Post Ride Report

After over 2 weeks from being back from our frustrated tour divide ride, I still think of it daily.

I think of how fast the days were going, how hard each day was, the pressure of getting to our daily finish line, the rush to get cleaned up, first myself but also the bike, and leave it in good conditions to start all over again early next morning. I remember mentioning to Stan that, “I would never come back to do the Tour again, after completing the ride”,

- I haven’t completed it, therefore you already know what’s next.

I feel to some extent responsible for what happened. Mainly for the pressure I was putting into it. I was the one pushing for more miles every day, or getting up earlier each morning, or simply any little "road short-cut" that we might take in order to gain time, to reach our goal. This way I could be back on time, and most important to be back home to my family.

I remember clearly that day, talking to the Spanish shepherd, when Stan said, “I will just go ahead while you finish talking to him”, what I didn’t know is that the end of our road was just a bit ahead.

Each day was amazing in many different ways, we could see the geography changing from one state to another, from high mountains of Montana, the vast forest and breathtaking views, to the flat, windy Red Dessert of Wyoming. What an incredible 1,200 miles! I have suffered during those 12 days on a bike as I have never had before; an average of 12hr riding was becoming a routine and I still am surprised how my body was still able to get up each morning and do the same all over again. I still believe our body is an amazing machine, but I still can’t imagine the capabilities of it, but I, for sure, know that they can be limitless.

There are many things I would do differently for my next attempt:

-          Less gear/less weight.

-          Leg Warmers & Thermal/Down Jacket.

-          More water holders.

-          No Tent, switch to Bivy Sack.

-          Choose the right sleeping back, (not too warm as the one I chose).

-          Mountain bike, instead of Cyclocross bike (we needed fatter tires), I still think Stan wouldn’t have fallen on a fatter tire.

-          Carry Spot Tracker devise.

-          No back pack (at all).

-          Smaller Cooking Set.

-          T-Mobile had no service on all 12 days, Stan’s AT&T did most of the time.

-          I would still aim for 100 miles/day.