Tour Divide Race: Day 14, The Mermaid
Leader Matthew Lee can smell New Mexico as he ramps up to tackle the Continental Divide's highest climb, Indiana Pass (11,910). The pass is notorious for making its own weather (as well as being a Superfund site), but Lee is now in what he calls "diesel mode" and hit the trail for an alpine start two hours before sunrise this morning. He's still a couple hours ahead of record pace. He'll get into Del Norte (mile 1,943 along the 2706-mile route from Banff, AB to Antelope Wells, NM) today for a hot meal before the climb. With luck he'll hit Platoro before the little fishing lodge there closes for the night.
Kurt Refsnider is just under a day behind, followed by the power trio of Chris Plesko and Jay and Tracey "T-Race" Petervary. Plesko is riding a rigid Vassago single speed, geared at 32x17 for all you single speed geeks who are curious. If you're reading this in Nebraska you may not raise an eyebrow, but on the Divide only a mountain man can sustain myriad climbs in this gear. The Petervarys pump a Vicious mountain tandem. The "Love Shack" got rebuilt at Orange Peel Bicycle in Steamboat: repacked hubs, new brakes, whole new drivetrain. Then Jay celebrated his birthday by downing a couple blue cheeseburgers in Hartsel. In 2007 during his record (solo) GDR ride he punctuated his birthday by eating an entire pie in Pie Town, NM, so he can dream of dessert in the desert just a few days away.
Most of the field of 22 riders (from the Banff rollout of 42) is in Colorado now, with a few stragglers still in the Great Divide Basin of Wyoming. Colorado is a paradox. The climbs are intense. Altitude becomes a factor. Daily electrical storms kick out of nowhere every afternoon and it can snow on you and shut you down with heat in the same day. But this makes Colorado the sweetest state on the route: There's a Starbucks in Breckenridge. In 2007 I was riding with Jeff Kerby. We'd nearly been drilled by a lightning storm and had dropped into Breck for a resupply. I'd been dreaming of real coffee since the Salt Lake City airport on my way to the start. "Coffee shop," I told Kerby and walked inside. He ran behind and grabbed me by the CamelBak to pull me back into the street. "Dude," he said. "This is a women's shoe store! Dude, you okay?" I was fine ten minutes later when we rolled down the main drag and my favorite mermaid popped out from behind a tree. The Starbucks is--I counted--three steps from the street. I've never been happier sitting under a shade tree and watching tourists with fanny packs parade up and down the sidewalk. I hope this year's racers also catch the Breckenridge Burrito Company, just a few doors south of my mermaid's house, and have the sensi-sucking snowboarder make you a second burrito for your pack because there is no dinner over Boreas Pass. You can make fun of me and women's shoes, but I know that Matthew Lee, your leader, chews raw coffee beans on the bike. Nathan Bay, who completed the GDR single speed in 2007, showed me the Montana Way: instant coffee in your water bottles. On a hot day you've got 22 ounces of Taster's Choice the temperature of warm spit. --Jon Billman
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yeah jon, i completely remember this incident. your complete and total addiction to starbucks can never be overstated!! that afternoon just proved it.
Posted by: jeff kerby | June 29, 2009 at 04:48 PM