I don't think many people here have actually ridden the GDMBR either, maybe just watched the movie ;-)
I hear you re road>dirt, but even roads can be interesting....
Re Mike having it in the bag, what about Jefe? There ain't not race up front for him!

Come on Geof, get out of Orange Peel Bikes and get riding!
Go go go, Rob and Ken. Rooting for ya at home in NZ.
S

What an awesome effort by Mike Hall and a pathetic effort by bikepacking.net forum lurkers ;-)
How is this any less interesting or exciting that the Tour Divide? This gezza had just ridden 4400MILES in less than 17 days, absolutely amazing.
Scott in NZ

Good luck to the Alexandra Bandits Geof Blance, Ken Scott and Rob Davidson. So wish I was toeing the line with you all!
Give it heaps.
Kiwis can fly, go go go....
Bored Scott at home in a wet Christchurch.......

I wouldn't call myself a world-class rider, but I was one of the 3 and I'd certainly say Robert is a world-class guy and one of the nicest people I've met. Trailbuilder and TDR-rider helper, riders all over the world know him and owe him now : ) Thanks Robert.
A huge thanks to Roger and Lloyd P too - rolling by us on the final straight with cold cokes and friendly faces at the finish. Passed on a message from my family as I'd been riding w/o a phone, brought a tear to my eye. What a difference that made to the last moments of my TDR ride. There were times on the ride that were made by the people who go out of their way to make this race more memorable than you think it could be.

Awesome! Congrats James O 

Again, as the record becomes more super human, the higher that scale / % climbs. Read here again. Falling records may only affect the men's 25-day standard marginally. Just as likely to lower a competitive standard are equipment improvements, obsessive amts of info on the route, and trail angels on every corner  . The best path to more 25-day performances is to convince people not to make TD their first ever bike race, convince them to leave the kitchen sink at home, and strongly encourage them to dally less in towns / motels / push to the edge of their ability (leave much less in the tank daily) as was intended by the originators of Divide racing.

An idea Scott M. and I have batted around for TD that would be purely about social pressure is staging a virtual fight to remain on the primary TD live race tracker by establishing that if you fall behind the 25 day flag, then you fall off the primary tracker and get moved over to Trackleaders' GDMBR 'citizen' tracker, which is organized for all tourists who thru-riding the route with a SPOT tracker. Falling off the primary map doesn't mean one is time-cut or won't be a TD finisher, it's just a bit more incentive to, 'pedal damnit'. I'm sure we'd get hell for it, but hey...

I think this is an awesome idea Mathew.
It's "your" event so who cares if you get hell for it.
I fully agree about your "not to make TD their first ever bike race" comment.
Thanks for all of your's and Scott Morris efforts.
Cheers, Scott

I spoke to Mike Hall this evening in order to give him the Gila reroute cues. He told me if he finishes by a certain deadline, the Pivot folks will come, if he doesn't meet that deadline, Lloyd Payne will be scooping him. So, He's covered...not that it's our concern. That's one of the challenges of the race for racers themselves to sort.

Mike also wanted me (and anyone else who cares) to know he is totally OK with the reroute and he's not gutted at all about the record. He said he missed the impetuous Craig provided and the closure had taken a bit of steam out of the mission, but all was OK. He believes what matters is he demonstrated what is possible, and that's enough for him. He's considering riding the Sapillo CDT singletrack backwards once he reaches Silver City if he can make a loop of it via Hwys 35 and 15. Pie Town is a high priority this year so he plans to hang back if necessary, to get the full experience, as in 2011 he missed it entirely.

I think Mike will have to hold back to get any experience of Pie Town going on where he is at the moment. Go Mike Go

I got it on Kindle.

Thanks Donald, do you know who the Author is?
Ok I think I found it, is it actually Dividing the Great by John Metcalf?

So as usual, I can't get enough "Divide" entertainment during the summer.  I've read "two wheels on my wagon", "divide the great", "be brave, be strong", the Cordillera volumes, and several blogs.  Is  there anything else out there?

Excuse me honez1414 or anyone else who know, who wrote, where can I fine the book "divide the great"?
I too love to devour anything on the Divide and haven't heard of this one.
Any help appreciated, thanks, Scott

In reply to Randomlurker's post on Hydration: Wow, you are correct! Somewhat...lol.  All of these riders could benefit from IV therapy with the day to day rigors they are putting themselves through; and if there is a stomach virus on top of that, it is crucial that these athletes do something for their Hydration levels just to keep them from ending up in the hospital. I am one of two owners of Standby Hydration Therapy out of Arizona and Eric Foster is one of my riders!! Eric is an intense individual and a top competitor; he understands the importance of hydration when it comes to performance, recovery from one endurance race, and the rehabilitation to be ready for the next (Triple Crown Prospect right??). This is why we have put in place a plan to provide therapy for Eric before every race and after every race. Oh and guess what?  Robin Schartz may understand the importance of being hydrated going into an Ultra race such as this too... Standby Hydration Therapy and The IV Guys stand behind both of these top level athletes and plan on seeing them in Antelope Wells!!  I congratulate every athlete that started this adventure on June 14! So, Max and any other athletes returning home to AZ from the trail, give me a call directly to schedule your therapy session before heading down to Tucson 208-514-6558. Anyone else interested in learning more about us, find and like us on Facebook... Ride On!!!

Are you freakin' serious? This is not the TdFarce we're talking about here buddy!
Go away please, I don't want to read this stuff on here

I used to do Ironman and there was a bit of this carry on happening by the top athletes to help them "recover". Never appealed to me. It definitely has no place here. That is NOT self supported.

If I had say, which I don't, I'd vote that any 'take' goes to the poor Portuguese and Peruvian sheepherders who tramp the Brazos ridge (just down-route). Those guys are paid pennies per day, and probably only in credit to the company store.

Where's the "like" button when you need one?? Or maybe an Amen button!

Hi Chris, I did not know Katherine was a Kiwi, I apologise Katherine for missing you. AWESOME effort on your ride.

Chris I was sorry to hear about your Mother and that you had to pull the plug. Hope she is recovering well.
I was cheering you on from Christchurch.

Well done the lot of you, I was too soft to even get to the start 

[/quote]

Three kiwis: Katherine Wallace is also one, although she is based in Colorado. Didn't she also break the old women's record?

I was #4 but had to bail at Steamboat when my 90 year old mother broke her hip (but if the stars align I'm heading back in a few weeks to try and complete the ride).

Here is the NZ contingent at the start. Three mainlanders and one JAFA.

Looks like Nathan Mawkes hs finished. His dot is jumping, but he's still a bit up the road.
Huge congrats to you Nathan.
Two kiwi's this year 

Donation made....Thanks for making this happen guys.

+1 Thank you Scott M and thank you Matt L

Ollie is running a new type of tyre, it's by a brand called "Kiwi" and the model is called "Massive Heart and Power".
It's a ptototype at this stage and only available to a few 

Come on Ollie, go go go. It's easy peddling from Silver City (relatively )!

Looks like our leaders will be in Salida tonight 
We had a rest day there, it's an awesome little town. Has an awesome Micro Brewery and Pizza restaurant, yum yum
GO Ollie GO!!

1445hrs MDT is my guess.
Go Ollie Go.
-4.5deg C here in Christchurch this morning, brrrrrr, and I'm off for a ride to help set up a 'cross course!

What fun is there in not speculating??

Ok so Craig has just "passed" Ollie who is still on the side of the road. Hopefully it's just a SPOT dlitch.
These guys are awesome.
Come on Ollie