Tour Divide, hardcore friends

Friends: a person attached to another by feelings of affection, personal regard.  Those who give assistance, supporters. 

Hardcore: unswervingly committed; uncompromising; dedicated.  I’d throw in dauntless too. 

Craig and Tori.  Similar but different.  100% awesome.  I know you’re departing at different times, so this isn’t meant to come across as oblivious to that fact, nor “one size fits all” in addressing your departures. 

You two are bar none the two most impressive cyclists, err, adventurers, err people.  Period.  You repeatedly take challenges head on that dwarf even the dreams of others.  You define hardcore.  I’d go so far as to say the club members view it as an honour we wear the same red and white deadgoat jerseys to be honest.  You’re so firmly in the books of legend in Calgary (and beyond) that it’s just a straight up pleasure to witness and absorb some of the experiences vicariously.  Your fans are among those who perhaps ride close enough to even conceive the challenges you take on, to those who are oblivious yet still find it inspiring.  Your existence and creation of your own adventure is an ongoing gift to those around you.

Craig I wish you had a little parakeet on your shoulder to translate what goes through your mind and eyes to written word; failing that I can’t wait till the pub stories later this summer.  Your riding thus far this year has been fast – freakishly fast.  The deadgoat double header weekend at COP cemented that.  Your ABA students were lucky to have such an experienced yet accessible teacher!

Tori your written words are motivating to all who take the time to read them.  I recall again for the sake of this story the time I got on a bus chilly early morning bus at BC Bike Race, took a seat along with a 50 year old woman from the Caribbean whom I’d never met before, who revealed she entered the event last minute by an email request to the race organizer.  She wanted something outside her bounds for her notable birthday year, and was inspired that she really could do anything she put her mind to… inspired by this Canadian woman whose writing she found on the internet, whom she’d never met yet hoped to one day, who took on grander [bicycle] feats than most people allow themselves to.  I said I found her feats inspiring too, before she even described whom she was speaking of, because it was obvious... imagine that.  I’m not a believer in the big B sense of the word, but you’ve got to believe in something for occurrences such as that to be real.  Tori’s Tour Divide 2011 begins here, bottom up for reference.

You’ll have elated highs out there I expect, but also lows.  If telling your legs to “shut up legs” like Jens doesn’t yield the desired effect, please remember that there’s a lot of people wishing you well at each moment, a lot of deadgoats, Calgarians, bike friends, family and fans who’d put in a pull, pedal stroke, or hand on your back if they could have even kept up long enough to be of assistance.  Yes, you are alone out there in the vast American west.  But you’re never alone when you’ve cultivated such a network; just look at the coincidence above.

Good luck and I hope you take the adventure as far… well… as we know you two can. 

The Grand Tour of MTB
Banff, Alberta, Canada – Antelope Wells, New Mexico, USA
One Stage: 2,745mi/4,418km
Self Supported Racing
Great Divide Mountain Bike Route

“Decidedly not for sprinters, this battle royale braves mountain passes and windswept valleys of the Continental Divide from the hinterlands of the Canadian Rockies to badlands of the Mexican Plateau.”

I’ll append that this is approximately 1,000km longer than this year’s Tour de France, however it’s sans team cars, scheduled hotels, mechanical support, team chefs, massages and soigneurs. Just think about that for a second…