Wednesday June 16th, 2010
| 2 Comments | Kid Riemer
Last evening we put on Ride The Divide to a packed house of 533 enthusiastic cyclists/movie-goers at the Riverview Theater in Minneapolis. What a fun night.
For me, it served as another reminder of what a great bicycle town Minneapolis is...towns really, as I should include the other half of the Twin Cities, St Paul as well. We have an uncanny ability to bring all sorts of cyclists from 'different' pursuits together.
Of course, a theater with most of the seats full doesn't make a film good. No worries there. I heartily endorse the film Ride The Divide. And I'm sure most of last night's audience would agree. It presents a delicate range of emotions and draws you into the lives of three racers, while also introducing the random cast of characters made up of those living along the route. Throw in spectacular scenery and a nice soundtrack to boot. Make sure you see Ride The Divide. You won't be disappointed. If you can, see it on the big screen so you can really soak in the big landscapes.
Special thanks go out to our Joe Meiser. Joe finished the 2009 Tour Divide race and was gracious enough to let us present his slideshow of the experience. It was a perfect warmup to the main event. Thank you Joe. It really added to the experience.
Special thanks also to Erik Mathy of One Gear, Once Cause who flew in for the event. We could only give Erik a few minutes to speak but he did a great job of quickly presenting his message that 'ordinary people can do extraordinary things and help make the world a better place'. Erik will be competing in the 2011 Tour Divide and you can follow his preparations on his website. He is also willing to help coach you if you have a passion and are interested in trying to help others. Contact him through his website.
And of course, thanks also to all who came out for the film last night. You helped raise just over $2300 for Erik's charity. Well done everyone. I hope you enjoyed the night.
Wednesday May 26th, 2010
| 2 Comments | Kid Riemer
Salsa is fired up to announce that we are bringing Ride The Divide to the Twin Cities for a limited one showing engagement! Mark your calendars folks!
The Riverview Theater in Minneapolis will be the only place to be on Tuesday, June 15th. The event will begin at 7pm. This will be an incredibly fun evening as we've got a couple special surprises for those that come to check out the show.
One note on ticket sales. Tickets purchased online cost $5 plus a $1.26 surcharge. Tickets at the door will cost $10. The only way to guarantee you'll have a seat for the film is to purchase a ticket online beforehand. We hope to see out our showing of this film.
Where is the money going? Proceeds from our showing will go to 2011 Tour Divide racer Erik Mathy's charity, One Gear, One Cause. Erik will be riding a singlespeed Salsa Fargo during the 2011 event.
Haven't yet heard of Ride The Divide movie?
Ride The Divide is an inspiring journey about the world’s toughest mountain bike race, which traverses over 2700 miles along the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains. The film weaves the story of three characters’ experiences with immense mountain beauty and small-town culture as they attempt to pedal from Banff, Canada to a small, dusty crossing on the Mexican border.
Mike, a 40-year old family man who uses this challenge to chart a new course in life; Matthew, a leader in extreme endurance racing who’s competing for his 5th time; and Mary, the ?rst female rider to race this route, will set out to accomplish what very few have been able to. Over the course of a few weeks they’ll attempt to climb over 200,000 vertical feet over the Rocky Mountains. That’s the equivalent of ascending Mount Everest from sea level seven times.
They’ll experience mental breakdowns, treacherous snow, hellacious blisters, and total fatigue. Above all, they’ll race with no support – at times in total isolation.
The tests of endurance and the accomplished moments throughout Ride the Divide prompt us to re?ect on our inner desires to live life to the fullest.
Check out the trailer below. It'll whet your appetite. More to come on this in the next three weeks! And please help spread the word about this folks. We'd love to fill the theater.
Yesterday, Jay Petervary sent over a few photos from he and Tracey's record-setting tandem ride during the Tour Divide.
This photo (courtesy of Tracey Petervary) was taken of Jay and Joe Meiser as they pushed their way up the connector trail on the new section in the Flathead area.
Certainly looks glamorous, doesn't it?
Thursday, we are taping the last of our Joe's Great Adventure videos. We thought we'd open the floor to questions.
So if you've got something you'd like to ask Joe about his experience in this year's Tour Divide, respond with your questions here and we'll work the best of them into our interview.
Joe's Tour Divide has been quite a journey. It seems like only yesterday he started in Canada. Now he's in New Mexico with just a few days left. Here are few thoughts, obersvations and predictions on Joe's Great Adventure. These are observations. Please do not confuse them with fact.
- I believe Joe is the only rider riding a drop bar rigid mountain bike. Personally I can't imagine doing 2700 miles on a flat bar.
- Joe has overcome some big obstacles thus far. We figure he's had at least 26-30 hours of time committed to working on his bike or waiting for parts after his mud, derailleur and derailleur hanger incident outside of Lima. He also did a frame swap in Steamboat, CO at Orange Peelz (Our great Salsa dealer).
- Despite Joe's set backs, his spirit seems good. This is the Joe we all know.
- Joe has caught the lead chase group. I think there are 6 or 7 riders in a pack right now. I predict that on one of these last days in New Mexico, Joe will attempt to make a Trans Iowa like day and pull away from the pack. We are predicting a 5th place for Joe, 4th if call out individual riders and put he Peterverys in their own crazy classification. Not bad considering the 30+ hours of bike work.
- If Joe get's 5th, it looks like we will have 2 Salsa's in the top 5 placing. Kurt is riding a Dos Niner and Joe is riding a Fargo. Both bikes are equiped with custom frame bags. Joe's are from Eric at Epic Designs. I'm not sure about Kurts.
Lastly, we can't wait for Joe's return so we can hear all his stories. We hope to share some of the best of them. Stay tuned.
If you've been following the Tour Divide and our man Joe Meiser, you know he's doing pretty well right now. Well...Joe's race just got interesting. The weather has been rough at best. From the sound of the call ins from his two riding partners Chris and Kurt, today involved tons of mud and pushing. Joe hit a brutal section going into Lima and had some critical mechanical issues. He's limped into Lima today and is staying there. After some bike work he expects to be back on route tomorrow. Other than this little tragedy, he is feeling great. Look for our man to head out as soon as possible. Go Joe!
Thursday June 11th, 2009
| 6 Comments | Kid Riemer
I just got off the phone with Joe who was gracious enough to call and let me 'grill' him the afternoon before the start of the Tour Divide. What follows is a rough notation of all that he had to say. Apologies to Joe if I get any of it terribly wrong.
Joe said travel to Banff was pleasantly uneventful. No problems with flights or the shuttle bus he took from Calgary to Banff. He did say the shuttle ride was through some truly beautiful countryside.
He says it is great fun to be with all these people that have come from all over the world. He met two guys from Ohio, one from Toledo and the other from Cleveland. Joe grew up in Michigan, not far from the one fellow.
There is a rider who shipped his bike to Banff...and it has not yet arrived. Terrible news for that person.
Joe was a bit surprised that some folks did not really have their gear dialed in yet, and are frantically trying to figure out where to mount cycle computers and other assorted gear.
Joe on the other hand said his stuff is ready to go, so he has been trying to relax. He said he spun around town for 20 minutes today and hit a grocery store. Said he can feel the altitude a bit and feels like his heart rate is up. He doesn't monitor his heart rate on a regular basis. There is a BBQ tonight that serves as the pre-race meeting and allows everyone to meet and mingle.
He said it is cool to see the different bikes and gear setups that folks are using. He's heard that record holder John Nobile isn't carrying a sleeping system and is intending to find shelter when needed. Joe agreed that he is probably carrying a minimalist emergency blanket at least however.
The weather today in Banff is gorgeous, but calls for some rain showers at times tomorrow.
He said there is a lot of talk among various riders of trying to break 20 days.
My understanding is that this year's course is taking a new, off-road route through the Flathead region. Joe said they still don't have the cue sheets for that section but are told they will receive them tonight. He's a bit nervous about that. He's been told that there are people out there flagging it today.
All in all, Joe said his nerves are good. He said he's had trouble sleeping today but has forced himself to lay down and just stay still for 20 minutes at a time.
He said he's excited and that it is a great group of people readying themselves for this adventure. He met two folks from the United Kingdom that have done the event before and have returned to do it again, bringing with them a few more of their countrymen. He said all the Brits are on 29'ers.
Tomorrow morning at 10 AM Mountain Standard Time the Tour Divide 2009 is on. Joe said he expects the race to break into several big pieces right from the start. There is a place to get some food 60 miles down the trail, and then it is something like another 70 or 80 miles to the next town. Some folks are aiming at 130 miles or so tomorrow, but he said some others are looking at more like 160.
What will Joe do? We will see tomorrow.
Joe, in case you are reading this tonight at an internet cafe or on a borrowed laptop, everyone here wishes you the best of luck. There has already been too much internal debate as to whether you will ever wash your shorts during this adventure...but I encourage you to do so if you get the chance!
Rubber side down! Ride safe! Enjoy the journey! -Kid
Thursday June 11th, 2009
| 0 Comments | Kid Riemer
During the last few years, there has been an unquestionable rise in interest in 'ultra' style cycling events. Not that long ago, these events often went unnoticed. There was little opportunity to 'follow the action'.
That really seems to have changed recently. The internet, blogs, podcasts, SPOT trackers, GPS units, sat phones, and other technological advances have made 'coverage' of long distance, remote races possible in ways that we never would have imagined not that long ago.
Like it or not, these advances have made it possible for us to watch what's going on. It turns a multi-day mystery into a multi-day event we can all enjoy.
You can see that on the right side of this page we've added a 'Where the heck is Joe?' link. It provides a link to Joe's SPOT Tracker as well as to the Tour Divide Leaderboard.
I'm sure Joe has a busy day ahead of him taking care of last minute preparations. While he's doing that he's probably busy 'trying to rest'. I'm sure many of you have experienced the weirdness off 'trying to rest' and understand the difficulty in that.
A couple interesting facts about this year's Tour Divide Race. Based on the published roster, I see entrants from 6 different countries. That list includes:
Austria Canada Germany Italy United Kingdom and the United States
Within the United States, 18 different states are represented:
Alaska Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Florida Iowa Kentucky Minnesota (Go Joe!) Ohio New Mexico North Carolina Pennsylvania Tennessee Texas Washington Wisconsin Wyoming
If you think about it, that's a pretty darn diverse list in a field of 41 racers. We wish them all a safe and fulfilling adventure.
Wednesday June 3rd, 2009
| 2 Comments | Kid Riemer
Today we bring you Part Three of Joe's Great Adventure: 5 Minutes In 50 Seconds
Joe heads north and west early next week en-route to Banff for the start of the Tour Divide on June 12th.
When the event begins will have Joe's SPOT tracker link on the Amigos page so you can follow his progress, and we'll provide links to the Tour Divide leader board as well.
Welcome to Part Two of Joe's Great Adventure. In this episode, we take a look at the gear that Joe will be carrying, and how he will carry it.
One thing I want to mention is that Joe will be riding in the Tour Divide this year. Both the Tour Divide and the Great Divide Race had originally been slated to start on the same date this year, but that has now changed. Joe's calendar is set for the original date so you'll see him listed on the roster for the Tour Divide.
Wednesday May 20th, 2009
| 5 Comments | Kid Riemer
We're excited to bring you the first installment of the Joe's Great Adventure project.
This summer, Joe Meiser, the head of our product design and development team, is taking part in the Tour Divide race. It is a hearty journey for sure, that will see him ride from Banff, Alberta, Canada to Antelope Wells, New Mexico, USA.
Joe has been gracious enough to let us share in his upcoming journey. We'll take a look at the event and his preparations, the bike and gear he'll use, and, later in the summer, a closer look at his experience on the trail.
With that, we invite you to join us on Joe's Great Adventure.
-Kid
ps...please put on your bald spot blinders. If you find it disturbing...just think how I feel!
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