TD14: Day 23 & 24 (or, He Did It)

Tour Divide 2014 guest post by Kristi.

He did it. He did it. Don’t get me wrong, we all knew he could do it. I knew once he started he would finish – that’s just who he is. But it’s one thing on the night before the race for me to tell Andy, “You got this,” and another thing to watch him these past 24 days through his highs and his lows – just his overall journey – and now to look and him and say, “Wow. You did it.” 2745 miles. 23 days, 18 hours, 58 minutes. He did it. He did it. Ride Andy, Ride.

Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live.

-Mark Twain

Now, before we get down to business on these last two Tour Divide day updates… On a personal note, thank you all for letting me take you on this journey with Andy. I have enjoyed my guest blogging immensely. As the book/movie/music lover of our family, I don’t usually have much to contribute here on the Pale Spruce side. Maybe one day Andy will let me blog again to recommend a good murder mystery to accompany you on your next bikepacking adventure. On second thought, maybe not.

I will leave you with my own piece of advice. If you only read one book in your entire life, read Harry Potter. You will not regret it. If you live. 😉

And now once more, with feeling…Allons-y!

Tour Divide Day 23: South of Grants to (somewhere in the) Gila Wilderness
145 miles
5 July 2014

No call in for today (Andy was in the middle of nowhere all day!), but he does discuss the Gila in a call in from 6 July, in the next entry.

The day started out great. Pie in Pie Town. Even though the two pie shops were closed when Andy rolled into town, the Toaster House was open and Nita even had a banana cream pie, which Andy was happy to help eat. After Pie Town, things started to go downhill. (Figuratively, not literally.) “I fought the Gila and the Gila won.” Sounds like it was a tough, muddy day through the wilderness.  Andy’s goal for today was to ride as much as he could, and he finally stopped at 1:00am for a bit of rest before tackling his last day.

1. “Tour Divide day 23 – I fought the Gila and the Gila won…at least for part of it #tourdivide”

2. “Tour Divide day 23 – Pie Town! The cafés were closed but Nita at the toaster house had coffee, frozen pizza, applesauce, and yes even pie. #tourdivide”

3. Bonus Image! Andy did live the dream and ate pie in Pie Town. Thanks to Nic Handy for the picture…”Andy getting served some homemade pie in Pie Town.”

Tour Divide Day 24: Gila Wilderness to Antelope Wells
190 miles
6 July 2014

Time to hit the finish line. Andy had a long day in store, but he was determined to make it to the end, all 190 miles. And he did, early Monday morning at 2:58am on 7 July he it Antelope Wells. 23 days, 18 hours, and 58 minutes since he started this journey in Banff on that cold snowy day of 13 June. Be sure to listen to Andy’s finish call, he wraps it up much better than I could here.

1. Andy calls in from Silver City.
http://mtbcast.com/site2/2014/07/06/mtbcast-td14-andy-amick-called-in-from-silver-city/

2. Listen to Andy’s Finish Call.
http://mtbcast.com/site2/2014/07/08/mtbcast-td14-andy-amick-called-in-with-his-finish-call/

3. “Tour Divide day 24 – sun going down while riding the final few dirt miles before the long pavement to the border #tourdivide”

4. Andy’s dad met him at the finish line – “Tour Divide day 24 – the finish after a long 190 mile day!!! 23:18:58 days #tourdivide”

5. Bonus #1! Grabbed this one off of the internet from Nic & Kayla…Andy and Nic at the finish.

6. Bonus #2! Again, stolen from Nic & Kayla. I love the emotion in this picture of Andy and Nic hitting the finish line together.

7. Andy’s Tour Divide Map from Banff to Antelope Wells

8. Andy’s final placement: #17 overall. However, he did see me and the boys when he rolled through Breckenridge, CO. This is against the Tour Divide race rules, and if you listen to his final call in, you will hear that he removed himself from the standings. (Besides this one infraction, he did follow all the other race rules, and the boys and I did not provide support in any way in Breckenridge. If anything, we added to his race time.) But I’m going to remember this #17 always. What an accomplishment.

He did it. He did it. Ride Andy, Ride!