Thank you. That means a lot. Certainly a confidence booster... My strategy was to break the whole thing into small chunks and keep consistently chipping away at it.
Excellent video capturing all the highs and lows of an epic journey. You all kept up a punishing pace even when enduring some challenging weather. Nicely edited, and I was captivated by the commentary the whole way through. Congratulations.
Well done Phil; superb video. It's hard enough to simply focus on the ride, but you somehow summoned the energy to film and provide narrative. Thanks so much for your efforts! My good friend made it to Del Norte 2 yrs ago before succombing to some sort of water parasite; glad you were able to stay healthy and make it to the finish. Congratulations all around!
Thank you. Yep some days it was a big effort to record but I knew I would be able to look back at it at a later date and smile. Tummy bugs were a big concern of mine. I was pretty big on ensuring I filtered my water and sometimes even add some chlorine tabs as well if I was nervous.
Echoing the points made below.. a fantastic achievement and a really enjoyable watch. Putting aside the enormous physical achievement what comes across throughout is an upbeat attitude and I think thats what I'll take away into my personal (and much lesser) efforts. Many thanks
Thank you that means a lot. I was told that a route of this distance is as much mental as it is physical so I really worked on that aspect to be as up beat and positive as possible throughout. I'm glad this came through in the video. Thanks for taking the time to comment and happy peddling.
Ah fantastic. You will love it I am sure. Suggest getting on the Facebook Tour Divide advice group if you aren't already and do as much research as you can. Look at where your resupply points are or even where the next pit toilet is. It might give you options in the middle of a lightning storm for example!
Well done, some pace there and you made the effort to document your ride. Still amazed at the milage, terrain, weather and the motivation to complete the tour divide.
Many thanks!. It was so much fun. Literally months or training ja dolan in all came down to these 25 days so I knew it could be done. My strategy was to just break each bit into small segments.."just get over that next pass", "just get to that next town". If you start measuring yourself against the total distance it becomes a mind game to overcome.
Wow, Phil! Thanks for putting this together! Amazing job and congratulations on your quick finish! Really appreciate you for showing us what it looks like to finish in 25 days.
Well done Phil!! You are great with the camera on the bike. We loved revisiting those many miles and often picked out the same spots you stopped at to take in the stunning views. Thanks for sharing your journey.
Ah nice one Eric I'm glad you guys liked the video. I bet the weather conditions were different when you came through a few days after me? Seemed to change by the hour.
Thank you very much! It's always nice to hear comments about British comments or humour. I don't know any different. Thanks for taking time to comment its really appreciated.
Very beautiful route. Someday I will find time to ride it. In the meantime, I conquer the Tour Unite (analogue Tour Divide) in parts. It is 7500 km long...
Great video, hammering at that pace in those conditions is amazing, well done. Cresta and Mogollon were some of the highlights of my own GDMBR ride, she let me stay at the store during a lightning storm.
Hello Phil I met you at Chris's house on Thursday night! My mate from America that I rode it with sent me the link today, great film, brings it all back, well done indeed. Tim.
Hi Tim, no way. Brilliant. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I wanted to capture the momories and the overall feeling of the trip along the way. I miss that route so much!
Thank you very much! Felt a bit choppy putting the video together as i have very little experience but I'm glad it came across OK and shared the adventure at least.
Oh and make sure you are signed up on the Tour Divide starters list for 2023 because the UK riders from 2022 will be touching base with UK riders in advance of the start to hopefully offer support and info as a Brit going over.
@@markgibson000 nope nothing more than that. Just email your message of intent which can be as simple as "I plan to ride the Td23" and your name will be added to the unofficial excel starters list.
Glad you enjoyed it I didn't focus on any of my camera narration. I just spoke about what I saw and what I was going through. Hope it helps share with others about the trip.
Haha thanks. I was soo cold and wet and genuinely scared from the lightning I would have slept in it even if there was crap all over the floor. Luckily it was uber clean and watertight. After propping the door open for 30mins it was sort of smell free too. Ironically I got one of the best nights sleep of the trip in that toilet. Think it was the adrenaline wearing off maybe?!
I’m always amazed by how even a bit of blue in the sky improves my outlook, even in the cold. That view starting at 19:40 would stop me in my tracks. Glorious. But staying under a bridge in those arroyos at 44:00 would terrify me if there was even a hint of rain on the horizon.
Yeah I know what you mean about the weather. It has a stong power to inspire or demotivate. The camping under the bridge was a pretty thought out risk and, as you say, risk could be high. Decided it would be OK providing remained dry which it did all night.
Excellent video Phil. Loved the way you coped with the adverse weather - chapeau. I did this in 2017 (as a 60th retirement present to myself) and was in communication with Ant Ball who lives in the next village to me before he went, so it was nice to see him in the film. I have booked flights for 2023 to have another go - not as fast as you two though! Best wishes.
Ah that's fantastic. Yeah the weather was all part of the adventure to be honest. Amazing you are going back this year. If you are still in touch with Ant ask him to add you to the UK Tour Divide riders group Chris Ellison as setup. Might be a great opportunity for you to get info and prep (even though you have already done it).
Great video! Saw my bike in that shot of the Candon B&B😂 hey those laminated elev profile sheets w/road type colors were SO helpful. Thank you to you or whomever brought those for riders! Would it be possible to get those image files??
great ride and video sir , even my wife said your a beast ! you never complained or wined like many of the other videos we find on this channel . and you made it look like a stroll in the park and even the bears in the video knew to stay clear of "you" , thanx again for the video sir .
Thank you so much. Yeah I know what you mean about the suffering and moaning videos. Don't get me wrong it's tougg but the mental aspect is well over 60% of the challenge. Looking back I loved every second. Even when I wasn't loving it, I was still loving it deep down.
Remember saying while in the Basin: "Note to self, don't ever do this again". Do you still feel that way? I would love to ride from Pinedale to Wamsutter again, miss it so much.
@@philexploremore Oh, and a gentle nudge to not camp in drainages, as under a bridge. Flash floods happen amazingly fast, even though no local rains. I love the Basin!
Hi Phil, great film and congrats, you made it. I really like, that you share the daily miles and elevation. Thank you, this helps other for planning. Maybe you made a typo at the end at 1:16:40? You wrote elevation = 110,747 ft. When I sum up your daily elevation (day 6 is missing) I end up with 159808 feet. This sounds much more realistic for me. I remember, Tour Divide is about 8 times Mount Everest. Nevertheless, thumps up!
Hey Olaf. Thank you for the comments. Really glad it was of use. Yes my data may be off a little. I was expecting circa 150k feet elevation so was surprised when I totally up the gpx data. I can only assume some of it was due to the diversions around the Gila Forest due to the fires. Summary. It was a last minute addition to add the elevation and I can assure you it felt like circa 150k feet elevation.
No flats, amazing. How much tire wear at the end of it all? I could only imagine what it felt like to be back home relaxing on the couch with a pint after all that.
No flats at all. Very impressed with the vitoria mezcal. Rear tyre was toast at the end and was down to approx 0.2mm of tread left in the centre. Also has a discolouration where the layers were being worn down. The front though, it's still 9n my bike and has another 12 - 18months left in her yet I think.
And yes... My amazing partner picked me up at the end and she had beers. Best taste ever!!! Oh and it was called Crank Yanker which seemed fitting too.
I should have probably added a disclaimer. Some of my daily elevation and mileages are offset by a day. It all got jumbled up and had to use my strava data to figure it out. Don't use these figures as a planning tool between towns and resupply points.
Unfortunately it's a case of throwing away the cardboard box and finding one at the finish. Assuming you are going south bound and get to the finish Jeff Sharpe is the guy who everyone stays with and he can provide boxes.
Hi Phil - Great film and congrats on such an awesome effort!! - Wondering what your waterproof kit is (brand) and do you recommend it? Also, what is the race / hydration vest you had on?? How much water did you need to carry each day (average) also assuming you could stop and resupply / refresh and filter from streams??
Hi thanks for your comments OK a few answers to your questions.. Brand of waterproof jacket is Alpkit. They are a UK brand and absolutely brilliant for quality vs price. The jacket I had specifically is called the Balance jacket. Would highly recommend. I have a goretex Pro arctyrex jacket at home and I decided to take this one. Speaks volumes I think. The hydration vest was from amazon. Again. Worked perfectly. Its titled UTOBEST 5L and was £18. I was highly sceptical of the quality but its spot on. Zero issues and I certainly overloaded it at times. Water wise. Min of 2l at all times once into Montana. In Canada 1l is OK if you want to keep weight down due to ample supplies around you. At times in NM though we had to bypass around the Gila Forest which meant 130mile SECTIONS. From pie town I took 7L of water comprised of (2x1L bottle on my forks), 1x3L in frame bag, 1x 2L in running vest bladder. This was overkill but it was almost 40degC some days and big headwinds which meant I wanted plenty of water. Lowest I got down to was 0.5L remaining.
In our opinion it would not be that enjoyable. There are chunky sections and a lot of washboard. 2.25 x 29 tires seem to be about the best. Certainly the most common.
You started the review not knowing what the product does? WoW. And you encourage riders to dress in all dark colours? Double WoW. Some people shouldn’t be allowed on RU-vid.
