Craig passed my driveway at 4:20 pm today,Mr Hall at 5:00 pm
Craig said he was feeling "ok", Mike said he was having problems w/the dust- it rained yesterday so the dust should not have been too bad What a difference  a year makes, last year they came by early afternoon sunday in a drizzle in the high 30's, this year mostly sunny and 75.

Both look great in the photos, thanks for putting them up! 

Seems like a very fast start.  Time will tell.  Who knows what could happen?  Bears.  Giardia.  Faulty pedals.  Still anybody's race.

It'll be interesting to see a week or so out.  First few days establish who has a decent pack job, who has an engine, who's got aggression.  But if you're over revving, you can only hold that a couple days, if that, before implosion.  

with respect to the earlier threads regarding Ollie's list, and the graphical improvement of Ollie's list, I'd be interested to hear from him in retrospect if he'd do any revisions.

WTG Cjell!  For fans of the 2011 snowpocalypse, our 2nd place female Tori Fahey is out on the route again, promising to up the fun factor for ride #2.  Anyone have first hand knowledge of fellow Texan Billy Rice?  He hasn't called in lately but is dutifully chuggin' along, putting in what look like some long solo efforts lately.    Esther looks to have not been slowed down much in the CDT alt, she's flying still with many hours in the saddle.  WOW!  

For anyone wanting to follow Tori's humorous view of the event, this link helps, right from the starting "why" on they 17th... Not really doing it as a race this year, but alternately bridges the gap of hearing more from the riders along the way rather than less.
http://www.observatori.ca/

that's fantastic, congrats!  looking forward to the photos.

good update and nice to see he's enjoying a weather window that looks pretty pleasant.

I believe the Trackleaders times are official, but I could be wrong.  Go to Trackleaders tour divide page, half way down is Leaderboard, hit Refresh below it, go all the way to the right (on Leaderboard), click on Antelope Wells to sort.  You will see finishers and their finishing time.

Thanks, I had missed that way over to the right of the leader box.

Are any of the very informed watchers able to summarize the finishers unofficial times?  Forgive if I'm missing the obvious, but I'm not seeing it from the trackleader stats the way I'm looking at it.  I saw an earlier post that Ollie was 16 days, 2 hours, 54 minutes.  I've seen time reference to Craig's, and  understand he finished at 11:45pm, but I'm missing the start time of the grand depart to back calculate it properly.

Thanks!

With respect to weather in the rockies comments... I spoke with some guys who mountain biked in Fernie this weekend, and said it was torrential.  That's a little west of the route.  I was say probably only 40-50k east of the route with my office crowd on a charity ride that camped overnight, and suffice to say the rains were "biblical".  Here's the pictures to paint the feel of it.

Craig,

You've got a ton of relieved and proud fans in Calgary.  You have a very happy, and now very very relieved family too that had been glued to the screen for the last couple of weeks; I just chatted with your mom and felt the smile beaming through the phone.  Contgrats on a superb finish, superb riding the whole way, and a lifetime of stories.  And thanks for the drama of following a riveting story the whole way along.

Once you're clean and settled, the most indulgent, calorific meal you can handle is on the deadgoats - just that we need to see the receipt so we can marvel at the calorie count and random menu cravings and have a good laugh when you're back.  Tim said he'd be waiting with a cheque!

Since you're more or less riding the same bike Kabush is for racing, I think Scott should cut you a deal as you've proven race light equipment can hold up too.  Let those Enve rim sponsorships roll in... and a lifetime supply of XTR pedals ; )

I hope everyone else makes it to Antelope Wells too who's still out there!

I've been following (and I am inspired by) the Tour Divide for many years.....this year has been very exciting....BUT... the access to information has been pretty BAD.

The "Tour Divide" website is only good for the Trackerboard with its 'Spot'-ty info which is some time hours and/or days off of current time....ALL of the other Tour Divide website feature that were happening in previous years, were not happen this year.

MTB Cast is great but the riders don't call-in for days....nothing can be done about that...It's great to have the 'human' side of the story with real voices and funny details.

This site (Bikepacking Ultra Racing forum) has been a good source of info....BUT...it's a public forum with opinions & comments etc. etc...... Just getting the straight info can be challenging.

LIKE..... what happend with 2nd...3rd...4th....place riders? .....what time did they turn in???  Their Spot trackers are no longer on the leaderboard......Ollie got first place.... the rest got forgotten? 

Can someone please act as the "News Reporter" on one of the websites and come up with some posting of useful info  (like finish times....or other facts & figures)

I don't meant to discredit your request, but part of the romance of the event I feel is trying to piece together the stories.  And it takes a lot of people with friends, connections, to bring additional info to the table.  It'd be tough for one person to news report it.  We're talking remote areas without cells with people strewn all over the place. 

I commend and admire Ollie's performance, and do find it even more athletically impressive/relevant/understandable by riding hard long days with at degree of rest vs. transforming it to a deprivation of sleep event.

I hope Craig can hang on till the end.  It's really too bad about the pedal, but I don't think many will doubt his riding capacity or persona from reflections of people who met him along the way.  At the end of the day, a little Shimano glitch perhaps takes away some of the experience, but his riding and who he is are much more important.  A high quality single pedal is a hundred bucks plus.  Guys like that are priceless ; )

The call ins they left a day or two back were both very classy in recognizing each others efforts.  

Hope everyone else on trail has the fortune to make it in with functioning equipment!

All I can say is this pedal talk has my gut in knots tonight.  Too bad really.  Craig is McGyverish so I'm sure something will work out.  He's a gear fanatic, was using mainly new and proven parts, and had XTR pedals.  I guess I wouldn't have thought that'd be the weak link at the end of the day either.  Crossing fingers for something that can amount to an exciting, rather than heartbreaking, finish.

The Rohloff is great, you just have to pause for a milisecond before shifting.
Add the belt and it's silent.

Little bit of drag in the lowest 7 gears, I think their site or others had some stats.  It's when the primary 7 are reduced by a second gear, or something along those lines.  Makes a bit more noise in those, but the high 7 gears are silent.  They feel nice to ride, however I do feel the spin-up effort it takes relative to say a light normal hub to get the mass going.   The pause when shifting is small, like a slight 1/8th of a pedal stroke with reduced force.  They also shift while stopped, which is novel for stoplights and such.

Tori, who did it last year, is a long term close friend.  She departs for round 2 next Tuesday SoBo with some friends after doing it last year more solo.  Started riding later in life, took a little while to pick it up, then was unleashed upon earth with an incomparable drive - solo touring and travel in the blood.  Decided to forgo office life a few years ago in search of more riding, more living life.  Her writeups from last year are neat to match to the areas where people are now, and since she wrote daily, add something gritty that isn't apparent with those blue dots.  Like Craig, has a comedic interpretation of almost everything she sees and everyone she meets in life.  Bottom up from just after Tour d' Afrique finishes (how's that for a double header?): http://www.observatori.ca/2011_06_01_archive.html She's also embarking on making ideal bike touring bags now after all her travels.

I've ridden bikes with Craig for probably near 10 years.  He started with dirt bike racing before discovering a V02... he climbs everything and anything.  At times it's like watching someone twist the throttle on a dirt bike.  I've never really seen it replicated - loose rocks, snow covered off camber wet root steep climbs, frozen ice streams with branches and snow, etc.  Pure power at hand, but dainty in feel to keep the traction.  It's amazing how he never seems to have to dab or dismount.  Ollie's earlier call in about Craig descending like an animal, combined with prior comments about Ollie's descending, paint that side of it.

Craig doesn't just ride hard.  He has the patience to mentor people into riding so well.  He's complimentary of anyone who's having a great day, and if discussing his own day, sticks to how fun or cool the trails were over how he finished in front of most other participants.  He donates bike parts selflessly.

He rides lots, and go figure, doesn't seem to fade from it.  We'd go ride in fall/winter/spring and I'd continually get burned by not bringing lights for the way home... the funny part being we'd meet at 9am at a local cycling friendly cafe... cyclocross bikes taken true crosscountry all over the place.  Always wants to add another loop, explore what's "just down this trail I think it branches off to some sweet single track".  

Crazy Larry, whom most of the riders met at the Grand Depart, is another special guy.  What you see now is essentially Larry 2.0 after backtracking from earlier "difficulties" and the tougher side of life.  Perpetually helpful, perpetually friendly, full of energy, caring of others, loves biking, and gives most of his time, effort and money on earth to others.  A bit different, but don't ever let the first chat fool you - world would be a better place with more of him.  

I love all the stories of who do these things... just finishing this thing puts people in a fitness/determination/adventurous section of the population that's very very thinly populated.  Respect to everyone riding...

Ok, it takes a lot for me to sign up on a stupid forum (not that this forum is stupid, actually a good use of such technology) but this is why. And I realize that I am opening myself up for critical remarks and some hate mail ... so here it goes.

bikingbakke your a big fan of and friends with Craig. That is OK. But there is no need to take stabs at groups of people with negative comments and name calling. It is nice to read everyones opinion on what is going down with Ollie and Craig. For me the two comments that mean anything are from Jilleo and JayP who have done this effort and have a better perspective. My competitive and "anti wheelsucker" side agrees with JayP then my objective and realistic side is with Jilleo. And you know what, on any matter, be it life or racing, these folks seem to have "that perspective". Your's ... not so much (ops sorry, took a jab). I agree there are fewer of us americans who are real cool people, but I respect their opinions.

My opinion? Might as well ... right? It may be that these folks are countering each other. That is the way it is going down in my mind.  Because after all that is what I would be doing ... will be doing. I dont suck wheels but I do pull out "magic" energy from someone who is leading. I love the hunt. But when the time comes I take advantage and let my spirit fly. That is what I hope happens and we see one of them pulling away.

That wasn't intended to jab at anyone (nor did it contain name calling), just wanted to present some thoughts.

We all have our biases - you've identified mine correctly, and JayP's track record makes his even more close to the topic.  The big bias though is for a fair event, an adventure, and for cycling.  Fortunately we're watching a great race - neither is going to "win" by EPO or car rides or sticks in the spokes or whatever other ridiculous stuff can be dreamed up.  Good riders doing well at awesome feats is better for our sport than reading the latest Lance crud in the news.  I'm also aware that collectively,  this forum doesn't have any real jurisdiction!  JayP has done the race (awesomely), I haven't.  My approach to this is out of enthusiasm for the race, the riders, the US west, biking, outdoors, etc.

Not picking sides...  Sure I'm a fan of Craig, but I'm a fan of Ollie's too.  Ollie's calls, his blog, his riding, his ability to eat and incinerate large stacks of pancakes, etc. all seem super solid... it's not a good guy/bad guy thing.  

Maybe my interpretation of this morning's posts was flawed, it's not always easy reading a writer's message.  It's two good guys riding hard, and perhaps not in the way others, or founders, envisioned/prefered/expected.  There's been rule, intent, and grey area debate of good quality.  I think it comes down to furthering the thought KootenayB posted earlier - races and events change... so "don't hate the playa, hate the game"...

So back to NM and it being tougher trail with more "mountain biking" than 'cross riding.  What's the talk from those with experience?  Shed last weight of warm stuff to carry more fluids for last couple of days?  Put a 2L in a pouch that previously had other gear?  It seems further between stops.  I hope if it's more choppy, rockier terrain Ollie has enough air in the rear tire - those Rohloff's are a bit heavier, and are "dead weight" so I've found pinch flatting is a higher risk.  Ride more at night out of the heat?  When would a racer who's done this before consider really ratcheting up the sleep deprivation and going for it?  

The 3-7 are tight too, to me that still looks like anything could happen by one rider pushing forth a bit more, skipping a stop, etc.

Is there a way with the spot system or whomever administers it on the tracker to color code the ones who've pulled differently just to get a snapshot race picture?  Not necessary, but could be a nice feature.

Eszter's times are smoking too.  I like her call ins, she's got a lot on the mind out there.  They're light and funny.

A truism seems to hold in events - once they're built, they will come.  Intensity level goes up as people apply themselves with more focus and years of gathered knowledge to what was unknown or not understood years prior.

It's like seeing those old TdF pics of the guys with the tubes around their chests vs. the specialist approach now.  

Pioneering spirits, first adopters, bringing it mainstream types, and incessant refiners are all the traits we need out there in mixed proportion.

Various fans also appreciate various eras more.  Some may like the roots of the Tour Divide.  Some may like this year (or the technology that those periods employ, or the numbers of people/consequences thereof).  Some may like Merckx on Roubaix, some might like Boonen's big break this year.  They all excel and have their own merits to savour the details of, the cycling "bible" is incomplete without all these tidbits.

It's all very interesting discussion today.  What strikes me upon some reflection:
- for a bunch of free spirited athletes testing the edges of inhabited society in the mountains, rules seem to be of high degrees of contention and debate here.  I view this more of a feat of strength and endurance for everyone to behold, enjoy the soap opera unfold, etc.  it almost seems too negative, or even american style hyper legalism
- if one of Craig or Ollie wasn't there, would the other be in 10th spot?  Somehow I doubt it.  Would they be on track for a shot at record pace?  Their legs, lungs, equipment, planning and endurance seem to suggest so.
- it appears the riders themselves are respectful of the rules - Erik L reported they rode apart, stopped seperately.  We all saw the Idaho/Wyoming border split up due to circumstance.  They declined food and Gatorate from a non-permanent on course establishment.  It doesn't appear they're seeking to be indicted... vs. the others who were publicly called out for really riding together and drafting.
- I see the word solo tossed around a lot, and rules are meant for interpretation.  To me it appears their efforts are entirely solo - no drafting, no pushing, no common gear, etc.  I don't see in the rules that it says "complete the event as a reclusive, antisocial manner, and shun fellow humans."  
- so really it comes down to, as someone has pointed out, the two efforts perhaps pacing each other, taking out the lows.

It's easy to imagine harmonious riding, but maybe they have put in half a dozen sly attacks each and are countering them daily?  We don't know.  Maybe out of each stop, one is filling a water bottle while one is rolling?  Or testing with accelerations on climbs?  Or one wakes up to find the other out the door with his bike and then scrambles?  There's a lot more than two dots and a couple photos can ever capture.

Doesn't look like they're afoul at all.

Its great to see the pics of the riders and hear their food cravings.

Is the route incorrect right about where Serge is now (straight west of Kremmling)?  Seems like everyone goes "off route" there so I assume the route is actually wrong.

Touching end to Serge's last call BTW.  Sounds like he was choking up as he was ending the call.

A friend of mine checked this and sent this to me yesterday, wondering about the same area, I can't confirm or haven't checked myself: "just downloaded the official map into google earth. the one on the spot trackers is wrong"