Great Divide Tour - photos

[Tony]

I just got back from my first tour. It was the Montana section of the off-road Great Divide route, which extends from Banff, Alberta to the US-Mexican border. I was the only one without at least a front shock, but the Hillborne did just fine. Three years of riding in the open space near my house, reading Grant's writing on underbiking and the very patient suggestions from the staff at Rivendell went a long way towards smoothing the ride.  Here's a link to the slideshow.
http://www.flickr.com//photos/51959000@N08/sets/72157630696714334/show/

Tony

Where the rivers change direction,
across the Great Divide __ Kate Wolf

[Michael Williams]

Hey Tony,   awesome slideshow!   Good stuff.   What tires did you run   50mm Duremes?    thanks   -Mike

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[Tony]

You got it Mike - 50mm Duremes

Tony

[Michael Williams]

Cool,  and you like the way they rode    cushy enough?    I have the same tires and might do the Tour Divide next summer!   

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[Pondero]

Loved the photos!  That route fascinates and tugs at me often.  Now that I've seen a civilized bike out there, the appeal is even stronger.  Much thanks (I think).

[Jim M.]

Sounds like a great trip! Thanks for posting the pictures. How about a little more write up when you get a chance? Did you flee thunderstorms? What was the toughest part of the trip?

jim m
wc ca

On Sunday, July 22, 2012 12:41:36 PM UTC-7, Tony wrote:

[Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery]

Thanks for posting, Tony! I'm going to do a chunk of the Montana GDR leg in a couple weeks. I'm probably taking my Surly Disc Trucker with 26x2 Mondials. Obviously, somebody racing the whole 2800 miles over most of a month might appreciate some mechanical shock absorption, but for weekend warrior tourist types like me, "underbiking" seems adequate.

[Mike]

Tony, thanks for sharing photos. Looks like an amazing and epic ride. Your Hillborne looks great. Sounds like you had no problems with the Alba bars day in and day out? 

--mike

[Tony]

Mike, I thought they were fine. In the wider size the tread is bigger
too; not exactly knobby but you get what I'm saying. As far as cushy,
I ran them at 40-45 psi or so for the smoother sections and actually
20 front/25 rear for the less smooth sections (I'm 170 lbs. these
days). I had no trouble with pinch flats. I think the sidewalls of
these Schwalbes are tougher than many other tires.

Tony

On Jul 22, 3:22 pm, Michael Williams <mkernanwilli...@gmail.com>
wrote:

> Cool,  and you like the way they rode    cushy enough?    I have the same
> tires and might do the Tour Divide next summer!
>
>
>
> On Sun, Jul 22, 2012 at 2:59 PM, Tony <tony.m...@astound.net> wrote:
> > You got it Mike - 50mm Duremes
>
> > Tony
>
> > On Sunday, July 22, 2012 12:41:36 PM UTC-7, Tony wrote:
>
> >> I just got back from my first tour. It was the Montana section of the
> >> off-road Great Divide route, which extends from Banff, Alberta to the
> >> US-Mexican border. I was the only one without at least a front shock,
> >> but the Hillborne did just fine. Three years of riding in the open space
> >> near my house, reading Grant's writing on underbiking and the very patient
> >> suggestions from the staff at Rivendell went a long way towards smoothing
> >> the ride.  Here's a link to the slideshow.

> >>http://www.flickr.com//photos/**51959000@N08/sets/**
> >> 72157630696714334/show/<http://www.flickr.com//photos/51959000@N08/sets/72157630696714334/show/>

>
> >> Tony
>
> >> Where the rivers change direction,
> >> across the Great Divide __ Kate Wolf
>
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>
> - Show quoted text -

[Tony]

Hi Jim,
The first day riding was on pavement and it rained quite hard for a
spell. We camped on school ground grass that night, but the gym was
open for us as well. I left my stuff to dry in the gym and moved
outside with my tent after the sun came out. One of the ride leaders
commented on how the northern section is almost a Pacific northwest
climate and the ride gets more typically dryer and hotter as you move
south. The second night had lightening and thunder, but we just got
sprinkles on our tents. The two things I liked the best were riding
miles and miles in the forrest and one of the single track sections.
You could get air in multiple places if you were so inclined. Each
rider showed up at the water stop at the end of that with the biggest
grin on their face.

I wouldn't call it tough, but the rest of the group, even with some
mechanical suspension, got tired of the sections with washboard roads.
That said, you could generally pick your line and avoid it for the
most part.

Tony

> > across the Great Divide __ Kate Wolf- Hide quoted text -

[Tony]

Mike, Alba bars are the best! When I got my bike I debated drop/Alba,
but I've never looked back. I actually hold the grips now on descents
and somehow have developed my hand position so I have a good grip and
two fingers on each brake lever. On climbs (or just for a change) my
hands are on the bend - no brake access, but no need while climbing.
It's my day in and out bike and the Albatross bars work on long
weekend road rides and the daily rides to work or the store.

Tony

[Tony]

One more Flip video of a snippet from one of the nightly map meetings.
~Tony
http://www.flickr.com/photos/51959000@N08/7635357482/

On Jul 22, 12:41 pm, Tony <tony.m...@astound.net> wrote:
> I just got back from my first tour. It was the Montana section of the
> off-road Great Divide route, which extends from Banff, Alberta to the
> US-Mexican border. I was the only one without at least a front shock, but
> the Hillborne did just fine. Three years of riding in the open space near
> my house, reading Grant's writing on underbiking and the very patient
> suggestions from the staff at Rivendell went a long way towards smoothing

> the ride.  Here's a link to the slideshow.http://www.flickr.com//photos/51959000@N08/sets/72157630696714334/show/

[Amit Singh]

Loved the photos, thanks for posting, Tony!

Did you use adventure cycling's maps to navigate your way through?

[Tony]

No Amit. I was a little surprised since it was an Adventure Cycling
tour, but although it was the Great Divide route we got paper cue
sheets/maps that also had details about where we were camping that
night, local lodging options, grocery, library etc. The cue sheet also
had our water and lunch stops marked.

Tony