I'm curious about the story behind the stick on the Mirko Haekers bar bag ... is it to fend off wild animals or hold something together??

Dogs? Someone could open a roadside stand in Cuba selling these for running the dog gauntlet down the road.  They also make a great emergency tent pole, splint, or use it to prop your head up (between forehead and bar bag) once you get to New Mexico.  Act now and get a free stick for scraping mud out of your chainstays! 

Of coming interest:

http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/gila/news-events/?cid=STELPRD3841774

This could all change with a little rain, so probably not a big deal.  These are all small or under control.  Good site, though, for later.

Thanks for your input Gringo, that's an interesting point you raise on the Rohloff. Unfortunately due to the scarcity of them down my way I doubt I'll get the chance to test ride one prior to committing, but I am searching for a guinea pig!

Great to hear you rate the SP!

The Rohloff is a mixed bag.  I ran one last year and it was as bombproof as the hype says.  Never touched it.  Just slid the dropout back as the chain wore.  But an IGH does make you stop pedaling to shift and that's never become intuitive for me, especially when tired.  Plus you've got to find a way to mount the shifter/cable block so that it's accessible/logical but doesn't conflict with all the other cockpit clutter of an ultra bike (plus the shifter only mounts on a flat bar - though there are some aftermarket options for this).  There is some weight hanging out back there but on a loaded, balanced bike it's minor.  And the lowest 7 gears do have slight drag from the added reduction gear that accesses them and you can feel a "hum" through the cranks.  It's that little vibration and sense of resistance that's bothersome to many, though it's mechanically negligible.  Even so, I'd run the same rig again, especially in a wet year.  Not a worry in the world.  But $$$.

Schmidt Son dynamo hub is as sweet as it is beautiful.  Lots of good options for hubs now.  Good luck.

I rode through the Rez at night. All the bud light cans and the vodka bottles on the side of the road kinda freaked me out.

I slept for a couple of hours out there by a side road in what was essentially a sand trap full of liquor bottles.  The stars were amazing.  

Looks like Bill P is posted at the top of Red Rock Pass to welcome the leaders to Idaho.  Pics?

Thanks for the opinions on CX and drops guys. It's interesting.
The comment on aerobars was a good one too. I'm planning on using aero's next year, I've already started training with them, and it's been a bit of an odd cultural change for me!
I've never used them before but they have proved to be really useful in headwinds on the smoother trails, and for hanging stuff off of them!

Mostly they'll mean that when you get to Antelope Wells you'll still be able to grasp things.  Saving your hands from grasping tubing all day (nerve damage) is one of the biggest benefits. 

Given the big rain cloud over Bannack Rd, I predict that JP and Neil are in for a struggle in the mud. I've been in that situation twice and it totally sucks.

Alex will likely close the gap on them, especially if the road dries out quickly behind the race leaders.

Now things get interesting.  Dan Hensley and I barely got out of that valley last year before some big rain hit and glued the racers behind us to the road.  Not a good place to be when it's wet.

Amazing all the colorful gear that everybody's got this year.  They all look so clean.  Last year by Ovando, everybody was riding brown bikes and wearing brown clothes.  

Once the leaders are down out of Beaverhead Deerlodge NF it'll be a drag race to Wyoming.  Just a couple of passes but decent, flattish roads.  If they stay dry enough that is.  Otherwise (except the service road into Lima) this will be miles of sticky clay.  Great when it's dry, though.  Bill Peschka seems to have run into the mud there yesterday.

As the sun is setting on the east coast, a question for vets: which sections of the route would you LEAST like to hit at night, for whatever reason(s)? The descent into Radium? Lava Mtn? Richmond Peak (if snowy)?

Great discussion topic, ron, thanks.  imo, (assume riding alone) from a cycing standpoint, Brazos Ridge (up, across, down, etc.) in the wet, for the 'creepy' side, any tight singletrack or dense willow growth parts of the route through grizzly and moose country (Banff to Whitefish for sure) on a moonless or cloudy night.  Fortunately for Soboers, that part of the route is over before one's thinking gets too fuzzy and inventive to trust entirely (that'd be around the Basin?).  I'd hoped to ride the Basin in the dark.  Next time?  To add on to ron's question, then, what would be your FAVORITE section to ride in the dark?

I'm interested in JayP's change of heart from Ti to Carbon. The Cutthroat is not a very appealing bike for someone like me. Guess that's why Surly make Ogres!

Yeah, there are a few things that'd keep it from being a go-to long range(r), long-term bikepacking bike, like the potential for bag-wear damage to the frame, press-fit BB that not all shops can fix, non field-repairable frame, outboard drivetrain mandatory (no single-speed or internal possible), etc. but if Salsa wanted to give me one for next year's TDR, I'd probably take my chances with it.  And it may be more Salsa's idea to bring the carbon to market than Jay's but I'm sure we'll get a report afterward.  Interesting bike, though.

Marshall Bird has entered Ovando.  Looks good.  Knee bothering him off and on but says that's just normal for him.  Fueling up and heading out.  Pleased that he is doing so well.

Glad to see this.  I recall riding with Marshall into Butte last year when he was having all sorts of trouble, a little before he decided to pull the plug.  It's a different race every year, that's for sure.  I hope his luck (and everything else) holds up.

Thanks Angler for the great Ovando pictures!  Exciting race this year!

Just an observation: the Sponsored guys always seem to be winning / up front with nicest bikes and clothes...by the time you see pictures a few places back the clothes/equipment look like Kmart (in a relative sense only).  Maybe a two class race - non-sponsored winner too?

Well, sponsored racers tend to be that because they're really fast.  Also, since most people out there are running $5000+ worth of gear (bike+equipment) there's not really all that much difference in the rigs based on sponsored/not.  Non-sponsored racers have won in the fairly recent past.  And "sponsorship" is a pretty broad spectrum, ranging from donation of a few pieces of gear to full-on supply/support/R&D, etc.  In the end, it's just a bunch of people out there alone on their bikes, bone tired, making decisions and dealing with the conditions.  If JayP shears off his derailleur, he's the one that's got to deal with it (and they're not 1/4 of the way done and haven't hit any big mud yet).  It's a pretty level playing field in most ways which is a great thing about this race.

Hiding right there... in plain sight!   

Shows how little I notice internet advertising anymore :-)  JayP is getting them the most for all those banners they paid for, that's for sure. 

I've got one of those ENO SS hubs.  They're nice.  But they don't make a 12mm thru-axle version so far, just a bolt-on that fits regular dropouts.  If you could get an internal hub in there somehow, it'd be safe from the sticky pottery clay goop that plagues derailleurs, etc.

I was wondering, what's caused the re-route passed the charming town of Rawlins?

Lots of road construction on the usual route this year.  Started last year and lots of us had minor delays waiting for road crews to let us through.  Apparently it's worse this year, hence the re-route. 

Well there it is.  A bike designed just for this race.  JP looks to be on his way to selling a lot of them for Salsa.  There's no option to run a Rolhoff (me) or single speed on it but unless you want that it looks like a pretty thought out rig.  Good thing they made the front triangle so big.  That's the biggest limitation of the Fargo, especially in a smaller frame size (mine).  Frame bag zipper was hosed by Colorado from forcing too many gas station hoagies, etc. into too small a bag.  

Interesting bike JayP is rolling this year.  That frame's not a regular Salsa production bike.  It's not a Warbird and they don't yet make a non-fat bike carbon hardtail. 

What I find crazy is if you look at the "projected" times, there are some really respectable times for nearly half the field. Super entertaining to watch this year.

Need to remember that the race is less than three days old.  People and bikes are still relatively fresh and the good weather has helped a lot.  But before long things like fatigue, weather, navigation errors, planning errors, mechanicals, mentals, you name it will start to happen to everybody to some extent and you'll see a lot of those projected times start to fall in line with something that looks reasonable.  That'll take a while.  Meanwhile, the field seems to be in pretty good shape.  Huge contrast to last year when everybody was so cold, wet and miserable and many bikes were beginning to fail from day one.  There's a loooong way to go. 

Speaking of experience, note that 60-year old Robert Orr is setting a very hot pace for the gray team.