It looks like Chris is taking a little break at the work station.  The weather for him going forward looks great.  The weather for Separ and Hachita looks like highs in the upper 90s and no rain.  Silver will be cooler.  He must be getting that wow this is real feeling.

Hey there’s a funky outdoor art installation outside Pie Town, I think somewhere north of town. Does the TD course go by it?

Are you talking about the new cell tower?  The windmill contractor's yard?

When I was at the Toaster House last year there was a ton of backpacker type food piled up.  Apparently many hiking the CDT have a resupply package sent to Pie Town and they leave what they don't need at the Toaster House.  A lot of that food is pretty old so checking the dates on it is a good idea.

I have seen a mountain lion during a dusk crossing of sand mtn as well. Divide racers are too skinny to eat according to department of wildlife:)

Smell bad too.

All the best to Josh.  Like Mike Hall was, he is a class guy and in a class of his own.  I have always been extremely impressed by his openness and willing to share.  And then there is his talent and drive.  I hope his recovery is quick.

Right you are.  Thank you.

Anyone know what bike Nate Ginzton is riding?  I noticed that at least 3 of the lead 4 bikes are Ti.  Being a big Ti fan myself (Ti Fargo) it is interesting to see such a strong showing after the recent dominance of Cutthroats.

In an interesting anecdote. Late last Summer as my son and I were enjoying a couple of cold beverages, we reflected on riding from Banff to Helena last July. The topic came up on the difficulty in climbing the 2 steep grades prior to Elk Pass. My son asked, "Do you think that Josh rides up it?" I had no idea as we pushed up it. So, I messaged Josh and asked him if he rode it and how. He got back to a couple of days later and responded, "I ride with a triple".

So, when I see pics like this, I have to say... "I'll be darned. He does ride a triple."

All, thanks for the pictures!!!

Those that know, know.  Tree climbing gears.

Facebook creeps me out, it always has.  My gut has always told me it isn't going to end well for those that use it.  But then again I am old enough to prefer using paper maps. 

Wow, that is a great resource.  It is the first time I have heard of it and I live in PHX.  There are people who advertise on CL and they wanted $200-250 for an AW pick up and transport to PHX.  They didn't come off as super reliable so I didn't use them.  I didn't want to get stuck in AW with no cell signal wondering if my ride would show up.  A regularly scheduled service relieves those worries.

I am going from memory here from riding that portion of the GDMBR last year.  West of Pie Town on HWY 60 about a mile is the Top Of The World C store.  That is the last chance for food until you get through the Gila.  A few miles south of Pie Town there is an animal rescue place that had a cooler of water out for TD riders.  Further on there is a well that riders are welcome to use, it is on the right side.  Then there is nothing until you get to the highway that borders the Plains of San Augustine.  There is a church there and riders are welcome to fill up from the hose bib.  Don't be intimidated if there is a lot of shooting going on at the church, they have after church services shooting matches.  They are nice people and they are sure to give you some reading material for the rest of your ride.  Once in the plains there are a couple of ranchers that had coolers out with water, one even had candy bars etc for TD riders.  Then there is nothing until the work camp.  After the work camp there is a lake and a couple of stream crossings that may have water.  Silver City has everything you could want.  After Silver City there are no supplies until Separ.  However a couple of miles after you turn off the highway from Silver there is a well and cattle tank on the left.  It is set up so you can catch the water right as it pumps from the well so no need to filter.  The people of Hachita are wonderful.  The community center is available for cyclists to sleep in.  There is a small store that is much like what you would find in Baja.  They carry enough to get by with and ice cream.  It isn't like a C store that is open at all hours so plan accordingly.

For any north bounders or south bound finishers going through Phoenix we have a guest house for cyclists.  We are Warm Showers hosts.  Usually we can do airport pick ups and a lift up the hill to Globe.  There are no fees for any of this, it is just my way of repaying for all the kindness I have received over the years.  Good luck to all.

I am a coffee addict so I have tried lots of stuff and this is what works for me.  I have a love hate relationship with stoves and cooking equipment when bike packing.  They take up valuable space.  At the end of a hard day the last thing I want to do is dick around cooking and then worse, clean up.  Then there is the wet garbage issue.  Over time I have found I only use my stove for coffee.  But then in the morning I don't want to sit around I want to get going.  Rather than having coffee I often just have a GU Expresso Love gel.  That has enough caffine in it to keep the caffine withdrawal at bay.  There is also a product called Caffino or something like that.  It is a power that you mix in a water bottle.  It tastes like a gritty mocha. I have used it a few times but then you have to clean your water bottle out.  These days I debate whether or not to even bring a stove each trip.  More often than not I never use it.  The more years I do this the simplier my kit becomes.

I am in Phoenix and we are Warm Showers hosts.  We can probably help you out.

Dave

If you are tubeless it is rarely a problem as long as you pay attention and don't do anything stupid.  The bigger tire hazard is actually wire fragments from truck tires when you are riding highway shoulders.  I have ridden thousands of miles in the Southwest and since I started using Stans I have only had a couple of flats and if I recall correctly one was a stem failure and the other was a rim tape failure.  People using tubes seem to have lots of issues here.

We had some guests here a few weeks ago and they are posting details on their route on crazyguyonabike.  Their names are Jordon and Makenzie.  They are in Texas right now.  They went south from Phoenix to Tucson then further south and headed over to Animas, Hachita, Columbus and on to El Paso.  It sounds like a nice route and it avoids I10.  It also avoids that nasty hill and tunnel going to Globe. 

I am a little late on this but I live in Phoenix and we have a guest house we built for cyclists (we are warm showers hosts).  Depending on scheduling I can pick you up at the airport with my pick up truck.  You can put your bike together at our place and relax.  When you are ready I can usually provide a ride up to Globe so you won't risk your life on that nasty road or have to wade through the Phoenix sprawl.  We don't charge any fees for this, it is just my way of pay back a small fraction of the kindness I have received over the years while cycling about.

ForestyForest also makes a really good water bladder carrier that straps on to your bar bag.  I just used one on the Camino Del Diablo and it is outstanding.  There are videos on it on his youtube channel.

I stumbled across this while researching a route in the Mojave:  https://pubs.usgs.gov/wsp/0490b/report.pdf

It is dated so it should only be used as a starting point.  Don't forget the sunscreen.

I grew up sailing and learned that electronics were a nice luxury but not something to be depended upon.  One time I was single handing a 24' boat to Mexico and I was off Point Conception near Santa Barbara and my Loran system was telling me I was in the Mohave Desert.  That is just one example of many.  I use maps and pay attention to wtf I am doing.  The only electronics I carry are a Garmin 800 and my in reach.  Sometimes even that is like travelling with two ex wives.  There is no way I will every trust electronics for such a critical system with no back up. 

In regards to what someone is using in the race we have no idea of what incentives that individual may have to use a particular piece of equipment. The choice of the equipment tells us very little but when it fails on the TD, that is very informative.  This goes beyond electronics, forks come to mind.....

It looks like Dom Irving is about to finish.