Taking it on the Road

Just a quick update about the overnight training ride.  Planning to leave tomorrow morning from here in Canmore and head out on the Tour Divide trail and see how far I can get.  Plan to camp out tomorrow night and then ride back to Canmore on Saturday.

Here is a link to my Spot  tracking page  http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0CUmxLimFyOj4Z8qaPPq08nK5a4rXdBe4

Everything is packed up and ready to go for the morning.  Toss in a few sandwiches and I will be good to go.

Here is the rig in the garage.

Training and thinking

I was out for a training ride with a good friend (Andy Harris) on Monday and we
covered a good portion of the route from Banff to Mt. Shark. The trails
are dry and in good shape. Recently, the mtn bike rides are getting
longer. So far my biggest day on El Mariachi has been 120 kms. Combo of
trails, roads, fire road and a little pavement. The bike feels really
good. I have the odometer dialed in to the cue card mileage and Ben helped
me set up a very cool map holder. All while he was half asleep on Sunday
morning - that boy is a genius.

Training - since April 12, close to 2300 kms on road and mtn bike. The
seat is getting hardened. Soon I will be a hardass... This coming weekend
will be a bit casual then ramping up to June 1 and 2 when I will ride to
Elkford and back - snow permitting. I will turn my Spot on and provide a
link to the tracking website - follow along or not.

Thinking - I usually wake up about 5:00 am and after thinking about Peter
for a few mins, my mind turns to the ride. Envisioning my daily routine while riding the Divide, I imagine rolling out of my bivy sack, packing up my gear, grabbing a yummy power bar and getting under way.  I know it's going to be harder than that - but that's the vision.  The hard part will be caffeine withdrawal.  I may have to go into training for that event.

From a training ride a few weeks ago, here is a picture looking up the Cascade valley near Banff. Water is flowing, sun is shining and the trails are drying out.

 

Style it!

After a great week in Ottawa (thanks to Diane and Brian for a great dinner and leaving me in pretty good shape) and Quebec City, it has been back to riding, riding and more riding.  The weather has been fantastic so that has been making things a bit easier.  I rode up the Gap tonight (a couple of times) and then went into Kananaskis Country and checked out Goat Creek Trail.  The route leaves Banff and goes right through the parking lot in the picture and continues on down the road.  The trails are starting to look good - another few days and the Goat Creek trail will be nice and dry.  Let's hope for continued warming - still lots of snow on the high passes.

Tonight - I dropped into the Reclaimer on my way down from the Gap.  It really brought back some great memories of building that trail with friends and especially of Peter.  We would build a section and Peter would be helping out and making great suggestions.  As always, he was our test pilot.  In retrospect, not a great plan as Peter could ride anything and make it look easy.  Needless to say - made it down the Reclaimer in one piece with great memories.  If you want to get stoked - here is my fave biking video.  Peter riding the Goblin - kind of like the Reclaimer but scarier and steeper.  I asked him about his lack of elbow pads - he forgot them. 
Style it!

Quebec City Salut

Tough to keep up the training this week as I am in Quebec City and Ottawa on a work
gig.

Eating is fantastic...training consists of walking to dinner.

Home tomorrow and time to do the hill climbing weekend. I took El Mariachi
for a 4hr ride on Sunday. Sweeeettt! Rides like a dream. Pretty stoked
for the ride and the experience. Props to Blaine Nester for helping me out with the gear list and his experience.  The last little pieces are coming together.

A bientot!

Inspiration

From April 1st - 13th, Ben and I were in Italy.  Toured the Ferrari Museum and Factory and then went for a 7 day ski touring trip in the Ortler Group. 
This is young Ben at the Ferrari Museum. You have to go to this place, it is one of the most amazing and cool museums I have ever been in.  Needless to say - we loved the whole experience, including getting from Milan to Maranello by train.

It was back to Milan for some sightseeing and then we were in the Italian Alps for 7 days of ski touring with our Guide - Marc Ledwidge. 


Climbed lots of peaks and did some bigggg runs.  We started at the Branca Hut and spent 3 nights there before traversing over Mt. Pasquale and over to the Pizzini Hut.  The skiing was fantastic, the company was super fun and the Italians know the food, wine and beer thing.  Sleping at 9000 feet, with most days spent climbing peaks over 12000 feet, it was actually awesome training for the Tour Divide.  Here we are on top of Mt. Pasquale - Ian, Jack, Greg, Ben and Marc


Naively, I expected warm weather and opportunities to get some long rides in when we got back home.  Hmmm - I did ride to work all week with most mornings starting out at -10.  I did a 4.5 hr ride yesterday and the attached picture is of frozen Lake Minnewanka in Banff.  We need to get some serious warming happening before June 14th.  Ben and I were out ski touring in the Kananaskis Country today - great winter conditions.  Funny enough, we crossed the Tour Divide trail a few times - like I said, we need some warming conditions soon.

So - about the inspiration...  Yesterday was freezing when I was out doing my ride as evidenced by the pic.  On my way home, the wind was ferocious from the North East and I was having a bit of a suffer fest.  Thought I had frozen my feet, my hands were like clubs but I was ok.  In September, our older son Peter died in a kayaking accident out near Whistler.  One of his many hare-brained ideas was to pack up his bike, pull along his kayak and paddle all the rivers to which he could cycle.  When I think of Peter, especially when things are tough, his spirit is inspiring and I physically get a warm glow.  I imagine him smiling and being part of the action.   I believe the TD will be his way to see all the spots he could have gone.  Know that he will be with me all the way as he is with so many of his friends and family.

Training and the New Bike

Stoked for the ride...  with lots of snow still on the ground here in Canmore, I am hoping we get some serious warming happening.  I have been doing lots of Cross Country Skiing as we wait for the snow to melt out and we can get on our bikes.  It was - 15 Celsius this morning at the Canmore Nordic Centre when I snapped this picture.  I have been getting out for 2-3 hour skis and then spending some quality time on the trainer in the garage.  Gorgeous day here today with forecasts of warmer temps coming... yahoo.

The mountain in the background is Rundle.  If you draw a straight line and go about 20kms - the start of the Great Divide Route is right there.



Oh yeah!  The new bike is a Salsa El Mariachi Ti - pretty sweet.  Light but strong enough to see me through this adventure.  I would like to keep it in our bedroom but that wouldn't go over very well - for so many reasons.  The roads were somewhat dry around Town this afternoon so I took it for a ride.  Kind of like a baptism - the fire part will be sure to come later.

Ben and I are off for some shenanigans in Italy on April 1st after he is finished at the XC Nationals.  Visiting the Ferrari Factory and Museum and also spending 7 days of Ski Touring in the Alps.  All part of the Tour Divide high altitude training program. 

A Journey

March 14th today and it's cold and snowy here in Banff.  It's 3 months to the start of the Tour Divide on June 14.  As I prepare for this ride and do the ride, I plan on updating this blog as often as possible.   In June 2008, I happened to be in the Banff Post Office and saw 3 guys who were getting ready to do some serious riding by the look of their bikes. I talked to one one of the guys (I believe it was Matthew Lee) and he told me about the Tour Divide. Ever since that day, I have followed the race and the characters around it.  Here's the plan - I ride my bike to work on June 14th, forget to turn right and keep on going to Mexico. This is the year!

The Tour Divide follows the Great Divide from Banff, Alberta to Antelope Wells, NM (on the border with Mexico).  It's 2688.46 miles or 4326.70kms and 172,000 feet of climbing.   Lots of things to do and prepare but my first order of business is to go check out the new bike this evening.  The guys at Rebound Cycle are putting this awesome machine together. 

Here is a picture from high noon today looking towards the Tour Divide Start - let's hope for some finer weather in June. 

For the background picture, I chose a shot from Canyon Dam on the Spray Lakes.  The Great Divide Trail goes right along here.  It was taken last August on one of the most beautiful evening bike rides I have ever done.