Racing the Tour Divide: What I Would Do Differently

The Tour Divide was full of surprises, things going wrong, and a general sense of stupid awesomeness. I did a ton of research and a lot of training before starting the Tour Divide, knowing there would be little room (and little time) for errors while racing across Canada and the United States from Banff, Alberta, to Antelope Wells, New Mexico.

Nothing’s a better teacher than experience and with something as long and as personal as the Tour Divide, it’s tough to know what’s going to work (or not work) for you – even if you talk to people who have done the Tour Divide in the past (which I did before my ride). That said, hopefully my experience will add to whatever other information you’ve crammed into your head until now (assuming you’re a prospective TD rider)

Here’s everything that I would do differently if I did the Tour Divide again (or when I do it again?)

Brought Warmer Gloves

My gear was meticulously chosen before I started the Tour Divide, but even with two different pairs of gloves, it wasn’t enough. My hands were absolutely freezing for the first few days of the ride. It didn’t help that it was either raining, sleeting, or snowing for most of these days, or that temperatures were just barely above freezing. That’s summer in the Canadian Rockies, I guess.

I wish I hadn’t taken weight into account when considering my gloves and just gotten the warmest, most waterproof ones I could find, especially since it’s possible to return items from post offices or donate them at a bike shop if you’re international and don’t want to pay for international shipping.

The worst part, that is, the coldest part, of this early part of the ride was the downhill sections. You spend a ton of time climbing, and then once you get to “enjoy” the descent, your fingers freeze into popsicles. When I reached the US-Canada border, my fingers were so cold that I needed to ask the border officer for help to retrieve my passport from the plastic bag it was in. Good times.

Considered My Shelter Storage

I kept my quilt, my shelter, and my shelter’s poles all inside my handlebar roll. It was awesome – almost magical – and I was incredibly happy to see that it all fit; it was as if all the pieces were falling perfectly into place. Since my handlebar roll couldn’t be too long (or it would get in the way of my shifting or brakes—the drawback to having drop bars), I became quite skilled at packing it all down compactly. It was working great until the weather rolled in (almost immediately).

What I didn’t plan for was to be packing my quilt (something that needs to be kept dry at all costs) in my front roll with a wet shelter. The good thing about my waterproof front roll was that it didn’t let water in; the bad thing about my waterproof front roll was that it didn’t let water out either. And on the Tour Divide, there’s no time to stop in the middle of the day to dry your wet gear out (and wearing my shelter as a cape wasn’t an option either, as it surely would have gotten stuck in my gears).

The solution would either have been to separate these two pieces of gear or to have my quilt in a dry bag inside the handlebar roll. What I ended up doing was wrapping my quilt in one of those reusable plastic grocery store bags (which I always bring with me in the backcountry for things just like this), and it managed to keep the moisture somewhat controlled.

Not Taken It Easy Early On

When I started the Tour Divide, my goal was 25 days. This goal was based on very little empirical evidence, as I had never undertaken anything like this before, and I wasn’t sure what I would be able to accomplish every day in terms of distance or time on the bike.

On the third day, which seemed like it was still at the beginning, but that was already a decent way into the trip, I decided to revise that goal down to 20 days. This seemed doable based on what I’d accomplished in the first two days, but had I had this mentality from the start, accomplishing it during the final 18 days would have been a bit easier.

Those first two nights I stopped just after sunset which was incredibly early compared to when I stopped riding after I changed my goal to 20 days. I also wasted a bit of time in town at the start, but more on that below. If I were going to do it again (and if I do it again), I would have been pushing right from the start. Would this have been detrimental to my ride? Did I need that extra rest at the start? It’s hard to say, but if I were going to advise a friend embarking on this adventure, I’d tell them to ride balls to the wall every day.

Not Spent So Long in Town

Besides not sleeping, one of the things I could have done for myself to make up time on the Tour Divide was to spend less time in town. If you’re reading this article and wondering why the things I would do differently all appear to fall into the category of “take less pleasure in the things that rejuvinate you,” or, put another way, “make the Tour Divide more of a sufferfest,” it’s because finishing in the fastest time possible was my objective on the Tour Divide. I was not out there for a leisurely bikepacking trip, or even to necessarily enjoy myself (although the moments of enjoyment were welcome when they occurred).

If I could go back (or when I go back), I would not spend so long in town. I would never go to restaurants where I had to sit down and order, I would never do laundry if I weren’t able to sleep while it was running, I would never make stops at multiple supermarkets or stores looking for food or gear I wish I had brought from the start. Of course, it’s easy to say all of this from the comfort of not being on the Tour Divide, but perhaps the knowledge of all this beforehand would help keep me disciplined on the Divide. If I wanted to use this time instead to be more productive (instead of being in town), I could have invested this “wasted” time into sleeping instead of rambling about town.

Researched Bike Shops Ahead of Time

I had to stop at three bike shops on the Tour Divide, once in Fernie (because of a crash on day one), once in Helena (to address an issue I was having with my brakes), and once in Steamboat Springs (to get my bike refreshed after making it to the halfway-ish point). There was always time while getting close to town where I had service and could look up bike shops on my phone. However, I didn’t always know which shop would be best for Tour Divide riders, and I wasn’t always able to get help at the first shop I visited.

If I had researched (at least marked on my map) each of the bike shops ahead of time (and noted their hours), I might have wasted less time trying to figure out where to go. In Fernie, I ended up at Straight Line Bicycles (which I would recommend), and in Helena, I ended up at Big Sky Cycling (also recommended). Steamboat Springs was where I had the most trouble, as there are a lot of bicycle shops there; not all are equipped (or willing) to accept a filthy Tour Divide rider who needs immediate attention.

Been More Careful with my Tracker

The most official way to be a part of the officially unofficial Tour Divide is to carry a tracker with you and pay to register on Trackleaders. I used a Garmin inReach Messenger (as it’s slightly lighter than my Garmin inReach Mini 2 and has a longer-lasting battery), and as far as tracking went, it worked brilliantly. I also assume it would have worked in the event I needed to call for rescue in the backcountry.

My original setup attached my inReach Messenger to a Garmin Edge TT/Tri Bar Mount, which was attached to one of my aero bars. I attached a jefe kLite inReach Mini 2 Mount Adapter to the back of my Messenger with a piece of VHB tape as a workaround (since there’s no screw hole on the inReach Messenger like there is on the Mini 2.

I did a detailed breakdown of my Tour Divide cockpit setup here.

Everything worked great until I knocked my Messenger the wrong way one day, chipping a small piece off the adapter. This caused the mount to fail as it could no longer grip the adapter, and my Messenger fell off my bike without me noticing. Long story short, I set up camp and then spent half an hour walking back up the trail where I miraculously found it in the dark (and in the rain). After this, I carried my Messenger in my bib’s cargo pocket.

Fast forward to the end of the Divide when I’m riding the Continental Divide Trail just a couple of hours from the finish through a scrub-heavy section, and an exceptionally sharp plant rips open my pocket and my Messenger falls out. I look for it, can’t find it, and finish the Divide without it. But then, driving back to civilization, I see another rider whom I stop to talk to quickly, and he’s found my tracker.

Worn Bigger Shoes

One of the things I mentioned in my ‘Things That Went Wrong on the Tour Divide post was the fact that my feet swelled. If I were to go back and counsel myself before beginning the Tour Divide, I would suggest getting shoes that are a half size (or even a full size) larger.

I used the Lake MX238 Wide Cycling Shoe, which I was otherwise happy with (they were a bit heavy, would be maybe my only complaint). Despite completing the ride in less than three weeks, that was plenty of time for my feet to swell. As a result of my feet swelling, I had some discomfort during the ride, but the real fallout wasn’t apparent until after the ride. I lost the feeling in all my toes for a considerable amount of time (at least a month), and I lost feeling in my big toes for nearly four months, to the point where I wasn’t sure if I’d ever regain 100% of my feeling.

I never experienced any swelling during training (and haven’t had any while hiking, either), but the Tour Divide was a different beast entirely – a size up.

Used Chamois Cream from the Start

One of the most painful things about the Tour Divide (besides everything) was my saddle sores. I never got saddle sores during training, and I didn’t think I would have any issues on the Divide. This is why I, regretably, didn’t lather my bum in chamois cream from the start. The cold and rain plaguing the start of my Tour Divide didn’t help with the long hours in the saddle, but I still should have taken preventative measures beforehand.

I had somehow convinced myself that my training had calloused my butt into being saddle-sore proof, but there’s no training like the Divide itself.

If you’re considering the Tour Divide, do yourself a favor and slather your butt and chamois in some cream, lube, or balm every day – even if you’ve never had issues with them in the past. They are literally ride-ending for some riders and are something you want to avoid if at all possible. I slept in a pair of merino wool boxers every night to let my butt breathe, but this by itself wasn’t enough to keep the saddle sores at bay. Butt cream is life on the Tour Divide.

Brought a Bigger Headlamp

Yet another issue that stemmed from my wanting to go as lightweight as possible was my decision to bring a lightweight headlamp. I was happy with my decision to use Velcro on my helmet and the back of my headlamp to ensure it remained in place while I was using it, but I wish I had brought something with more lumens and a longer throw.

One of the reasons a bigger headlamp would have been more useful is that I used a dynamo light (if you are doing the Tour Divide and you don’t have a dynamo hub and light, definitely get one). The dynamo light was incredible – if I were moving. There were times at night when I would be riding uphill (even a few nighttime hike-a-bikes) and the power supplied to my light from my wheel (the dynamo light is powered by a dynamo hub in your front wheel in case you’re new to this – as I was when I began prepping for the Dviide) was not sufficient to give me much light.

Additionally, there were times when I wanted to look somewhere that my bike wasn’t pointing (mainly into the bushes to see all the imaginary Grizzlies and cougars that were chasing me), but my headlamp wasn’t strong enough to illuminate the area. The headlamp I had did great at camp, but that was about it. Next time, I’ll bring something bigger.

Had Arm and Leg Warmers

Another thing I would have changed about my Tour Divide gear? The inclusion of arm warmers and leg warmers. One of the things I failed to consider before the Tour Divide was (independent of the fact that there was a winter storm rolling through the Rockies in the middle of June) how cold the descents could be.

What would be a reasonably comfortable temperature to be outdoors in – hiking, walking, or hanging out – isn’t the same as a comfortable temperature to ride downhill on a bicycle. The amount of time I spent transitioning from wearing nearly no clothing (because I got so hot on the climbs) to wearing all of my clothing (because it was so cold on the descents) was another thing I didn’t expect.

Arm warmers and leg warmers were much easier to put on and take off than jackets and rain pants, and provided just that little bit of extra protection from the cold to keep me from being too miserable when the weather turned. I would 100% bring both of these if I were to do the Tour Divide again (and will probably bring them on subsequent bikepacking trips).

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