Go, Sheila T! And congratulations to the latest pink dot finishers, Valerie Kato and Cindy Dwyan!

I'll be leaving later than the Grand Depart-- I'm not racing, so I can wait until the passes are clearer. And I certainly won't catch any southbound racers. I'll see some Nobo racers, though.

I'm not planning to race next year, but I am planning to do the route next year, and for sure I'm getting itchy. All those pictures make me want to go NOW.

Is there another fire? Looks like Charlie Kharsa is way off route.

In the event of a serious mechanical or medical emergency that renders a bike unrideable, a rider may hitchhike[3] by motor vehicle in ANY direction to repair the problem. The location of the incident must be well documented by SPOT tracking or other GPS logger. A rider may also receive assistance returning back to the exact location of the breakdown to begin forward progress. Again, the entire incident, from breakdown to return to the route must be fully documented by GPS.

Looks like Jill Hueckman would be OK, even if she had hitchhiked forward.

Whats the URL for the Facebook page?

Looks like she had just gone over Cabin Pass when the bike failed. And she hitchhiked? But I didn't think there were cars in there.

Do we know any more about Jill's situation? Where was she when the bike broke, why is she relegated, does this have anything to do with her problems entering Canada? I'm sorry she won't have an official finish; she was so close.

Andy Lawrence just finished. Congratulations, Andy!

Congratulations, Montana!

I don't have a dog in this fight, but what administration would the riders get for their two hundred and fifty dollars?

The $25 spectator fee is just silly. Few spectators would pay.

Looking at the orange dot riders toward the end of the field, we see that quite a few of them skipped Brooks Lake Road in Wyoming, and apparently followed the entire course otherwise. Someone (whose track I can no longer find) tried to go up there, and very obviously got lost-- their track was all over the place. I wonder what the conditions at the turnoff to Brooks Lake were 9 or 10 days ago.

I'm planning the GDMBR southbound, starting around end of June/early July, hoping the snow will have melted on the northern passes. I expect to be riding at roughly the pace of the book, though I won't follow the days as set out by the book because I don't like to follow someone else's plan. So that means about 70 riding days and 12 rest days.

At my pace, I'll have to camp a lot. I'll probably be inclined to motel it when I'm in a town, at least some of the time. As with all the tours I do, I'll always be on the hunt for delicious food, though with bikepacking that's going to be more of a challenge than it is on road tours. Still, I'm up to the challenge.

Want to join me? It'll be beautiful and fun.

I think it's important to remember one of the primary functions of the spot tracker. Sure it allows folks at home to follow their friends/ family etc and it provides a measure of transparency with regard to adherence to the rules, but IMO the most important job they do is provide a layer of safety for every rider.

 

And yet, the rules say very clearly: Online GPS tracking is also not intended to ensure rider safety. It is for info-only, and validation of course compliance.

Oh, yes, now I see, I just listened to Bill's call. It looks like the people who DID end up taking the regular route are able to follow the entire thing with no alternates.

Cindy Dwyan appears to be going to Santa Fe in a car. (Or she's bicycling to Santa Fe at 54 mph.)

What's going on with Bill Peschka? He's on the old fire alternate that goes past Abiquiu Reservoir, but nobody else is taking it.

I can understand the feelings of someone who (incorrectly) thought they had followed all the rules, when they are faced with relegation. They feel like they've been racing for so long, it was one tiny section, they honestly believed they didn't have to ride it, and now their entire race is taken away from them. That must be awful. A big dream, crushed by a little mistake.

I'd still relegate them, though.

  But maybe it does encourage people to just race for the sake of the experience, rather then focusing on the results--which can be a good thing too. 

What is the point of "racing for the sake of the experience rather than focusing on the results"? Isn't that called "touring"? And shouldn't we encourage tourists to tour, rather than saying they are racing when they aren't?

I'm a big fan of touring. I'm a tourist myself,  and plan to tour the Divide next summer. I'm not denigrating touring at all. But it's not the same thing as racing. If you are racing, you are by definition trying to minimize your time.

There's a difference between relegation and DQ?

It's too bad if some riders skipped a section in the incorrect belief that the section was optional in bad weather. And it's too bad if some riders told other riders it was OK to skip. It's going to be heartbreaking when riders who thought they were riding the legal course are DQed.

But it's up to the riders to know what the legal alternates are, and it's up to the riders to follow the course. Nobody said this was going to be easy. Riders who skipped that section have to be DQed.

I like the orange dots, provided they're based on persuasive evidence. I say, how can you *not* DQ someone who skips key sections of the course, even after 1800mi That's would be unfair to the riders who, in face of temptation, DIDN'T skip those sections.