kellyllek

yeah it's so off the grid I realized they might get a bit upset if I gave any details

There's a race here (and I'm sure plenty similar elsewhere) in Pennsylvania from one city to another over a few hundred miles. (on bike routes but still plenty of traffic). The next year the journey reverses. No fee, no advertising, no fans, no podium, no sponsors. You just call one dude with the blog site when you start. Call him to check in if you got some news. And call him if you finish or pull out. I think Tour Divide is somewhat the same way, or at least it used to be. But I like the idea, even if it's just a few of you locals, of going for it just as a multi-day excursion to test it all out. There should be no issue with knowing the route ahead of time because after the first year everyone would know it anyway, so you'd have changing each year. I assume there's not a lot of options though, and if you did change it, you'd have no 'records' to be broken. On thing that's cool about Tour Divide is you can show up anytime and do it; even race for the record. you don't have to do it when everyone else does.

I thought it was a joke when it first came out. But then Alex, who I hear has a good reputation, was interviewed on the Last Aid Station MTB radio podcast with Mark Stover. I don't remember all the details but he sure implied that the Munga was for real, that funding was secured, and that a pair of riders would most definitely be winning the big money. He also said they were having to limit entry to 450 to keep a good experience for everyone. He made it sound like they were overwhelmed with interest. Having had a chance (all be it very remote) of racing I have been consumed with the idea of it. I just can't imagine pretending this was a go when it wasn't. Though I also know how easy it is to get carried away with enthusiasm. I got suggestions to step back and prepare for it next year. But I gotta say, though I believed it was a go this year, I didn't really think it would be sponsor or entry sustainable and I imagined it'd be a one-off event. Right now it's looking more like a non-event.