BTW, Deanna Adams has to be currently a record holder as someone who rode the longest distance on a fixie in a Great Divide/Tour Divide race!!!! One tough lady;) Tailwinds Deanna...

Jamie Thomson stayed with us the night before last.  What a character!  He's having a great time, listen to his call ins.  I'm getting the impression the 100 mile-a-day guys are getting the most from this ride.

That's how I'm planning to fast-tour the TD: 100-120 miles a day, at most;)

OTOH, an amazing interview with Matthew Lee posted on Outside Online Adventure Blog (by Jon Billman, alumnus of the GDR):

http://outside-blog.away.com/blog/2009/07/tour-divide-race-day-20-interview-with-winner-matthew-lee.html

Looks like Matthew was riding through the night. He has a little over 20 miles to go to finish!!!

Do you guys know anything about Pete Basinger being on the Tour Divide??? Where to follow his progress???

Just read it here: http://outside-blog.away.com/blog/2009/06/tour-divide-race-day-15-radio-free-divide.html

This so much fun to follow;) Rooting for Joe to get inside top 5...

DaNM, thanks for sharing the Youtube clip. Matthew's is keeping his calm coolness, as always;)

Well said 700se... Couldn't have made a better case myself.

Thanks for sharing, nice stuff... Even though last year I bought my packs from Eric @ Epic Designs. Couldn't wait for Jeff's, his delivery times were much longer, at the time. Still awesome stuff he makes;)

[the moment a racer rejoins the route, further forward assistance is prohibited, even if a racer as already ridden that stretch]

Yo Matt, Do you mean "back to where I left off" as in back to the folks you were riding with?  I haven't followed the race quite closely enough to figure that out, and figure out in which circumstances that happened.  I know you can get a ride back to the point you left the route (the furthest point to which you had advanced by bike).

Edit: Just listened to Jamie.  I would assume the rules mean he can get a ride back to where he got a ride from.  Yes he was brought back to Lima, an earlier part of the course, but the ride would only be to where he was originally picked up.

Don't mean to be a stickler for details but the TD rules are clear on that: http://tourdivide.org/the_rules

... A racer may also receive assistance returning back to the GDMBR, however, the moment a racer rejoins the route, further forward assistance is prohibited, even if a racer as already ridden that stretch prior to leaving the route. Again, assistance moving forward on the route, in any circumstance, is forbidden...

Paula and I were thinking of awarding a 'wanderer' / bonus miles award (maintained automatically by SPOT of course) for the rider with the most off course miles.

I think that should, as of now, to Brunello Godio. I saw his SPOT off course at least 3 times. But he always finds his way back and keeps going. What a guy!!!

ScottM,

Thanks for all the amazing work you are putting into the tracking software;)

Kevin,

Kickass updates. You know how to make them exciting;)

OTOH, I'm glad for Joe Meiser that he's moving again. Too much of a break can mess with you mind... Hope his Fargo won't give him problems anymore . Go Joe

Awesome dude!!!

Just checked his SPOT. He made it to Salida today. Finally, he'll put proper knobbies on his ride and enjoy the ride more;)

Chris is insane.  He has tree trunks for legs.  I hope he kills it (and it looks like he's doing just that!).

Being on a SS, he's logging some serious miles;)

Current records:
For the whole Banff - Antelope Wells route: Jenn Hopkins `08 (SS) 28:16:40
For the Roosville - Antelope Wells GDR: Kent Peterson `05 (SS) 22:03:09; Jenn Hopkins `08 (SS) 22:18:40; Nathan Bay `07 (SS) 25:08:37

Is john Nobile still in the race? I didn't hear him calling in and officially bowing out yet?

OK, just heard Jill Homer's call-in:) He's still riding with her... His SPOT must be shut off, or malfunctioning...

Is john Nobile still in the race? I didn't hear him calling in and officially bowing out yet?

Damn, those guys are going fast.  I passed through Lima around 0900 today going north on I-15.  MC and I didn't think anyone would be in the neighborhood, or I would've popped off and gone looking.

I imagine Chris, Joe and Kurt got a bit wet this morning.

Matthew Lee is hitting Lima just about now (20:15PM MT). Lead over Joe, Kurt and Chris is still holding @ approx. 6 to 6 1/2 hours...

RichNYC,

Glad I could help out with the cues.  Here is a little more beta, the first 14 miles on the road down to Corbin are paved and flat - can easily be done in under an hour.  Then the Flathead FSR starts and it is BAD right away!  The first 13 miles took me exactly one hour in my land rover, and after that, the road starts to get a lot better.  Nevertheless, the entire section is still rideable in one long day.  My wife made it to the start of the singletrack about 20 miles from the end, but she had started in Elkford in the morning, about 30 miles up the road! 

Thanks, really helpful;)

BTW, hope your wife has a great ride. I checked out her website and why she is doing the Tour Divide. Amazing cause, small donation forthcoming...

Here is part of what everybody has been waiting for - the cues for the portion of the Flathead Valley reroute that I scouted.  It is pretty detailed up until Cabin Forest Service Road, but after that, they are not as detailed since I did not get to travel that section.  REPEAT, this is not the entire cue sheet, and after the turn off to Cabin I am going to try and give some details by memory.  Here goes....

GBUTLER,

Thanks so much. This is what I needed;) THANKS!!!

Cool, thanks Kevin, I'll stop by the Ski Stop next month and pick it up. 

Rich, we made the cue sheets available to anyone who stops in at The Ski Stop in Banff.

Thanks Scott;)

I re-traced the route in Google Earth and most of it is fairly visible. Pretty decent satellite detail in that area, but mileage might be off and that might make a difference finding right turns. Cue sheets from someone who rode through the area would definitely be more accurate.

OTOH, I checked the routing in the Flathead re-route on Tourdivide website (http://tourdivide.org/dividenews/td_course_change_09) and it seems that one there is one discrepancy. (It's the red segment between aqua and yellow ones, following the Wigwam river.)

Just after sharp left turn onto Wigwam FSR (from Cabin Pass FSR), after about 200-300 yards from the crossing, there is a bridge (the longer one), and the official ("planned") re-route makes a left turn before it and follows through the woods on the left side (Eastern) of the river. All the racers though, based on SPOT trackers, crossed this bridge and followed Wigwam FSR on the right side (Western) of the valley.

I was wondering, if it was because of conditions (snow, rough road) or just because the route still isn't finalized? Maybe you might have a take on it...

BTW, thanks for all the great work to all of you guys for making the '09 edition easy to follow, either through podcasts, maps, updates, or pictures;) Awesome!!!

   

I will let you know if I get a copy of it.  I'm hoping to get the cue sheets soon.

Looks like Brunello retraced his steps back but passed the turn onto the Cabin FSR again and kept going backwards on the Flathead FSR. I hope he will bump into someone soon and find the right turn... Must be tough... BTW, according to SPOT tracker he approx. lost over 5 hours with the detour. I feel sorry for him but shit like that easily happens on the Great Divide:(

I hope Brunello figures out his navigational error quick as at 1:15p he's heading straight to the old Trail Creek/Flathead abandoned border crossing...essentially the same road you end up on to skirt West Glacier after Eureka. Doh!