Tour Divide 2016 The point of no return......

Oh boy. It's the 20th May and in little over a couple of weeks, I'll be nervously lining up outside the YWCA in Banff ready to ride the Tour Divide. This weekend will see the final go at cramming everything in the bike luggage and then experimenting with re-cramming it all in a large cardboard box.
I'll arrive in Calgary a few day days before the start and take a few days to acclimatise and find somewhere to buy some bear spray.
I've just registered with Trackleaders so my progress can be followed, nothing like knowing everyone is watching to provide a bit of impetus to pedal on!

Getting down and dirty....DR200

Initially, I kicked myself for signing up to the Dirty Reiver as it would take me about seven hours to drive there and on the same weekend the local XC series was pitching up minutes from my house! Still, I was on the list and 200km around Kielder Forest was going to be better Tour Divide Prep than 90 mins around the grounds of a stately home!

I rode the bike I intend to use on this year’s Tour Divide, a Charge Cooker Ti 29er with rigid forks. It was interesting seeing how different bikes and riders coped with the varied course, not all fire roads are created equal and on a few sections the 29er was the right choice, anything smooth though and I was left for dead by the skinnies! I’d not ridden around Kielder before and was impressed at how “out there” a big organised ride could feel.

So despite the long drive, I’ll definitely look to take part again, the organisation, facilities and general atmosphere was fantastic. Getting nearly 400 riders started with no queuing or bottlenecks was impressive! 

I made it back in 74th place from 350+ riders, with the 3 hrs of sleep and the long drive to get there excuses handy I'm pleased with that. Next time though I reckon I'll be on 40c, not 2.4 tyres....