July 2011 Archives

In the Gila National Park, holding up the broken pedal I've been "riding" with the help of some found rope used to tie it to my shoe

Kent Peterson, Bike Wrenchin', Randonneurin', Fixed-Gear Ridin' and Positive Bike-Advocacy Guru was kind enough to interview me with some questions fielded by the curious about my Tour Divide Race.

Kent himself is the former single speed record-holder of the border to border version of the race and one of my personal Tour Divide inspirations, as his narrative of the race, The Way of the Mountain Turtle, was one the first insights on the race ever really published out there.

As I mentioned in the interview, seeing his photo of Breckenridge from Boreas Pass really hit home the fact that the race was this real and tangible thing. I had first seen that same panorama from Boreas Pass when I was 16 or 17 - my Brother had rallied his VW Rabbit up the pass one summer day.

Thanks to Kent for taking the time to do the interview and for being an inspiration to so many, as well as being a Tour Divide super fan of mine and for helping get the word about my fundraiser when my funds were way way way down (absolutely no joke). I think Kent helps quite a few people realize how real and tangible cycling in general can be: bicycles are fairly simple machines and their incredible power is within the simple joy of just riding the machine around, for commuting, for work, for competition, or just for fun. Whatever type of bike it is, on whatever terrain. I think it's quite safe to say that if bicycles weren't so fun to ride, we all wouldn't be so crazy about riding them as much as possible.

Read the Interview: Some Tour Divide Questions & Answers with Justin Simoni

If you have any other questions about the Tour Divide that you can think I can help in answering, especially if you are interested in racing the race, please don't hesitate to ask. You can find my email address on the right hand sidebar.

One of the final parts of my entire Tour Divide kit that I got together was my photography equipment. Like the rest of my gear, it had to fit some fairly extreme constraints: not too big, not too heavy and able to survive the trip. I settled on the Olympus PL1 PEN, which also has a dash of retro. With the 14 -  42 mm lens, it was certainly tinier than a full on dSLR, but massive compared to your usual little point a click. Yet, the photos it brought back look incredible. It also survived the trip with nary scratch, it's only protection being a waterproof stuff sack. I'm impressed.

The following are a few low-res and hastily edited photos of some of the Tour Divide course that was rerouted, meaning for the grand départ, these are the only images of the race on then standard route. I'm contemplating what to do with the photos, but I'm leaning on the taking the time to edit the very best and have them a part of a collection of essays about my Tour Divide ride.

The Canadian Flathead

Whitefish Divide, Montana

Red Meadow Lake, Montana

Richmond Peak, Montana

Union Pass, Wyoming

I have literally just touched down back in Denver, but while I was racing, there was an intense interest in my race, no doubt because I decided to take the standard, completely snowed-in route - and completed every part of the race that was rerouted because of snow. To find out there was so much inspiration developed from following such a folley while racing was a total surprise. Until I can reasonably collect my thoughts, here's a link dump of some of the articles/blog posts/etc written about the race I road. Thank yous are on the way,

Cycling News listed all Tour Divide Grand Départ Riders

Being mentioned on Cycling News seemed pretty rad.

Tour Divide, the Hard Way

Jill Homer gives some perspective on how and why I took the reroute,

On the second day of the race, while everyone else turned south on the highway reroute in British Columbia, Justin set out alone toward the remote and rugged Flathead Valley. When the muddy track of the official course became clogged with snow, he strapped on his snowshoes and continued on foot. When he encountered roaring stream crossings, he removed all of his footwear and hoisted his bike through the rushing water. He crossed into Montana and triumphantly tweeted, "Traversed Flathead safely and in style in the first annual Tour Divide Mountaineering-Bikepacking Super Challenge! Next: Whitefish Divide!" He was already officially in last position.

The Long Way

Kent Peterson has written quite a bit about this year's Tour Divide and offers some more perspective in a few articles he's written:

This year's Tour Divide Race has the largest number of racers ever and epic snow levels lead to the decision to allow the racers to follow an alternate route, bypassing the snow-choked passes of the Flathead Region. All racers but one, speeding southward, chose the Fernie Alternate Route, bypassing the Flathead Region. The one exception, Justin Simoni from Denver Colorado, is taking the long way, the hard way through the snow.

Kent also mentioned me in an article about Technology and the Tour Divide,

My god some of the conditions this year are horrible!

Justin Simoni is one brave, smart, stylish, tough dude. See the picture at the top of this page? Picture it covered with snow. That's the ridge along the edge of Richmond Peak, and I'm pretty sure that's about the spot where Justin and his bike tumbled down the mountain. BTW, it's steeper than it looks in the picture. Justin climbed back up and carried on. Several days later when he climbed Union Pass to find that the top of the mountain was a dazzling white undifferentiated snow, he wisely retreated to get better maps and some sunglasses. And then he went back up and over, barely paused at Pinedale and pushed on into the Basin. Sitting here in the world where hot coffee is at my fingertips and my main effort is clicking a mouse to refresh a screen filled with blue dots, I can only say "Well played, Mr. Simoni, well played!"

I'll be talking to Kent some more in the coming days for an after-Tour Divide question/answer session

My riding also inspired help with another fundraiser, this time to help a scholarship fund for a daughter of a rider that sadly, lost his life last year. An anonymous donor was matching funds raised by the selling of a book on Tour Divide riders writings,

Yesterday I was contacted by a fan of the Tour Divide Race who has offered up a Cordillera sales matching challenge to the entire Bikepacking community!

For every Cordillera Volume 2 sold from now until the day that Justin Simoni reaches Antelope Wells (or quits) the donor will make an equal donation to Linnaea Blumenthal's college fund. He's matching the full $15 purchase price for each book sold!

This is incredible! Now, thanks to this generous match over $21 from each and every Cordillera Volume 2 sold will go directly into Linnaea Blumenthal's college 529 savings plan.

There is no maximum donation. The donor is prepared to lay out some serious cash to help Linnaea but he's challenging all of us pull a little harder too. So please everyone, even if you have purchased a copy of the Cordillera please buy another copy or two. They make great gifts and have been getting terrific reviews so I know your friends and family will want their own copy.

If you don't know about the Cordillera Volume 2 check out this thread: http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,2096.0.html

Purchase your copy here: https://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/the-cordillera/15659154

A most amazing surprise.

I'll add more articles/posts when I find them/they find me,