Josh Ibbett’s Divide Recap #6

Josh Ibbett, winner of the 2015 Transcontinental Race, will be bringing his racing knowledge to bear on the Tour Divide with daily recaps on DotWatcher. Today he's rounding up the situation for race leader Lewis Ciddor, who's well on his way to the New Mexico stateline.

Ten days in, a 100 mile lead, 1000 miles and 10,000ft left to ride. That’s a brief summary of Lewis Ciddor’s life right now as he really takes ownership of this Divide.

Lewis’s main challenge now is with the course as his nearest competitor, single speeder Bailey Newbury, has fallen 100 miles behind. His next challenge is the 10,800ft Marshal’s Pass from Mears Junction to Sargents. This should round out his eleventh day on the trail, potentially with a warm bed as Sargents has a full complement of facilities – including a motel and a supermarket, the holy grail of Divide stopovers. The past few days have not been without their difficulties though as the 1700 miles of riding have begun to take their toll.

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The comments on Lewis’s latest Instagram post warm the heart as Bailey Newbury drops him a message. This bond with another competitor is unlike any other bond life can create. It’s a feeling of brothers in arms united to take on such an incredible challenge. It’s a bond that cannot be wholly appreciated until you have experienced it for yourself.

At this point in a long distance ride, emotions can swing like a pendulum. It’s easy to go from the depths of despair to incredible highs in the space of a few minutes. Monitoring the social media posts of riders throughout the field is showing this in abundance. The terrible conditions that most of the riders have endured over the past few days must have been especially hard on their emotions. However, the first rays on sunshine have blossomed into a range of fantastic images posted.

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