...is just a small, one-strip town, where if you sit long enough at the cafe today you'll see loaded bikes rolling in from all directions. Said goodbye to Canada, a peaceful, epic place that i'll return to soon; hello to the US, with its vast Montana skies and super-large, super-friendly everything. Feeling much less daunted now that I'm here with other Great Dividers to share thoughts and worries with; amusingly we're all aiming for the golden 20 day time so if things go to plan for everybody it might as well end up being one very long stage race. Much talk of how the Tour Divide is panning out, and hopes that they were at least organised whn trudging through the snow pack and have trod us a nice neat path to follow.. No bears yet but I'm keeping tight hold on my bear spray, bell and singing voice; the 380 miles I've ridden to get here have been the remotest of my life and I confess to being very, very scared and lonely at times, and equally exhilerated by the size of this place. A little more nail biting to come this evening and then, tomorrow, a final coffee and we're off.
Yikes.
:o)
j.
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In which the friends and riders of www.minx-girl.com diary their progress through training, racing and general pottering about on bikes.
Minx
RIDES a Surly Cross Bike, a borrowed fixie (badly) and a steel Jones. Yes singlespeed and with the truss fork since you ask.... LISTENS to Midge Ure 'May Your Good Lord' in her head when climbing hills. Has RACED slowly but with passion. WISHES she had the attitude of Marla Streb. THINKS Greg LeMond chasing down Laurent Fignon in 1989 was the best tour ending ever. LIKES pre-ride coffee at Marrocos. BEST TRAIL riding with Jeff Jones in Oregon. NEMESIS Porcupine Rim. LOVES the moments it comes together. HATES the hours that it doesn't. MISSES Marco Pantani.
Jenn
LIVES a southerner in the north and loving it. WORKS freelance bike journo. RIDES Trek 69er, beloved Kona Unit, Kona Jake the Snake, rugged Kogswell, Omega Helix for the road. BEST TRAIL Nightride Cheek. FAVOURITE POST-RIDE FOOD crumpets, tea, cake, cake, cake..... FILM somewhat predictably Belleville Rendezvous SONG Subject to frequent change but often something from Lamb...
Livvy
LIVES South London WORKS in branding stuff RIDES Orbea Orca and Orbea Aqua (yup, Orbeas ROCK) BEST TARMAC Col D'Aravis FAVOURITE POST-RIDE FOOD Always cake FILM Indochine - gloriously epic but tragic SONG Harper Valley PTA by Dolly Parton
Ruth
LIVES in Wiltshire; only in her minds eye are there mountains.
WORKS freelance sustainability, writer, researcher & consultant, saving the world from itself.
RIDES Nukeproof Mega, On One ‘as heavy as the suspension bike darn it’ 456, slicked up Rocky Mountain Oxygen for scooting round the lanes.
BEST TRAIL is still waiting for me to ride it.
FAVOURITE POST RIDE FOOD tea and cake, always.
FILM ‘Breaking Away’, bikes and coming of age classic.
SONG Underworld’s ‘To Heal’ never fails to fix me.
Jac
LIVES sunny/windy Edinburgh WORKS doing hard sums on spreadsheets RIDES oh dear... Santa Cruz Juliana Superlight, pretty little Spot Singlespeed, Santa Cruz Juliana Cushtail, Cannondale CX9 and my trusty, very old, very beat up Specialized Hardrock commuter BEST TRAIL the extreme canal towpath near Trevelez and Stoory Brae FAVOURITE POST-RIDE FOOD a big mug of hot chocolate and really good gingerbread lathered in butter (proper Scottish style!) FILM Cinema Paradiso (it makes her cry every time) SONG Ca Plane Pour Moi (just for the memories of bad dancing at SSWC in Stockholm) WISHES the tune of Dad's Army would stop going round in her head every time she races
Vikki
LIVES the hills of Lancashire. WORKS not since returning to Uni to be an art student. RIDES Surly Cross-Check, On-One Pompino, Endorphin VP-4 and a Voodoo Bokor - anything with pedals really. BEST TRAIL the tree and nettle lined, leg scratching trails through the woods at the end of my road. FAVOURITE POST-RIDE FOOD malt loaf, toasted bagels or marmite on granary bread and mugs of tea. FILM 50 First Dates for when only cheesy will do, Fargo for something sinister and Le Grand Bleu for pure inspiration. SONG sorry but impossible for an i-tunes junky to pick just one.
Fi
LIVES sunny Clifton in Bristol. WORKS as a lecturer at UWE. RIDES Kona Hei Hei, Marshmallowed Commencal Supernormal (handmedown from Jenn), Trek singlespeed cross bike, Scott cross bike, On One singlespeed, Focus Cayo road bike. BEST TRAIL singletrack descent off Chinley Churn in the High Peak. FAVOURITE POST-RIDE FOOD tea and sandwiches. FILM Truly, Madly, Deeply for wistful moments, or anything James Bond for Sunday evening escapism. SONG ‘Where is the Love?’ by the Black Eyed Peas.
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8 comments:
Still boggling at a 380 mile warmup :)
Good luck!
Remember. You know how to do this.
:-)
Love, luck, hugs. I don't care what the time is, call when you're done. And we'll see you in Napa- with a harmonica serenade.
One more hug for luck- and we'll toast you across the start from our Mayhem field.
sitting here refreshing the metcheck page every three minutes and worrying about tyres seems a little lame now, unless of course a lack of traction when trying to escape a bear in the woods at 3am leads to an untimely mauling...
(puts pink amoeba earing in)
Have to agree with Simon, 380 miles as a warm up?!
All you can do now is relax and enjoy the ride. Very best of luck, hope you get to see bears ('cause they are quite cool, really) but that they are on the other side of a valley. :^)
Looking forward to hearing all about it over wine in Napa...
Hugs,
Adam
You rock. That is all :-)
What an enormous adventure to embark on. Best of British to you Jenn - you'll need a stiff upper lip at times I'm sure :)
I hope you felt all the happy thoughts and good wishes from us all when you set off today!
This is your girls own adventure and it knocks the spots off mine!
Ride well!
Go Jenn! Glad to have you a bit closer on this side of the world. See you in Napa!
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