Well, the final countdown to this years Tour Divide has begun. The last 2 years thoughts of finishing the Tour Divide have been all consuming. Pulling out of the race in 2013 was one of the toughest decisions that I had to take. But, pulling out was just the beginning of it… The subsequent feelings that followed have proved to be a lot tougher. So, in 2015 my primary goal is to get my bike, one way or another, across that line in Antelope Wells.  One positive that did come out of my initial attempt in 2013 was an extensive learning, of the route, my mistakes, my gear choice and most importantly,  how my body responds to the successive days in the saddle. So this time round I am using those learning’s to fine tune my preparation – changing up my training over the last couple of months, refined my gear selection and acquired only what will assist my time on the bike, rather than cover everything for every possible scenario on the route and probably most importantly, working on keeping my mind and outlook to the race positive, giving me the best possible chance at finishing.

I am not beating myself up about my training, if cant get as much time on my bike as I wish I am not stressing about it. I feel that by this stage, anything missing from my fitness is not going to change before the start. Next Friday, my bike will go into the bike shop for a full strip down and rebuild. This will require a full drivetrain replacement and all the associated wheel bearings, cables etc. I will be fitting a 42T Wolftooth Components ring to my rear cassette. This is just to help me on the longer climbs with just a lighter gear ratio and hopefully help out my knees. The last other pieces of gear that I need to collect is my wool clothing (base layer, socks etc.) Smartwool had a great sale where I managed to pick up a whole bunch of things at a great price. Its strange how in preparing for this race over time that you start to appreciate any savings, as the cost of it does certainly add up.

Watching the weather in Alberta/BC has become a common pastime. It does look like the route is shaping up for a good run in terms of snow. However, a massive snow dump in Alberta this week does prove that anything can happen up in the Rockies at any time of the year and not much you can do about it!

Over and above all emotions I am feeling – I am truly excited for the beginning of the race now.  I look forward to meeting everyone before the race at the Y and feeling the excitement at the start with Crazy Larry careening around with this GoPro’s yelling at the top of his lungs. This is an amazing time and I hope to absorb more of it this time round, as Banff is an amazing place to start the race.