Cooking on gas!

This years Tour Divide is in full flow! Follow the racers here;

http://trackleaders.com/tourdivide14 

In other news...

Awesome weekend watching the UCI MTB World Cup in Fort William, Scotland!

 

Atmosphere was unbelievable and I'd recommend a visit to anybody, no matter what your cycling discipline of choice might be! 

Be sure to check out the updates on the useful links page. I've added a provider of great value flights as well as a kit supplier. 

Blog & sponsor stickers are on the bike...

First big mileage day on a Single gear complete...

And the bike is looking swish...

My Twitter has also now been sorted out so I can provide updates on the move during training & events.  

Hope you're all getting the miles in this weekend! The weather forecast looks great!

 

Buff gear arrives!

Been pretty excited with the support from Buff. They have been kind enough to sort me out with Buff headwear for every condition you could think of as well as some cool shorts & baselayer apparel.

They're on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bufflife  

They're also on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BuffLife

See you on the trails! 

Buff join the party!

Fantastic news! The guys & gals at Buff have offered support for the many miles ahead. 

For those of you that haven't come across the awesome products before I'd urge you to visit them at www.buffwear.co.uk.

Multifunctional headwear of all sorts of varieties, there's something for everybody! 

Many thanks for your support guys!  
 

Who needs gears?!?!

So the bike is now a 29er.... And single-speed. And it's now blue. 

There's method behind the madness, I promise!

I was putting a lot of thought into the trip recently. Originally I wanted a trip about three/four weeks long: Fly out, push myself mentally and physically to the limit at approx 120+ miles a day, fly home. 

2 outcomes from that: 

- Massive success: See Canada and the USA in a bit of a sleep deprived blur & bragging rights when I get my sore body home.

- Utter failure: Bike fails early on, get eaten by bears, it rains (I'm talking Noah's Ark style...) and I quit having bitten off more than I can chew.

So. The thinking cap went on.

2745 miles through somewhere I've never set eyes on before? Too good to miss I say! Extend the trip to 6 weeks, shrink my daily mileage and enjoy what bikepacking is all about. 

I'm now planning on a tent rather than a bivi, I've gone single-speed to slow myself down and I'm going to enjoy every. single. second.

Interesting times!

So I've been putting some thought into the bike. 

I'm pretty happy pedaling all day on a 26er wheel. It's lightweight, I have the bike built already therefore saving me some cash however I found myself wanting to push further.

The terrain on the GDMBR is wide open trails so I did my homework and asked around on the forums regarding reputable 29er rigs. The general view was Salsa....

 

I've never been a fan of 29ers and I've certainly never been a fan of drop bars. So what now? Turns out I'm building a drop bar 29er: The Salsa 'Fargo'.

Stay tuned on the bike page for more info!

Fundraising goes live!

A bit keen I know but I wanted the page up early on. 

http://www.justgiving.com/RacingTheDivide

I'll be raising funds for Macmillan Cancer Support. They improve the lives of those affected by cancer by providing information, support and care to those in need. 

Having received this support first hand I am keen to repay the favour! Please spread the word & share the link. It'd be much appreciated.

Whoops!

Some may have noticed in the below post that my tracked route didn't quite hit the 23 mile target. Here's why....

Didn't have much warning and it could have ended up much worse had the trails been busier. 

So my RaceFace NEXT crankset has bit the dust. Still wanting to keep the 1x10 setup and not having the funds to get hold of the same setup again I'll be going for a Shimano ZEE.

Ride safe! 

Progress!

I can certainly feel the benefit of getting back on the bike 'properly' and it's helped having the TD as a massive goal. 

I'm lucky to work on a circular 23 mile cycle route on which I can train on regularly. During the summer I'm planning to double up on the laps at least once a once a month to simulate longer days in the saddle with my bikepacking rig. 

Picking up the pace

So, been a little quiet on the blog front as I've been having a play with the bike setup. I feel that it's very close to being my ideal TD mile muncher.....

The eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed a few changes to the bike. Updates will follow shortly in 'The Bike' section as well as a review after a few months of use. 

Happy trails!