Great Divide MTB Race

[Norse]

One of my favorite blogs is of an Alaskan woman, Jill Homer, who writes beautifully (with photos to match) of her biking adventure experiences. She just completed the 2,745 mile Great Divide Mountain Bike Route: http://arcticglass.blogspot.com/. What she does not mention is that in addition to completing it, she set a new course record for women.

[TrekTheKaty]

Thanks. I'm going to get her book

[Norse]

Thanks. I'm going to get her book

It's a good, quick read.

[Selkie]

I've been holding off on reading her reports --- I usually catch up w/my favorite blogs during lunch time at work. I'm glad to hear she did so well, and look forward to catching up. To be honest, I was a little concerned for her because of the mechanical issues she's had in this event. She is a very inspirational person.

[ridebikeme]

Thank you for sending this post!! I enjoyed reading it and have since ordered the book myself. Thank you once again

[andtckrtoo]

Amazing!! I really enjoyed that. Here I am sweating over my 100 mile road ride with my measly 3 mile hill, and she out riding the Rockies and doing over 100 miles of dirt a day. I'll think of her when I'm whimpering.

[OakLeaf]

Two weeks ago (after the race was well underway), two members of my club, men in their 70s, set out to do the Great Divide at their own pace. They'd actually planned to do the ride last year, but one of them tore an ACL the previous winter and had reconstructive surgery.

After one day, they shipped back a lot of stuff that they'd suddenly realized they didn't need. That's the last I've heard. (I'm sure I would have heard if they'd missed a planned check-in.)

Send them your well wishes and vibes for safety and fun!

[indysteel]

I thought I'd post this here for any Jill Homer fans. She has a new collection of essays out entitle Artic Glass: Six Years of Adventure in Alaska and Beyond. It's available from Amazon and iPhones for just $2.99. I read her account of her Great Divide race earlier this year and really enjoyed it. Her newest book is a collection culled from her blog, so those of you who follow her blog may have already read all or part of it.

I sometimes have a hard time getting my head around all that she does. Any one of her events would be the kind of stuff that bucket lists are made of, but she does mutiples of such events seemingly all the time. I don't know how she does it.

[jessmarimba]

I really want the new one but I think reading it on my iphone would kill me. Maybe I'll get an e-reader for Christmas.

On a related note, I really wanted to bring Be Brave, Be Strong on my trip this weekend and I can't find it!! I know I'm somewhat disorganized, but this is driving me nuts! It's the last thing on my list to pack and I'm baffled as to where I might have put it.

[OakLeaf]

Reading on my phone is surprisingly comfortable, but if you can stand to read on your computer screen, there's a free Kindle app for the computer.



PS - I only just saw this thread come up on the new feed, but when I clicked through I saw I'd never updated the situation with my two friends. They made it nearly all the way - they skipped the last leg since many people told them that there was nothing there but drug runners and vigilantes. Took them I think 56 days. They agreed that they'd bitten off a bit more than they could comfortably chew, but chew it they did, and I think with the perspective of a couple of years, I think they're glad they did it. They're planning another trip for the coming summer - but a road trip this time, as all their previous ones have been. Another friend of mine will be doing the Divide solo next year - starting out just behind the racers, but not racing.