Thursday, June 11, 2009

Deanna Adams tackles Tour Divide

Deanna Aye-Aye Adams, age 20, female, and vegan, a veteran of the 2007 and 2008 Furnace Creek 508 and 2008 and 2009 CORPScamp Death Valley, will tackle Tour Divide starting tomorrow, June 12, 2009. We wish her, and all the competitors, a safe and successful race out there!

Above: Deanna at Death Valley Double Century - Spring 2008
Above two pix: Deanna at CORPScamps Death Valley, February 2009,
en route to Scotty's Castle on her fixed gear
Above: Deanna at the 2008 Furnace Creek 508 finish line.
Yes, she brought a sword with which to break through the finish!


Tour Divide is a solo, self-supported mountain bike race on all 2,745 miles of Adventure Cycling Association's epic Great Divide MTB Route from Canada to Mexico. With an average time-to-completion of three weeks in the saddle, this grand tour is the longest, most challenging MTB race on the planet. It's a contest for the ultra-fit but only if ultra-prepared for myriad contingencies of backcountry biking.

Tour Divide is born of inspiration from John Stamstad's watershed `99 Divide ITT, and the US border to border challenge known as the Great Divide Race (ca.`04). Tour Divide observes all the historical divide racing controls save length. It pushes the envelope further by staging opening day racing from the top of the GDMBR in Banff, AB, where MTB-legal wilderness of Banff National Park serves as an immediate test of mettle. The Canadian section adds only 10% more trail, yet delivers unforgettable geography, abundant wildlife, and the international flair cycling has come to expect from grand tour racing.

Whether voyager or voyeur, Tour Divide is the ultimate to tribute to both the human capacity to endure and Adventure Cycling's brilliance in crafting the crown jewel of off-pavement touring routes.

As for Deanna, here's an excerpt from the "Sieze the World" blog report about Deanna:
Doubt Kills Dreams. This idea is a way of life for Deanna Adams. Deanna is a twenty year old cyclist, adventure racer, student, and athlete from Prescott, Arizona. She also has epilepsy. Deanna has been racing bicycles competitively for the past four years, and has met with great success. Just a few months ago, she finished the Furnace Creek 508, a 508-mile road bike race which has a 48-hour time limit. Known as, "The Toughest 48 hours in Sport," the 508 follows roads North from Santa Clarita, CA through the heart of the Mojave Desert and Death Valley to a very distant finish in the small town of Twentynine Palms, CA.

When Deanna crossed the finish line after 43 brutal hours of racing, she became the youngest female finisher to complete the race, (in fact the youngest female to have started the race) and the youngest finisher with epilepsy to have completed the race. The 508 is a grueling two-day affair in Death Valley which pits riders against other racers, themselves, and mother nature as they find themselves riding through hundreds of miles of heat, exhaustion, and darkness - it is necessary to ride much of the race at night. Deanna's seizure disorder did not cause any problems for her during the event. Full story.
Deanna's Bike:
While all or nearly of the field will compete on mountain bikes, Deanna will compete in Tour Divide on a road bike converted to fixed gear and shod with Ritchey cyclocross tyres. Here is her blog post from when she first built up the bike. Below are some photos taken two days before the start of Tour Divide in Banff.

Go, Deanna, Go!

4 comments:

DebAdams said...

Dear Deanna:
Hey, You are an awesome athlete, road and mountain bicycle racer and most of all an awesome daughter! You are such an inspiration!!
We Love ya lots!
Love,
Mom and Dad
P.S. Chris you are awesome and thank you so much for allowing this story about Deanna happen!!

(V.Kerr) School Time Adventures said...

A great story! Thanks for featuring it. I really think my sister is one crazy and amazing person!

Anonymous said...

Wow, I'm impressed and inspired! good luck with everything Deanna!

Stephen Allen said...

Way to go Deanna! Such a great success story as the only female (and with epilepsy to boot!) to have completed the Great Divide on a fixie! At first I thought she was a bit crazy, but now I am thinking that she may be the most sane one out there...living her dreams no matter what everyone says. Way to go!