Tour Divide

The Tour Divide race covers 2700 miles of dirt roads, byways, old rail beds, and trails from Canada to Mexico. Racers travel solo, border to border, at their own pace over the course of about 3 weeks; they carry everything they need, sleep in the open, under bridges and in doorways, and resupply in the small towns along the way. Salida is the last major stop and last bike shop on the route before riders hit the New Mexico desert. This brings them through the shop for service, parts, and a lot of Clif Bars. We saw the race leaders trickle through on Tuesday.



Scot helping Matt Lee with a freewheel overhaul, shifting setup, and brake bleed...all in about 45 minutes. Matt came in about 7 hours ahead of the other riders. I'm learning that the longer the race, the mellower the racer. All these guys are kind, personable, and unpretentious.




Matt's bike with 3 weeks of camping gear and some food weighing in at 31 pounds. That's not much more than the bike you're riding this weekend!




Here is Blaine Nester getting ready to head out after some shifting work and a massive meal at the cafe next door. Again, calm, calculated, unhurried.




Erik Lobeck's Moots YBB loaded and waiting. He had some major drivetrain issues in Montana that sidelined him for 36 hours. I can't imagine what that would do to a person mentally. Even so, the guy has made up ground and is back in the running. Note that the three leaders in the race are all on Cannondale Lefty forks. Lefty domination!

Follow their progress here: www.tourdivide.org/leaderboard