DivideITT and Conquer Dense Deposit Disease 2009

Steve's stories from the Divide and looking ahead to 2010

2009-07-06T13:22:00.000-07:00

I gave the decision to pull out of the Tour Divide a lot of thought, and decided that this year’s effort, with the slow progress through cold rain and mud, on balance was simply just a bike ride that was time to end. With a good night’s sleep in Elk Horn, I made the decision. I learned, through this experience, that while I can do as many miles as I want on the bike, for me the miles need the balance of experiencing the wilderness that is the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. To be sure, I had moments of adventure brought about by a requisite driving focus on a hundred miles a day and with the trail conditions. The scales tipped in terms of 100 mile days this year. Eight days – Banff to the tip of Montana – provided me with both great stories that will continue to live in the storytelling performances that make up the project, “The Poetics of Endurance,” and a more complete distillation of the project Divide ITT as we raise awareness and research funding for Dense Deposit Disorder.
Sleeping in an out-house near Whitefish Divide and getting lost on the mountain outside of Basin,while not particularly enjoyable, involved moments of entertainment too: trying not to spill my pee bottle while peeing zipped up in my sleeping bag and looking like a caterpillar, my legs cramping when I got on my knees, left me laughing in the morning as I ate the last quarter of my 2 day old burrito.
A moment of clarity and adventure? I’m not sure Lore liked the fact that I was more confident of the outcome when pulling folks from the river in freezing temperatures, than when I was lost in the wilderness, cold, wet and freezing that night. I knew that if I continued that night, I would only get myself more lost and that nothing further could be done until sunlight. When I awoke, I simply back-tracked. As it turned out, the mud had contributed to more folks getting lost that night above Basin. Each time someone followed tire tracks, more tracks were laid down in the wrong direction. Eight folks ended up lost and sleeping up top in a relative snow field, most of us not knowing others were only, maybe, a mile way. I was high enough up, (9,000 ft) that when the sun rose, no other peaks blocked the sunrise. I slept with every piece of clothing on and dry bags over my feet, using my rain suit as a vapor barrier. The ¼ of a 14” burrito actually fueled me into Basin quite quickly after regaining the route.On Whitefish Divide I was caught in a thunderstorm, with the hairs on my neck rising with the lightning. I made my way into a National Park, and rather than sleep in one of the grizzly cages for campers that dangles from a tree, I slept in a warm out-house – a Montana Hilton! Who would have thought that some of the most important skills to have for this year’s event would have been survival skills. In the course of getting through days of rain and 30-41 degree temps, I returned every few hours to two critical actions. I would adopt the disposition of “party on”. In an entertaining way (and definitely not what I had imagined would be the case), riding up hill was more enjoyable than coming down the side of a given mountain, since climbing meant generating heat and descents meant frozen hands and uncontrollable chills.
An event like this can be as much about acceptance and the clarity of intentions as it is about endurance, and it’s that play of the world I really enjoy. Interestingly, while at age 51, I have lots of experience riding endurance events and soldiering on mentally, it is also much easier to accept, that enjoyment of the ride is as important as getting there. It’s the pace that drives this mediation. I am a tourer with the inclination to challenge myself with daily mileage. Folks were incredible all along the way, from support at home - my wife Lore and Lynne Lanning – to conversations: David Pals, Steve Merkel and Jon Billman. Seeing and talking with Jeff at the café in Basin was so good for the spirit, and so was my ride with Paul over Fleecer to Elkhorn. And, Rob Liphiemer in Butte is in a league of his own in terms of hospitality.

At the end of the day, this year’s event was about Jenna and Kidneeds. Jenna has kept me focused on the main event. For this reason, it’s great to be able to say, “let’s begin now planning next year’s event”. Tentative ideas include, a week of hundred mile days, Butte to Colorado, where folks will be invited to join the tour for a length and pace of their choosing. We want to create a map of lots of blue dots, each focused on Kidneeds.

Best, Steve

Welcome to DivideITT and Conquer DDD

2009-06-02T08:00:00.001-07:00

Welcome!
June 12 at high noon, my friend Steve McGuire ( left), left the starting gate on one of the world's toughest bike races to raise money for Kidneeds' DDD research. Steve began the 2,745 mile bike race from Banff, Canada to Antelope Wells, New Mexico to help find a treatment for people with Dense Deposit Disease (DDD). Including me, Jenna Smith(right)Why?

DDD is a rare autoimmune kidney disease that usually starts in childhood. Many of the patients will develop kidney failure requiring dialysis. I began dialysis sixteen years ago, when I was seven years old. That's when I first met Steve. Later my dad gave me a kidney, but DDD recurs in most transplanted kidneys. Steve and Kidneeds are racing to find a treatment, so we can prevent other patients from ever needing dialysis.

Sunday night, after 8 punishing days of pushing himself to the limit of his physical endurance, Steve realized that his bid to finish the race was over. He said that he stayed in as long as was possible and hoped that Jenna wouldn't be disappointed. We will miss following his dot down the trail, but the hope that Jenna is given by Steve's willingness to undertake a challenge of this magnitude in order to make her own challenging path easier, is an enormous gift. When I told Jenna he hoped she wouldn't be disappointed, she said, "Steve would have pushed himself way beyond most people's limits before he would stop, so I know he needed to stop. I just hope he'll go for a bike ride with me when he gets back."

Steve's goal was to get every one of the 2745 miles of the Divide Race sponsored. He physically and emotionally gave everything he could of himself to this effort. The challenge to sponsor the miles remains. Your support is critical to the successful outcome of his efforts and limited to the physical challenge of pushing the blue button below. Please donate even $10 for a mile and help make this incredible effort a success! We will post videos of his ride and stories from his ride throughout the next few weeks.

Thank you from all of us with DDD!

Donations can also be made to: Kidneeds, GCRCF

mail to: PO Box 1324 Iowa City, Iowa 52244-1324

Learn more about how Kidneeds, has become the world's leading research foundation for DDD, from a grassroots effort started in Iowa. (right)

*See the Sponsorship section for how to donate specific miles.*

Contact us: divideitt@gmail.com

Maps,Podcast and Trip Information

2009-06-02T07:57:00.001-07:00

Where is Steve today? Track Steve' real time progress from the main page links or below.

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/gogl.jsp?glId=0ixZkRRJFEpLmxCF7IRuAZdxMuMiQbalv

Check out the riders' time splits: http://tourdivide.org/leaderboard/2009/splits

Fly Thru of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Ride

The Rules http://tourdivide.org/the_rules

The following link is to some of the steepest climbs.
http://home.pacbell.net/hillmann/GreatDivide/climbs.html#03

To follow the weather in the area he is riding, you can click on the below link. We will update daily to reflect his position.
http://ww2.weatherbug.com/ ( Leaving Trailspar, Montana on Mon. June 15)

To follow DivideITT chatter: go bottom of page and go to last page. http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,295.0.html

To hear podcasts from rider interviews: http://mtbcast.com/wordpress/

Experiences from last year's ride:

http://outside.away.com/outside/destinations/200808/great-divide-bike-race-4.html (steve's picture from Outside magazine. Submitted by Dave Pals).

http://www.enduro-tour.blogspot.com/

http://bikemag.com/features/onlineexclusive/08_tour_divide_start/

Matthew Lee, last year's winner, says: “Tour Divide is the most demanding ultra-endurance mountain bike race on the planet,” Lee says. “It's 100-percent self-supported for almost 3,000 miles with very little access to communication or emergency help.

Steve's Waypoint

2009-06-02T07:38:00.000-07:00

Steve is going to be riding through different types of terrain; steep mountains, flat meadows and through the desert. He will face many obstacles.

He will try to avoid
cactus needles.

He is trying to help
DDD patients avoid
dialysis needles.

June 19, 2009: Last night Steve got lost! A new logging road, and tracks from other riders threw him off and he ended up off trail. Fatigued from a day of intense climbs he decided to pitch his tent and wait until daylight. At 8000 feet, and in the snow, he shivered all night until he fell asleep for three hours. When he made it Basin in the morning he met up with Jeff Kerby and the two found comfort in the fact that they both were lost in the same area. Check out Jeff's call on the Tour Divide blogs! (Lore)
June 18, 2009: Steve featured in Outside Magazine blog. http://outside-blog.away.com/blog/2009/06/tour-divide-race-day-5-griz-and-methane.html#comments
June 17, 2009: Steve said Richmond Peak was a tough climb and it was snow covered because the trail does not get direct sunlight. He was able to climb it and get off before thunderstorms last night. Wednesday will be a tough day because he crosses the divide three times and there will be a lot of climbs. This is funny - he told me that the night he slept in the outhouse he dreamt that bears were knocking on the door. Goldilocks says he'd like to get out of bear country so he can get rid of his big can of bear spray. (Lore)
June 16, 2009: Steve called and said he crawled inside an outhous... Steve called and said he crawled inside an outhouse to get out of a thunderstorm Sunday night. He slept in there and said it was heaven! He could feel the warmth from the waste percolating below. His other option was a bear cage that dangles from a tree provided by the National Parks due to this area having the highest density of bears. Monday night he got a hotel and was happy to take a hot bath. He says he is feeling good! (Lore)
June 15, 2009:Steve said Saturday was brutal. He said it was a "bike pull" up steep inclines through eroded trail and water, "I'd climb and then reach to pull my bike up...over and over!" He found himself without food and hungry for several hours. "It was a miracle. I came upon a family opening their cabin and they grilled me a hamburger." They told him about a place to stop and rest where he wouldn't be bothered by bears. Today he is stocking up on sandwiches to take with him. "I gotta keep moving," he said. (Lore)
June 14,2009: Picture from where Steve spent the night. Sent in by Liz Voss. (right)
June 13, 2009: Steve called Saturday morning. Thunderstorms all day Friday. He slept a few hours under the eaves of a building. He came upon a grizzly. He was riding too fast to stop and just rode past the bear. He said if he were ever going to see a sasquatch this would be the time. A side note: It looked like Brunello Godio was trying to head off the lead riders by going off trail down a riverbed. It appears he got lost in the wilderness, backtracked and ended up where he started, and camped for the night. (Lore)

June 12, 2009: And he's off! I talked with Steve an hour before the start this morning. He said he slept well and he is getting acclimated to the altitude. "I'm ready to do this!"He bought a new can of bear spray yesterday. He shared that the people in Banff are talking about the latest bear attack on a man. The man's 70 year old father charged the bear with his cane and scared it off.He told me they will cross over an area covered by snow from a recent avalanche today. The riders talked about the surprise snow storm they encountered in Montana two years ago when they were without gloves or any winter gear. "We thought we were going to die on that mountain!" They agreed it was best to take as much winter gear as possible and get rid of it after Montana. (posted by Lore)

June 11, 2009: Steve called in to say its beautiful in Banff, but he is bored and ready to ride! The pre-event BBQ was fun. Race starts in the morning about 9:40am so watch his dot from the leaderboard.

June 10, 2009: Steve tries out the mountain biking and spot tracker. All is well. You should be able to follow where he has ridden on the link from the welcome page

June 9, 2009 Steve left for Banff. Read today's Iowa City Press Citizen article on Steve.
http://www.press-citizen.com/article/20090609/NEWS01/906090312/1079

Donation Information

2009-06-02T07:37:00.001-07:00

Thank you for everyone who sent in donations for this fundraiser. I apologize if you got your donation returned. The Post Office put a box closed notation on our box for an unknown reason- to them and to us- that didn't come to our attention for a week. Some mail came through every day, but I understand some was returned. If yours was returned and you would like to resend it and support Steve's huge efforts and research on DDD, please send your donation to: 11 Cherry Lane NE, Iowa City, IA 52240. Thank you to everyone who made this fundraiser a big success!

We are grateful for all donations! Kidneeds uses 100% of your donation for research on Dense Deposit Disease (DDD). DDD is rare autoimmune disease that generally begins in childhood. Over a varying course of years, about 75% of the people will go into kidney failure requiring dialysis or transplant. About 80% of the transplanted kidneys will have evidence of recurrent disease.

95% of donations to Kidneeds are made by people who know only 1 person with DDD. Please know how much we appreciate your donation and how carefully we will use it to find a treatment for DDD.

How to Donate:

In keeping with the movie like adventure, we have broken donations into 4 groups.

Break away- $10/mile- flat, downhill miles

Easy Rider- $25/mile- moderate incline miles

Hidalgo- $50/mile- Desert miles

Iron Giant- $100/mile- leg busting steep inclines and continental crossing

1. You can donate one mile or more. For example, if you wanted to donate $75- you can indicate with your gift- "5 Breakaway miles, 1 Easy rider mile"
2.You can donate in Honor or or In memory of- Just let us know the name and the address where to send acknowledgement of the gift.
3.Find your mile- We will assign your name to the type of miles that you choose. You can find your mile below in the maps.
4.Press the Donate Now button and fill in the information.

5. To designate types of miles, click the donate in honor or in memory button, type in the number and types of miles and person's name.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

Check for your sponsored miles. As you sponsor a mile or more, your name will appear somewhere on the maps. We'll tell you where. Click below for sponsors.

Montana:http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=117192469079795776933.00044fbace3cc725a16ca&start=-153&num=200&ll=46.732331,-113.280029&spn=4.841708,7.558594&z=7

Canada:http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=117192469079795776933.00044edb549ced115bee9&start=-100&num=200&z=5

Steve's maildrop

2009-06-01T13:30:00.000-07:00

Messages for Steve

Please leave Steve a message or cheering on, by making a comment on this page. We will save them and give them to Steve. Also, if you are willing to share your photo, please send them to Lynne at divideitt@gmail.com to post with your message.

How do I post a comment?

1. To post a note for Steve, go down two lines where it says posted by "JLS at 1:30pm."

2. Next to that it says, 6 comments, or some number and comments. Click on that and enter your message. We'd love to get many comments from all over the states and world, so please leave one to encourage him as the going gets rougher. Thanks!