What & Why

  Before I get to far into this blog, I guess I should explain in a little more detail what the Tour Divide Mountain Bike Route is. The TDMBR is the World's longest mapped off'-pavement cycling route with 90% of the route being off road. The total distance From Start (Banff, Canada) to finish ( Antelope wells, New Mexico, Mexico border) is 4418 Kms ( 2745 miles) with total elevation gain of approx. 200,000 ft.  This elevation is equivalent to, going from sea level to the top of  Mount Everest 7 times. The provinces the route passes through are BC and Alberta, and the states are Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico.
  Once a year Riders gather in Banff to see who can cover the distance fastest. This mass start is called the Grand Depart and is on the second Friday in June. In 2013 the date is June 14th. The Race is a self supported ride which means no support crew. Riders are usually riding on average 12 to 16 hours a day and are tracked with the help of a spot GPS. The fastest time can be challenged at anytime during the year but the mass start is when most riders hit the trail. This year 2012 a rider (Ollie Whalley) beat the Record only to have it beat a few weeks later by a rider that left after the Grand Depart. The Record as of now is 15 days 16 hours 14 minutes by Jay Petervary.
  My Goal for 2013 is to be one of the riders in the Grand Depart. Why would I want to do it? This is definitely something people are asking ( or they just think I'm crazy). I guess over the last few years I've read about and talked to endurance athletes and also watch endurance events, wondering what it would be like to push myself to the limit. I don't mean to the limit just physically but also mentally. I often wonder if I have what it takes to complete one of these events and have toyed with the idea for years. I guess this event is most interesting to me because it is just you where as most endurance events you are allowed to have support. I like that it is just you and only you that can make it or break it. I think that in our everyday life we are not challenged very often, and after doing the same job for 20 something years I yearn for this. The challenges of this race for me are of course the distance and terrain ( which includes grizzlies, black bears and courages) but also battling the mental side. One of the them being loneliness, out there on your own for weeks and missing the day to day contact with family and friends. For this reason I am attracted to this event, ( not that I'm trying to get away from them) it is one of the only events that I know of that is solo for that length of time. I think this is a great opportunity to see what I'm capable of.
  I hope you will follow my blog over the coming months to see how it all turns out!!!  For more info on the event check out the following link.   
     http://tourdivide.org/