Alex and the Great Divide Race

Riding east we said goodbye to the Tetons and goodbye to the wonderful cyclists from the Channel Islands Bicycle Club. For three days our tour overlapped with a ride that the club was doing. It was great to see so many cyclists out. Talking to Frank, Linda, Dick, Teresa, and Diana, we learned a little about their club, which is based in Ventura County, California.

We rode east, which took us up Togwotee Pass. Near the top of the pass we met another cyclist named Alex. Alex was riding a mountain bike, and seeing him my first guess was that he was riding the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, which is a 2,490-mile, off road route that follows the Great Divide from Canada to Mexico.

Alex was from Sydney, Australia and talking to him we learned that he was in fact riding the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. But he wasn't just riding it--he was racing it.

Alex Field was one of about 24 people who were competing in the 2007 Great Divide Race. Anyone who knows about this race knows how intense it is. Alex was hoping to finish the race in about 20 days. He was hoping to average about 130 miles a day. 130 miles a day! Off road! For Janice and I, who average around 60 miles a day (on the road), this seemed to be a truly herculean feat. Our trip was a vacation compared to what Alex and the other racers were doing. No rest days for Alex. And no support vehicles or team mechanics. Alex had to carry everything he needed. We couldn't believe it when Alex told us that he only gets about 5 hours of sleep a night. We took this photo outside the small store where Alex was stocking up on food and drinks.

"So what's your position in the race?" I asked.
"Fourth, I think," said Alex, his smooth Australian accent seemed to linger in the air.
"Wow, congratulations, that's really good," I said. "So how many miles does the leader average?"
"Oh I think he does about 150."
"A day?"
"Yeah."
"Man, that's crazy," said Janice.
"Yeah," I said, "you guys must go through so much food. How many calories do you think you eat a day?"
"Maybe around ten thousand," said Alex casually.
"What about your legs?" I asked.
"What about them," said Alex.
"If you don't rest, and you don't sleep, then how do your muscles recover?"
"I give myself an hour and a half of mah-sage everyday, which sort of helps."
"So you just have to ride through the pain," I said.
"Yeah," said Alex as he took a big swig from a bottle of Powerade.

Alex's route was overlapping with ours, and so Janice and I took off knowing full well that Alex would catch up. Alex caught up to us and rode with us for a bit. "You can go ahead if you want," I said. "We don't want to slow you down."
"No, it's fine," said Alex. "It's good to talk to other riders." Alex rode with us for a few minutes, and then he stood up and with a few hard pedal stokes he moved ahead.

After meeting and talking to Alex, Janice and I were humbled and inspired. The pain in my knee and the heaviness of my legs seemed to be a minor thing. We climbed the pass with a new energy.

Coming down the other side of the pass we were surprised to meet Alex again. A few hours had passed since our first meeting. Alex's route was not as direct as ours, and he had ridden many more miles than us. "The way they had me go was actually pretty cool," said Alex. Riding downhill, Janice and I were able to keep up with Alex. We talked as we cruised along at 20-some-miles-per-hour. "So where do you live?" asked Alex.
"I live in Maryland and Janice lives in Virginia," I said.
"So you attend the University of Maryland?" asked Alex.
"Yeah, I did! How did you know that?"
"I just guessed. All your states have universities, don't they?"

Alex's route eventually broke off to the right and we said goodbye. "Send me those photos," said Alex.
"Surrrrrrrrre," I said as I speed down the road.