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.