Imagine jp wins again and enters the ctr.........

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He already has stated his intentions to do the CTR. I think Dylan Taylor, Mark Caminiti and perhaps Robert Orr too and Alice Drobna.

Guesses as to win place and show??

1. NB
2. JP
3. JK

And can Dylan hold off Alex??

Last I heard, JayP was running 48-34 up front and a 10-36 cassette, modified for a bigger gear range with a Wolftooth 42-tooth granny gear.

Then JP has a bigger gear for sure but can he use it?? At 90 RPM with a 2 inch tire he can achieve 36.6 MPH but who can hold that speed for long on the flats with a loaded mountain bike?? If Neil has a 38-10 then he can go 29 MPH at 90 RPM (chart here: http://www.bikecalc.com/gear_speed) So I really don't think Neil will have a gearing issue unless he has a front ring much smaller than a 38. I think the big issue for most people with a one by is the low end.

They did ride together for a while there but JP has spent most of the race since Montana regularly putting a gap of between 2 and 30 miles between himself and Neil, and having/letting it close again late.  That looks like attacking to me, in the weird, slo-mo, hour-hand watching way that this race unfolds.  A ten mile lead in a bike race between well-matched, alert competitors is enormous, actually, but it's hard to remember that when you're looking at a map of the whole continent. Seems negligible but it still means somebody got dropped by a lot.  And some of bike racing is about marking the competition, anyway, even if only to assess their condition, so it'd be interesting to know what that's been about.  It looks to me like JP is coming out most days and just driving the pace, making the others try to match it and creating gaps.  Just going through his race plan?  What I wonder is why Neil hasn't/isn't/cant' attack.  Strategy?  Trying to ride his own tempo to even out energy expenditure until a big jump?  Does he hit the jets at Silver City?  Really interesting stuff.  Fantastic athletes.  Wow.  

I think they just ride the pace they can ride. They probably can't bump up their pace too much, unless it is real short term. To me the real factor towards the tail end of this race is sleep or lack of it.

I don't know what gear combo JP is running but doubles generally don't have large rings bigger than than 38 and are generally paired to 10 speed cassettes with the smallest cog being 11. On a one by setup the small cog is 10 which is quite a bit taller gear than an 11. I really doubt JP is running a 50 tooth ring. Even on a triple the front large ring is generally a 42 or 44. So I doubt that JP has a much larger gear than Neil.

Also I don't think Mike Hall even had aero bars the year he blazed the course.

In regards to JP I think he is a passionate man and speaks his mind. I think we all say things that perhaps are out of the heat of the moment, and being under a microscope like this forum, people will always try to use something against you if they have a bone to pick or a different horse in the race!

If you really want to bitch about athletes pick on the ones that make millions and who are constantly whining about how underpaid they are! These guys bust their butts and get little if nothing in return.

29 plus makes a ton of sense on a rigid tandem with all it's weight. On a fast TD bike probably not so much so. If it were so great then the leaders would be running them.

Looks like JP probably slipped Neil a little sleep aid last night, and when he heard him snoring, got up and left him!

Josh probably is paying for his big move and is quite a ways back as of now (38 miles)

Scott admonished me in 2012 for ditching gear for a  later pickup on the Stagecoach 400 so that is not a cool thing to do. I doubt at this point you are going to save enough time by mailing back gear unless you can do it real fast. They could always donate if to some homeless person! On the AZT 750 I donated my cache pack at the north rim to the park service to use in their trail maintenance program knowing full well I never wanted to repeat that adventure!

Looks like Josh has bridged the gap! The three amigos!

Hopefully there won't be a string of people coming to the finish line holding hands! Gotta have a definitive conclusion to this race!

BB story sounds pretty plausible though - are there any truly GOOD BB these days, that don't break after a coupla days on the TD? I had to change mine 2 or 3 times one year.


I'm not saying threaded BBs are superior, but they work, pretty darn good and better track records than Press Fits. I can change them out on my own, and if a I hear things creaking I can at least unthread, slap on some grease and see it it helps. With PF BBs, it's not a one and done. Also with PF40, PF30, PF92000 gazillion, you could show up to a bike shop and they won't have it, most shops will have threaded BBs.

Lael is top 10 now! Amazing.

I watched a video on the different BB styles cropping up now. In some cases it gives the frame makers more leeway to make a stiffer frame for both rigid and suspension bikes. Most new trends are met with skepticism and some justifiably so! Who would of run a 29er 10 years ago. Probably couldn't get tires anywhere! Same with Dynamos. Pretty common today.

2012 had snow over all of Elk Pass, 5 miles of snow on Flathead Pass, several miles on Galton Pass, and I can't remember what the racers had on Whitefish, Red Meadow, Richmond, etc.  Conditions this year are MUCH more favorable at least for the early part of the route.

That is true BUT Lael has had her own issues this year and a record run is going to require favorable conditions. But the real bummer is that the course always seems to be changing so how can you compare??
Perhaps with varying weather conditions and course changes, the focus should be on the placing and not the overall time.

Word in the peleton is that Salsa has reps out near Antelope Wells and that they are planning an alien abduction of Neil before the finish line! New Mexico is famous for that so no one will be any the wiser!

What is more impressive??

Will Bodewes at age 17 in 15th place overall??

OR

Robert Orr at age 60 in 16th place overall??

Cool to see two young brothers out there. Noticed (from the pictures) that Will and Nick Bodewes are riding together. Ages 16 and 17 according to Trackleaders.  What a cool adventure for a couple of high schoolers. 

Quite a few riders this year under 20.
Will & Luke Bodewes 16 and 17 years old
David (dad) Patrick and Daniel Morrison 19 and 17 years old
John (dad) and Dylan DeVries 17 years old
Billy Rice (dad) and Lina Rice 16 years old on a tandem.

But perhaps even more impressive is the number of riders over 60! My new hero is Rob Orr who is in 14th overall at the ripe young age of 60! This inspires those of us who are a little long in the tooth. Bob also did the AZT 750 and finished 4th overall!

as my wife says sleep,on it!

JP has opened up about a nine mile lead over Neil heading into Lima.

I put together shirts and sweatshirts for my bicycle events and thought I would see if there is any interest in endurance race clothing for  the AZT, CTR and Tour Divide.
PM me if interested.

Snowpack website: http://www.intellicast.com/Travel/Weather/Snow/Cover.aspx

Make me an offer!

Up for sale is a 15 inch 29er titanium motobecane fram with FSA orbit headset, 100 mm stem and origin 8 black ops carbon fork. Usual scuffs on frame from use and frame bag but overall in good condition. I bought this for my wife but since then she has moved to a smaller wheeled FS bike. I have an identical frame like this and mine has over 15,000 miles on it including the Tour Divide, Stagecoach 400, AZT 300 and AZT 750 plus a bunch of training miles on it.
This frame probably has under 2,000 miles on it and the fork much less. Perfect TD rig, gravel grinder, single speeder etc. Plenty of rear tire clearance, 2 water bottle mounts, and disc mounts.
Priced at $799 including frame, fork, headset and stem. Buyer pays actual shipping cost.
PM if interested. I take paypal.

sold!