tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3807027359418593456.post8745685618191569924..comments2024-02-29T02:06:59.726-09:00Comments on Fumbling Towards Endurance: The Great DivideUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3807027359418593456.post-68693521698969127382008-01-29T10:19:00.000-09:002008-01-29T10:19:00.000-09:00Hi Matt, thanks for your response. I have a ton of...Hi Matt, thanks for your response. I have a ton of respect for you and Trish and what you've accomplished. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't she the only woman to date to attempt the route in the context of the Great Divide Race?<BR/><BR/>I definitely haven't decided what "race" is right for me, if non-racers are allowed to make such a distinction. There are intriguing aspects to both races. Certainly there are interesting people in both races. I was just throwing out my viewpoint that a "point-to-point" attack of the GDMBR isn't as important to me as the people in the event, the timing, etc. This viewpoint is coming from a person who once toured "cross-country" by riding a big, 3,200-mile "S" curve between Salt Lake City and New York. The thought of riding ocean to ocean never even really occured to me, although I had friends who told me they would never attempt such a tour otherwise. They wanted to dip their bikes in the Pacific and the Atlantic. That's fine. That's not for me. <BR/><BR/>Racing, on the other hand, for me is a very here and now event. I don't really view it as racing against times from previous years, and I am certainly not gunning for any records (Trish is an animal, after all :-) I view it as racing against other competitors who face the same conditions and same weather and same obstacles as I do. And I view it as a race against my own demons. But I think many of us, myself included, need the paradigm of a race to push our limits and push beyond our comfort level. So I choose to line up with the "race." Otherwise, I am just out there touring. And touring may be something I choose to do. If I tour the GDMBR, I will definitely see Canada.Jill Homerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02983065990450931943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3807027359418593456.post-56502258499239522482008-01-29T09:13:00.000-09:002008-01-29T09:13:00.000-09:00jill, i hope you do go for it eventually. my x and...jill, i hope you do go for it eventually. my x and good friend trish stevenson asked me the other day if i was doing my part to encourage female participation. i didn't have a good, proactive answer. she says she would love to work personally with/encourage any women interested. so her offer is on the table.<BR/><BR/>on racing against the best competition, one can do that from either event. we don't have to be riding together to compete. again, it's the genius of the design. one is competing against contemps but also against 05 riders or 07 riders.<BR/><BR/>as for CAs existence, relevance to divide racing, the "somebody" that made maps for CA happens to be ACA. w/out them there would be no divide racing. the CA map looks just like the others. it is not a contrivance against B2B. B2B is an arcane geopolitical premise that inspired people to look for an XC route to race but has never been the key/cornerstone of divide racing, nor is it what truly defines it. the GDMBR is the essential resource. if the general divide racing rule is "always race the most current GDMBR maps" then we're not exactly doing so by omitting 1 of the 7 maps. the CA map was always there for group divide racing to accept. focus on john's 99 record prevented some from seeing CA for what it is. to ride it is to believe in it. geoff, i hope you choose to cruise it as a warm-up to the gdr if that's the race you decide upon. its lovely. good luck with prep and let me know if i can help out with any route beta. remember to get in/out of towns as quickly as possible. they'll depress you and only serve to slow you down. viva le GDMBR.Matthew Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11706479859518245215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3807027359418593456.post-52161071048339048912008-01-28T16:57:00.000-09:002008-01-28T16:57:00.000-09:00Sometimes I view a race as a challenge against mys...Sometimes I view a race as a challenge against myself, not just others. It all sounds very political...this race is better than that. Why would you want to do that race?<BR/>My answer is...because that's the race I want to do, and I really don't care about what you or others feel.<BR/>I do it because I like to do it. I don't hold any race to be more prestigious than another.<BR/>I do it to satisfy my needs and not someone else's.Vitohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01277306434031774094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3807027359418593456.post-25901021101753698952008-01-28T15:30:00.000-09:002008-01-28T15:30:00.000-09:00Although I am still only a spectator, I share Geof...Although I am still only a spectator, I share Geoff's views on this subject. It's interesting, because we have never actually dicussed this. But there seems to be quite a bit of rhetoric about the integrity of the GDMBR as this all-encompassing route, and I just don't really share that view. It begins in Banff becase somebody made some maps to put it there. It could just as easily begin at Atigun Pass, Alaska, but I wouldn't necessarily want to follow the divide all the way to Mexico from that latitude. <BR/><BR/>The Great Divide Race continues to be what it has been since its inception ... a border to border race. I'm sure the couse is beautiful, but the opportunity to line up and compete with some of the best ultra endurance racers in the world is what makes the race exciting. <BR/><BR/>If I were to ever try to race the Great Divide - and I still hold a flutter in my heart that it could happen - I'm fairly certain that I would also be drawn to the "more popular" race. Although I don't harbor any delusions about my talents when it comes to challenging the best of the best, you can bet I'd be much more excited about racing the GDR with other women that standing as the lone female at the beginning of the Tour Divide.<BR/><BR/>Certainly, the course is huge, and you'll spend 99 percent of your time alone. But unless you're out there treating it as a race against others, what's the point of "racing?"Jill Homerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02983065990450931943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3807027359418593456.post-48545898352678381812008-01-28T11:56:00.000-09:002008-01-28T11:56:00.000-09:00i see the TD camp has an opinion on this matter of...i see the TD camp has an opinion on this matter of choice. since the mere difference btwn the two is course length, it would be nice if a decision like this were based on that merit rather than a judgement/popularity contest but i guess it's clear that endurance mtb is an incestuous bunch. sometimes the unpopular decision is in the best interest of all - esp down the road. if it's inevitable that the full route will be raced into the future, the only real question that begs is "in which context does one want to log their effort"? it seems some foresight is the best tool for selection. besides, its not like the racers from past years have ridden together. it appears from race blogs that after the start those guys were on their own.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3807027359418593456.post-29609518211900680922008-01-28T11:09:00.000-09:002008-01-28T11:09:00.000-09:00Definitely no hard feelings. Nathan Bay, who I ha...Definitely no hard feelings. Nathan Bay, who I had the pleasure of riding with for some time in the '07 GDR, is also doing the GDR and I think very highly of him.<BR/><BR/>So, no need to delete you off my rss feed for this ;)Kevin Montgomeryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13097430070454262074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3807027359418593456.post-33039805262416041762008-01-28T07:23:00.000-09:002008-01-28T07:23:00.000-09:00ether way its awesome! No judgement here. I disagr...ether way its awesome! No judgement here. I disagree with some of the new rules ect...<BR/><BR/>Hopefully you don't catch me =)FixieDavehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04685170404057881390noreply@blogger.com