As one string of endurance bicyclists heads east across the United States on skinny tire bicycles, another group is heading south along the Great Divide on fat tire bikes.
The first group are cyclists competing in the Race Across America (RAAM) that I wrote about Wednesday. They're racing 3,100 miles cross-country and will begin arriving in Annapolis late next week after 8 to 10 days in the saddle.
The mountain bicyclists on Tour Divide are going almost as far — 2,700 miles from Banff, Alberta, to Antelope Wells, New Mexico. They're traveling without support crews on mostly dirt roads, however, and must carry their own shelter, water and food.
Last year's Tour Divide winner, Matthew Lee, finished the route in an amazing 19 days and 12 hours.
Second year
This is the second year for Tour Divide, which has drawn a record 42 cyclists. They left Banff last Friday and the leaders already have bicycled out of Canada and through most of Montana.
The mountain bicyclists are tracked in real time by a Spot Satellite Messenger GPS unit; you can see on the Tour Divide leaderboard how they're strung out across the entire state of Montana.
Lee, who has returned to defend his title this year, is in the lead and appears to be ready to cross into Idaho today.
Great Divide Race
The Tour Divide uses Adventure Cycling Association's Great Divide Mountain Bike Route for the course. The route cris-crosses the Continental Divide many times with almost daily passes and a total 200,000 feet of elevation gain.
The Tour Divide isn't the only race on the Great Divide route. This Friday, another set of mountain bikers sets off from Roosville, Montana, for the 2,490-mile Great Divide Race.
This is the sixth year for the Great Divide Race, which is essentially the same as Tour Divide, but without the portion in Canada.
Rules
Both races essentially have the same rules that are focused on self-sufficiency.
For instance, cellphones are allowed to be carried for emergencies, but once they're used the rider is disqualified. If you break down, you can walk to the next town, or you can catch a ride back to the previous town (but not forward). You can have supplies or gear mailed to a business or post office, but not delivered by a friend.
John Nobile won the Great Divide Race in 2008 in 15 days and 1 hour, and Jay Petervary won in 2007 in 15 days and 4 hours. Both are challenging Lee in the Tour Divide this year.
Updates
Updates are provided by the individual race websites, as well as MTBCast, which also posts some videos.
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