4D THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2007

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2,490 miles, one gear, no coasting

Denver’s Dave Nice to attempt ultra-endurance mountain bike race along Continental Divide
By Brendan Leonard causeofitsHerculeannature,”Teas-
leonardb@YourHub.com dale says. “This makes the Tour de
France look like an afternoon joy-
Dave Nice, a 26-year-old Denver ride.”
resident,may beyoureverydayclas- One of the seven riders who
sicallytrainedFrenchchefandwhis- dropped out of last year’s race was
key distillery employee who enjoys Dave Nice, who had to, after his
160-mile bike rides before work, but bike, with everything on it, was sto-
this June, he’s going to try to do len on the second day of the race
somethingspecial:Ridea fixed-gear while he took a nap alongside the
mountain bike on the longest road near Bigfork, Mont. Nice
off-road, self-supportedbike race in walked 35 miles to Polson, Mont.,
America. and spent the last of his cash calling
The Great Divide Race follows a Scott Taylor, owner of Salvagetti Bi-
2,490-mileroutealongtheContinen- cycle Workshop in Denver, who
tal Divide, from Roosville, Mont., to wired him enough money for a bus
Antelope Wells, N.M. Nice will have ticketbacktoDenver.
to carry everything he needs to sur- This year, he’ll keep a closer eye
vive — camping on his bike. His
gear, repair goal is to finish
tools, first aid in less than 25
supplies, food
and water —
“This makes the days,hesays,rid-
ing an average
and the lighter
and smaller he
Tour de France 110 to 115 miles
per day, if possi-
keeps his load,
the better, be-
look like an ble. “It’s a
chance to push
cause it will
have to fit on a
afternoon myself, but it’s a
chance to spend
small rack on
his handlebars,
joyride.” 25 days thinking
and meditat-
a small pack un- Aaron Teasdale, Adventure
Cycling Association spokesman ing,” Nice says.
der his seat, and “It’scrossingthe
a 1,000-cubic country, it’s
inch backpack. through the
He wants the bike and the gear to heartof theRockies.”
weigh less than 40 pounds, not COURTESY MATEO LEYBA
He’llpedalallofthosemiles.Hees-
countingfoodand water. timates he’ll need to eat 3,000 to Nice proves he’s not just a fair-weather mountain biker, at Green Mountain Park in Lakewood on Feb.
All this on a bike that has one 4,000 calories a day, of whatever he 14. The temperature was 17 degrees that night.
gear. Nice rides a fixed-gear bike, a can find on the remote route. His
single-speedbike withoutgears or a mother is sewing him a one-pound single 24-hour period is 276, topping
freewheel— when the wheels move, down quilt to use as a sleeping bag, five mountain passes, although he
thepedalsmove.No coasting. andhe’lltakea 28-ouncetarptentto says it was “mostly pavement.” Great Divide Race route
The Great Divide Race itself is no sleep under. He’s got a stove he Once home, he “proceededto sleep The GDR covers 2,490 miles, and 85 percent of the route is off
small challenge,even on a non-fixie. madefroman aluminumBudweiser forabout16 hoursstraight.”
pavement. Riders will climb 200,000 feet over the course of the ride
Starting at noon June 15, the ride bottle, which will run on Heet gas
climbs more than 200,000 vertical line antifreeze. He’ll purify drinking
But can he handle 20-some along the Continental Divide.
straight 110-mile off-road days on
feetover 2,490 miles, spanningMon- water from streams and lakes with
tana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado chlorinedioxidetablets. his fixed-gearbike? Aaron Teasdale
and New Mexico, north to south. Nice managed to ride 937 miles in is less than optimistic. “I wish that
The route was officially mapped in snow-covered Denver during the guy all the best; I hope he does it,”
1998bytheAdventureCyclingAsso- monthofJanuary,another1,178dur- Teasdale says. “I think his chances
ciation,a Missoula,Mont.,nonprofit ing February, and had almost 1,200 areprettyslimofevenfinishing...it’s
dedicated to developing bicycle milesin thefirsthalf ofMarch. a great idea; it’d be a seriousbadass
routesthatexploreAmerica. His personal record for miles in a thingtodo.”
The Great Divide Route was in-
tended to be a cross-country
off-road route that riders took 70 or
80 days to complete, according to Want to help?
Aaron Teasdale, spokesman for the • What: Dave Nice is holding a fundraiser to help pay for his race
ACA. That was until John Stamstad expenses. $25 helps Dave and pays for all the Flying Dog beer,
rode the entire route in 18 days, 5
hoursand 37 minutesin 1999.
Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey and Snooze food you can ingest.
The first official Great Divide • Where: Snooze, 2622 Larimer St., Denver
Racetookplacein 2004, and in three • When: 5:30-9:30 p.m. April 18
yearsofcompetition,onlysevenpeo- • If you can’t attend, you can still send donations to Dave Nice, c/o
plehaveevenfinishedtherace. Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey, 2405 Blake St., Denver, CO 80203. SOURCE: ADVENTURE CYCLING ASSOCIATION
“It’sworthyof attentionif only be-