Day 2

Today was setup day. Brought the bikes to The Ski Shop to have the them tuned up. The Ski Shop is owned by Jason Kucey and is the premier shop for all Tour Divide necessities. He services most of the racers of the Divide and told us we are on our way to the criteria of Ultra-Light. Woohoo! We are bikepackers! We picked our bikes up later and they were moving so smoothly. Just like new! Thanks Steve!
We spent the rest of the day roaming the town and visited the Banff Springs Hotel to find the start for tomorrow. The people in Banff are incredible friendly. For example today Uncle Jeff and I went to purchase stamps from the post office and in an attempt to be frivolous about our weight on the bikes we tried to make $3.67 in coins. Well we didn't have enough and the postman let us have it for less and took American quarters. We begin our journey tomorrow, 70.4 miles to Tonberry Cabin hopefully before the bears get to hungry. The bikes are ready we will get plenty of rest and the weather is absolutely perfect. Oh yah tomorrow is Canada Day. So happy Canada Day! I wonder if we will see any fireworks from the cabin?

Jazz M. Tomassetti

Oh Canada!

In Banff, Canada arrived around 3 pm Canada time. The bikes easily went back together however, Uncle Jeff's front wheel is out of alignment and we are going to the bike store today to get it fixed. We spent the entire day roaming Banff looking at stores and finding out things we can do on the last day. It is truly a tourist trap of a town but it is built amazingly! you can be an outdoors person and do all types of hiking, climbing, rafting, or a shop-aholic and visit the hundreds of stores all down Banff Street. We stumbled across the best restaurant in town called Saltlik and had dinner (fried calamari and a rack of ribs!) on a balcony overlooking the town. That night we loaded the bags with all our gear. I feel as if I have more Han enough to survive and hat we came at the perfect time because the weather here is just perfect. Warm with just a hint of cool breeze. I can't use my cell phone the international cost are a lot! I will try to keep in contact with the blog, email, or facebook.

DAY 1
It's that moment, it's that time, when one knows they are going to face a difficult trek. It's the pre game jitters, the seconds before you give a speech, the butterflies flying all over your stomach. It is when the thoughts flood into ones mind. What am I doing? Did I forget something? Is this going to be difficult? What about everyone I care about back home? This is fear.
If there is any hope for an adventurous journey Imust banish my fear, take life into my own hands and believe that I can overcome the long hours of riding and the Bears. Like the cowboys from history,adventure is on the horizons and I'm riding out chasing it. Buzz Lightyear had it right when he would say, "To Infinity and Beyond!"
This is infinity and we are going beyond what we have done before.
Banff, Canada To Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

The Rig

pictures at http://jazzbikepackingpictures.blogspot.com/

Clothes

long wool jersey: Light weight zip T (smartwool)

bike jersey: Pearl Izumi P.R.O jersey (white)

2 pair of Bike shorts:

2 underwear and 1 pair of Sliders for riding

khaki's: Royal Robbins Zip n Go Khaki (for around town)

town shirt: Columbia Garcon TG

rain jacket: Sierra Designs Rain Jacket (purple) (doubles as a windbreaker)

rain pants: Patagonia Rain Pants (black)

down jacket: Montbell EX Light Down Jacket (packs very small and compresses well)

2 wool socks: Pearl Izumi Wool socks, DeFeet Wooleater socks

undershirt: DeFeet UnDShurt longsleeve (will be worn all the time to protect skin)

sleeping clothes (pants and shirt): Intimo thermal silk thermal underwear

short gloves:

long gloves: Pearl Izumi lobster gloves (partially waterproof because it may rain alot on the trip)

liner gloves: Addidas Climalite fleece gloves

beanie: Headsweats Beanie

Ear Warmers: cheap $1 Wal-mart

Shoes

Cycling Shoes: Pearl Izumi X-Alp Mid Performance Mountain

Camp Shoes:

Technology

2 speedometers: wired Cat Eye, Wireless Cat Eye

mp3: 8 GB Ipod Touch, Charger, Headphones

phone: Blackberry Curve 8320, Charger

Camera: charger, extra battery, and computer cord

flashlight: Fenix (high performance LED flashlight)

headlamp: Princeton Tec Quad Tactical LED Headlamp

Toiletries

toothbrush: Crest Travel Toothbrush (folds in half)

toothpaste: Crest Travel size toothpaste

shampoo: (Unsure about)

soap: Travel size Bar soap (washing hands and body)

towel: Extremely absorbant, The towel I have is less 1/4 a regular size towel.

toilet paper: 1 rolll rolled around a small cylinder and then packaged into plastic bags

chapstick: Can pick up more on the road

chasmois cream: Udderly Smooth udder cream

bug spray: bug-off spray (can pick up more on the road)

Baby wipes: excellent for cleaning hands and making sure you've got everything off

Hand Sanitizer: As they say kills 99.9% of germs

Travel Size Deodorant: gotta smell good when you arrive in a town. The bike jersey's and sweat tend to smell terrible

Spork: This is really cool its got a spoon/fork combo and a knife on one of the fork's teeth! saweet!

Extras

journal: Mead Leather Bond Journal

pen: I've got a blue pen to write with easier to see on the maps and cue sheets

bandana: Extra Large Wal-Mart Bandana

maps: Banff to Roosville, Roosville to Polaris, Polaris to South Pass City

cue sheets: added in cities and back up places to stop for food or rest.

sunglasses:

bag cover: Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Pack Cover (x-small)

wallet: Chum Wallet with a chain contains money, credit card, and ID

passport: in a plastic bag

Smiley Face Flag

Smiley Face Pin

Fix-All Kit

Duct Tape

zipties mostly extra large ones, and a handful of regular sized ones.

Tools

2 replacement tubes

Replacement spokes

Derialliur Hanger

Brake Pads

small plastic sheet to shim tire tears

Tire Levers

Multi Tool

Knife

Bear Rope

Water purifying pills

Water hose filter

Batteries (AA and AAA)

Dry Chain Lube

Cleaning Brush for chain and cassette

Retractable bike lock (don't want a Matthew lee pulled on us. As of recently he was eating at Mcdonalds and a guy came up and stole his bike with all his gear. Unfortunately for the thief the spot tracker was still on and the police were able to capture the guy by looking online for the last location.)

Garmin Oregon 550T

mini hand pump

mini shock pump

Packs

backpack: Talon 22 Backpack small/medium with a 3 liter camel back with water filter attached to hose.

Center pack

Saddle pack

Handle bar bag

Avenir Bags

Ditty Bags

Plastic Zip Loc Bags

Medicine

Vitamin C

Advil Gels

Ibuprofen

Anti-Diarrheal pills

Allergy medicine

Camp Gear

tent: MSR Single Person Tent very light weight

sleeping bag: Ballistic Airlight Mont Bell Sleeping bag (very light)

ground tarp: used an emergency blanket taped the corners with duct tape

air mattress: Therma Rest Air Mattress

Bicycle (THE BEAR)

2 speedometers: wired Cat Eye, Wireless Cat Eye

Timetrial bars: Profile Design Jammer GT Aerobar

Garmin Bike Mount

Fenix Flashlight Handle Bar mount

Princeton Tec Headlamp (attached under Aero Bars)

Saddle Bag

Handle Bar Bag

Center Bag

2 waterbottle cages on the shocks

1 water bottle cage on the bottom of the frame

and of course I can't forget my traveling companions...

Buzz and Woody

Team Smile

Lets start a new movement based on the concept of "Maximum Social Happiness." Instead of gaining material wealth, we'll try and gain "spiritual wealth." Our standard of currency will be the smile and our stock exchange will be the friendly gesture. There will be no organization, no rules, and membership will be free. Anyone can join if they learn the Official Motto, "Smile, try to be Happy, and don't bother your neighbors."

The Society's Anthem will be, "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" by Monty Python and the official flower will be the Daisy.

The official bird will be the Coo Coo and there will be no central organization. In fact we won't even take a census, or keep records, because we won't even know who we all are.

So, if you are tired of the same old political movements that promise to make everything better, join the original non-political movement that promises to make nothing better except perhaps your own outlook on life.

So fly the flag of Smiley, enjoy life, take it easy, be tolerant of your neighbors, clean up after yourself, say "Please and Thank you," and above all "Have a Happy Life!"

This is who we are, This is how we choose to travel, This is the life we life. Smiles for everyone and anyone.

Smile : )

Santos Trail to Inverness

-6:30 am start time-

The bikes are packed and ready for their official test run before we Tour the Divide. Uncle Jeff has decided that we should test all the gear on the Santos Trail. We stop for breakfast at Everybody's. Excellent service and food. Grits, eggs, bacon, biscuits, and sausage all the calories and food anyone could ask for to prepare for a long ride. Decided for a quick stop at Greenway Bicycles, a small shop located literally across the street from the Santos Trailhead. Its funny how some people can just re energize your reason for riding. Donald (Donnie) Harries, a mechanic at the store, is such a person. We showed our bikes, packs and explained our divide adventure to him and he was ecstatic! You could feel his energy about riding just bursting from the seams and we could tell how he just wanted to go out and "bikepack." We parked at Santos and prepared our bikes and gear. Right as we were about to leave, Donnie shows up just to wish us good luck as we ride away into the forest. What a great guy!

-Santos Trail-

A network of off-road trails, containing miles of perfectly maintained single track for mountain biking. Our bikes weigh 50+ lbs with food, water, and gear. The bike handles like an 18 wheeler. It is a bear to accelerate and takes turns super wide. We arrive at the first highway crossing (7 miles) and I realize my smiley face button has fallen off the seatbag of my bicycle. Gear is not safe to attach to the outside of the bags because sooner or later it is going to fall off. Its still early in the ride so we turn back and look for the button. We get all the way to the start with no luck. The smiley face button is gone, hopefully with someone as a souvenir and not laying under some leaves rusting away. At this point I'm running low on water. The bikes carry 3 liters and the Osprey Talon 22 bags carry a 3 liter camelback. I drink 1 liter of water an hour and the detour trip to the start looking for the button is the perfect opportunity to replenish my supplies. I fill up my backpack and the two (smart water) bottles on my front fork. I should be able to travel past 5 hours with the water I have. We arrive at the Land Bridge, one of the only overgrown human overpasses. Its kinda cool to pass over the cars and the breeze is a gift! Its terrible hot! We reach a huge sign that says Land Bridge and take a break to take some pictures. I dump some water on my head cause I need to cool off and I'm carrying to much of it anyways. Now we have a decision, there is a fork in the road and we have to decide where to go. The map appears to be going straight so we take that direction. WRONG! Half a mile into the trail, we have walked our bikes most of the way and the path is getting worse because the sand is torn up by horse tracks. Yup, we had to turn around and take a half mile walk back to the cross roads. The actual path was on the lime rock trail. The lime rock trail is typically what we expect to be riding on the Divide, its wide, a little bumpy, and continuous rolling hills. We are traveling rather quickly on these trails, its not very technical and there seems to be longer down hills than uphills (hope that doesn't get us on the way home tomorrow). Around 2 o'clock the sky the clouds in the sky turn grey, build up, and get darker. It begins to drizzle a little bit (oh gosh its gonna rain). We quickly get off the bikes and throw on our backpack covers, they are easy to setup and wrap around the bag. Right as we do that, the sky opens up and starts pouring water on top of us. This truly is a gift for us. The entire day we are steamed by the suns rays and now in the wooded lime rock trail it rains to cools us off. I don't know what it is about rain but, I feel re-energized and I get my second wind, flying to the end of the trail.

-Rainbow Springs-

After exiting the lime rock trail, we travel right on S.R. 200 and stop at the gas station on the right. The rain has stopped and our gear is all dry, especially the backpacks because they had the pack covers on them. I stuff my cover away Uncle Jeff leaves his on to dry while riding. In the gas station we do what all hungry scavengers do, Eat. Ice cream was the first snack, then cookies, and of course some chocolate milk. Later, we eat some of the food in our packs. We ask the people in the gas station how far rainbow springs is from here and they tell us that from the road its only 7 miles. Woohoo! Less than an hour of riding and we will be swimming in the springs! We set out on the road to Rainbow Springs, there is a strong headwind but not to bad if we only have to go 7 miles. Uncle Jeff and I draft alot in this wind. His pack cover he has left to dry is acting like a kite in this wind. I would tell him that but as we get closer to 7 miles I am becoming more exhausted. Mile 7, maybe they are just a little off or my speedometer is a little bit fast. Mile 8 okay, its gotta be close. Mile 9 I'm dieing back here, this wind is killer and Uncle Jeff is still just cranking away like there is nothing to it. Mile 10 I always wonder how people who do not ride bikes can never gauge the distances. Mile 11 We cross a bridge, ("Look Rainbow Springs," says Uncle Jeff. In my exhaustion I look up and say, "I'm Hungry."). On the River is a restaurant called Gruffs. It has its own dock to the springs and it seems people drift down the river and go into the restaurant. We pulled our bathing suits out of our bags and a change of clothes and sat down to a table. I went into the restroom, changed and cleaned myself up so I didn't stick out in my riding gear. I have this feeling that on our divide trip we are going to be changing like this at many of the places that we visit. We ordered salads thinking there were going to be small and they are huge! We chow down on them and go and jump in the river. The water is like 70 degrees! Its so cold! Uncle Jeff is in the water with his soap and cleaning off. We return to our table and change. Finally rolling off to Inverness our destination for the night.

-Inverness-
The best bike route to Inverness is through the rail trail. It is 20+ miles of long empty road with little distraction except for the fox just sitting near the trail. We arrive at Fort Cooper, pay the entrance fee and decide to stay the night. Fort Cooper is an eerie place, no rangers, no campers, no cars, just me and my uncle. We set up camp; tents, sleeping bags, and air mattresses. The picnic tables are a luxury and allow us to spread our gear and make sure we have all we need for the night. We have our own personal outdoor showers and the entire state park to ourselves. Its difficult now a days to find such a place. The night sky has streaks of lightning and in fear of a rain storm we set up the weather guards on our tents. We finally get some rest after a long 64+ miles of riding.

-The way home-

The ride home began with a stop at McDonalds. It is Father's day and since my uncle walked in with me they gave him a free meal for being a "father." We refilled our packs and bottles and left McDonalds. As I was traveling down hill to return to the rail trail the hose to my camel back slipped off and spilled all the water I was carrying down my back. What an unfortunate event! I have to make sure to zip tie the hose next time so I don't lose all my water that way again. The rail trail held up to its name on the way home. We soared at 17 to 20mph with three avid bikers out for their father's day rides. They were impressed that even with our big tires and gear we were able to keep up with them. They got us down the road 15 miles much faster than we would had ourselves. We turned off at S.R. 200 to skip Dunnellon and get back to the trails as quickly as possible. The ride home was quick and not very tiring. I feel strong on the limestone trails and pull away from my uncle yet, I still struggle to keep up my speed on the roads. This trip is a perfect setup for the Divide. I am ready, excited and cannot wait to get out to Banff, Canada!

(added a few features to the site, Photos and Spot tracker on the top left for those interested in pictures and where exactly we are on our Divide trip)

Getting There.

Well read up on the Tour Divide leaderboard at http://tourdivide.org/leaderboard. Matthew Lee is still in first and from what Uncle Jeff says he is still behind on the breaking his '09 race pace. At one point through torential down pour and slimy, muddy climbs Erik Lobeck caught up with Matthew Lee and they continued on through the storm together. Probably a good idea with the cold and hypothermia chances increasing in the rain. Safety in numbers right? The race is getting exciting! I was hoping it would come down to the two leaders head to head all the way to the end by unfortunately, Erik Lobeck had a front deraileur problem and is held up for a couple of days till he gets new part. Total bummer! Here's hoping Matt Lee picks up the pace and beats last years pace! : )

I went on flipping through the forums to get more details in packing the bikes and other tips from previous veterans of the divide and man are the ultralights intense. The general sleeping rig for an ultralight is to keep sleeping bag, tent, and ground mat all in the handlebar bag and have a system for keeping it dry (due to the large amounts of rain). The sleeping kit should way about 1lbs. The forum goes on to say that if it does get cold, to put on more clothes (for instance down jacket, shirts, bike clothings since it is all free weight being carried anyway). The next tip given is to put clothes in the saddle bag and keep food, important items, and money in the backpack. I wonder if the riders consume food as they are on their bikes and what type? I tend to burn out rather quickly when I am riding and need food more often than most people. I plan on having a small bag connected to my handlebars dedicated to lil snacks that I can chow down on. So far I have tried putting gold fish, straight pretzels, graham crackers, and peanut butter crackers. The goldfish, graham crackers and pretzels were amazing to have and easy to eat however, the peanut butter crackers are to thick and creamy and take to long to chew. All this thinking about food makes me hungry. I better plan on having secret stashes of food Uncle Jeff doesn't know about so I can keep my caloric intake high.

Just a little over a week left until we leave for Banff, Canada. I'm excited and cannot wait to get out there. Tomorrow Uncle Jeff and I are Finishing packing our gear on the bikes and heading out for the weekend on a Trial Run to see if we are missing anything.

When you find yourself riding a dead horse, Dismount.

Every cowboy needs a horse, well if you were out in the old west you would need a horse. Now a days, all you need is a Mountain Bike. Bike packing is the closest thing to being a real cowboy. You can pack up your saddlebags with food, water, clothes, something to sleep on and you are ready to go. Originally I was riding a Santa Cruz Blur with 26'' wheels. She was a good ride, full suspension, disc brakes, and twist gear shifting. However, one day training up in Pisgah, North Carolina things began to go wrong. I don't know if it was the long climbs, the rocks all over, or just wear and tear but she began falling apart beginning with the brake pads. After an easy descent this high pitch shriek was coming from the brakes and started causing problems. My uncle and I went to Liberty Bicycles (Libertybikes.com, the best bike store i have ever been in) in search of a fix for the Blur. Mr. Mike showed us around his store, the bikes, gear and even behind the scenes where Liberty has the only "Green" bike cleaning station I have ever seen. Next, Than, the service manager working on our bikes, told us about the 29er Gary Fisher Paragon. He informed us about the advantages of having bigger wheels and how all the pros are racing on 29ers. Than was amazing he seemed to know everything there is to know about bikes and racing. I am grateful for all the help he gave us. We decided then and there that the 29er was the perfect bike for this trip and this cowboy got a new horse.

The Bike aka "The Bear"

Gary Fisher, Paragon

29er Hardtails Series

Gun Metal Grey/ Deep Blue

Full Specifications:

Weight:

26.5lbs

Frame

-Platinum Series 6066 butted & hydroformed aluminum

-cold-forged dropouts

-G2 29" Geometry

Brakes

-Avid Elixir 5 Hydraulic disc

-180mm front

-160mm back

Wheels

Bontrager Rhythm 29 Disc

28mm wide

Tubeless

Tires

Bontrager XDX 29 by 2.1

Headset

Cane Creek ZS1, Semi Integrated

Crankset

Shimano FC-M542, Hollowtech arms

Front Derailleur

SRAM X.9

Back Derailleur

SRAM X.9

Cassette

SRAM PG 970, 9 Speed

Handlebar

Bontrage Race Lite Big Sweep

Stem

Bontrager Race X Lite OS

Saddle

Bontrager Race Lite

Seatpost

Bontrager Rhythem Elite

Ride the Continental Divide!

So I have completed high school and as tradition for most graduates its time for a last Hoorah. I did not want to spend my summer at the beach, or sleeping, or wasting away watching tv. I wanted adventure, excitement, and memories. I want to Bikepack the Continental Divide! Since the beginning of my senior year my Uncle and I have increased our knowledge on the last real adventure left on Earth: Bikepacking the Continental Divide. The Continental Divide, Great Divide, or Divide is (as described by wikipedia) " the largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas that separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic Ocean." My Uncle and I plan on riding the Divide on fully equipped mountain bikes, unsupported, alone, roughing it out in the wilderness -A TRUE TEST OF METTLE. Due to time constaints of college and work, we are beginning our adventure in Banff, Canada and ending over 1,000+ miles later in Jackson hole, Wyoming. This first run of the Divide will allow us to better understand the race and hopefully allow us to gauge our gear, speed, and abilities to see if we have what it takes to compete and complete the entire ride like the Master, Matthew Lee a 5 time Tour the Divide winner (a true veteran). Like Matthew Lee and other Divide riders we are attempting to carry as little gear as possible and travel Ultra Light (a bikepacking term for traveling with minimal amount of gear usually less than 50lbs) We have chosen the adventure. June 29 fly to Banff, Canada. Finish July 30th end in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.