WOW the guy is unbelieveable......Mike Hall must be proud!!  and considering Sofiane is on a Niner.  its only appropriate to scream Pedal Damn It

Given the added fun of Koko Claims, I didn't think Superman could get from Banff to Ovando in anything close to 2d 4h.  Astounding endurance and speed...and a testament to the good riding conditions up north.  Wyoming and Colorado may be entirely different beasts.  He will need to rest at some point here.  But Richmond, Huckleberry, Stemple, and Priest in one day is pretty staggering.

He's giving Mike's memory a run for the money.

Scott Morris wrote that there was logging going on in that area.

There was no snow in 2016 when Mike Hall set the record and he rode pretty much in front of the cold & wet system which hit most of us Day 1, 2 and 4.

Similar conditions in 2015.  Other than some rain and snowflakes on day 1, the leaders had pretty much no snow and very little rain.  Great riding!!  The 2015 finish between Kato, Beltchenko, and Petervary was one for the ages.

Wow!  The live webcam shots from Cumbres Pass confirm that there is still significant patchy snow in the area.  It takes a mind of steel to slog for miles when you want to be riding.

Wonderful photos, wedelmaster - thanks for sharing.

I was in Banff for the Grand Depart in 2015 (not riding, just spectating...) and these bring back lots of memories.

On another note: I'm really late to the party this year and haven't kept up the past couple of years due to various things - when was the Flathead removed from the route?

The Flathead was removed after 2016 due to a couple of bridges being torn down.  One was replaced, the other was not to be replaced, but apparently was rebuilt sometime last year.  Koko Claims was added as the re-route and, to this point, remains part of the race route.  It's just several miles of hike-a-bike up a steep rock wash.  If both bridges are back in the Flathead, it's silly to leave a walking section in a cycling race.

Anyways...you can ignore the opinion part.

...and just like that, Josh's SPOT is back in business at the top of Koko Claims.  Nevermind...

Hopefully, Josh Kato just has a defective SPOT device or dead batteries.  He's been camped on Elk Pass for quite a while.

It is a long race. Those who are at the front now might be half way back tomorrow. I know that I don't have the mental stamina to do what they do. Ten hours on the bike and I'm asking, "Why am I doing this?"

That mental strength is Lael Wilcox's biggest asset.  She can stay on the bike for a LONG time.  Leaders getting ready for Elk Pass now.

Mike Hall made it into Ovando MT around noon on that Sunday.  So I am seeing how Lael meets that.  Or anybody for that matter.

So around 52 hours...give or take...staggeringly fast.  With the snow the riders will face to the south and Koko Claims lurking today, someone is going to simply have to torch that time.  I can't see it happening.  Records or no, it doesn't detract from what the riders will accomplish.

Hal Russell...70 years young!!!

It'll pick up.

When Mike Hall made his record run in 2016, he reached Whitefish in 30 hours and Lincoln in (I think) 54 hours...something like that...?  Let's see how the "racers" in the group do...

Signing in to BP.net for the first time this year in anticipation of this years race and saw this thread.

Thank you so much for mentioning it.  It actually surprised us.  We saw folks filming but never expected to be in an official visit Montana commercial.  When I saw it being played during the NHL playoffs I knew we had made it.  HA!

We believe we were featured [altho un-named] as we received the 2018 Montana Community of the Year in tourism and recreation.  All due to cyclist such as yourself nominating us.  We are going to milk that for EVER!  lol.

Based on your reputation, it's well-deserved.  Thanks so much for contributing to the award, to the TD, and for posting so many photos to this site.  I, as one of many, really appreciate it.  We actually planned on coming to the area in 2017, but circumstances prevented it.

Regards,
Joel

Koko Claims is still on, despite the bridge in the Flathead Valley being fixed...

Not that it matters a hill of beans to anyone, but if both bridges that were out in the Flathead Valley in 2017 have been repaired, then re-routing over Koko Claims is silly.  The Flathead is the official GDMBR route and Koko Claims is mostly pushing your bike up a rock wash - the very thing the GDMBR was created to mitigate.

Regards,
Joel

By the way, I saw that same commercial just a week or two ago.  I can't remember what we were watching...oh, we had recorded something and I was zipping through the ads, saw the word "Montana" and re-wound to watch it.  I recognized Ovando right away from all the TD photos posted here, even though I've never been...yet.  Funny, I turned to my wife and did the same thing.  When she asked about the significance, I told her the lineage with the TD...she kind of smirked.

She knows it's calling me...

Regards,
Joel

That bridge looks totally awesome!  I hope someday to ride on that bridge...

Photos of Boreas Pass! The good: it's been plowed for the year!

Wow!  That's pretty impressive.

My wife and drove past Hopewell Lake and down to Rd 133 on US 64 a couple of weeks back on our way to Taos.  Rd 133 was clean as far as we could see, and while there was snow on the route up at Hopewell, it was maybe 6-7" deep.  Shouldn't be a problem next month.

My wife and I drove from Phoenix to the Canyon last Thursday morning, and all the way up I was feeling for you all.  I can attest to the brutality of the winds, and we were in a car!  It's hard to imagine how you endured.  Congratulations to all of you, finishers and otherwise, for attempting a race this difficult in conditions this difficult, starting with the heat down low, then the wind and cold up top.

flyboy, I was hoping against hope we might run into you up at the Canyon, but we got there a little too early.  Your Tour Divide write-up is one of my favorites, and I still read it from time to time.  I'm anxious to read your AZTR account.

There was one during the TD either 2017 or 2016, can't remember which.  Past Ferndale.  A woman had a young griz bluff-charge her and then charge for real.  Bear spray sent him packing.

I believe it was Dallis Waters who was charged by a bear near Holland Lake during the 2015 TD.  She waited until she saw the whites of its eyes and let go with bear spray.  Somebody recounted it in the 2015 TD thread...made the hair on my neck stand up when I read it.

Not that I would ever attempt the TD without bear spray...

I've often wondered about a bit of clorox bleach on a rag.  Since a bear's sense of smell is more powerful than a human by orders of magnitude, I thought that maybe carrying 4-5 ounces of Clorox bleach in a small bottle and then periodically putting a teaspoon or two on a rag might irritate a bear's nose enough to send it off.  Not sure if that's really practical or anything...just something I've thought about...

That rule came after that race.

My point is more this:  The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route is a construct of the ACA and uses public roads and trails.  ANYONE can use the GDMBR to tour, fast tour, or race.  If one chooses to do their own time trial or to race with friends, they can make whatever rules they want.  However, if one is racing in the Tour Divide, the Tour Divide rules should be followed, regardless of how anyone feels about them.

+1!!

In case you hadn't seen this...

For the 20th-anniversary "revise", they're extending the route northward from Banff to Jasper National Park and adding a spur from Seeley Lake to Missoula.  Plus the new maps will be routed for both southbound AND northbound riders.  I don't know if the extension to Jasper will eventually affect the Tour Divide, but time will tell on that.

https://www.adventurecycling.org/resources/blog/the-worlds-longest-mountain-bike-route-is-about-to-get-longer/

Hal with about 75 miles to go...he'll be done today or tomorrow.  His last call to MTBCast was a bit emotional at the end.  He's going to have some great stories to tell when he's done...as will all the participants.

Almost there, Hal!!!