The Length Of Time. Inside The Tour Divide

[Music] I like the freedom of my packing you know difficult everything you need is on your bike you've got no possessions as such and you're free just care of it wherever you want you don't really need for anything you don't miss much [Music] [Laughter] [Music] every time I've done a long distance bike package it for multiple months or you know a good amount of time I've always come home you know having lived with maybe a couple of pairs of pants couple of t-shirts pair of trousers pair of shorts and I've looked at my stuff and I thought while we got this stuff and I just end up clearing it all out because you don't need it we kind of spoil in the modern age of consumerism you don't need Harper stocking from and it white packings are nice reality checks sometimes on that kind of thing [Music] it's amazing when you're on your bike when your bike packing or or just cycling anywhere but especially bike when you turn up on your bike and you've got all your possessions strapped to your bike you know it's kind of obvious that you you're traveling somewhere and it makes you vulnerable or I think people's perception of you is that you you're vulnerable but if you were to walk into kind of I don't know say a gas station in the middle of nowhere and assume in a car people wouldn't help you all in one talk to you but when you turn up on a bike you're tired you're sweaty maybe a bit sunburned obviously a bit dirty you probably smell a bit it's amazing how many people just come and talk to you it just opens you know opens you up to people in the world I think you're more kind of you're part of life you're passing through the world the slow pace and I think people respond to that I guess by packing life compared to normal life is just more relaxed there's nothing more that relaxes me than a really long bike ride so doing a really long bike ride day upon day upon day and seeing beautiful places getting the fresh air speak to new people it just puts you in a really good good place in your head and your body you're getting fitter every day you can eat what you want you see loads of stuff it's wonderful [Laughter] or a bike pack in racing is just basically a more miserable version of bike packing are they you carry Leicester you don't really take any casual clothes or anything it's just your race clothes and warm clothes and minimal sleeping gear and you just ride all day you don't really stop and speak to people that much although you obviously you have interactions and you basically eat and you pedal and you sleep [Music] so I don't actually think that Fitness is the number one kind of thing you need to train for like a researched or divided although it's very important you can be really fit but you can just be mentally weak or inefficient and these races are just about managing you know your body managing your fitness your food your mental state if your teeth so actually I guess it's kind of about being a master of your body rather than being super fit and not always the fastest faster sky or the fittest guy win these wins it's quite from the mentally toughest and the most organized [Music] the tour divided is a two thousand seven hundred and fifty mile bike ride down the length of America through the Rocky Mountains that takes in all the lost forest roads and mountain passes and tracks and it connects them all up and you get this this amazing off-road route which goes down the Great Divide see I don't know much about the entire route I know obviously key areas which I'm sure will be fine it's all the bits you don't know that you find out I guess that's where experience comes in it's like everything just assuming it's gonna be miserable the whole race got my kit accordingly and then north there's bears quite a lot so I'm gonna try to avoid camping out too much and if I do I select places I've got the same information available to everyone else and I can you know devour it and try and learn learn learn every detail but you know be familiar with the route as much as I can but fundamentally I've got a pedal bike up big mountains and survive the weather and nature that's a real challenge I think that's why I like it was like I'm not racing people and battling kind of Mother Nature and the earth and try to climb over these mountains and you know I'm not used to that stuff you it's gonna stay in an airport hotel tonight get my stuff together excellent very much yeah and then head into the mountains [Music] original plan [Music] classic curve outside a supermarket [Music] so thank free just about everything start riding hot cross three this morning oh it's better than your last night just ha for our sleep without man I'd start on three very hungry there's a restaurant soon 15 miles Holling like to get there everything is awaiting so I guess this is my first real low of the right so they three and there were couple 3:30 which is this place apparently let's get some breakfast sure I haven't got much food or energy it's enough 30 miles to the next place to get food some food Clif Bar soon to be miserable morning a tough time today just in over my food let's start the date it's playing catch-up tell me what stuff right [Music] so the storms coming in on how to replace but if you like it down in time its inventor [Music] shame you don't see that beautiful man stars amidst in the valleys and the silhouettes of the hills well just made the ultimate school where ups temple pass oh yeah I followed the main road I mean that right in their turn for this no pass which was what we're supposed to take who's darker not into the GPS you know yeah so I climbed five miles got near to the top and realized so let's turn around come back down start again [Music] [Music] [Music] so 25 over the ridge then police is rich pretty amazing there's - - they look so strong today my thousand calorie ice cream after dinner last night did the trick [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] good morning the start of day six I think I made five questions that's my limo the line I think is a hernia I stayed in town last night a quite big sleep but I decided to tell me the consciousness is into its back off the pace a little bit the last few days have been pretty mad and not being enjoying it that much fear forcing myself foot out of 3m they're not sleeping so much so it started maybe these 23 hours less today than few has more sleep and hopefully variable experienced [Music] stated tooth [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] versus the was their seventh morning I think get into the rhythm a little bit now so what this cause we get minus five degrees [Music] [Music] if that squat no never gotcha pass eat myself around that's just beautiful 50 minute answer this for us within within 20 minutes which is quite cool [Music] I think a predict glove whatever 30 mile-an-hour Kelvin let's talk to the place so he just even like oh that I had I had an emergency yeah you know we left together oh yeah what about you then [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] all right it's very Basin day crossing the desert 200 miles and they were across from halfway point ladies extra water and lays of food and the one resupply which may we love for you to say [Music] it's half five still minus eight [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] good morning snow just working up over the hedge [Music] sometimes my hands [Music] if he was almost black survived in road racing wisdom trying to eat myself I'm really getting a proper meal say moment is right 15-20 minutes stop a bit to eat and then write some more based on oh there's a prize that supple this eight massive brush madam Archon pay free the biggest stack banking's I've ever had [Music] so just left brush mountain lodge and in for a long day okay this is the track up to the watershed divide and as you can see it's just thinking margins range but up high it's know Josh gates to leader he left here 24 hours ago and he's just what's the other side so hopefully hopefully there'll be some footprints to fine there was a cougar looking ready that kept me yeah that's like they just they just stayed there we had a big storm oh my Sophia yeah Sophie I'm getting to the top was really really hard and then me going down was very hard and then everybody just gets to go in the track it's pretty easy yeah Sophie Anne was going so fast oh yeah he's so yes back him does it just call my wife in the you say I'm alive classic peanut butter mud so what's happening though so we're just leaving brush mountain lodge everything's going super great and then you really start to clean our bikes and I guess after the mud there's three miles of snow so expended airbrush man village and this for latina tomorrow in 3m we can have a crack at this pass snowing down here this is our primary concern is getting to the snow and now it's 9 yeah you gotta wait and we gotta wait see this name for a little girl pretty nice I love the Deeks [Music] found along new routes that takes Road basically north to south through Colorado I should avoid the West with snow south in Chama New Mexico and then we can link back into the tour divided route south of here but kind of enjoying look at the scenery the staffing part of the problem is my abilities we just carry still the brush mountain lodge have been a two days now pretty much to the hour I've been in real decisions about what today so the load of us decided maybe we're touring as soon as a rooster bad then past is kind of drying now just don't when I'm not finish so I've decided I'm probably gonna give a crack see if I can do if I find new hundred fifty miles a day for next seven seventy days I consider the 17 day finished home so I think I've gotta just crack on advisor I just [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] that's good the Wrights is no thief [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] I was just kind of struggling to kind of enjoy being there a lot of the time I think I was just intimidated by the whole thing but once I've gone I've got that up my head it's fine and I just mote it on and then I didn't want to stop I spent best part of two weeks hating it and not want to be there and then the last three days I didn't want to be anywhere else there's no one bit of the divide which is brutally hard it's not a hard bike ride if you had to do a 50-mile ride on any section in that race it wouldn't be absolutely brutal however just the accumulation of all of it that's what really gets you [Music] big Road yesterday continuing you fighting the altitude we fight from the cold you fight the heat we fighting their weather and fighting exposure you're fighting the lack of supplies and then you're riding your bike all day not sleeping so that's that's what grinds you down just grinds you down over time [Music] I said it's up that is you know like happy with the this night the guys in the front to pursue one scan fair play to you guys [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] so what's your morning wake up receive them mixed integer [Music] mr. marks was passed now that's later tonight but Brooke Medina he burns will pre beat so now you're some food xiety have Mary nights but I'm Terra [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] I think that's how I cope with it just go back to normality and pretend it never happened everyone asked you about it and II can't real answer any questions because you can't you don't really know it takes time it doesn't just process instantly it takes in a long time it's such a massive thing I mean some people don't see that much in the whole lives and there you see in kind of some people don't see that much stuff seeing that much country see their much culture and terrain and experience so many conditions or do so much exercise in their lives and you do all of this in two weeks it's Mariel isn't it [Music] [Music] [Music] great day for cycle [Music] you [Music] myself gosh at around last night some in four high school in the race just about ten to New Mexico final state I was getting frustrated riding with the guys you know they're really great to ride with but I started to feel like I was stronger and I was really starting to get frustrated by it but I didn't want to leave them because we kind of you know being you know riding together and we're not together but you know in each other's company and I felt bad that we was gonna you know bugger off but I wanted to rode together most of that day ever no drop off a bit and then he catch us we just kind of rode together or you know not always together but within a few miles of each other most the time and then we ended up staying in a bikini to date together and we got in about 1 or 2 a.m. so that wasn't kind of a 24 hour day that was long and then the shop doesn't open till 6 a.m. so we had to wait till 6:00 so I think I was just I remember going we were at the door when we were me and I set off early and everyone was kind of he was really suffering as hell meaning I really have a bit between our teeth by then so we kind of got weirdest or early doors and so far no quarters there as well so we're all in the in the in the gas station together and I was like right I need to get some food and quick and I'm gonna get out of here I'm going to start racing that's when it clicked for me the day before I was getting frustrated but we were kind of riding together and I kept kind of riding away a bit and then they catch me and then I drift off again and then they catch me again and it kind of we - to Dan Frodo I was getting frustrated I was starting to get frustrated about waiting and that's when the switch kind of happened that day the switch from surviving the divide to thrive in the divide and we really wanted to be there and push hard so that next morning I got my food I got some pasta I got a few burritos for the day and I knew I had to get to Cuba so I just fueled up and I put my head down on I started riding hard [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] there's no excuse in Rosie this one right section let's can stay away cuz we never stop we love for our sleep having good meal in grunts [Music] you know you build it up in your head you build up everything you've heard all the hard parts and I guess the horror stories I guess it's human nature to focus on what you know the hard parts and negatives is yourself trying to you know you're trying to protect yourself on you you know you you are fighting a living thing or taking on a living thing and you know I learnt down the court throughout the course of the race that actually you kind of you're at the mercy of a divide because of the weather and the altitude you know all these factors great they was fight against you so you can kind of never really take me beat the divide but you can finish it and you can get down there and that was a big factor that I learn and you know I realized kind of I spend a lot of time on the race kind of being scared of it and you kind of get scared of you know the big part is coming up you think oh wow it's gonna be high altitude and I'm gonna struggle here it's gonna be tough you build up in your head and then you get there and it's fine you're not fine but it's not as bad as it seems so I think I've taken on the beast now and I survived it now I can if I get back I can fly back [Music] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Laughter] last day last sunrise pretty catchy and then I wake up I think we had two hours and then Kyle looks really tired and I I had a bit between my teeth I kind of tapped into my reserves and I just dropped kion the first climb and I just got the bit between my teeth and put my head down and just felt really strong I don't know why he's bizarre you know I was almost over I would almost was beaten the divide had almost kind of conquered it and yeah so I just put my head down and then loaded up and that was out across the desert to finish I blame my hairdryer get my head down and get done I know I wasted a lot of time in the rest of the race I just couldn't get my head into it to start with and I wasted time I stopped early I made excuses I stayed in hotel rooms and that's not how you do a fast time on the device and I know I can do now that's the thing you know I I made my mistakes I've got my regrets there's lots of what-ifs you know what if I just carried my bike through the mud what if I just pushed on what if this what if that was the other but there's nothing I can do about it now I can only go back and try again [Music] yeah just not see been to the spinach finish straight to the border checkpoint Anthony Willis 46 miles to go [Music] [Music] you know I think back of it and I can't really tell you what I was thinking about it's like this blanked out almost I can honestly tell you I don't know I don't know where time goes you know maybe I just don't have conscious to offer certain amounts of time I don't know it's hard to process it was taking a long time to process it a long long time and I don't think I really have processed it I guess it's almost like a trauma I don't honestly know but then I I know I struggled when I got home I wasn't myself for a few weeks I know that for sure [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] it [Music] you [Music]

Channel: HUNT Wheels

Views: 173,383

Keywords: bike packing, tour divide, great divide, Josh Ibbett, hunt bike wheels, TheChaseIsOn

Id: XqgWRjG9M2s

Length: 72min 45sec (4365 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 27 2019