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Two Causes + One Long Bike Race = 2011 Tour Divide, Here I Come!

On June 11, 2011 I will be racing the 2,745 mile Tour Divide, billed as the toughest mountain bike race in the world. It traverses five states and two Canadian provinces on a path entitled the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. This will be my second time on the Divide as I raced it in 2010. In conjunction with this event I will be collecting donations for the following two awesome organizations.

1 B-Line: Sustainable Urban Delivery

2 Sauvie Island Center

I have chosen these two for a number of reasons, I wanted to send money towards something that involved the following: bikes, organics, produce, local stuff, kids. Between those two organizations my bases are covered. I came to know each of these through my work at an organic produce warehouse called Organically Grown Company.

So, let me tell you about how awesome both organizations are.

B-Line
B-Line has been delivering electric trike-loads of produce for nearly two years now. This excerpt from their website sums up how awesome there are in less words than I will so allow me to copy and paste.

B-Line specializes in sustainable delivery to the urban core. We partner with businesses large and small to take care of their downtown and close-in delivery needs so that they don’t have to deal with the challenges of conventional trucks and vans. This, in turn, creates a more sustainable, livable community for all.

Founded in Portland, OR in February of 2009, B-line has begun to make our mark. Over 10,000 deliveries and 12,000 miles later we have reduced CO2 emissions by an estimated 54,000 pounds, delivered approximately 400,000 pounds of organic produce, provided hours of sustainable, eye-catching advertising for our partners, promoted the greenest beverage launch event to date, and put a smile on thousands of faces who suddenly realize what a tricycle can do.

That pretty much sums it up, if you don't think they are awesome by that, just take a look at the trikes.

I've been enamored with B-Line ever since I first discovered them at my work. I've packaged up their produce orders many times and I'm proud to say it. So yeah, they're a cool company, but then they created the B-Share program and elevated their awesomeness to a whole new level. This nifty little video explains it pretty well.



So this covers bikes, local stuff, organics, and produce, but what about the kids??? Enter the Sauvie Island Center.

Sauvie Island Center

The Sauvie Island Center increases food, farm and environmental literacy in the community by providing hands-on educational field trips for elementary school children. The trips take place on the Sauvie Island Organics farm and on the grounds of the 120 acre Howell Territorial Park, managed by Metro.

A trip to Sauvie Island Center is a rich and unique opportunity for Portland elementary school students to visit and explore the sixteen acre Sauvie Island Organics farm. Kids learn about plant parts by finding them on the farm, and tasting them fresh from the field. They learn about the role insects, birds and animals play in the larger food web by exploring a forested area in the park. They learn about healthy soil and decomposition by digging through the compost piles on the farm.

Our trips also include the Grow Lunch Garden, where children plant, tend, harvest and eat fresh vegetables from their own field. There’s no better way to learn about healthy food, healthy bodies and a healthy planet.

If you live in Portland, you've probably been to Sauvie Island. It's a beautiful chunk of farm land just to the north of town, perfect for a rural bike ride or even an escape by car. It's lush grasses and awesome views make it seem almost magical. So, what a better place to send kids to learn about organics and life on the farm? Being a vegan and working at an OG produce warehouse, the Sauvie Island Center seems like a natural choice to help sustain what is very important to me. While it may not be as hip as B-line's B-Shares program, the Sauvie Island Center is the perfect compliment. One is about feeding people and the other about sustaining healthy food. Pretty much the basics of human life the way I see it. Also, food is one third of the "Eat, Sleep, Ride" motto of Divide racing.

Why donate?
Because the causes are rad.

How to donate?
Just going to either of the following sites and donate via PayPal. Just be sure in the comments to input NathanJonesTourDivide for tracking.
http://b-linepdx.com/b-shares/
http://www.sauvieislandcenter.org/

Then watch http://www.trackleaders.com/tourdivide to watch the race unfold.

Highway 99 Superloop

On Saturday the 15th I'm going to be doing a day long jaunt through the valley. It's a gigantic loop of 99 E and W through Oregon. Pretty decent shoulder almost the entire way. It's about 210 miles. I'm looking to knock it out in 18 hours.

highway 99 superloop

Share your Adventures with SpotAdventures

2011 TD LOI and other ramblings

I sent off my letter of intent for the Tour Divide. The current holder of the title "World's Toughest Mountain Bike Race". Some of you may know that I did a race similar to this last year titled the Great Divide Race which is about 5 percent shorter.

So, here I am throwing my name into the ring for this thing when I had said before that I had no intention of racing it this year and that I was going to wait for 2012. Well, months passed and the body healed. The bike, which I raced 2500 miles this summer, looks to be in fantastic condition as well. "Why not just give everything a thorough rework and go for it?" I thought. My race ended near Steamboat Springs, CO last year. From that point I kind of limped slowly to the finish, weakened by malnutrition. The divide is tough, vegan life on the divide is MENTAL! Drastic steps are going to need to be taken so I don't hit the wall like last time.

Step one, I've quit caffeine and beer/alcohol mostly until the race. It's a big step, I live in the northwest where the best coffee seems to explode from every corner and the same for the beer as well. I don't expect to completely abstain from both, but for the most part that's what's going to happen. I will have to wait until July for a chocolate espresso stout, sigh.

Step two, find a cause to donate too. I'm looking for things that are or involve (bikes, organics, produce, local stuff, kids) Pretty straight forward. I'm looking to get this nailed down in January in one way or another. Donations seem easy right?

Me: Want to make a donation for my bike race this summer? I'm only asking a penny a mile.
Somebody else: Oh yeah, for what cause?
Me: XXXX cause
Somebody else: Wow that sounds great, how far you riding?
Me: 2,745 miles.
Somebody else: I can't add that fast, sorry I don't think I will be able to donate.

Or maybe people just won't add it up! Anyway, I'm joking here if you can't tell. If you have any rad causes you think I should support along previously mentioned lines, please hit me up! On to step three!

Step three, transcend! I'm going to need to adopt the lifestyle of a monk, but with considerable amounts more excercise and eating. Being a vegan, and having given up caffeine and booze, the only area of weakness left is in my stretching routines. This is mainly because my flexibility was destroyed racing the divide this year and I'm going to ensure that it doesn't happen again. I think when Feb rolls around I should have a new routine developed to triple down on my stretching.

Everything else should be business as usual. Eat, sleep, ride! Coming up the next weekend will be a 209 mile tour of 99 east and west in hopefully a scant 18 hours. The spot tracker will be active! Here's to 2011 being the year of the bike!

A day at the car wash - Prepping for battle

Here I am at the border of Canada and Montana, yeah that was before my rack broke and I had to ditch the panniers.

So it's day 17 on the GDMBR. I wanted to be done by now, things in life don't always work out. But hey, I'm still in it and that's what matters. So today I'm taking some down time in Salida (suh-ly-duh) Colorado. It's nice, only at 7500 feet as opposed to the previous craphole of the South Park high desert/valley which sits at a mere 9700 feet. It's easy to see why the south park creators chose that as it's namesake. It sucks out there, apparently the average temp last december was minus 13. Can you say, BARF? Anyway, I've got some infection going on in my legs where there was an allergic reaction to sunscreen so I drew the line right after getting out of bed this morning and said "REST DAY!!!!" So I've been eating, slowly prepping for the 940 miles I have left to pedal. The main thing I did today was do a total rework of the bike at a carwash here in town.

So I stripped down Conqueror Divide (yes I gave my steed a name, I find it fitting). I delicately pressure washed it and it looks almost like new. It's handling the whole ordeal pretty well, probably better than my body is. It would have been nice if I could have built a new body up for the race too but that's life, huh?

So next came the bulk of the work, analyzation and classification of all the gear. I figured if I was going to take a day off, I best get my ducks in a row so at least the next few days are brainless pedaling (something that is a lofty goal out on the divide to say the least). But it is possible, I've found with the mini-reboots I've done throughout the trip that they have helped immensely and I do feel that this day off is going to give me a much needed shot in the arm. So anyway, on to the fun stuff.

Here's the full spread everything pulled out of the packs and put into its respective pile. Helmet/sunglasses pile, backpack pile, misc pile, tool pile, med pile, camp pile, pack pile.

Pile 1: Helmet and sunglasses

Pile 2 (the backpack load): Canned pears, 2 water bladders, jolly ranchers, koala crisp, oriental trail mix, strawberry trident (with xylitol), clif builder bars, luna bars, and the SPOT tracker (that's what keeps leeting you guys know where I'm at. Honestly I can't believe all that crap fits in my backpack, but it does and that's all that matters!

Pile 3 (the misc pile) Maps, bear mace, camera, seldom used mp3 player (I'm just scared some redneck is gonna knock me out with their fourwheeler or RV.) batteries, a note from my mother to keep me from getting lonely, my GPS (courtesy of OGC) and then some USB cables for the GPS and camera plus the garmin install disc for the GPS. Yes what a pain, I have to install garmin's propietary program to update my GPS out in the middle of nowhere because it only holds 1,000 waypoints and the route is 2.079 so I have to update just barely twice, a real PIA.

Pile 4 (tools and parts): So we've got a bag full of cables and housing, a bag full on little misc parts, multi-tool, leatherman, 3 bottles of chain lube, 3 patch kits, duct tape (hey where'd my electrical tape go?) spoke wrench, spare spokes, pump, kevlar emergency spokes, a tube, paperclips and rubber bands, hose clamps, zip ties, and a crappy can opener that barely works (but barely is all you need on the divide!)

Pile 5 (clothing): My OGC Shine t-shirt, 2 handkerchiefs, 2 pairs of socks (warm and cool), arm warmers, leg warmers, a pair of long finger gloves, cut off gloves, cycling cap, and skull cap. All of this has come in pretty handy so far, defintely glad it's all there!

Pile 6 (meds and emergency): A shot of rum, lighters, matches, emergency blanket, sting/poison extractor, aloe gel, some skin cream, lemongrass mosquito repellant, chamois butt'r, pure aloe, water purification drops, aspirin, ibuprofen, acetimethophen, naproxen, vivarin, a wet wipe, soap, magnesium fire starter, lip balm, emergen-c, and the first aid kit

Pile 7 (camping and layers): Mountain Hardware Ultralamine 32 degree 2 lb mummy sleeping bag, Big Agnes 78 inch x 2.5 inch insulated sleeping pad, a synthtetic jacket, rain paints and jacket (barely used, 6 years of living in portland has taught me that it really has to open up before I even think about using rain gear, seriously I think I've worn it for about an hour in the tetons and that was it!

Pile 8 (the packs): frame bag, seat bag with two spare slimed tubes, trunk bag, gas tank, backpack, and bungees (life on the divide is hopeless without bungees)

And here it is, proof that all that crap does indeed fit in the packs and on the bike. Conqueror Divide is ready for another showdown!

Crap is this why I keep talking so effeminately?

http://ping.fm/UltDm

Heard about these on the mercycorps site, sounds right up my alley. highenergybiscuits

http://ping.fm/AZHKv