy sapping deep gravel trenches. I have been waiting for a day like today to really get the new bike broken in and to test out my new "waterproof" backpack. Ben rode his All-Mountain beast with downhill tires just to make the day more memorable. The first half was uphill into the wind and the rain. It did not take long for the chatting to dwindle. Our heads dropped as we succumbed to what would be quite a slog. The second half was a sprint to get home as soon as possible.
For my part it was a good ride. I felt fine though a bad seat position left me with a sore right knee. The backpack turned out not to be very waterproof at all. In fact it is less waterproof than my packs that do not feature "waterproof zippers". Regardless, I still like the pack and will have to employ some freezer bags to keep my contents dry in the future.
Winter is definitely nearing and I feel like a I am getting acclimatized. The routine of donning substantial layers every time I leave the house is less of a bother. I am enjoying the solitude of the trails and I am more appreciative of the sunshine when it comes. The sky is blue today and I am going to take advantage of that right now.