NEVER say never!!

I’ll never ride the Tour Divide again. Well……………maybe……….ok, I will.

When I last posted about the TD almost two years ago, things ended with a whimper not a bang.

It was June in 2023 when I last posted about racing the Tour Divide again, after a completely enjoyable and successful ride with Ray Johnson in 2021.

The 2023 attempt decidedly did not go as I had hoped. After about 600 miles, I was unable to even pedal a bike more that 50 yards before I completely fell apart. Riding from Holland Lake in Montana and climbing Richmond Peak, a section that took Ray and I about 3 hours in 2021, took me almost 6 hours in 2023. Something was definitely wrong! I don’t know if it was the stress of losing my dad a month earlier, less-than-optimal training, or something else (See below) but the wheels came off on the 5th day of my ride. (not literally, but maybe that would have been less painful)

There are a number of things that it could have been, though in spite of a negative test, I believe it was COVID. Maybe is was stress, or fatigue, or just weak will, but I simply could not ride a bike.

I trained again for the race in 2024, but in May of that year, I just didn’t have the heart to race it again. I pulled the plug. I decided that the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR) and the Tour Divide race had seen the last of me.

But life has a funny way of making you change your mind.

Life also has a way of introducing you to new friends that make you find, or re-find, the passion to do crazy things. This is where Luke Cutburth comes in. I met Luke through a mutual friend, Damian Calvert, about two years ago. Luke and I first met mountain biking; that is to say, i watched Luke ride away from me on a mountain bike. To say he is FAST on a bike would be an understatement.

Long story short, Luke and I have developed a fast friendship. There are probably a lot of reasons we get along well, but whatever they are, we have just clicked as friends. As a result, we spend a lot of time on bikes together and inevitably the Tour Divide came up in conversation.

This is where things went, upwards, or sideway…

Luke asked about doing the Tour Divide.

Now, Lola has been SOOOO supportive of me racing the Divide, but even her support must have its limitations. So, when I mentioned riding the TD again, it was met with a bit of a WTH!!!! (Recall, I said I’d never ride it again). But she also is incredibly supportive of my passions. It didn’t take long, and she was on board and more supportive than ever.

And that is how NEVER again becomes, “We’re riding the Tour Divide again in 2026” becomes a reality!

I wasn’t sure I was going to re-up this blog, but Luke (Salty Cut) has a vast following, and I’m sure they will enjoy seeing me make fun of him as we prepare and embark on this adventure.

I’ll be updating other sections of the website over the next several days and weeks to keep everyone up to speed, so please follow along.

Much more to follow, stay tuned.

Ride On!

Shane

So…What Have You Learned & What, If Anything, Are You Doing Differently?