Home Sweet Home

I haven't yet been home for a week and to be honest, much of that time has been unbelievable. Before I even stepped foot in the door I got a call from 9News and gave my first real TV interview a day later. It's a bit surreal to see yourself on television being introduced by one of your wife's favorite anchormen. Keep your eyes peeled to the Outside Online blog as well, I gave another interview that should show up there at some point.

Of course the whole event was a bit surreal. Sure I knew what I was signing up for, I had even attempted it last year, dropping out in good old Lima, Montana, homesick and not having fun. But despite my smooth preparation, excellent training and having everything go pretty darn well the first few nights were almost sleepless. It's hard to put words to the feeling of actually racing across the country, even conservatively. After 2768 miles I rolled up to the border, pretty much still speechless. But this time, there was a whole lot of fun wrapped up in all those miles.

And while no one could help me out on the trail, in no way could I say that I raced alone. My amazing wife was my emotional rock. Compared to a year ago I did much better dealing with being away from home. But there were still several moments were I was just willing her to pick up the phone on the other end for a few moments of "home" before shoving off towards another tiny town.

When you're racing for the better part of 3 weeks and thousands of miles, the weather is bound to play a role, yet the Divide always seems to find a way to up the ante. Almost right off the bat our rain gear got a workout and the rain never let up until the finish. I think I spent 3 days out of 19 without being stormed on with one of those being the last day. And that isn't even counting the day Kurt and I time trialed across the Great Divide basin and felt rain from a storm dozens of miles away due to such crazy wind! And even with a low snow winter, we still had some hiking to do. Luckily with some experience, I led the charge for Kurt, Joe and I over Red Meadow Pass and Richmond Peak and it wasn't nearly as bad as last year. Unfortunately while the snow wasn't as bad as 2008, the mud was far worse. On the section of the course between Polaris and Lima, Montana our group got slammed and temporarily separated. Luckily Joe, Kurt and I regrouped after the Bannack Bench road and fought the Medicine-Sheep Creek Divide together with a evening stopover at the ranch house of a very nice woman who thankfully had not only a room to rent but also a hose. Sadly the next day the three amigos became two when Joe had a catastrophic mud induced bike failure.

Weather isn't all bad, it can make for some amazing pictures! This is Kurt climbing through a rain shower to Red Rock Pass out of Montana and it's one of my favorites of the whole trip. That evening we were also treated to some of the brightest and closest rainbows I've ever seen and right at sunset to boot. Usually pictures of the horrendous weather never pop up because you're too sick of it and focused on getting somewhere sheltered to risk stopping and digging out the camera. I'm happy that I have at least a few to share later on as I blog more in depth.

Now that I'm done I'm wondering how the recovery will go. I feel really lucky to have no illness or no major injuries. My Achilles hurt from day 1 this year but luckily it was only really bad on the day we pushed over the Lava Mountain Trail outside Helena and it got gradually better throughout the ride. I probably only took four 200mg Advils and one 600mg one in 3 weeks. I did my best to eat all that I could out there with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups going down my throat at an alarming rate. With sections of the route where Kurt and I went 300 miles or more without a hot meal and riding 140+ miles a day, some weight loss is inevitable and I probably dropped 10 lbs or so. Right now I swing between feeling pretty good and pretty exhausted. A couple days ago Marni and I went for an easy road bike ride and I had my first road crash in years! I guess I'm so used to riding my loaded 29er that an unloaded road bike felt a little twitchy. I crossed up wheels and unwilling to take Marni down I braked hard and ended up in the weeds next to the road only a mile from home. Lucky again to walk away with no injuries. Then yesterday Marni and I lazily climbed in Eldo which today left me wiped. Guess I have a little more recovery time to go!

The Tour Divide was an amazing experience and I have a lot more unprocessed thoughts. For now I just have to thank everyone that I can, hopefully not forgetting anyone. First, thanks again to my wife Marni who supported me from near and far, drove around Colorado to see me for only a few hours total and both dropped me off in Banff and was waiting at the border in Antelope Wells to drive my spent bike and body home. Thanks to Joe Meiser and Kurt Refsnider with whom I spent many miles on the course. Though we all eventually split up for different reasons, riding with you guys was some of the most fun I've ever had on and off a bike. Thanks to Erik, Brady, Salvagetti, my mother and father in law and everyone else who made sure one very important drop box of bike parts, clothes and supplies made it to Absolute Bikes in Salida before I arrived. Thanks to my parents for being there, on call, when Marni couldn't be by the phone and for just giving me their love and support when I needed it. Orange Peel in Steamboat and Absolute Bikes in Salida are two of the best shops in the world and the way they take care of Divide racers is unbelievable. With their help and minimal trail side maintenance my bike ran flawlessly for the entire race with ZERO flats. Amazing (go tubeless...)! Brush Mountain Lodge and Skyline Lodge are amazing places as well and I highly recommend anyone traveling neat Steamboat and Platoro stop in. Last but not least, thanks to Matt Lee, Kevin Montgomery, Scott Morris and Joe Polk for putting on the Tour Divide and all the coverage surrounding it!

Being out racing the Divide feels selfish and demands serious focus. There is zero downtime. You are focused on eating, drinking, sleeping and riding. When I'd even be able to call Marni I needed to know the weather, where certain other people were and any other beta she'd been able to figure out from call ins or our split charts from the last two years. I often forgot to even ask her how her last few days had been but she took it all in stride. For those that are curious, I won't be back in Banff next year but perhaps someday I'll return to race and/or tour the route.

I will say the time I've spent preparing and being out there and what Marni and I both have sacrificed to make it happen is worth it. To all those who watched, commented and have sent emails and Facebook messages, a sincere and honest thank you.Now I need another nap!

Silver City!!

Just a quick update as Chris restocks his food supply at the gas station.

Chris actually ended up beating me to Silver City today because he's so darn fast (and apparently I'm Colorado-Springs-retarded). After leaving where he stayed last night at 2 am (eww), he was running from the storms and managed to get here in smokin' time.

As I pulled into Silver City, I was amazed at the hovering dark clouds near town that are showering lightning as we speak. I was a little worried about that, you know, not wanting my husband to get hit by lightning and all...

Anyway, sounds like Chris had the same idea. Instead of pushing on to camp tonight in the storm, he's eating and hitting the sack in the very near future (it's 6:15), then rolling out of here as early as he can muster waking up (midnight-2am is the desired time frame I think). From there, he'll have the 120 mile slog to the end. I will leave the hotel later, but still pretty darn early for me, and be meeting him at the end! Wohoo!!

Can't wait to bring my skinny boy home to fatten him up!

GO PLESKO!!!

-Wifey

Mmmm, pie!

One of my favorites from his camera so far.
He'll be doing a lot of this in a few days!

Chris made it to Pie Town.

"It only took me a year and a half to get here, but here I am!" he proudly announced over the phone.

Like I said, the boy loves pie. The idea of a town solely based around pie is a pretty exciting concept.

He said he took a lot of pictures! Including, for his mom, a slice of pie knit out of yarn.

Sounds pretty fantastic to me.

The next stop up is Silver City. He won't make it there all in one push. He plans to ride as far into the Gila tonight as he can and then stop to sleep. He likes the idea of not having a particular place in mind to stop for the night. He'll stop when he gets tired, start when he wakes up. Simple as that.

As of Pie Town, he is 300 miles from the end.

One map left.

I love that 300 miles sounds like nothing until I actually think about it. Chris and I made a deal that he would ride 2800 miles and I would ride 280 while he was gone. 280. 20 less than what he has to do in the next two days. And I didn't get anywhere close in two and a half weeks. He, however, will knock that out like it is nothing. Yes, I owe him a rockin' dinner for losing the bet.

Wow, a whole new perspective.

As for me, I'm heading out in a few minutes to stop at my sister's house in Colorado Springs for the night, before heading down to Silver City tomorrow. 9.5 hours of driving tomorrow. I've never been more excited to drive 9.5 hours by myself.

Hopefully I'll intercept Chris in the Wal-Mart parking lot tomorrow evening before he either stops for the night or stops for dinner and continues on.

Then hopefully...

Wednesday: Antelope Wells!

I can't believe it.

I can't wait.

And judging by the whines coming out of our dog right now, neither can Turbo... so I better load him into the car and hit the road.

I will most likely update one more time after Chris passes through Silver City and before I head to Antelope Wells.

Wish us luck.

GO PLESKO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Wifey

Spun Out

I believe this self-portrait was taken by Chris when he was going over Boreas Pass.

Chris has really been haulin' the last few days.

He suffered through the major passes, happily only encountering a few sections of hike-a-bike mud, flew through El Rito, and called me from Abiquiu last night. When I spoke to him last night while he was waiting for his food to be ready, he sounded like the energizer bunny. He was super excited to have had such a good day and to have caught and rode with Jay P and Tracey on the tandem. The hotel in Abiquiu was all booked up (seriously, who actually GOES to these towns that no one has ever heard of???), which made him happy because then the temptation wasn't there to turn in early and hotel it. They headed out a bit past town and stopped to sleep around 11:00 last night.

It was another early morning for Chris and the Petervary's as they made the trudge toward Cuba. Chris said that section wasn't especially hard, just especially annoying. In his words, it would "climb climb climb, level out, roll, climb, roll, climb... all leading to one screaming decent down into Cuba" where his GPS would clock him at hitting 50 mph. Apparently the tandem hit 56 and just left Chris and his lack-o-pedaling in the dust. They all eventually rolled into Cuba, stocking up on food and drinks for an inevitably long afternoon and evening down into Grants. Supposedly you are riding through some indian reservation land and it's not wise to stop and camp. I'm sure if he needs to, he will, but as of now his plan is to keep rolling until he gets into Grants. He has enjoyed riding with Jay and Tracey for the last day, and having a little company, but he is well-aware that they are going to be leaving him in their dust on this next road detour. With two motors and gears, the tandem can obviously put Chris's 32x17 gearing to shame. He plans on being spun out... a lot. The road detour lasts approximately 120 miles and it is mentally tough for Chris to know that, with gears, that section could pass by a lot quicker.

"But, I chose to do this single speed. I just guess this is where I'm going to pay for it."

The great news is that after Grants the next big goal is Pie Town.

One of Chris's biggest disappointments for not being able to finish last year was that he didn't get to roll through Pie Town.

Chris really like pie.

A lot.

And, once Chris hits Pie Town, I am going to be on the move myself: packing up the dog, fresh clothes and real shoes for the hubby, and heading south.

It could realistically be only three more days until I see Chris again and get to bring him home with me.

Then? We party!!

Damn, I'm proud of him.

GO PLESKO!!

-Wifey

Loads 'o photos

If you are interested in seeing the Tour Divide through Chris's camera -- Banff to Salida so far -- here's a link to the 400ish pictures he has taken so far. Some are simply hilarious and others are breathtakingly beautiful. Very much worth the time to sort through.

Enjoy!



(click on the slide show to be taken to all of the photos)

Rain, rain, go away!

Picture taken by Jess at Orange Peel Bikes in Steamboat.
Tracey, Chris, and Kurt

Just got to chat with Chris from Del Norte over the computer.

The house that he was stopped at did not have a land line, only a cell phone. Which would be okay, except Chris is trying to follow the strictest of rules between the GDR and the Tour Divide, so that if (when!) he sets the single speed record, it is 100% legit and he won't feel there's an asterisk attached. He is not carrying a cell phone and he refuses to use one, even if it is offered to him by someone else.

This is a giant pain in the butt. Chris has said it's one of the toughest aspects of the race.

Many places have ripped out the payphones, since everyone and their grandmother have cell phones these days, and they cost a lot to maintain.

Chris and I both think the cell phone rule is "stupid" (I know, I know, it has its reasons), but regardless, he plays by the rules. As if riding the route on a rigid single speed wasn't hard enough to start with... he must make it a bit harder. There's no googling phone numbers on his iPhone and calling ahead to see what's open, or to coerse businesses into staying open late -- like the bike shop. While it's allowed within the Tour Divide rules, Chris chooses not to do it.

So, when he gets to a spot like Patti's house in Del Norte (an official stop along the route -- how cool are they?!!!), he can't use the cell phone sitting next to him on the desk to call home. Instead, he hopped on gmail and we chatted for a bit.

Silly?

Absolutely.

But he's tough. He can do it.

Anyway...

Chris is not a big curser, but he has more than a few choice words to say about the weather. He was hammered by storms yesterday afternoon and evening, causing him to stop beneath an outhouse shelter around 8:00 last night, much earlier than he'd prefer to stop. He waited for the rain to stop and got started again this morning around 3 am. He had a hard day ahead of him to get to Del Norte, climbing a few passes that are not exaclty easy. Plus, getting up at 3 am always makes you feel a little funky.

Chris said he felt really slow this morning, despite making pretty good time to Del Norte from his stopping place...he got in just before 11:00. He said the trails/road were really tacky and slow from the rain the night before, which made him feel like he was working really hard and not really going anywhere. But, he made it to Del Norte in time for a delicious lunch and some coffee. As he wrote to me on the computer, thunder and lightning crashed overhead and the skies opened up with more rain. Making the smart choice, he stayed right where he was until the skies looked to be clearing and the lightning stopped... but this caused yet another stop that was longer than he wanted.

"It feels really strange to be 'racing' and sitting here drinking coffee."

I think I finally convinced him that anyone would do the same in those conditions. Might as well take advantage of the shelter while you've got it. It'll only help in the long run.

He showered, ate, and we chatted for a while and just a bit ago he decided to head out into the "sucker hole" and resupply before heading onto Indiana Pass -- the high point of the course. I'm sure he'll hit more weather on the pass... it is nearly impossible to avoid weather when you're at 11,000 ft in the afternoon in Colorado. I just hope he skirts through it safely and makes it down to Platoro in a swift fassion. He may end up stopping there for the night, but we'll see what he decides when he gets down.

As seems par for the course this year in Tour Divide, the weather will make the ultimate decision for him.

Annoying to say the least.

Also, in Chris's words:

"The single speed seems to be getting harder and harder as this race goes on."

Even if his daily mileage is dropping a bit, his determination is still running strong.

GO PLESKO!!

-Wifey

(EDIT: Chris found a payphone at the gas station where he was resupplying. As I picked up the phone, he was turning down ANOTHER cell phone offer from someone in the parking lot. He wanted to call for a minute and get to actually hear each other's voices. He sounds better than I expected and he's ready to get his climb on!)

Hazardous Shorts

Photo credit to Adventurecycling.org -- stolen with no permission whatsoever

Yesterday was a whirl-wind day for both Chris and I.

We had breakfast together in Kremmling, then I drove to Breckenridge to meet him for lunch. I found where the route meets Main Street, and I no sooner sat down on a bench when he rolled up. I estimated it would take him until about 2:00 to get to Breck and he rolled up at 12:30. He was on fire and riding like it was his first ride in months. You would never guess he'd been riding for 1800ish miles in the last week and a half!

Since Chris can't accept a ride from anyone, to anywhere, I ran alongside his bike as we sought a lunch spot. We came upon an absolutely delicious pizzeria. It was delicious. By 1:30, he was suited up and ready to start riding again. He thought that if he really pushed, he could make it to Salida by midnight. It'd be a long day, but he wanted to make Salida -- in the end, he got there at 9:00.

Wow!

I drove to Salida under the most beautiful sunset I have seen in a long time. As I rolled into town, so did he -- extraordinary timing as always.

This morning we got to have breakfast together again... this time in Salida... with some delicious french toast (well, okay, Chris had french toast, potatoes, AND a full bacon omlete -- wow, shocking even me!). Chris had to wait for the bike shop to open at 9 am. A few days ago I overnighted some spare drive-train parts to the bike shop, since the mud in Montana and Wyoming had really done quite a job at eroding his chain ring and cog. When the bike shop opened, it was awesome to see them usher him in, hand off the boxes (thank goodness they made it there -- expensively, but made it there at least!), and do whatever they could to help him get the bike into shape. An hour later, the bike was looking good and sounding a lot less creaky!

In the drop-box, he also had a fresh pair of bike shorts. I really thought he was going to cry with happiness when he saw the fresh shorts. He bounded off to the dressing room and returned looking like he was walking on air. Ahhhh, it must feel good!

He had to send the old and extra parts (and shorts!) back via the post office (race regulations don't allow for him to just hand the box off to me -- even though we were both headed the same place...home). It was funny to watch him try to maneuver his bike with this box in hand around the town of Salida. The best part of the morning came when the post office worker asked him if his package had anything fragile, perishable, or potentially hazardous in it. He said: "nope, not unless you consider the bike shorts I've worn for the past two weeks and only washed once hazardous!" The lady looked a little shocked and then laughed -- little did she know but he was serious!

He sent off the box, stopped by the gas station to resupply, then was finally off on the trail around 11:00. A late start by Tour Divide standards for sure, but you have to do what you have to do to get your bike reliable for the last 1000 mile push through no-man's land.

It was certainly hard on both of us to leave each other again -- but we know it'll only be about a week until I get to pick him up at the end. He knows he is behind Kurt and now also behind Jay/Tracey because of his two long stops the last two nights, but he is in a completely different place than he was when I first saw him on Tuesday evening. Tuesday night he was essentially dileriously tired, making random comments that he wouldn't even remember saying the next day. His eyes were blood-shot and his heart was racing even when asleep. When I left him this morning, he looked fresh, excited, and motivated to get to Antelope Wells. He's well-rested which, assuming his bike and body hold together, makes him a serious force to be reckoned with.

GO PLESKO!!

-Wifey

(Oooooh, in the box he sent home, he also included his first memory card from his camera. When the box arrives in the next few days, I'll get to download and see all of his pictures from the route so far. I also have permission to post them... so stay tuned!)

Tough Choices

Photo of Kurt and Chris yesterday near Steamboat -- courtesy of Dave Nice

I write from a hotel in Kremmling where Chris just left to continue his journey and hopefully hit Breckenridge in time for a tasty lunch.

Last night, I expected Chris to keep pushing close to Breckenridge, when I got a call from him in Kremmling asking if I was interested in driving the two hours up to see him. He and Kurt had been trying to decide what to do when they rolled past Kremmling -- Chris wanting to stop and get some sleep, Kurt wanting to keep pushing so he can make a post-office pickup in Salida down the line. Chris was tempted to keep going, he didn't want to leave his riding buddy, but he knew the right decision for him was to stop for the night to get some sleep. So both of them made the tough choice to do what they thought was right for themselves. And I'm sure both of them will be better off for doing that. Who knows, they may even end up meeting back up at some point.

For Chris and I, getting to see each other even for just a short little while, was seriously needed. We are a couple that can spend 24/7 together and never get tired of each other. In the last eight years, the longest we have spent apart is a week. As we faced the possiblity of not seeing each other for almost 20 days for this race, we both made the decision to hook up when he came into Colorado, giving us each a little more energy to make it to the end. We knew it'd be hard, and we've yet to see if it was actually the best choice, but getting to sit and talk for a little while over breakfast was refreshing. The hardest part about the visit was the concept of being "self-supported." I really couldn't do anything for Chris -- couldn't bring him any delicious food, couldn't bring him fresh clothes or even toothpaste, and (hardest of all) couldn't rub his tired legs. Essentially, I showed up, chatted with him, slept next to him, ate with him, and watched him ride away this morning. But even getting to see him in that limited capacity was better than nothing.

So for today... Chris is off riding. I plan to meet him in Breck for a quick lunch before I head home to hang with the puppy. As Chris nears Salida tomorrow morning, I will go down and see him again while he works on his bike with the parts I have already overnighted to the bike shop. The good thing about this route -- it runs many different places that are no more than just a few short hours from our house. That way I can see him whenever we want, with no real amount of effort or driving.

The last stretch of trail, past Salida to the end, is going to be really tough. But Chris has a good plan, he's determined to finish, and I know he can do it. Hopefully this time next week, I'll get to see Chris and take him home with me. Yay!

GO PLESKO!!

-Wifey