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Saturday, June 9, 2012

2012 Tour Divide

The Tour Divide started yesterday. It is a 2745 mile unsupported MTB race following the Great Divide from Banff, Canada to Antelope Wells, New Mexico. 104 riders started from Banff, 4 from New Mexico going north. One of the four was my friend, Taylor Zimmerman, aka Cjell Money (in the aviators) who rode to the starting point from somewhere in Costa Rica. A resourceful lad, for awhile he lived in a VW bus behind Black Sheep Cycles, cleaning the shop, filing and grinding, and helping in the construction of his own frame. He also worked into the wee Volkswagen hours making his own bags.























 (Schlumpf 2-speed)

7 comments:

Tom G. said...

Did he truly ride a fixed gear mountain bike from Costa Rica? Holy crap.

Gunnar Berg said...

No, he rode a vintage Trek he calls "Lanny", purchased from yours truly for $100. Until he built the Black Sheep, that was probably the most expensive bike he's ever owned. And he has regularly ridden from the West Coast to Minnesota, across the U.S., across India, etc.

Gunnar Berg said...

I don't think the Black Sheep is a fixed gear. It has a two speed front crank, with other speed options available by flipping and switching wheels.

mathieu van rijswick said...

Thanks for posting the picture of CM's bike. It's the kind of rig one expects from the guy who wrote the weirdly funny "Bill Bryson is a Pussy" blog.

Gunnar Berg said...

He is a weirdly funny lad.
This afternoon I had a long conversation with his mother. She said "Cjell" is the name he was to have at birth, but at the last minute they opted for the more mainstream "Taylor". As I was named "Neil" at birth and raised as "Gunnar", I understand. From this day forward, he is Cjell.

mathieu van rijswick said...

CM has been riding solo for most of the past 7 days; and for some 10days to come. That's tough. Riding in loose groups is a major factor in the survival of TD racers.
It is not clear to me how you tension the chain when switching chainwheels on this bike.

Gunnar Berg said...

I think you must add or remove links.
?
Cjell has ridden across the country solo, rode to the start line from Costa Rica solo, so I don't think that will be factor. It just depends how much gas he has in his tank and staying healthy.