Those Racing Ralphs are great tires for the 400 or so miles the tread lasts

I'd take a look at the Maxxis IKON EXO, I've found it to be a great all around performer, fast enough rolling for roads and just enough grip on single tracks. Light, great tread life, EXO sidewall protection.

How do you send an email to a guy on a bike in the middle of the route?  Not everyone (I hope) is carrying a smart phone or is stopping to check email.

A couple of things to say on this.

1.) This is a race, and knowing about fire detours, or anything else that comes up en-route is the racers responsibility. It's not "once you pull off of the starting line do whatever you like," that's exactly what this thread is about, isn't it? Being un-contactable is a choice, and it's a choice that might cost you dearly if something like this comes up. In my opinion it is the racers duty and responsibility to keep up with developments in the race they are participating in. That sign on the campground was not that many miles from the first services on the alternate paved route, civilization was not impossibly far away in this instance.

2.) I talked to numerous riders that received direct text messages from and made direct phone calls to Matthew Lee en-route and received instructions they needed back. He is available for questions from what I know from those who are carrying cell phones or can find a public phone or public internet.

3.) For some without cell phones Matthew Lee has been known to go so far as to call ahead of riders to a gas station or store and have the attendant flag down an un-contactable rider to make sure they get the info they need about re-routes, etc. I heard a direct account of a situation where a racer pulled in to a nowhere town bewildered and a clerk came running out telling him he had a phone call from Matthew Lee waiting inside, this was from a top racer.

There's no "rule" on this as far as I know, so this is just my opinion, and a starting point for discussion if anyone's opinions differ.

Works perfect for the role.

Of course it does... it's a Yeti! I've been on the Yeti ARCc(posted in this thread a few posts back) for a couple years now. The ARCc is the ARC in carbon with 29er wheels, so... if you like your ARC and you're ever thinking about going big wheels and lighter, the ARCc is definitely one to take a look at. The loop tail has always been a thing of beauty and the ARC was THE mountain bike for years and years, you really can't go wrong on one, ARC 26er or ARCc 29er. Welcome to the tribe.

And at the same time Native Americans get screwed https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/stop-apache-land-grab/rnMfH0WL

Another group that's not happy http://www.mountainproject.com/v/oak-flat-s339-moving-again-please-take-a-minute/109778979__1 the area was the site of the Phoenix Bouldering Comp.

It is the only bill before the US Congress that would give a Native American Sacred site on public land to a foreign mining company; http://org.salsalabs.com/o/676/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=16810

Not to rain on the parade, just seems like it's politics as usual, glad to hear there was some good that came out of it as well.

I knew there was probably two sides to the story which is part of why I posted, I figured someone would chime in that knew more than I did about the details. Thanks for the additional info AZTtripper.

Hey TD CO'ers -

Would there be any interest in doing some sort of gathering/overnight/skillz weekend, before the race (maybe in May?) Could be a time for racers to meet up and say hello, and old-timers to impart some strategy. We can do some of the route - maybe start in Breck, go over Boreas, and onwards to Salida. It's a bit touch and go if Boreas will be snow-free at that point - which may actually play well into prep. After Boreas, the route is pretty relaxed, yet sorta desolate (and can be windy).

Just seeing if there's any interest by racers or veterans.

One idea for a time would be May 16th, rolling out of Breck, with the goal of getting to Salida following the GDMBR. May 17th is the Dirty Double Fondo, which is a gravel grinder in Salida, that I've done two times in a row (I seem to like it!). The course follows some of the same route of the GDMBR, but also goes into some really nice country around South Park near Guffy that's similar to what you'd find in the rest of the GDMBR - lots a nice rolling terrain, and you'd ascend the pass into/out of Salida twice. If you're close to Salida, I'd def. suggest this ride as a good shakedown for the GDMBR - fully loaded down or not. 200km should not be a big problem for a TD rider to do, ~ month out of the TD itself, and would be a good race to assess your overall fitness and make some sort of time goal based on it. Plus, I need some competition for next year

I'll definitely keep this on my radar. Wouldn't take much for me to ride to Breck from Steamboat and meet up with the group. The view as you start to descend to Salida was one of my favorites on the whole divide, I'd love to get back to it for another gander.

I got an email from IMBA about this today as I'm sure many of you did also. Seems like it's all good news for bikes and bikepacking. Hopefully this will serve as an example of how wilderness and bikes can co-exist sensibly while preserving the essentials that each needs to survive.

https://www.imba.com/news/four-bills-pass

Here are some links further reading on the acts for those wanting to delve deeper:

Columbine-Hondo Wilderness Act
Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Act
Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act
Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions and Pratt and Middle Fork Snoqualmie Rivers Protection Act

I don't think that missing a portion of the CDT due to that big giant yellow closed sign should be a reason for anyone relegating.

Matthew Lee sent emails to all riders in advance as they approached the CDT alternate to notify them of the sign and that it was open and to ride it.

Here's what Matthew sent me and the other riders I was with at the time a couple days in advance:

"CDT Sapillo section open to TD riders
Attn: Just N. of Silver City

There is a trail closed sign at the trailhead, but it applies to the segment beyond the Sapillo. You are clear to pass. No camping in there, though."

Been talked about before, but here it is again.
Hydraulic or mechanical? I am more familiar with mechanical, but from what I understand hydraulic is nearly set and forget (I also am new to disc brakes in general, UNDERBIKE FOREVER!)

I saw plenty of both out there this year. I went with hydraulic Shimano XT's and had zero issues.

This shot was from the final day of Tour Divide 2014 while making the run from Silver City to Antelope Wells. Taken on the road to Separ sometime just after dawn. Jason Snell is seen on his fixie on the left, myself on the right. Photo by Brett Wolf.

What does active mean?

"Active" means "still going." At this point I would guess that those who are marked active are actually scratches, but there may be some special exceptions. I noticed Terry_Brannick_ITT is listed in the data as active, he scratched on his Grand Depart YoYo(Terry_Brannick_Yo) attempt and then came back late summer as an ITT(Terry_Brannick_ITT) and finished a SoBo run. Kudo's to him for taking another swing and hitting a home run.

Interesting stuff. Seems most people who scratched, did so within the first week and with less than a 1/3rd of the distance covered.

That may have had to do with the 6 days of hell and hypothermia we endured to start the race, bikes were dying, bodies were dying, the wills of many men and women were dying, we were pushing through the muck having to earn every inch with our tires sinking in 1/2" on roads that were turned to slow poison, it was raining day and night non-stop, ~40F degrees out, and was sapping at least twice to three times the physical energy the route would normally take, I can't even begin to think about the mental energy comparison. I'm just glad my body, bike, and mind held up and I kept pedaling to Mexico.

Pretty cool visualization, thanks for taking the time seabiscuit.

My rig at Boreas Pass on TD'14:



Yeti ARCc

Obviously it never really caught on, maybe someone needs revive it. SlowRide?

Still giving it very serious consideration and have been thinking about different ways to set it up... will keep you posted.

I'm still waiting to see someone use a trump line method to get the weight off of the shoulders.

Not a bad idea at all.... I went to a Voyageurs camp in Canada and we portaged our canoes and all of our food and gear with tump lines for 6 weeks, I am going to experiment...

Great photography of some beautiful country and a nice write-up! Looks like you guys had a blast! Great shots of those ruins as well, unknown ruins always catch my interest, trying to put together the story given the clues available is always intriguing. Thanks much for taking the time to write it up.

On the bear-spray topic, here are some un-opinionated facts about fatal bear attacks in North America:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_bear_attacks_in_North_America

and if you'll indulge me, here's a well put together article that organizes these facts logically with well cited sources for statistics:

http://bucktrack.blogspot.com/2011/02/bears-should-you-be-afraid.html

While experienced opinions are valuable, I would encourage people to formulate their own opinions about this bear spray topic after listening to those of others. Everyone's fears are different, and are important to the person having them. My point being that the bear-spray decision is a personal one, if it's going to make you sleep better, you should probably take it along regardless of the facts. The whole game we play out there is about risk management, this is just one more risk to manage, and in all honesty, statistically it's probably a whole lot less significant than many others on the divide, unless lightning strikes, or wait... bear attack is 69x less likely than lightning striking...

As a contrast I'd love to see a statistic about bear-spray attacks, i.e. - how many people are injured each year from carrying bear spray?

I'd also like to be clear that I am not advocating the carrying, or not carrying of bear spray. I'm simply trying to push the free thinkers agenda and make the dispassionate facts available. I understand both sides of the coin and make my own decisions on a case by case basis drawing on my own experiences from living, working, and recreating in grizzly/cougar country for decades.

The other bear safety topic I rarely see visited is that of the hanging of food. It seems like almost a taboo topic in bikepacking circles. If you're worried enough to carry bear spray, you'd better be hanging your food when you sleep. Relying on bear spray to get you out of an encounter instead of trying to prevent the encounter itself is foolhardy. But hanging food takes time.... and effort.... and this is a race.... and you're going to be tired... My point being, where do you draw the line for acceptable risk? That's what's at the heart of this bear spray issue and it's different for everyone. Most people won't end up hanging their food, accepting the risk of attracting bears while asleep because they have a defense, which to me personally is silly. Fears will drive men and women to do all sorts of things that are completely inconsistent, whatever you decide, my advice is to above all else... act consistently and be decisive. Those two virtues will see you through more questionable situations than you'd think.

I've never been able to ride in my down jacket without it getting soaked if it's under a rain shell. On a cold winter day, I'll use the rain shell as a vapor barrier, and then put the down coat over the top. Otherwise, my down coat is used in camp, for both walking around and for sleeping. I'll also use it if I'm sweating a bit, and have to stop for some reason (change a flat, drink some coffee, take a break) etc.

I actually was going to revise my post to say just exactly this last night. Mostly I used the two layer system if I stopped and needed to keep warm while idling, the down puffy alone I put on without fail the second I got in to where ever I was camping. I'm very slender and lose core temperature easily so it was important for me not to catch a chill. The down puffy also served very nicely as a camp pillow.

I went with a Sherpa Cho Oyu Down Jacket as a mid-layer, and a Sherpa Lithang Jacket as a rain jacket/shell. I couldn't have been happier with their performance. I didn't have a hood on my down jacket but did on my rain jacket, the hood on the rain jacket fit over my helmet which was nice and had a wire rim so I could shape the brim, that was nice as well. I didn't feel that I needed a hood on my down jacket.

Heya Terry,
 You can rent a SPOT directly from Trackleaders for TDR. This year about a month before the race Matthew Lee posted an offer for rental, I'd guess he'll do the same this year. I believe the SPOT Gen3 was about 90$ for the month. Scott Morris or Matthew Lee would be the ones to talk to. There are numerous other rental outlets as well but I found it easiest to rent from trackleaders and they had a SPOT waiting at the Y-mountain Lodge in Banff for me. Hope this helps. Cheers.