Guest Post: Charlie Farrow's 2025 Tour Divide Report.

I am pleased and honored to provide you readers with a special guest post from the legendary, (he would not like this term, but this is my/our perspective) Charlie Farrow. Charlie agreed to let me reproduce his latest tome on his 2025 Tour Divide experience. (It's LONG! Get a big cup of whatever you drink and settle in!) I hope you find this enjoyable. If you find you like Charlie's style you can also check out his resurrected blog HERE.  Charlie promises more entries in the future. Now, on with the report!

The author, Charlie Farrow in a portrait by Michael Roe.

 How a white dot destroyed my Tour Divide quixotic quest for honor and respect. 

Written by Charlie Farrow

 Quixotic: Having or showing ideas that are different and unusual but not practical and/or very, very likely to not succeed. 

Part I: “For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however
satisfying and reassuring.” Carl Sagan

“...even for an old fool, used to finishing way back, that mindset is tough to surrender. An earnest, albeit bizarre, fanciful, delusional notion was stuck in my head- ‘This is a competition, this a race, come on, there’s a chance, however slight, that you could win back that blue dot.’” Charlie Farrow, a few days into it.

In part, I would describe myself as a lifelong seeker of physical competitions. From the time I was a little kid, I have been super involved in all kinds of sports. By the way, my parents had nothing to do with these pursuits. They were supportive, but totally hand-off. In junior high, rotund, wearing “husky” size pants, I was even on the diving team or a summer and went to several diving competitions, (with embarrassing results, but that's another story). Through high school, college, grad school, and decade after decade
since, I have continued to participate in sports for every season, yet I never “specialized. ” The fact is I was never good enough to specialize. Maybe that is part of the reason why I have stayed at it for so long, expectations were based on reality. Of course, I had my favorites. Initially it was an obsession with football (teens and early 20s), then rugby (mid to late 20s), then climbing (20s and 30s), then all types of bike racing (30s, 40s, 50s, 60s).

Early 80s, my good buddy, Bo Deremee and I headed for a bike race.
He was faster than me!

As I get older (and older, and older) witnessing many (now, most) of my peers (guys and gals), who are way more talented than me, quit competitions, I have wondered if I should hang it up as well. I wonder, “Why am I still so drawn to partake in these races?” I mean the facts are that for most of the events that I now compete in, I am lucky if I can finish in the 40th percentile. I am used to bringing up the rear.

Benevolent readers may be thinking, “the poor old guy is still at it because he is not comparing his performance to others; for him, it's all about the competition within.” Nope, that’s not me. I am very interested, even fixated on how the competition performs and marvel at how much better the majority is than me. I am constantly comparing finish times with multiple causal factors, like age of rider, type of bike, gear employed, weight of bike, etc. etc.

Is it a case where the author was once a top contender and now he’s just hanging on, unwilling to see the hand writing on the wall? Is he like Brett Favre or Muhammad Ali? No, not even close. In fact, as stated above, I have never been that good at any of the sports I have played. I mean from the very beginning, I have always been, even at my best, pretty average. In every sport that I participated in, I never achieved that level where I could realistically feel like an “elite” competitor. I do, personally, know folks that were elite, top athletes when they were younger and as they grew older, slower, more cautious, they simply could not deal with their progressively slower results, so they stopped showing up. I quit playing rugby in my early 30s because it became obvious that by playing, I was wrecking my body and that if I continued I would inevitably do permanent damage, but I was never that good, I just loved the game. I quit climbing because we had a daughter and I didn’t want to miss out on her growing up. I know guys that were killed climbing. There are lots of old mountain climbers and there are lots of bold mountain climbers, but there are very few old, bold mountain climbers.

Could it be that since I have always been just a “ team player, belay-slave, sherpa, and/or pack-rider,” my motivation to continue to compete stems not from the pursuit of excellence and victory, not for the admiration and accolades afforded the top players, but something more nuanced, more lofty, more cerebral or altruistic? Do I compete out of noble motivations? Do I compete for the love of humanity? Do I sign up for these races so as to benefit others, to bring joy to my competitors, to make the world a better place?

Sorry to disappoint, but after really thinking about it, I have come to a rather banal conclusion. As implied above, I could, Dear Reader, submit to you that I am above the superficial pursuit of victory and the momentary status that is especially afforded to winners in these “United States.” That my incentives are pure, even magnanimous. But to be honest, I think my problem is that I am simply delusional. Always have been. I am still waiting for my ship to come in, still waiting…maybe next time? And I am not the only one.

Intermission: Take a break, then keep reading for further convoluted reflective musings. Observations include: a case that the author was not alone in his unrealistic expectation for a “win” at the Tour Divide 2025. Another idea: Is the author a poster child for the long term consequences of those plagued by the Dunning-Kruger Effect? Don’t worry I’ll define it below, trust me. It applies more to men than women.

 

Part II: The Blue Dot turns White. Continued is an amateur examination on the question of the influence of the Dunning–Kruger effect on competition, the Tour Divide 2025, and what it meant to the author to achieve a “win” at the TD (also explored to some extent above), so read on, Dear Cherished Reader.

My “winning” strategy is to always start out super fast.  Of course, I quickly fall apart. But, maybe some day it will work! Ya never know! 

 

With sprinkles of the Dunning-Kruger effect mixed in, mine is a quixotic approach in that there has never been an instance, (I will define it below, bear with me, or fast forward to the Notes at the end). I mean every time I line up at the start of one of these races or competitions, there is a part of my reptilian brain that thinks, “Hey, if things go perfect for you, and a whole bunch of guys better than you have bad luck, you might be up there…” These hallucinations are supported or heightened when the competition encompasses a large group of contenders, it's a long multi-day race (the longer the race, the better my chances), as well as the inclusion of multiple “categories.”

Such was my foolhardy, quixotic approach to the Tour Divide 2025 (and may I also submit that I was not the only one to line up in Banff on June 13 embarking on a quixotic quest to “win” the Tour Divide). Let's explore this a bit more. I mean I have the time, besides, more context is warranted.

As alluded to above, in today’s uber-competitive world, for mostly everyone in any given competition from college admissions, to job interviews, to… you name it (with the exception of that small cohort of top contenders within a given field), one’s own particular understanding of what constitutes a “win” is highly contextual and subjective. For some, a “win” may be to simply get to the finish line. But in the minds of many who race the TD, I don’t think a finish is seen as a win. What I mean is that if you are signed up for a 2700 mile cross country bike race, by definition you are a serious competitor. For me, a win in the TD2025 meant that I would finish with my initials (CF) encased in a blue dot as depicted on Tour Divide 2025 Trackleaders.com. I knew I would finish, so just finishing it would not constitute a personal victory, (more on this below). I can be very stubborn and thus I rarely quit a competition. Sure, as stated above, I have been pulled from races because I failed to make a checkpoint in the allotted time frame or I’ve been lapped and subsequently pulled in lots of crits, but I can’t remember an instance where I “scratched” from a race.

The Tour Divide is simply an amazing competition! It sets a high standard. It’s everything a multi-week bike race should be and for what it's worth, I highly recommend it. As evidenced by this long narrative, it’s still fresh in my mind. I am still recovering, not motivated to exercise, so writing about my experience is fun and also maybe a bit cathartic! Trying to get my head around the fact that I just can’t stop thinking about the recent weeks I spent fighting my way down to Antelope Wells, New Mexico is intellectually stimulating. Lately, nearly every night, my brain lights up as I dream of these weird scenarios that I think are related to my real life TD experiences, but are also surreally enhanced or depict cloudy reenactments of that time spent on the route. Late at night or early mornings, I ruminate about ways I could have gone faster, how I need to go much lighter next time, sleep less, eat better, be more efficient, etc. This did not happen with my other recent long bike journeys. Some smart guy once pointed out,“if you really want to understand something, write about it.”

 

From the majestic Canadian Rockies to the surreal desert landscapes of southern New Mexico, the Tour Divide route has it all. 

Building upon the generalized treatise on the author’s delusions of greatness. Below I continue to wrestle with why I chose to “race” the TD. So take a quick break, walk around a bit, then read on for a further examination of various and disjointed pseudo-philosophical questions related to why compete at all, coupled with an amateurish, purely anecdotal analysis of what may or may not constitute a “win” for other competitors regarding the Tour Divide. For no extra charge, a theory or explanation related to the very low TD completion rate that occurs every year is presented? Or in other words, a look at what might be behind the fact that so many racers scratch from the Tour Divide every year? Disclaimer: The commentary below is partly as a result of a most interesting conversation I had with a fellow TD rider and very smart guy, during the few days we spent together on that 2700 mile path to Antelope Wells. Of course, the scattered opinions shared here are my own and do not reflect any others.

Of course, some competitions are more natural than others. Clearly boxing (or the like) is more natural than say basketball or hockey or synchronized swimming. Kangaroos box! Given our propensity for violence, I suppose Thomas Hobbes would argue that mixed martial arts competitions (MMA) are the most natural of all human games. Racing from Point A to Point B, certainly, must also be one of the original sports. As implied above, competition and sports are indivisible. A vital ingredient in all sports is competitiveness in the form of comparing one's performance with that of others . Cambridge dictionary simply defines competitiveness as, “the fact of a person wanting very much to win or be more successful than other people.” There can be no competition without comparisons. Let’s be honest, you can’t win in a race with yourself. It doesn’t work that way.

The Tour Divide (TD) is a competition and thus a kind of social construct, an artificial invention created to fill these primal needs we have to compete with each other. Seemingly, after a quick google search, most in the cognitive science fields agree that we are all competitive, to a degree, on a spectrum. Cheating, which is ubiquitous in most competitions, is a symptom or manifestation of our compulsive need to out perform our competition (a topic for another day).

In fact, all sports are, by definition, human designed activities in which, by design, there are winners and losers. Of course, in a race such as the TD, there is just one actual winner. It’s very simple, the cyclist that gets to the finish line before anyone else is the winner. However, those with an entrepreneurial bent, who create these social constructs, have learned that if the definition of winning is expanded (it is a given that everyone wants to win) more folks will sign up to compete. Thus the advent of various categories of winners (age-groups, different lengths of races, types of bikes, weight classes, etc., etc.) have proliferated For example, the American Birkebiner, North America’s largest cross country ski competition, has 28 different age group categories! It’s great, we used to do it as a family back in the 80s. Everyone gets a medal!

 

As mentioned above, I have done many types of multi-week adventures, including eight, months-long bike rides over the course of the last eight summers and yet this one was by far the most social and really the only one in which I felt compelled to “compete.” In fact, previously I have even cycled most of the Tour Divide Route, completing the full Great Divide Mountain Bike Route in 2018 (from Jasper to Antelope Wells and then back home). It was a 5800+ mile effort, but I took my sweet time and enjoyed several rest days as well as many short days in the saddle. When describing this summer’s effort I have to include the term "self-imposed pressure," because I approached it as a race, rather than a touring adventure. To be honest, I didn’t expect it, but by making this summer’s bike trip, a “race” changed everything. Pre-race, excited, I made a point of telling interested friends, colleagues, and my captive audience (aka, my students) that I was racing the Tour Divide come June. The racing mindset, although I tried to suppress it after just a few days into it–when it became obvious that I was no way close to being “competitive” within the realm of the talented field of 225 riders–would constantly haunt me, especially when I would have access to a local Wi-Fi connection, so as to check the standings via Trackleaders.com and see how far behind I was from the “competition.”

 

The author“toured” the GDMBR back in 2018, it was relaxing, he took his

time, read lots of books, stopped at local breweries, etc.

Let me explain; for a bunch of long distance competitions (across the globe), the guys at Trackleaders have developed an ingenious communal/public parameter (or scoreboard) that employs a kind of bellwether or baseline that, in real time, shows all interested parties where a racer stands in relation to the other racers via a continually updated website. It's brilliant, very well designed, addictive, and has attracted a legion of what is known as “dot watchers.” I am a committed dot watcher. For example, last winter (and many previous winters), I checked the Iditarod Invitational Race at least four or five times everyday. It’s really fun to watch your friends’ “dots” make progress and/or to be amazed at how fast some of these riders have become. A.I. defines a dot watcher as“someone who follows and analyzes the progress of participants in ultra-endurance races, particularly in cycling events like bikepacking races, by tracking their real-time GPS locations on a map. These races often lack traditional media coverage, so dot watchers rely on online tracking systems to follow the race and discuss it with other enthusiasts.”

“Specifically, regarding the Tour Divide 2025 race, from the rider’s perspective, the way it works is that to basically “stay in the game” (meaning to maintain the label of “racer”on the website), a rider must stay ahead of a “broom wagon,” (aka a sweeper). An oft quoted saying amongst the middlings (guys and gals on the edge of being caught by the sweeper) was, the broom wagon never sleeps.” Note: Back in the day, in road races, we called it a “sag wagon.” During criteriums if you fell behind and got lapped, you were pulled from the race. That happened to me on many occasions and while every time my ego was bruised, I survived to fight another day.

On the TD 2025 Trackleaders website, the sag wagon was colored green. The dots representing each woman racer (those ahead of the sag wagon) were colored pink, while the men’s dots were in blue. If one falls behind the menacing green broom wagon (as stated above, the sag wagon never sleeps, it just keeps moving @ 95 miles per 24 hours or about 4 mph during a full day), he or she remains in the game, but under a kind of cloud, essentially relegated to the less than lofty title of “tourist.” To publicly connote this demotion, the riders behind the sagwagon have their dots turn white (as in “I surrender!”). No matter how one wants to spin it, I mean, it's kinda undeniable that the consequence of falling behind the Broom Wagon entails being relabeled or downgraded as uncompetitive, which is not a celebratory moniker. Essentially when your dot turns white, you’re still riding, but pathetically slow, and so far, so far behind, that you have forfeited your title of Competitive TD Racer and exchanged that lofty, honorable title for something akin to a “a slacker, a straggler, a plodder, a loiterer, a dawdler", or the like! Of course, I am having fun with this, but seriously, it really bugged me when I went from a blue dot to a white dot, especially so early in the race. Yet, I like the way they have it set up and I think they should not change it. After all, I am a big boy, so after some self-loathing, I put my big boy pants back on and accepted the truth. However, for me, forever delusional, it's all good, I just have to make a few changes, and I will be in the middle of it. In other words, the next time I arrive in Banff to start another Tour Divide, I will be primed for staying blue ‘til that final photo at that chain fence @ Antelope Wells. I plan to compete in another Tour Divide and finish blue. That is my quest!

 

A once proud competitor, now an involuntary, broken down “tourist” poses at the USA/Mexican Border on July 19, 2025

No surprise, staying "competitive," is a really tough endeavor for the majority of those racing down the Tour Divide route. This is a hard truth that one faces pretty much right away. It hits home to many of the first time racers when they hit Koko Claims and then The Wall. Personally, after the first four or five days, even though my little group was enjoying perfect conditions, I knew I was going to get swept up by the Broom Wagon and that with each day, going forward, I was falling farther behind. Yet, ever hopeful, it wasn’t until around Day 10 or so that I had to accept the fact that there was no way I would be able to get my dot resuscitated. I was disappointed, yet, I never considered scratching from the race. Part of my stubbornness stems from the fact that I really had no other option but to continue. I guess I could have left the course and headed for Denver to catch a train, but I was, in my mind, still racing, still wanting to finish. But I wonder if many of those who did scratch did so partly because of a dot downgrade? “Its not easy being a white dot.” I could relate to Kermit, the Frog!

 

Finishing the TD ain’t easy and staying blue or pink is even harder. A quick crunching of numbers illustrates that staying blue/pink requires a high standard by which the 225 riders are subjected to in terms of being afforded and maintaining the title of “competitive.” Sure it hurts to get relegated to “touring,” especially because it's really hard work, it is not a tour. The white dots are still getting their butts kicked! Personally, not once did this effort feel like touring. For me, an experienced “tour rider,”touring means taking lots of pictures, stopping at local breweries, taking time to write post cards and add to my journal (over several cups of good coffee, at the local coffee shops), bringing along several thick novels to read at night, swimming in lakes, bringing a stove/cook kit, and making wholesome camp meals in the morning and in the early evening, stargazing, etc., etc. You get the idea. In contrast, I was pushing ten to twelve hours a day (and still only averaging about 75 miles a day), eating gas station food, and never took a rest day. At the end of most days, I was completely done in, knackered, too tired to do anything but crawl into my bag and pass out. It ended up taking me 36 days and 5 hours to finish. The Swiss guy that won it did it in just under 12 days. So let's be frank, I was not competitive, but I also wasn’t out on a leisurely tour either! Sick!

 

How the author felt at the end of most days on this year’s Tour Divide race

The following, of course, is speculative thinking, but I wonder if being downgraded to just “touring" is a deciding impetus (or at least, a factor), for why so many “scratch” from the Tour Divide. I mean I am used to having my ego bruised, but for a lot of these first time racers, many of whom have probably enjoyed success in their respective spheres of influence, the downgrade may have been too much to bear?”

Here are some specifics: In order to stay competitive (to stay blue), the men had to make at least 95 miles a day and for the women (to stay pink), I think it was 85 or 90 miles a day. That translates into a little more than 28 days for the men and 30 or 31 days for the women. A quick count indicates that of the 225 that started in Banff on the morning of June 13th, about 100 riders finished the course ahead of the Broom Wagon, another 20 (including me) finished the route but behind the Broom Wagon. Therefore, for the TD 2025, just 44% finished as competitors and overall about 53% finished. That means that only 20 out of the total 120 finishers, or 16% did so under the less than glorious label of “touring.” Or think of it this way, the pattern indicates that one was either good enough to finish blue/pink or quit. 

 

Given the good conditions, the fact that 105 starters did not finish to me was really surprising, really a high number, but looking at the results from previous years, this looks like a pretty normal year. I have several local, good friends that did the Tour Divide in 2017 (all rookies and all finishing under the banner of “competitor”). When speaking with them about the high scratch rate, the consensus was that first time TD racers do not appreciate the physical and mental demands needed to finish. They get discouraged after several days of unrelenting toil, just can’t visualize the long haul endpoint, then they see their dots turn white, and ultimately scratch when they get to a larger town. 

Perhaps the Dunning–Kruger effect is also a factor in explaining the high drop-out rate? We all do it, these guys just put a fancy-pants name to it. Essentially what Dunning and Kruger found in their research was that folks with limited knowledge or experience given a specific task or project tend to overestimate their own ability, skill set and competence in terms of completing the task or project. When they are faced with the reality of their shortcomings, they become frustrated, and subsequently discontinue the task. This “effect” seems apparent when one takes a look at the TD2025 Letters of Intent (LOI) combined with the subsequent unofficial TD start list and compares these pre-race documents with the actual result. The Letter of Intent is simply a kind of survey required of the racers that want to be included on the Trackleaders website. From the LOI, an unofficial starting list is generated. In the LOI, a rider is asked to submit how many days he/she estimates it will take to complete the race course. Only 34 out of 235 or 14% indicated a completion time outside the blue/pink parameter. In other words, 86% submitted completion times that would have put them in blue/pink at the finish. Yet, only 44% actually finished blue/pink! Note: these are just general approximations, especially since I did not take the time to differentiate between genders, etc.,add in the fact that I never earned higher than a “C” in all my math courses.

It would be interesting to look at the various demographic factors associated with the starting field, combined with the stated pre-race “Goal finish time, Maximum finish time, etc.” Other potential causal factors for the high dropout rate could include: age, gender, bike type, time constraints, veteran TD finisher versus first time rider, veteran TD finisher versus veteran TD non-finisher, etc.

Part III. “To dream the impossible dream, To fight the unbeatable foe, To bear with unbearable sorrow, To run where the brave dare not go, To right the unrightable wrong, To love pure and chaste from afar, To try when your arms are too weary, To reach the unreachable star,This is my quest, To follow that star, No matter how hopeless, No matter how far…” 

From Don Quoxite, Man of La Mancha

So there you have my sad story. A story of a once proud man disgraced, relegated, but hopefully not defeated. As boldly stated above, I do fully plan on racing the Tour Divide again, maybe as soon as next June. I am still drawn to competitions, especially the long distance cycling ones. Also, being a bit of a social butterfly, I equally enjoy the fact that these kinds of endeavors, by their inherent design, invite opportunities for racers to develop meaningful, beneficial, captivating, and intellectually stimulating relationships with other participants as well as with the folks one meets along the way. I feel like these kinds of social interactions bring out the best in most people.

Part IV Endnotes and General observations:

Quixotic: Having or showing ideas that are different and unusual but not practical and/or very, very likely to not succeed.# If you guessed that quixotic has something to do with Don Quixote, you're absolutely right. The hero of Miguel de Cervantes' 17th-century Spanish novel in English "The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha"  didn't change the world by tilting at windmills, but he did leave a linguistic legacy in English. The adjective quixotic is based on his name and has been used to describe unrealistic idealists since at least the early 18th century. I read it several years ago and it was so funny. I highly recommend it. The movie is also really well done.

 

No surprise that parents are delusional: It is common for parents to live vicariously through their kid’s endeavors. Lots of dads tend to remember their athletic prowess with enhanced, rose-colored glasses. Parents also tend to see their kids’ potential for stardom through fanciful lenses. Thankfully my parents were much more grounded in reality. 

 

Specializing in a particular sport, in my opinion, for kids in middle and high school is a major mistake leading to burnout, injury, and insane expense. 

 

Climbing has always been competitive, not as much when I was obsessed with all facets in the 80s and 90s. Now it is very competitive and very specialized. 

 

To win means many things to many people. Within my high school classroom, a “win” for a few of the seniors is to simply graduate, while for others a “win” means to get accepted to the local community college, while for the top academics, a win means getting accepted to a prestigious university. 

 

During the Arrowhead 135, a couple winters ago, on a kicksled, I failed to make the halfway point within the allotted time constraint at the Arrowhead 135 which was a disappointment for me as it ended a long streak of AH135 finishes. 

 

My Tour Divide did not end at Antelope Wells: Being too cheap to employ the usual costly methods of getting home post Antelope Wells finish line. After finishing, I rode back to Hachita and from there rode east to El Paso. When my Amtrak plans fell through, I was forced to rent a car and drive back to St’ Paul. Still I was able to get back to St. Paul for under $400. 

 

Regarding Hobbes' dim view of humanity: I suppose wars fit this description as well. Hobbes argued that war would dominate in a state of nature, and that there would exist,"No arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." Maybe we are attracted to “games” as a substitute for fighting wars, or a more pessimistic view holds that we engage in sports to practice for wars. With regard to cheating, for those who live by the theory that winning is everything, cheating is permissible as long as it produces a win. The end justifies the means. Later, Carl von Clausewitz, the Prussian soldier and military theorist, renowned for his insights on war and politics, wrote, "War is merely the continuation of policy by other means," Sound familiar? 

 

In the U.S., our illusory capitalistic ideals are based on the sacred, sublime beauty of economic competition, but I digress, save this delusionary fantasy for a different commentary (same can be applied to the myth of American Exceptionalism)

 

 Not sure if this is cheating, but I just used A.I. to find a bunch of athletic competitions that now allow P.E.D.s! 

 

 From my own perspective, I am pleased that from a macro-view, the Tour Divide remains pure in that basically there are clearly just two winners each year. The men’s and women’s champion. 

 

Having now completed both the GDMBR and the Tour Divide 2025 route, it is my assessment that the Tour Divide route is significantly more difficult. For me, the CDT sections, especially in New Mexico, were soul destroying. 

 

CTR: I am looking forward to watching my some of my heroes compete in the Colorado Trail Race starting on 8/10/2025

 

For specifics see Part IV Notes: Lessons learned and changes that need to be made so that the author can “win” next time. 

 

“It's not that easy being green; Having to spend each day the color of the leaves.When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow or gold...or something much more colorful like that…” Kermit the Frog

 

Mid-race, I had a couple former students email me and ask, “Mr. Farrow, why did your dot change colors?” In my replies, I took the easy, cowardly way out, ignoring their queries, and instead focused my responses on conveying the beauty of nature so apparent along the route :)

 

Don’t hold me to these numbers. I just did a quick count (without the use of my glasses), but I think I am close enough to make some generalized, anecdotal observations. 

 

Same here, just looking at general trends that stand out. One would need to do a much more accurate count in order to get real accuracy

 

My Tour Divide did not end at Antelope Wells:  It didn’t end for me at Antelope Wells. Being too cheap to employ the usual costly methods of getting home post Antelope Wells finish line. After finishing, I rode back to Hachita and from there rode east to El Paso. When my Amtrak plans fell through, I was forced to rent a car and drive back to St’ Paul. Still I was able to get back to St. Paul for under $400.

The Dunning–Kruger Effect: The tendency of people with low ability in a specific area to give overly positive assessments of this ability. This is often seen as a cognitive bias, i.e. as a systematic tendency to engage in erroneous forms of thinking and judging. In the case of the Dunning–Kruger effect, this applies mainly to people with low skill in a specific area trying to evaluate their competence within this area. The systematic error concerns their tendency to greatly overestimate their competence.

 

 In 2013 the author completed the ITI. (it's really only 300 miles). Although very old, he definitely plans to pedal the full Iditarod Trail before it's too late. But he will not be “racing” it.   A finish will be a big win!

 

Lessons learned and therefore changes that need to be made so that the author can “win” next time, (Winning, aka finishing in the BLUE):

1. My bike was way, way too heavy. I rode my trusty, steel Clockwork (with the stalwart but hefty Rohloff), a full-on touring ATB, complete with front and rear racks, four large panniers and full length fenders for use in the TD race. It's the perfect “touring” bike and I love it. Yet, I bet my bike and gear weighed over 80 lbs. I was blown away by how light everyone else’s bikes were. It was like I brought an 18 wheeler to a sports car race. Hauling it up Koko Claims, The Wall, the CDT sections, etc.. was exhausting and quite depressing. After completing the route and getting back to Minnesota, I saw lots of photos of the finishing competitors at the US/Mexican border hoisting their bikes above their heads in victory celebration! I thought, “No way could I do that with my bike, it's way too heavy, not even when I was young!” In short, next time I will arrive on a light race bike. Note: I did not regret going with the wider 2.6 tires. I’d even consider trying it on a single speed. My “go to” racing bikes for years have been single speeds. They are simple and light. I really enjoy riding single speeds, I enjoy the varying cadence. And in my case, I don't necessarily see a disadvantage. I mean I walk a lot of the big hills anyway. I’d go with a really easy gear ratio like a 32X18 or 19. Wait, wait!!! Don’t you see what’s happening? Here I go again, riding a single speed in the Tour Divide…totally delusional. Never mind.In any event, practice a lot of hike-biking at my local ski hill in Duluth.
2. I also carried too much gear. Leave the thick novel at home, etc. Get a book downloaded onto my phone. I bet I had ten pounds of stuff I didn’t need. Leave the heavy battery pack @ home. 
3. Get an aero bar (for comfort) set up. 
4. Change the mindset on using a motel during this event. I have to resolve myself to spend some money on motels and to not fixate on the cost. Being very cheap, normally I only allow myself to camp out, motels are always the last resort (and when I do get a motel, I feel like I have to stay for a long time to get my money's worth). But, on the TD, it makes sense that one will travel longer distances, if one uses motels as efficient rest/sleep stops consisting of just a few hours. 
5. Develop a daily mileage logistics plan, so that I have an understanding of how many miles I need to achieve each day in order to stay ahead of the merciless Broom Wagon. With this plan, have an idea of where each rest stop will be located. 
6. To prepare, do way more hill work using a loaded bike and arrive at Banff with very low gearing (a great-granny gear). Ride more at night. 
7. Look into carrying a backpack or specific bikepacking vest.

Friday News And Views

Gravel Amplifier:  Farmhouse Classic

Many years ago gravel events were much more intimate and often reflected a very personal touch which was imprinted on the event by the organizer. It was not uncommon for the event to start at a home, for instance, or start at someone's private property.

Such was the case with the early Farmhouse Classic gravel event organized by Joe Fox, owner of Cycle City bicycle shop now in Kansas City, Missouri. Joe had the event start at a farm in Northwest Missouri, not far from Kansas City. While I never had the chance to ride the event then, it did have a high reputation as being one of those  events you thought of when thinking about "grassroots gravel".

Last year, on our way down to Mid-South, we stopped in at Cycle City and I had the chance to chat with Joe Fox. Joe has been a gravel rider in many events going way back, including Trans Iowa, the event I used to run. During our conversation, I mentioned the Farmhouse Classic and I told Joe he should consider bringing it back again. Joe quickly brushed the suggestion off and made a few remarks about it being a big commitment and how he was pretty tied up running a shop nowadays. Totally understandable stuff

But, for whatever reasons, I see now that Joe has indeed resurrected the Farmhouse Classic. (I'm sure my suggestion had little to do with this happening, by the way)  It is set up now to be a benefit for the Parkhill Bison Composite NICA Team. There are 68 mile, 35 mile, and 20 mile ride options. The event will occur on July 19th out of Lathrop, Missouri, which is located Northeast of Kansas City, Missouri.

Journeyer CUES 11 Image courtesy of Salsa Cycles

 Journeyer CUES 10 & 11 Speed Bikes:

Salsa Cycles announced this week the availability of Shimano CUES groups on their Journeyer gravel/adventure bike frames. CUES is Shimano's group set specifically made to work through several speed and set up types. So, there is a 9 speed, 10 speed, and 11 speed CUES all with cross compatibility using derailleurs, shifters, and crank sets across the range including drop bar and flat bar versions.  For a more detailed look at CUES see my article on the group HERE.

The drop bar CUES was a highly anticipated version of this mechanical shifted group as it was hoped that it would reduce costs and make a gravel bike more accessible to the masses. Salsa has dropped both 10 speed and 11 speed CUES equipped Journeyers now, so how do they stack up?

Journeyer CUES 10 (Image courtesy of Salsa Cycles)

Well, for context here a frame set is available foor the Journeyer which includes a carbon Waxwing v2 fork. The cost for the frame set is $799.00. The CUES 10 equipped version clocks in at $1,699.00 and the 11 speed CUES Journeyer is $1,999.00.

Okay, bicycle prices have increased by quite a bit. It used to be you could get an entry level road bike for under 1K. This Salsa model was called the Journeyman when it came out in the late twenty-teens and the base model was under 1K.

Comments: So, we're still talking base, entry level stuff here and now - just to get in on a Salsa, you are looking at over $500.00 more these days. This is if you want a Salsa Cycles bike. Plus, CUES is not getting rave reviews on the bicycle mechanic pages I scroll routinely. 

Of course, alternatives exist and one no6table choice in this category is State Bicycle Co.  Their All-Road 6061 gravel bike compares with the CUES 11 Journeyer. It has a 1X 11 speed "State Bicycle Co." drive train, (read: MicroShift Sensah derailleurs and shifters. Also a group set with mixed reviews), and a carbon fiber fork as well. It retails on State's site for $300 bucks less than the Salsa CUES 10 Journeyer. So, a pretty competitive price, but you do not get a dealer back-up, and all that might come with that. So, yeah..... Apples and oranges, but this is how the market stacks up these days on the entry level gravel bike end of things.

Image courtesy of TRP

Vistar/Classified Wireless Group Set Details Announced:

TRP sent out an email blast to its customer email list last week detailing its Vistar wireless group sets for gravel and road. Featuring wireless shifters and rear derailleur, the group is also paired with Classified's two speed internal geared rear hub. 

Users can leverage the TRP Vistar app to customize shifting, set up the system as a sequentially geared system, or use it manually as a 2 X 12/13. Cassettes are made from one block of metal and there are two ranges each for road and gravel to choose from. 

Comments: Since the system is app based, it probably will be upgradeable to future 13 and 14 speed systems. The Classified rear hub is kind of an acquired taste in that you need to buy into the limited range of Classified compatible wheel sets, although the choices are expanding all the time at this point. Still - none of your old wheel sets will work. Plus you have to buy a "Smart through axle" which acts as the receiver for the signal to make the rear internal gear switch. ($165.00) Plus a bar-end mounted controller unit as well. ($65.00)

If one could just use the system as a 1 X 12 and buy the derailleur, shifters, and controller unit, the price isn't so bad, but to get a two gear addition, equivalent to a front derailleur, which requires a special wheel and cassette? I still do not see the value in this way of doing things. 

NOTE: There is something you'll hear about next week which will really make Vistar/Classified look less attractive. Stay tuned.... 

Portrait of Charlie Farrow at Trans Iowa by Michael Roe

Tailwinds To Mr. Farrow On His Tour Divide Attempt:

Tour Divide starts today and one of the participants in this year's running is Charlie Farrow of Duluth, Minnesota.

You may not know Charlie, and I don't blame you. I know him from his participation in Trans Iowa for several years. Charlie has forged a legendary status just within the confines of Trans Iowa, but there is so much more to the man. Most people are completely unaware of his feats of cycling endurance. I wrote a bit about Charlie specifically in my Trans Iowa Stories series. This post gives you a taste of what Charlie's legacy is, and his story is still being written. 

As with many great figures in sports and elsewhere, Charlie Farrow would not like this being said of him. He would pass it off as his being just a guy living his life, most likely, if I know him at all. In my opinion, Charlie is a "cycling renaissance man", eschewing the electronic gadgets, latest gear, and instead he does things in his own, unique way. For instance, Charlie never used a cell phone during Trans Iowa, even though it was required equipment. Once, during Trans Iowa v8, he was so lost he had to wait until he reached a small town to use a phone so he could call me to get directions from where he was back to the course.

I have been told by my friend Ari Andonopoulos, a good friend of Charlie's, about Charlie's Summer rides where he takes off, with out connections to the World other than a sending of a post card occasionally from his route as he piled on the miles. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Charlie does Tour Divide without a GPS tracker and no cell phone. It's just the way he rolls.

Tailwinds, Charlie! I hope you reach your goal!

That's a wrap for this week! Get out there and ride those bicycles!
 

Friday News And Views

UCI's Version Of Gravel Worlds Set In Italy This October:

 Last week it was announced that the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) was going to hold its inaugural "Gravel Worlds" in the Veneto Region of Italy on October 8th - 9th according to a report on "VeloNews". (Note- I have also seen a report saying the date was the week before, October 1st-2nd)

The exact location will be announced at a later date, but it may have something to do with working around, or with the promoter of Serenissima Gravel, which is set to take place October 14th in the same region of Italy. 

The UCI World Gravel Tour dates for 2022

Comments: The UCI Pro Gravel Tour has already had a few races completed, but there is not a lot of chirping about it here in North America on traditional cycling outlets. Most of the coverage here has been focused on the Pro road tour, which is fully underway after two years of truncated, or no racing at all on the calendar. 

It will be interesting to see if that tour gains any traction with fans, media, and Pro level racers in the future. The race coming up in Fayetteville, Arkansas may generate some interest. So far, it has not really turned any heads here, and any Pro level gravel coverage has been mostly focused on things like the Belgium Waffle Races and Life Time Fitness' Grand Prix of Gravel races.

Image of a rescue of a TD rider from Fernie Search & Rescue last week.

Trouble On The Tour Divide:

I haven't written much on the Tour Divide in recent years because it has become something other than what it used to be, and I think it just isn't quite as impressive these days because of technology/social media. That's my take, might not resonate with you, and that's fine. It is just why I don't feel the need to feature the event here much anymore. 

However; this year it seems that extreme weather conditions have caught out a lot of riders. According to this story published on "Fernie.com", several racers have had to be rescued on the Tour Divide route who were suffering from 'hypothermia to broken ribs.' 

Comments: Interestingly, the story linked went to the Tour Divide website and copied and pasted the 'rules' for rider safety which pretty much exonerate the event from any responsibility or oversight by the event director. I'm guessing that was a pointed attempt to portray the event in somewhat of a negative light here. It doesn't help that reports of riders disregarding officials warnings and the report of a trashing of a room by some divide riders in Whitefish have been noted.

At any rate, the accessibility and popularity of Tour Divide as a "bucket-list" thing to do has about the same connotations as an ascent on Everest these days. So many success stories and little cautionary tales make it seem as though just about anyone could pull this off, and maybe, in the case of a decent weather year at Tour Divide, that might be true. 

But now, with extreme weather conditions happening more frequently, and with the extremely remote nature of this route in many paces, it might prove to be wise to come prepared for the worst. In fact, things are so weird this year that riders could face extreme snow/cold, flooding, and excessive heat conditions, wild fires,and drought all along the route this year. For more on risk taking and my thoughts on that, see this post from earlier this year, and pay attention to the closing paragraphs.

Trek is marketing a digital or print magazine to consumers.

Direct To Consumer Marketing Takes Form Of Magazine:

Trek has taken the challenge of direct-to-consumer marketing and are offering their own magazine. The "Performance Issue" was just released last week in digital form and a print magazine is available upon request. 

The issue details Trek sponsored athletes from road, gravel, and mountain biking with a look at some of their inclusivity programs and the Trek Travel arm of the company is also featured. Along the way you get the obvious adverts for Trek products.

Comments: With the homogenization of media in the cycling niche and the media corporatization which affects the number of independent media outlets, companies are left out in the wilderness when it comes to avenues to advertise and have reviews posted which show their products off in a good light. (Like they used to when companies would buy ads in publications to insure 'good reviews') Of course, there is social media. However; Trek seems to have moved on from the "influencer" marketing strategies employed by some companies which utilize athletes and their social media platforms and audiences. Trek now has taken control directly in terms of their narrative and with this digital release and print publication, they seem to be making their own path to consumers when it comes to marketing. A "Direct-To-Consumer Media", if you will. 

In fact, I've been told that at Trek dealerships it is required by salespeople to obtain "contact information" under the guise of "making an account for receipt" purposes. This data harvesting might be how Trek intends to grow its reach for the digital publication they have launched.

Interestingly, the issue I viewed online featured female athletes, people of color, and an indigenous cycling initiative with almost no "traditional cycling media" type stories at all. It's obvious that Trek means to make headway into the social changes advocated by those who criticized the company's messages heavily over the past few years. 

This is what amounts to the "catalog style" marketing from the 20th Century, updated for today's audience. In fact, Trek calls it a "catalog" and prompts its email subscribers to "Browse the catalog". It will be interesting to see if this catches on and if - or how- it affects traditional cycling media. Will there still be independent reviews of Trek/Bontrager gear, for instance? Or, will all that disappear and will you have to access the Trek "catalog" issues to see tests/reviews of their products by their sponsored athletes/influencers? Hard to say now. But it is an interesting take on marketing in the 21st century. 

From the Summer 2017 Geezer Ride

Geezer Ride Reboot?

During the Hall of Fame Ride last weekend the subject of the Geezer Ride I used to put on came up again. Specifically it was Martin Bunge who brought it up and said that he'd strongly consider doing it if I were to bring it back. Then later on Josh Lederman expressed the same, and after the ride he tried his best to give weight to his suggestion. Then, unbeknownst to those two, and independently of them, N.Y. Roll said that bringing back the Geezer Ride might be a good fundraiser for the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective. 

Okay, now this has gotten me to thinking....

First, many of you probably don't have a clue as to what it is I am speaking of here. So, a 'geezer ride' is an easy, casually paced, no more than 40-ish mile gravel course. It's prime aim is to provide a fun, relaxing, non-competitive arena for anyone that is curious about gravel riding and would like to try it out. 

The secondary purpose was to provide a shorter route which could be ridden without too much training or effort and have good company, a fun time, and a hang out opportunity afterword. 

I started the Geezer Rides in 2014 and they ran up through 2018. Of course, that was when I "retired" from events productions. And I had intended on keeping myself out of doing this entirely, which included even organizing group rides, (like last weekend's Hall of Fame Ride), and I was just going to do whatever rides I wanted. However; the suggestion by N.Y. Roll to make the Geezer Ride a benefit to the mission of the non-profit Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective has merit and I am interested in perhaps doing another Geezer Ride. 

So, what do you think? Comment below.....

Have a great weekend! Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions!