No doubt those guys were tough. But I'm guessing their bikes were at least made for rougher conditions — steel frames, heavy tubulars, etc. I shudder at the thought of my carbon Calfee road bike in Tour Divide conditions. I'm highly skeptical that the frame would hold up to any number of those long rocky descents, let alone the tires and rims, although I'm sure I would break myself first by skidding out the loose gravel and jettisoning through the air. I'm not saying no one could pilot a road bike for the duration of that race; I'm just saying I feel 100 percent confident that I could not.

Since any person with a modern road racing bike would likely end up hiking large sections with their broken bike on their shoulders, I think the question of attempting it on foot is a whole other interesting tangent. Even hiking the GDMBR wouldn't be wholly horrible, and I'd really love to fastpack the CDT someday.

P.S. Amazing pictures, Justin. If you ever decide to put together a book of pictures, essays or art, please let me know. I'd love to help in any way. 

I got a kick out of the majority preference in that poll. The Tour Divide on a road bike is preferable to 2,000 miles in France on a mountain bike? Really? One forces you to work a little harder per mile, while the other will obliterate you with sore hands, feet, butt and back, and probably unrepairable mechanicals before you even get out of the Canadian Flathead. I enjoyed the GDMBR but I'd tour France and grind the knobbies on pavement any day before I subjected myself to that.

I just returned home from the long weekend and have yet to catch up on all the happenings of the race, but it's fun to see all the chatter about Cricket. I had the pleasure of spending quality time with Cricket during last year's TransRockies stage race in Canada. Not only is she nice, funny and completely unassuming, but she's a fierce racer and a strong mountain biker. She beat me handily in every single stage of TransRockies, and I mean handily. I'm rooting for her all the way.

I'm not 100 percent certain of Cricket's timing, but it looks like she's about a half day ahead of my 2009 pace so far if she is indeed spending Tuesday night up on Fleecer Ridge. I look at it in terms of where they're spending nights. I spent the sixth night in Butte and the the seventh in Elkhorn Hot Springs, and she's halfway between the two. Not a bad pace given that there's likely still a fair amount more snow on the course at this time than there was during the 2009 race. However, it's my opinion that the weather really decides how good of a pace anyone can keep. If Cricket can skirt the worst of the thunderstorms and keep her knees happy, I can't really think of anything stopping her from her goal.

My 2009 stopping points, for those tracking: (Might be easier to keep track of than the time splits.)
Day 8, Lima
Day 9, Sawtell (Island Park)
Day 10, Togwottee Pass
Day 11, Pinedale
Day 12, Atlantic City
Day 13, Rawlins
Day 14, Slater (Brush Mountain Lodge)
Day 15, Steamboat Springs
Day 16, Silverthorne
Day 17, Salida
Day 18, Canaro Pass
Day 19, Platoro
Day 20, Hopewell Lake
Day 21, Polovarda (sp?) Mesa
Day 22, Grants
Day 23, Plains of San Agustin
Day 24, Silver City
Day 25, Finish 24:07:24

Plenty of short days in there, including one that was only 50 miles and several under 100. Not tough to beat, but the weather, mechanicals and body all have to play nice together to carry on to the finish. Go Cricket!

Not always true, Dave. There have been several instances of people being disqualified from major races for route deviations and rule infractions. In at least two high-profile instances, Spot data played a pivotal role in enforcing the rules...

Like it or not, the decision to carry a Spot, and when to turn it on and off, has the ability to change the outcome of a race--whether a racer is willfully cheating or simply making a route-finding error. Based on the subject of this thread, I think that it's a relevant discussion.

I think this is a non-issue because SPOT use isn't compulsory and never should be. It is merely an interface between racers and spectators, not a rule watchdog. True, it has been used as such, but so has anecdotal evidence and witness reports, in the case of a Great Divide Racer who was outright disqualified, not relegated, for skipping parts of the course in 2008. But racers should be allowed to operate in "stealth mode" or avoid carrying a SPOT altogether if this is what they desire. Requiring SPOT tracking as a way to "keep the cheaters from cheating" is a bad precedent that won't work anyway.

However, I agree with Dave that spot stalking absolutely needs to be addressed somehow, especially for women on the course where there is already a fair amount of unease with the solo aspects of the race. It was already mentioned somewhere that Caroline decided to avoid riding through the reservation at night. I think it goes without saying that some will probably opt to not reveal where they camp at night by possibly turning off their SPOTs early. Others might not want to give up their positions for strategic reasons. There are a lot of reasons to go into stealth mode that have nothing to do with cheating.

Education is the best method. A simple reminder on the actual tracking pages (not the rules or discussion threads, which not everyone looks at) would suffice. You can't stop everyone but it will deter the well-intentioned fans, because it will help them think twice about how their actions effect those in the race.

The Gila Wilderness is enormous and amazingly remote. In 2001 I was backpacking near the West Fork and met an man who was out for an extended sojourn in the Gila, and hadn't passed through a town in more than three weeks. I forget the exact amounts but he started his hike with a big bag of rice, a slightly smaller bag of lentils and several pounds of butter, and that was his entire diet for three weeks. He gathered all of his water directly from rivers and streams - no filtering - and hiked about 10 miles a day on the large network for trails. That lean, bronzed bearded guy made a lasting impression on me in my early days of "adventuring." Namely, a realization that you don't need much at all to explore the world around you.

However, the Gila as part of the Tour Divide was brutal for me ... I got caught up in a major storm and slushed through peanut butter for the better part of 45 miles. I was crazy cold and shivering. I couldn't do anything to stay warm, quite the opposite of most people's experiences in that part of the desert. I remember daydreaming about ditching my useless bike and setting out on foot away from the peanut butter roads with only a bag of rice and lentils. I think I still envy the backpacker I met in 2001 for his level of simplicity.

I have to ask (again, and with all due respect), what is the aversion to flying with one's bike? it's the only way to go for the type of high stakes/tight tolerances a TD attempt dictates.

Having had my own near-disaster with FedEx before a major bike adventure, I completely agree. Several airlines' fees are still quite reasonable, and the chance of lost baggage is relatively low. It is more than worth the upfront cost for the extra security. If a friend/spouse isn't driving you in a private vehicle to the starting line, then fly and put the bike on the plane with you.

Thanks guys. I should note that this book is also available on Lulu. So if you're buying a copy of the Cordillera, you can add this one to save on shipping and double your Divide reading material. http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/be-brave-be-strong-a-journey-across-the-great-divide/15975842

However, I need to clarify that my Lulu book sales are not currently affiliated with the Cordillera fundraising effort.

Wow. I had no idea how close this was getting. Now it's about 11 p.m. MDT. My prediction is Kurt into AW first at 3:45 a.m., Jefe at 4:05 a.m., and Paul reaches Banff just before 7 a.m.

I hope this is OK if I promote my new book in the bikepacking.net classifieds. This is, after all, probably the largest single gathering of my target audience. I recently published my adventure memoir about my experiences in the 2009 Tour Divide. It's called "Be Brave, Be Strong: A Journey Across the Great Divide." This is an in-depth, candid narrative about heartbreak, determination and the daily challenges that teach us all the ways our own limits are so much greater than we believe. This is more of a personal adventure story than a typical race report or documentary about the Tour Divide, but I think you'll find it to be a compelling addition to your bikepacking library.

Signed copies of the book are available at http://www.arcticglasspress.net/agp/?wpsc-product=be-brave-be-strong

You can purchase the paperback through Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Be-Brave-Strong-Journey-Across/dp/1463533136

Or purchase a digital version of the eBook here http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/57913

But regarding the 'race', getting motels is a sign of weakness because doing so limits one's mileage. The primary Divide racing objective is to get to the opposite terminus as fast as humanly possible. This is not accomplished by staying in motels.Once in a blue moon timing works out perfectly, particularly in Colorado, and these occasions are things of beauty.This just warms my heart to hear. It's no coincidence, then, he's where he is in the virtual GC.

This isn't necessarily true. John Nobile set his 2008 GDR record without crawling into a sleeping bag once. He spent a couple nights out, essentially, by riding his bike through the night or very late into the early-morning hours. But there was no camping. No one has yet ridden the border-to-border section of the GDMBR faster.

But yes, for most of us hotel stays become a big time suck. In this regard, all the time advantages already go to those willing to duke it out in the dirt and festering saddle sores for multiple weeks. There's no reason to legislate hotel stays in order to level the playing field. It's just a different race strategy, and arguing that it's the wrong one is simply a personal opinion.

'Tour de Hotel': it's a slightly shameful moniker. I don't want to judge folks for their use of motels in heinous weather years like this one, or `09 or the first half of `10, but sleeping rough should be an essential element of the TD experience. Not only is it faster in the long run, it's more steady, transitions less depressing, generally more even keel. Crossing over into civilization each night is evil. If motel use is trending out of hand, it might be a sign the event is attracting a different cloth than intended. Then again, it could just be a sign the challenge is much harder than most are prepared to endure, so they default to a more credit card touring mentality. Tough one to assess.

Everything you said about sleeping out being faster, smoother transitioning and overall a better experience is true. Still, I disagree with your assertion that hotel use is simply a sign of weakness. The Tour Divide isn't a camping race. It's a cycling race. Each racer should be allowed to decide which ways they can best refuel and recover for the long days in the saddle this race requires. The Tour Divide also isn't a wilderness race — regular interactions with civilization are just part of the deal.

Of course if you really want to require "in-the-dirt style," the TD can set a "limited hotel stay" rule. But unless you want to go down that slippery slope of legislating "the TD experience," it's probably better to allow individual racers' experiences to happen organically. Eventually most rookies, especially if they ever return, will realize all the ways in which nightly stays in towns actually slow them down in the long run.

I've done a bit of research and concluded that fall would be my preferable season to ride the Divide. Weather, thunderstorms and the threat of mud are by far the largest factors in this conclusion. For starters, May and June are typically the wettest months of the year in the Northern Rockies. By late June, the monsoon season begins in Colorado and New Mexico, and afternoon thunderstorms become a near-daily occurrence. However, by late August, the thunderstorm threat lessens and weather stabilizes. For Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico, as a whole, September weather is general pleasant and dry — as Erik mentioned, warm days and chilly nights.

I thought if I started riding from the north around August 20 or 25, I'd have my best shot at my own ideal weather window, escaping the majority of the heat in the south while avoiding the onset of winter in the higher passes of the north. Of course, there's always the chance of anything happening, including a higher chance of snowfall. But in the dry month of September, any snowfall isn't likely to be significant enough to slow forward progress even as much as rainfall does, and in my opinion light snow is always preferable to cold rain.

Wildfires are a wild card; they can hit any time of year, but they are more common later in the season when vegetation has dried out. This is true in Montana and I'm sure it's true in Colorado and New Mexico as well. By September, after the thunderstorms have lessened, wildfire season is for the most part over, but I think if you chose to start your ride in early August, you would likely see your fair share of smoke.

But I should also add that, at least in the north, this year's wildfire season is forecast to be relatively mild given how cold and wet spring has been. But as you know wildfire season is already raging in the south.

And of course there's more darkness, about two hours more per night in late August than mid-June. This also could mean less riding in the heat, however. Everything is a trade-off, but I think the benefit of bypassing the wet season in Montana and thunderstorm season in the south would be worth a little more time staring at a headlamp beam under the stars. Not to mention that the previous winter's snowpack would be a non-issue. If it's not gone from everywhere on the route by late August, that pretty much means the next ice age has begun.

If you guys go through with a Fall Divide ride this year I'll be anxiously watching your progress. I'm pretty interested myself in 2012. ;-)

Looks like Justin may have slipped on Richmond Peak. He just tweeted this:

"Took a 250 foot detour straight DOWN on Richmond Peak. Getting 50lbs+ bike back up a 70 degree snow slope will become a Tour Divide legend."

Yikes. Glad he's safe in Seeley Lake now!

It looks like Justin's doing it — he's turning off onto Richmond Peak. This will be a particularly tough obstacle on the snow route. The GDMBR follows a narrow road cut that crosses several avalanche paths. The road cut itself will likely be completely buried in snow, which means Justin will be blind-navigating a traverse of a 45-degree exposed snow slope with little tree protection. Adventurous stuff. Go, Red Lantern, Go.

I was flagged down by Kirsten at the Brush Mountain Lodge in Slater, Colorado. She flags down all the Divide riders who are naive enough not to have heard of her and her wonderful establishment first (I was in this group.)

This race is still in its early days. It is much like the Tour De France was in the early 1900s. Looking at the long term (50 years plus) old trails will disappear, new trails will be made and other changes will take place. Thus records based on specific courses or distances will be meaningless. In 50 years people will look back and say this guy won 6 times, this guy won by the largest margin or this racer was the first woman to win the entire race.  We will not look back and say racer X in 2016 finished the race in 15 days but that does not equal racer Y in 2015 who finished a harder course in 15.5 days.  

I've been tracking the ladies' race too. Caroline is rockin it, and it's interesting to see so many of the women riding so close together. Excited to see what transpires in the next couple weeks. Women in the GDR/TDR have a good track record of sticking it out, so I hope to see a high finishing rate among ladies this year.

As to the discussion of what "records" will be broken or stand, I'm in agreement that this course changes every year. The course we raced in 2009 had some additions to the course of 2008 (Canadian Flathead ... it was hard!) And 2010 had a detour as well. This year would have had Gold Dust addition if it weren't for all of the reroutes, which have made the course substantially different. Several of the tough passes in Montana were entirely eliminated. It's actually difficult to compare year to year, and may remain that way. However, for those who are tracking records (and records are significant; they were the entire reason for launching this race back in 2004 and remain the main goal of many who ITT the course), I would argue that this year's reroutes are at least as significant as cutting out the Canadian section altogether. So the overall women's Divide record is Trish Stevenson's 2005 border-to-border ride with the Great Divide Race, at 21 days, 23 hours and 47 minutes; and the overall men's record is John Nobile at 15 days, 1 hour and 26 minutes. No matter how you weigh it — race organization rulings or popular opinion — those are ultimately the times to beat.

Given what Justin set out to do, I'm guessing he's prepared for the steep snowfields of Richmond Peak. Even if he hits the crust early in the morning, the crampons embedded in most snowshoes should be enough to give him traction along that section, as long as he's careful. If I were traversing that ridge on crust, I would probably turn my bike on its side and prop it as a sort of ice ax to leverage against slips on the worst sections, with a big stick to dig into the snow on the downslope for balance (and also use as a self-arrest object if needed.) Take two steps and drag the bike forward, never letting go of the handlebars. It would be tedious and amazingly slow, but rolling the bike on its wheels along a hard-packed 45-degree sideslope seems too risky to me. One slip could send the bike careening down the mountain, or worse.

Personally I'm enamored with Justin's mountaineering/bikepacking adventure. Can't believe no one else thought this sounded like a fun idea. ;-)

Good quote, Jeff. I had to look up those lyrics after you posted. I thought the first verse was also quite apt.

It’s all about where you put the horizon
Said the Great John Ford to the young man rising
You got to frame it just right and have some luck of course
And it helps to have a tall man sitting on the horse
Tell them just enough to still leave them some mystery
A grasp of the ironic nature of history
A man turns his back on the comforts of home
The Monument Valley to ride off alone

I finally got around to reading my copy (I helped design the cover but didn't see the text before it printed.) I really enjoyed this one, especially Stephen Gleasner's piece about the daily creep of images and memories from his own Tour Divide experience. His essay really rang true to me — "My greatest tool the first time, the thing that got me to Antelope Wells, was my blissful ignorance ... The thing unfolded one mile at a time. I stared at the queues. I got lost. I was present for every moment. I seldom looked ahead to anything more than the next day."

Also enjoyed the Moe Brother discovery pieces and transcript from Dave Blumenthal. Nice job, Eric, with the compilation and editing.

Sounds like a good move, Dave. But I'm curious if you've considered the potential of thunderstorms during storm season in the high country of Colorado and Montana. I saw some downright nasty storms last July, both near Missoula and in Butte. They seem to be a regular thing that time of year, and even if you're not irrationally terrified of lightning (I am), they do have the potential to get you really wet and muck up the roads.

Personally I think John Nobile had it right last year with an early fall start. Yes, you're sacrificing daylight. But the weather is so much more stable in August and September, and you don't have to worry about late-season snowpack. Canada and Montana grizzlies are fat and happy instead of lean and hungry. Plus, fall colors! And, although I know this isn't incentive to you, cooler day temperatures. If I ever decide to ride the Divide again, that's the time of year I hope to do it.