When Eleanor Christopher attempts to complete the longest off-road bike race in America this June, it won’t be the first time that she will have to battle the wind.
“Oh, my god,” she thought to herself.
It was three o’clock in the morning and she was blown awake. Literally, blown awake.
A strong gust of wind surged into Christopher’s sleeping bag, bringing with it a band of unwanted sand.
The storm was relentless.
Christopher knew that she had to move. She quickly peeked her head out of the little covering that she had and was met with a potent blast of air. Christopher snapped on her scuba goggles and mask to protect herself from the sandy air. Then, she made a decision.
Christopher made a very different decision three months earlier, though, and it’s unlikely that she knew it would result in her being caught up in, what she later learned, was a 55-mph sandstorm.
Through a family friend, Christopher heard about the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), an organization that strives to build life skills through wilderness expeditions.
It did not take much convincing for Christopher to be sold on the trip, as she has loved to be physically active throughout all of her life. She grew up jumping rope with the Bouncing Bulldogs and also played soccer, baseball and tennis. Christopher, a 2011 Chapel Hill High School graduate, played tennis for three years and soccer for two at Chapel Hill.
Christopher decided to join the NOLS crew and embark on a three-month journey, living in the wildness in Baja, Mexico. Christopher was accompanied by 14 other people during backpacking, sea kayaking, and sailing adventures, all separated by miles of land from society and alone in the wild.
So, when the storm hit their group, they were on their own. Christopher could not mosey back to a hotel room or rush back to the comfort of a bedroom that wasn’t being ridden by a ferocious attack of pebbles. She had to make a decision.
Christopher followed her instincts when she arose: “I got to move, I got to move.” She fought through the elements and woke up one of her instructors. Christopher then helped to wake up her campmates so they could move to a new location, preferably away from the gusts. While they hurried away, in the darkness of the night, the explorers moved through a group of cacti. Christopher and the others struggled through the prickly spikes.
Another problem surfaced: the kayaks were being swept away into the night.
The group had to hustle to corral the vessels and tie them back down to safety.
Finally, they were able to get back to sleep after the crazy events that night.
Morning was quick to come and everyone was groggy. Only hours earlier they were running down kayaks in the middle of the wilderness in Mexico. But everyone made breakfast, did their jobs and the trip carried on as usual.
“It was one of those moments when you realize that, when you are in the wilderness, you can’t control things,” Christopher said. “You have to react and do things based on things bigger than yourself.”
The trip was life-changing for Christopher, who learned a great deal over the three month period.
“I grew up with so much technology and worked in an office with no windows for a year. To be removed from all the chaos going on and having the time to self-reflect on what is important to me and my values. It taught me about communication, and I learned about giving and receiving feedback,” Christopher said.
The experience opened Christopher’s eyes.
“I think that if everyone took a NOLS course, then the world would be a better place,” Christopher said.
She realized how important the environment was and began to think about how she could positively impact it. Christopher also started to take note of things that she did well and failed in her life, and made changes accordingly. She came back more prepared for various situations that could be blown her way.
With all the positive adjustments that Christopher made to better her life, one still pestered her, and nagged at her, and she knew she had to do something about it. So, she made a decision. This time Christopher wasn’t being plastered by sand while on the beach in Baja, Mexico, but her instincts told her to act. So she did.
The trip made her realize that she had to reach out for help.
Christopher struggled with an eating disorder for many years, and she knew it was time to face not the sand, kayaks, or cacti, but rather herself.
Christopher signed up for an outpatient recovery program for eating disorders at UNC because she knew it was time to change for the better.
She worked with a therapist and nutritionist and began to listen to her body. When she exercised, she allowed herself to eat and refuel. Christopher continued until she graduated from the program.
“The help, combined with my NOLS course, was incredibly huge in helping me recover from years of appetite suppression,” Christopher said. “I also want people to know that recovery is possible from eating disorders, even though it is still a struggle sometimes.”
Christopher overpowered the struggle and overcame her disorder.
She enjoyed the NOLS course so much that she wanted to do it again. Or, at least something similar to it.
Then, Christopher had an idea.
She knew exactly what she was going to do: The Tour Divide.
It was a daunting task, but exactly what the NOLS expedition equipped her to be able to do.
The Tour Divide course begins in Banff, Alberta, Canada and stretches across the U.S. Midwest and Southwest, with the finish line in Antelope Wells, New Mexico. This year over 150 participants cover close to 3,000 miles.
Christopher was again ready for the challenge.
She turned to an alternative option in order to decrease the stress on her body.
Christopher moved to Washington D.C. to work at Thurgood Marshall Academy, and was immediately drawn to the city’s bike-share program.
“I started to ride those bikes everywhere that I went,” Christopher said.
Christopher invested in a road bike and joined a racing team.
The more she biked, the more that she loved it, and the more she wanted to keep riding.
So, when Christopher heard about The Tour Divide, she knew it was for her.
“It’s going to be the most challenging thing I have ever done,” Christopher said. “Leading up to it, I’m going to try to improve my physical condition, as well as my mental toughness. I will also try to simulate race situations and conditions.”
Christopher’s goal is to finish the race in just over 15 days, which would give her the all-time female record. In order to achieve that, she hopes to bike for 16 hours a day. Yes, you read that right.
Christopher will be able to stop in towns during her voyage to stop for food and water, but will have to sleep outdoors in a sleeping bag. She will be loaded with energy gels, electrolyte supplements and mustard packets for cramping.
She will also have to endure the weather as she moves across the country.
“Since bikers can cover so much ground during a race, I will face a lot of obstacles,” Christopher said. “I may have to deal with route changes due to weather patterns of wildfires. At NOLS, I also ran across things that you can’t control.”
With the tour less than a month away, Christopher’s training has been in full swing.
Christopher rides out to Jordan Lake, Pittsboro or sometimes Hillsborough. A couple days out of every week, she pedals for nine hours to build her strength and get accustomed to the lengthy rides. Other days she keeps her exercise shorter, only setting out for a couple of hours. Christopher has gotten to the point where her quick routes are classified as only a couple of hours.
Christopher bikes for her work too, delivering sandwiches for Jimmy John’s on her bike.
But her delivery job does not provide enough money to cover the costs of the race and supplies necessary to compete. So, Christopher created a Go Fund Me page for her adventure. Thus far, she has raised $610.
The title at the top of her fundraising page reads loud and clear: Tour Divide For NOLS.
Christopher was given a scholarship to go on the adventure with NOLS. Now, she hopes to change the lives of the next class of NOLS explorers by giving money to allow them to live out their dreams. Half of the money that she raises will be donated to NOLS.
“This is so important to me because I want to give back,” Christopher said.
Knowing that she is racing for a bigger cause motivates Christopher even more.
Everything that she has been through, from the sandstorm to her triumph over her eating disorder, has led her to this moment.
When Christopher takes off in June, it will just be her and the trail. Maybe a couple mustard packets.
And all the memories that have built her into the woman she is today.
Go Fund Me link: https://www.gofundme.com/my-2019-tour-divide-big-picture
