Adventure book: Racing the Tour Divide
I recently released my adventure narrative of my experiences in the 2009 Tour Divide, a 2,745-mile mountain bike race that is often touted as one of the toughest endurance races in the world. This self-supported race from Banff, Alberta, to Antelope Wells, New Mexico along the spine of the Rocky Mountains is still dominated by men, but more women are tackling the challenge every year. I established the current women's record at 24 days, 7 hours and 24 minutes. But even more rewarding than the accomplishment was the personal development —*I learned so much about myself and the world around me that I finished feeling like I had lived a lifetime in 24 intense, frequently painful but consistently beautiful days. If you enjoy books about women and adventure cycling, or if you're a cycling enthusiast looking for a good summer read, you might enjoy my book.
Here are a couple of excerpts:
"For a few miles, the road contoured the crest of a broad ridge, the exact boundary of the Continental Divide. Cattle grazed on both sides of the road. I thought with a smile that the cows on the right were peeing into the Pacific, while the urine on the left was headed for the Atlantic. Before the Tour Divide, the idea of the Continental Divide had always been a vague one at best, an arbitrary line across America. But after spending more than a week paralleling its jagged peaks and broad passes, I began to understand the mystique of the Divide and the appeal of following it. This was the backbone of the continent, the beginning of everything."
....
"As I trudged up another thousand-foot climb, the thick aroma of the forest air started to permeate my consciousness. It was a singularly unique fragrance — a savory and spicy blend of cedar and sage with hints of charcoal and wood smoke — remnants of long-snuffed forest fires, perhaps. Infused with the fresh sweetness of the rain and the pungent oils of pinion nuts, the scent swirled around my nose with overwhelming intensity. As soon as I noticed it, I became wholly immersed in its charred, sugary, juniper-imbibed perfume, until I started to feel physically ill. I knew I would never forget that smell, and that it would always haunt me in sickness and pain, the way I always recalled a vanilla air freshener that once hung in my parents’ car whenever I came down with motion sickness. Just as that artificial vanilla had become, the smell of the Gila was permeated in repulsiveness so vile that it evoked a hundred memories of suffering. The smell of the Gila was a hate smell. For as beautiful and wild as the landscape was, I hated the Gila."
Reader reviews are located at LibraryThing and Goodreads.
The book is currently on sale now in paperback at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and also in digital format for Kindle at Amazon.com.
