I am puzzled by the chain routing in this photo.  It appears that the lower part of the chain goes back up near the top part of the chainset. I have not seen this done before.  I can’t tell what’s going on because of all the mud, can somebody explain what’s going on?

I think it's called chainsuck.

Interesting.  Alexandera Houchin, on a singlespeed, is now within 83 miles of Lael and around 100 or so miles from the Women's overall record.  She is absolutely KILLING the women's singlespeed record.

Gizhiikaa Anishinaabekwe!!

Well, the women's record just passed Lael and the folks at Brush Mountain are now 119 miles behind the leader.  Conditions on that road must be truly horrendous.

If you think about it, he was prepared, as he knew his limits down to the temp he could endure, and did precisely the right thing by having enough oomph to self-rescue. Hats off (er, berets off?) to him for going to the edge and not falling off the other side.

I agree.  If you prepare for everything you end up with a 100 pound bike. Matthew Lee used to say that you must take risks in this race if you want to do well. Sometimes the risks pay off and sometimes not. 

Huge congrats to Josh!  If he purposely bivvied out to wait for the dawn it sure paid off!  I hope Sofiane can recover and get back out there and try to chase the others down.

Not prepared for _merely_ -5°c is a Serious tactical error.

I think it was more in the context of wandering around lost at the top of a pass in the middle of the night.

I am not on facebook- are there any updates on sofiane there?

From the Facebook page:

"Sofianes update, his words:

It's all right. I got lost at the top of the col in the middle of the night. Can't find the way in the snow. I had to turn around because the temperature fell under the-5 degrees and that I'm not equipped to face these temperatures."

If you are the praying type, please say some prayers for these riders. Many of them, not just the front runners, are wet from rain before even hitting the snow in the passes. That is a perfect recipe for hypothermia and can turn deadly very easily.

+1 on that.  VERY dangerous conditions especially in remote sections.

Looks like they will have to go through the Mines of Moria.

Josh is proceeding at 1 MPH. A highly trained athlete in excellent shape is barely moving.  That says a lot about the conditions.

EDIT:  I would die.  For real.

Josh's dot awakens...and he's pushing forward!!  Let's see if he can boldly go where no one has ventured yet this year...

AMAZING!  And possibly a very good race strategy (we'll see!). He's rested and it's fully light out, plus he's been over that stretch multiple times so might have an easier time with route-finding.  I hope Sofi can recover and continue onward.

Well, I was at least partially wrong.  Unless Josh has moved down and his SPOT hasn't updated, Sofiane has passed him and could be heading back to Brush...

There's another road that branches off right there at Brush Mtn Lodge.  It goes south, then east over to Steamboat.  Maybe he's headed there...guess we'll follow the dots and see...

A very tough slog right now!!

Josh's Spot has been very slow to update at times so far.  I keep refreshing in hopes of seeing where he actually is.

Hi all,

New here to the forums, but I've been watching this year (I have a buddy in the race).

Re: Sofi turning back... is it possible the route isn't passable up there?

Very possible, although more likely it is just not findable.  The descent off that divide is supposed to be extremely rough and rocky and in the dark, with snow falling, it might look like the rest of the woods around it.

If I'm reading it right, Sofi has spent the past 5 hours wandering in the (presumed) snow at the top of the Divide.  I know he is experienced, but I hope he is safe!  At the least, this will be a huge test of the psyche.

EDIT:  He seems to be heading back down the route.  This is not good.

Hey all! Long time lurker, long-time association with the great divide route (my wife and I rode Roosville -> Atlantic City in 2000, and I finished up the southern part a couple summers ago, would love to race the Tour Divide someday).

I was thinking of heading up to Highway 16 south of Steamboat this afternoon to camp and take some photos (combo of film and drone shots) of the lead riders coming through.

I was wondering about etiquette/norms for this kind of thing. First, is it cool to do that? It's a very different dynamic than a 'cross race or something, obviously, and I don't want to be a weirdo out there with a camera! But these riders are doing something amazing and some documentation of it seems good.

I know there's no outside assistance so as much as I'd like to (having been in similar but non-competitive situations myself, along the AT and the GDMBR) I won't share food/drinks/coffee/etc.

Anything else (up to and including "this is frowned upon") to know? My primary goal is to be respectful of the competitors and the race; a secondary goal is to get some cool photos (not for commercial use, mainly I'll just share 'em here and on Instagram)

Cheer them on and don't get in anybody's way would, I think, be the appropriate etiquette.

Snowing outside of steamboat springs on rabbit ears pass. Whew didnt want those racers to miss out on a true divide experience 

I'm sure they will appreciate it. 

Do you think Josh is staying 25-40 miles behind the leader on purpose, rather than catching him up? If so, it seems like a pretty good strategy.

Last and carrying the most is Bryce.

Impressive quads!

If it is public land and it benefits all of the racers then I don't think that it is a problem. IMHO it would be no different that have a state highway department clearing avalanche debris.

Too many people going out on the route and doing things to "benefit all the racers" will spoil the spirit of the race.  I doubt any state highway department will go out specifically to help TD racers.

What is that picture on Dotwatcher Day 6?  I hope it's not a volunteer crew clearing portions of the route for the racers!