Prologue

Do epic shit modestly1Bogie Dumitrescu

In looking at the bike set up, timetables and logistical musings etc. I have covered the usual sentinel points prior to starting a bikepacking tour in the pre-prologue, so I am not really sure where the pre-prologue ends and the prologue proper starts.

I have decided to commence this section from the moment when I was committed to the undertaking. However even that point is not clear cut….

I suppose it could legitimately be argued be that this commitment dates from when I submitted the formal letter of intent (morally committed).

However I think commitment can equally be said to have occurred when I purchased the tickets (financially committed). It suppose it could be argued that buying the bike in the first place, by definition, demonstrated a significant financial commitment but, as the bike can be used for rides other than the Tour Divide, I think the moral commitment should mark the definitive point.

There again, merely by mentioning that I was seriously entertaining thoughts of doing the Tour Divide ,I suppose I was defacto already somewhat obliged, committed, required, compelled, duty bound (choose your own adverb) to go through with the undertaking. At least that’s what I told myself when, in the cold light of the day, I considered the enormity of the enterprise.

Bit of a conundrum – such are the life influencing dilemmas we ultra distance backpackers have to face!!!

Mindful of the above I have elected to date this section from when I submitted my Letter Of Intent (LOI), as a South Bound (SoBo) Rookie.

So…. after I had booked the flights, arranged accommodation at the YWCA and sourced a relatively cheap 2 night stay in a room in a house in Calgary I waited for the 21st December (winter solstice) – the official start date for LOI submission.

These LOIs vary from the mundane to the esoteric, factual to the frankly weird.

I registered my LOI with both Trackleaders and Matt Lee, the unofficial Tour Divide route supremo, and sat back and waited. Traditionally, reflecting the laid back psyche associated with this event, you receive no communication until much much nearer the start.

My LOI read as follows:

I, Jerry Sharp, being of relatively sound mind and questionable body, do hereby declare my intent to be present at the 2017 Great Divide Mountain Bike Ride Grand Depart on the 9th June.

I intend to do this as a combined retirement and birthday present to myself.

It’s something I have been looking forward to participating in for some 18 months.

I realise that I shall be severely tested both physically and mentally and hope that I prove up to the challenge.

I believe that the whole experience will, at the very least, provide me with suitable material for ripping yarns in years to come. Although I would stress that I shall not be bringing lashings of ginger beer.

I did notice2 my name had been added to the increasingly large number of intending starters who incidentally appeared to have jumped the gun and submitted their LOI’s before the 21st December. I was number 121. This made me somewhat apprehensive because, mindful of my ‘relative’ slow intended progress, I feared that all the available food in the isolated food stops would be hovered up by a swarm of hungry locusts known as bikepackers (is there any other type of bikepacker than a hungry bikepacker you may ask).

Having addressed the SPOT, bike transport bag and accommodation elements, several new issues became apparent:

GPS Garmin Etrex 30x Device

With my limited computer nounce, and after considerable internet trawling, I finally screwed up the courage and bought an Etrex 30x GPS as an early Christmas present. I chose an Etrex 30x principally because it has a ‘supposed’ 30+hr running time, utilising easily replaceable AA batteries and has relatively good feedback. I then sourced the latest (2016) GPX route. In keeping with a lot features of this event the file was not readily identifiable.

Having used the device for some time now I still don’t know the difference between a track and a route but using it as I do this seems immaterial.

Like all my previous computer experiences I encountered considerable teething troubles, notably uploading the Garmin Basecamp programme, a prerequisite for transferring GPX files to the Garmin.

It transpires that to install the latest version of Basecamp onto a Mac requires ‘El Capitan’ (or higher) OS system. Needless to say my laptop uses Snow Leopard and due to its age is not able to accommodate this OS update.

Nevertheless somehow I succeeded in getting some semblance of Basecamp on my laptop. Although, when I connect my Etrex 30x to the computer via Basecamp I find I immediately I get some 50+ ‘unable to connect to device’ messages on the screen.

Using the tried and trusted principle of ignoring the problem (works well as we shall see later) I discovered that by simply deleting these multiple messages (which takes about 2 minutes) I eventually do get access to Basecamp and I then have the ability to upload all my GPX files onto the device. Go figure.

After multiple hours I have now become relatively proficient at creating tracks (and or downloading GPX tracks from the Web) in Plotaroute (a site for route creation/manipulation) and then uploading these GPX files to Garmin Basecamp before transferring them seamlessly to the Etrex device. Furthermore I have now become adept at calling up the requisite track (not route) on the Etrex screen and using this to follow the designated route (track).

I have even managed to identify the total climb and distance stats for the route but, despite apparently saving the track(s) I cannot access these data in Basecamp (note the pedant in me recognises that data is plural!).

One other major success on the Etrex front was the saga concerning how to attach said device to the bike. Obviously this needs to be ultra-reliable yet simple to operate.

Again like all things, at the start, this did not prove easy. I already possess a Garmin Edge odometer which has an integral battery life of only some 12 hours. This is fine for logging the distance of bog standard rides but would be patently unsuitable for the Divide ride.

Now the Edge device has a two lug ‘twist and lock’ set up on the back. This engages quite elegantly with a simple Garmin baseplate which is relatively easily secured on the bike, using specialised elasticated rubber bands.

Despite being made by the same company naturally the Etrex does not utilise the Edge design! Instead it requires a complicated adapter which slides on the back of the device. This adapter, made by a different company and sold at an inflated price, has a similar twist and lock set up but this has 4 lugs instead of the above two (probably secondary to patenting issues). Consequently one then has to purchase, again at an exorbitant price, an additional 4 lug receiver which in turn is then attached to the bike. I said being a bikepacker was not easy.

Parsimonious (and perverse?) as always, I bought the aforementioned 4 lug adapter and simply cut off two of the 4 lugs and tried this directly with the Edge receiver above. Works like a charm and saved me some £50+.

I had as they say in the film ‘School of Rock’ I had ‘Stuck it to the Man’.

Handlebars

While looking at bikepacker sites/blogs I noted multiple references to the fact that, rather than the traditional ‘sit up and beg’ straight handlebars, it is preferable to have a variety of hand positions on the bike as this minimises hand stress problems and finger numbness.

There seemed to be four set ups which maximise the hand position options:

• Drop handlebars, as per a standard road bike,
• ‘Aerodynamic’ time trial extensions,
• Butterfly bars and
• Loop curved bars.

The archetypal manufacturer of the latter being Jeff Jones in the States.

Needless to say all these set ups are expensive; especially if carbon or titanium options are adopted.

While on the Alpkit website in the Forum section (Alpkit made my frame bag, supplied the rear post and handlebar bags together with numerous bits of clothing) I came upon a reference to ‘Alpkit Fumanchu’ bars – curiously I noted that these are not offered on their formal website. Why?…….

It turns out that Fumanchu bars are Jeff Jones ‘replicas’ (AKA rip offs) and that there were considerable problems with patent infringement. Consequently they were being disposed of (under the counter as it were) at a drastically reduced price – £30 vs £250 for the definitive version.

Needless to say I immediately emailed Alpkit and asked if they had any left – unsurprisingly there had been a run on the remaining stock.

Fortunately they had a few left (subsequently selling for £70 on ebay) and I was able to obtain one for £35 (£30 + £5 postage) by return.

Tubeless tyres

I was somewhat apprehensive about ‘going tubeless’ but elected to use this system after reading about its ability to deal with punctures.

Naively I assumed that once the sealant, ‘Stans No leaks’, had been placed in the tyre and a seal obtained that was it. The infamous goathead thorns, typically encountered in southern New Mexico would hold no fear for me and my trusty steed.

Unfortunately the literature singularly fails to highlight the necessity of replacing said sealant every 3 -4 months.

Consequently, while cycling down to watch Alice play hockey in London, despite repeated stops to pump up it up en route, I experienced the rear tyre loosing pressure; so much so I ended up getting the train back as the tyre was completely flat at the end of the game.

To compound this problem (joke there), when either fitting a new tyre or after having taken part of the tyre off the wheel rim to replenish sealant, you have to develop significant overpressure to ensure that the tyre walls expand to press against the wheel rim thereby allowing the sealant to work. All too often a simple hand held pump does not prove effective and vigorous use of a foot pump or an air hose/CO2 canister is required.

This poses a bit of a problem if you have to replenish the sealant in the bush or if one lacerates the tyre wall and need to remove the tyre for formal repair.

I had catered for the lacerated tyre scenario by carrying a hand held silk suture (obtained from theatre) and I planned to carry an inner tube to inflate if I needed to remove the tyre and was unable to obtain a seal.

Using a belt and braces approach I also obtained a large plastic syringe which, after removal of the value, with a valve removing tool, can be used to recharge the sealant in the tyre through the value orifice. This obviates the need to remove part of the tyre from the wheel rim.

All in all I considered I was bomb proof on the tyre front….. (watch this space).

Water issues

Aside from bear attacks the issue which most concerned me was either running out of water or suffering a waterborne gut infection of sufficient severity as to put the success of the trip in jeopardy. If the latter were to happen in the desert I would be in deep shit!!

I addressed the volume of water issue by affixing 3 bottle cages on the under surface of the down tube; zip ties are very useful here. I thought I had bought three large bottles (with covers to protect from mud and worse) but when they arrived the photograph depiction proved to be misleading and there was no cover. Nevertheless as they were robust large volume 850ml bottles I kept them.

The infection issue was solved rather elegantly by using a ‘Go’ bottle
(kindly supplied by Martin who has invested in the company). This uses a nano filter inside the bottle (unfortunately not bottle cage compatible) and allows you to use contaminated sources without formal treatment. I did take some steritabs anyway in case of problems with the bottle. The ‘Go’ bottle was carried in a separate holder on the handlebars – see cockpit view.

I complemented the above with a 2.5L platypus backpack bladder giving me a total water carrying capacity of some 5.7L which I hoped would be enough.

Obviously I did not intend to carry this volume all the time, or even very frequently, but as I said I wanted enough water while crossing the Basin, with its notoriously long distances between resupply, and in the New Mexican desert, especially with the anticipated heat.

With the above issues addressed I was starting to feel more comfortable with my set up and early in the New Year I planned two major fully loaded bike trips – dress rehearsals as it were.

Looking at holiday availability and Bank Holidays I thought a 4 day fully loaded out and back trip up the Pennine Bridleway and an extended cycle trip down to complete the South Downs Way, cycling via London, with a 100k Audax thrown in on the way back would be feasible. Emma and Chris planned to complete the Audax event with me.

Pennine Bridleway: 31st March – 3rd April 2017

This trip was good in that it restored my faith in my ability to do solid distances per day with a fully loaded rig. The weather was mixed and the terrain variable with the predominant features being mud and gates.

The number of gates encountered on this trip was prestigious, I stopped counting after I reached 250 in one day!

The ability to keep dry in the tent with significant condensation, and how to dismantle the tent without getting the contents drenched is one which I managed to go a large way in achieving – curing would be incorrect managing is appropriate.
I discovered that, if I accept the damp/wet tent outer skin, due to either rain or dew, and stop to air/dry both outer and inner apects later in the day things work much better.

However, far and away the most important feature of this trip was the discovery that, even though I had been able to do it easily back home in the comfort of the kitchen, when in the field I was singularly unsucessful in my attempts at resiting my tyre after inserting a 27.5” inner tube.

I had not been unduly dismayed when on the last day I experienced a flat tyre about 40k from home, secondary to the sealant having run dry. I reasoned that this would be an excellent opportunity to practice, under real conditions, what may be a lifesaving necessity.

I am delighted that I did because, despite struggling for 2 hrs and incidentally breaking 3 tyre leavers in the process, I could not get the tyre back on the rim. If this had happened in the middle of the Basin I would have been well and truly up the (bone dry) creek without a paddle as it were.

Fortunately I was able to walk/carry the bike some 5k to the nearest hostelry, eat a meal and have a couple of drinks until Jackie was able to come and pick me up. I think she thought if this happens in Derbyshire what’s going to happen in Wyoming but she didn’t actually come out and say it. Instead I highighted that it was a good thing as it graphically illustrated a problem I needed to address.

Paradoxically when I got back home and repeated the attempt the tyre went back on perfectly inside 45 seconds!! Obviously there was some fundamental trick I was missing. A visit to uncle YouTube showed the solution inside 2 mins. Essentially I had ommitted to unseat the tyre bead from the rim on the opposite side of the wheel and place the bead into the tyre well. This automatically gives you a couple of extra millimetres of bead to play with and allows simple positioning of the tyre inside the whole of the wheel rim with the use of only one’s thumbs – simples.

In fact this knowledge was put to good use in Wamsutter under more trying circumstances as we shall see.

Derby Kew South Downs Way Kew 1 00k Audax: 27th April – 2nd May 2017

The tour down to London, and then along the South Down’s Way, was another trip which, with the benefit of hindsight, afforded an excellent opportunity to correct something which would otherwise have been a complete disaster had it occurred in Canada/the US.

I started off from Duffield quite looking forward to completing this trip. The South Downs Way had been cited as a good work out prior to doing the TD in the two books I had read by UK authors who had completed the route.

Things started to go pear shaped within the first 2k!. I noted that, despite everything being fine and all measurements being dialled in nicely while I was cycling the Pennine Bridleway the seat didn’t seem right. The seat attitude was decidedly wrong with the front pointing up from the horizontal.

I attempted to fix this to no avail – it was stuck solid.

Cycling the back roads down to London and obviously along the South Downs Way meant that I did not get to see a viable bike shop until I had done some 250 miles+. By which time I was experiencing highly significant right sided knee pain. With the benefit of hindsight I should have stopped immediately and gone off route to find a bike shop but I was fixated with doing the miles and completing the trip – to the detriment, as it proved, of my knee.

The bike shop I happened upon on the way back to London was excellent. I rolled in smelly, covered in muck and mud on a bike that wasn’t the latest carbon fibre dream machine, obviously not your usual MAMIL (Middle Aged Man In Lycra). I was immediately asked if I wanted a cup of coffee and told to help myself to a couple of muffins. They then enquired about the bike, they seemed genuinely interested in my planned the TD trip and my current tour and problem.

When they asked what was up there understandably was a slightly rolling of eyes when I said I couldn’t get the seat to move. But after about 10 minutes of grunting and fiddling they appreciated that perhaps it wasn’t simply a case of a chap with all the gear and no idea – there genuinely was a problem.

Finally, after removal of the rear seat post bag and extemporising by putting a long Allen key through the Allen key port on one side and knocking the contralateral retaining flange out from the inside as it were the immobile seat yielded to the use of a hammer!!. Patently not fixable by the road side.

Once re greased and re set naturally the bike fit felt much better. They refused payment; as I said a very nice set of chaps.

Unfortunately my knee pain did not resolve as rapidly and was decidedly bad during our 100k Audax. It was amusing the looks my bike received when we lined up along with the usual crowd of mainly bearded wiry Audaxers. Emma and Chris lowered the average age by a significant amount.

A combination of my knee pain, the need to fix or replace 5 inner tubes secondary to punctures on Chris’s bike and the slowness of the 2.4” tyres meant that we while we did beat the cut off time at the end we didn’t do so by much; but beat it we did which was gratifying.

The next day I was persuaded to visit a sports bio mechanic instead of cycling back and thence to return by train. The bio mechanic suggested a wedge in my shoe and brought the cleats back a touch. I wasn’t convinced but did it anyway. I was seriously hoping that the problem was just my having cycled 250+ miles with an incorrectly set up seat.

Either way I was a rather chastened man when I got home – having cycled from Litchfield station. If I couldn’t do this simple trip because of knee pain what on earth was I going to be like after 2800 miles of decidedly hillier terrain?

I resolved to adopt the standard policy when faced with a significant problem with no readily apparent solution – namely ignore it in the hope it would go away.

Meanwhile, as the departure, retirement and 60th birthday dates approached I watched the Bikepacker website discussion regarding snow depth, weather predictions and possible reroute secondary to the washout of a crucial bridge in the Flathead valley with interest. I continued with a detailed map appreciation.

Unfortunately in the run up to the 5th June departure date Mum was increasingly unwell. Having finally moved into a nursing home she developed multiple bouts of pneumonia, complicated almost inevitably by C.Difficle secondary to the antibiotic use. This resulted in her ultimate demise on 12th May with her funeral on the 31st May.

Obviously visits up to the Wirral over April/May took priority and inevitably restricted additional training over and above the two trips detailed and also compromised my map appreciation, profile preparation and cue card lamination. In the end I only managed to complete some 18 days’ worth of cue cards. This would have an interesting knock on effect later on.

However one aspect of trip preparation which I was able to complete almost entirely satisfactorily was the effort I put into gaining additional weight before the start. On previous cycle tours in Europe I have found that I commonly lose 1lb for every 100k travelled. Rather worryingly this would imply a weight loss of some 44lbs for this planned trip. Mindful of this I determined, if at all feasible, to increase calorie intake even more than usual!! Obviously a tough job but someone has to do it.

As a consequence I started in Banff weighing some 10st 12lbs; more than my usual weight, but still less that the 11st 2lbs I had reached before my trip to Mt Ventoux. Normal weight 10st 8lbs ish

The run up to my retirement was characterised by a glut of people wanting me to do their operation before I left or saying they would wait until (if) I returned. As a consequence I was very busy during my last few weeks at the RDH.

A surprise birthday bash in the Lake District during my leave, prior to my finish date on the 7th June was excellent and allowed me to fill everyone in on how to follow me on Trackleaders.com if they wanted to follow my potential progress.

I also sent out a group email to various people I knew in the wider world.

Ria, my secretary, nominated herself as the person who would keep the ENT fraternity up to speed irrespective of whether they wanted to know or not!!

After Mum’s funeral it was simply a case of a quiet birthday and, in preparation for the off; meticulous running through the kit list, packing said kit, then dismantling and packing the bike, all coupled with feverish attempts to laminate my cue cards, an activity which had been put on hold secondary to Mum’s illness.

The observant reader (note there is only one) will have seen the picture of a TV on the bike box.

This is because, according to several internet ‘bike sites’, large boxes sporting a TV picture statistically supposedly suffer less ‘baggage handler’ damage than do similar unadorned boxes. I did wonder if they might also be more likely to be stolen but the internet is suspiciously quiet on that point.

Jackie was away with the hockey team and I was able to potter around without getting anyone’s hair!!

Definitely the quiet before the storm…