170 off road miles a day for 16 days in a row
You always think your ride was epic and a real achievement but then there’s always someone who’s done something far more impressive. In this instance it’s Jeff Branham who entered, and won, the Tour Divide race from Banff, Canada to Antelope Wells, New Mexico which is 2700 miles away. The race is entirely un-supported and riders take all their kit with them which is tough enough as it is but this is all off road. The interview with him is brilliant if a little nutty.
Oh, my demon was not enough sleep. I went out hard in the beginning, too hard and didn’t sleep much at all in the first three days, none the first night, 1.5 hours the second night, 3 hours the third, also did around 600 miles. I cooked myself right off the bat and was tired for the rest of the race. I would say I slept 3-5 hours a night most of the time. I tried to push it again at the end and sleep less, but ended up taking cat naps to keep my eyes open…
Well worth reading the interview to realise just how far we can push our bodies and minds if we really want to.
Via Andy Waterman