RCVman, in his relentless search for opportunity, came across this little gem of a race last night. A mere 2,700 miles from Banff, Canada to New Mexico, just short of the border. It is called Tour Divide an underground classic, cult favorite, a monster challenge, and spoken about, as a result, in the most reverential of terms. When they say, "this isn't for everybody" well, this is that. I spent an hour on their marvelous site, gawking, reading some of the journal entries published in Outside Magazine,
looking at the route map, and then in one final gesture of fantasy seeing if the average time of completion (22 days) would fit onto the RCV 2010 calendar.
As a result the great photos on their site, my memory was jogged of the two trips I made in the opposite direction. From LA to Seattle. The coastal route, Highways 1 and 101. Both epic trips taken after tours of International Duty with the DoD. The very real metaphor of coming home. If you were to ask me to list the best moments of my life to date, I would be challenged to put many events higher than these two trips. Rise from campsite at first light, get in 30, 40, 50 miles, have lunch somewhere mid-nowhere, ride another 20, 30, 40 into a state park, make camp, hike on the beach, make a fire, fix dinner, write and read some, sip local varietals at sunset, roll out the bag, sleep under stars. Repeat for three weeks.
That of course was leisure. The Tour Divide is a race, a thousand miles longer and with tons more climbing. True, the prevailing winds are at your back, but the sheer strength required to handle 22 days of 120 plus miles, self supported, most of the time alone, many time lost, with limited fuel and opportunity for replenishment, takes something special, and someone special. How special is a race of this magnitude that has no entry fee and offers no prize?
Again I dreamed of being "out there", all that freedom, all that adventure, all that challenge. I looked again at the shoot schedule. June 11 to ?????
Pix: Bridging the trail on the Tour Divide in Canada. Heading towards Seattle in Northern California, 1992. It's a Raleigh M-400.
2 comments:
RCVman, with the attitude you have about touring, you owe it to yourself to ride the GDMBR. it's one of the most beautiful grand tours out there...plus, relatively easy to follow if you keep an accurate cyclometer. i like your suggested schedule, complete with 'sipping varietals'. A TD schedule is quite the rude awakening from a 'touring' schedule but it's possible you might thrive on all the deep suffering, as well. The commitment is immense, the emotional roller coaster is truly extreme. You decide, but either way, tour or race, you win.
Hi Matt,
WOW, YOU are legendary!!! VBA, Matthew Lee owns the TD course record in 17 days + change!!!!! Welcome. Two words stand out (to me) in your post, 1) deep suffering and 2) immense commitment. I am a huge fan of each. Congratulations on your success' and if you have a minute to spare, how about a favorite story from your adventures on the TD? I'll narrow it down for ya: Suffering or commitment. Thanks Matt and good luck, I didn't see you on the starters list for 2010, hope all is well.
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