Here we go again, with a twist!!!
Well, what can I say??
2023 certainly did not turn out as planned. That said, riding about 600 miles in a week, with a day off for sickness, and then finally pulling the plug when I knew something was definitely wrong was an experience unto itself. It’s all money in the bank of experience and hopefully it will pay itself back on my future travels, like this year!!!
SO now what???
This year promises to be another adventure. An adventure with a twist!!!! LOLA!!!
The original plan for 2024 was for Lola to ride the entire Tour Divide route with me. It wasn’t until she was forced to find a new job in December of 2023 (Forced may be a strong word. She was afforded the opportunity to apply for a new job after her previous employer lost its contract) that things began to change. The new job came with a lot less leave, and so the plan then morphed into us both doing a portion of the route, probably starting in Banff, Canada. However, Lola said I should “just ride the whole thing”, LOL!!!. After looking at the logistics of getting us both to Banff, and then having to figure out a way for her to get from “somewhere” along the route, probably in Wyoming, back to Las Cruces, we decided to opt for something different.
As a result, the working plan today is for Lola to meet me somewhere in Colorado or New Mexico and ride somewhere between 7 and 10 days, hopefully to Antelope Wells, the end of the GDMBR. If not to there, then she has a much better chance of getting a lift home from wherever she runs out of time.
Still, there are a lot of unknowns and unplanned(s) today! I’m not sure when I’m leaving Banff as I’m not married to the idea of leaving with the Grand Depart and may leave a week or so earlier, depending on weather and snow levels in Canada and Montana. I have a ROUGH idea of how fast I SHOULD be going but doubt I will know where we are going to meet up until a day or two before we actually meet. That should make for an interesting go of things!!
That said she's still excited for the trip and she’s training hard; almost as much as I am. She is doing a lot more core training -yoga for example-, and then joining me for big rides on Saturday and Sunday.
I on the other hand alright I'm hiking up Tortugas Mountain every morning, and then riding at least 2-3 hours every afternoon. Saturdays and Sundays are currently reserved for 5- and 3-hour rides respectively. Add that up and you can see we are currently training about 17-23 hours a week. This will move up to more in the 25+ hour/week range in the next month or so, with LONG (7-9 hour) rides on Saturday and then 4-6 hours in the saddle on Sunday. Eventually we will have a 25-30 hour a week “job”, on top of our real full-time jobs. We certainly have no problem falling asleep at the end of the day!!
We spent most of December getting Lola’s bike outfitted for the Tour Divide and will spend the next several weeks tweaking her fit, bike position, bags, aerobars, etc. so that she is ready for very long days in the saddle. As the weather warms, we will also be doing several shorter bike-packing trips to iron out the wrinkles and get her more experience.
I still need to work on adhering to a more routine on-the-bike eating regimen to ensure I am fueled up and not putting myself in a caloric deficit. I hope to go into this year’s event in better shape than 2023, and close to or better than I started the 2021 ride.
So, there you are, not only am I on the crazy side, but Lola is also willing to join me in these ridiculous pursuits that test one’s mental and physical condition!!! She’s so tough, I know she’ll do well and have the adventure of a lifetime doing it!!
More to come as the weeks progress!!
Ride On!
Cadena
