September 6, 2024
I am writing this in a train towards the French city of Menton. Tomorrow, I will start the Alps Divide: an ultra cycling race that should take me (if everything goes well) to Thonon-les-Bains, 1’000km and 32’000 meters of climbing later.
This sounds daunting, however I feel this is going to be the easy bit. Just getting here has been as challenging as an ultra event:
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2 trips to the ER with our son Ben in 10 days (he’s fine but may stay away from his trampoline for a while… or not)
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The same little dude down with a big fever over the last few days – I’ve managed to stay healthy so far
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Train cancellations that forced me to rebook my trip twice, the second time late last night
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And the usual last minute stuff that happens when you embark on such an adventure: urgent work projects to finish instead of doing those essential test rides, bike parts ordered online that are still sitting in a warehouse god knows where, reading the rider’s manual way too late to make any change to my setup…
Several times, I thought I would not make it but here I am. I’ll soon arrive in Marseille, close enough to the start of the race that I could even ride non stop and make it in time to the start line if a sudden strike cancelled every train to Menton. Not that I am wary of French trains (in fact, it’s been quite a pleasant experience so far) but yeah, I’m starting to relax.
Maybe it’s time I have a closer look at the route? According to the event website, “The Alps Divide is a self-supported, single-stage, mixed-terrain bikepacking challenge, weaving along the Western Alps, from the Mediterranean Sea to Lake Geneva.”
The komoot map confirms that it will be long, gnarly and beautiful. I’ll ride the famous Via del Sale for the first time, we’ll go to almost 3’000 meters at the Colle del Sommeiller and there will be several hike-a-bike sections. In between, I’m hoping for beautiful gravel and tarmac, good coffee in Italy and dozens of pains au chocolat in France.
I don’t know much more, because this is the first edition of the event. How hard are the climbs? Where will I sleep? How to resupply in the high mountains? We shall see, and I love this. I know Katie, who organises the event with her partner Lee. We met several times throughout the 2015 Transcontinental Race and have stayed in touch since then. She loves a good adventure, they live in the French Alps and have spent may days (weeks?) riding around to find the perfect route.
Knowing Katie, I expect that it will be slow. 1000km: that sounds doable in 3-4 days. But with close to 50% of gravel and 32’000 meters of climbing? The time limit is 8 days and a few hours, I’ll be happy if I make it to be honest.
Also, the weather will be key. The second half of the summer has been great in the Alps… until this week. It’s raining every day and temperatures are plummeting. No matter how many times I refresh my weather app every day, the forecasts aren’t promising. Winter clothes are packed, another last minute decision I took yesterday.
At least my body seems ready. I have not ridden as much as I wanted nor have I done any full scale test prior to the race but I feel fit enough and I am healthy – so far. And one thing I’ve done is to improve my off-road riding skills: Ben loves mountain biking and we’ve spent many hours in bike parks and on flow trails over the summer. I’m still a roadie at heart and I can barely keep up with him but it should help. In any case, we had a ton of fun.
Last but not least, I learnt a lot during the two off road events I’ve done this year. At the Léman Gravel Challenge, I was able to ride almost non stop for 22 hours, but then I was totally wrecked. The race was over (it was ‘only’ 350km or so) and I won’t be able to do the same here: it’s best to sleep a few hours at night when you would be slow anyway and be fast(ish) during the day. At the Gravel Trans Jura, the weather was horrendous for 3 days and I got cold because I had packed way too light. This time, the rain pants, shoe covers, thick rain jacket and extra pairs of gloves and socks are weighing down my bags.
A big part of the fun to watch and participate in ultra events is to look at what bikes participants have chosen to bring. For me, it’s a bit of a worry because all I’ve seen so far on social media are dropbar mountain bikes, gravel bikes with humongous tires and all those Frankenbikes that have started popping up in recent times.
My setup is classic, for a reason that is good and bad at the same time. I had every intention to use new stuff this year, like a mountain bike with aero bars or some SPD sandals to help with the hike-a-bike (just kidding). But life got in the way, I did not have time to test anything and I hate gambling with equipment because so many other things can already go wrong in a bikepacking event without taking things you’ve never used.
So I’ll ride my trusty Scott Addict Gravel Tuned with my usual set up:
Group: Shimano GRX 815 Di2 2×11 (30×40 and a 11-40 cassette… likely not enough)
Wheelset: DT Swiss GRC1100 Disc
Tires: Schwalbe G-ONE R 700×40
Front light: Lezyne Mega Drive 2400 and Garmin Varia UT 800 (can also be used as a headlamp)
Rear light: Garmin Varia RTL 515
Computer: Garmin Edge 1040 Solar
Bags: Apidura
Is all of the above optimal for this event? Probably not. But the bike should stay in one piece and I trust I will still feel most of my fingers when (and if) I cross the finish line.
I’ve packed a large number of Velocio clothing items that will help me stay comfy during the race, including the Trail Anorak and the Alpha Long Sleeve Jersey (I nicknamed it The Muppet Show because it’s warm and fuzzy). My Luxe Bib Short should keep my rear end happy, as much as possible.
The Scott Sport Trail Evo Boa shoes are maybe the only item that I’ve never used in a race. High end, extra stiff mountain bike shoes are not made for walking and I don’t think that they were designed to be worn 18+ hours a day either. I’m curious to see if ‘trail’ shoes will be more comfortable, without too much of a performance loss. Hopefully I won’t test them in fresh snow at the Colle del Sommeiller… And lastly, I’ll wear the Julbo Rush RX glasses. Their photochromic lens is perfect for bikepacking by day and by night.
To follow the race, head to the dotwatcher.cc website which will feature a map with lots of dots slowing moving across the mountains and the excellent commentary of Peta McSherry. On Instagram, follow @alpsdivide to check out images of tired cyclists and beautiful landscapes by the event media team.
I may post myself (@aswisswithapulse)… or not. The madness of the last few weeks has been tough on me and I may just decide to stay in my happy, wet and cold bikepacking bubble. Ride, eat, sleep, repeat: an introvert’s dream.
Thanks to Lillie and Ben for letting me do this. I’ll finish tired and miserable (if I finish) but I’ll be so happy to see you again, do the dishes and try to follow Ben down the flow trails. But no more trips to the ER, please.
Alain
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