The front two are starting to hit Helena and heading for food and resupply it seems. Fast turnaround at the bike shop for Neil. What's the best TD hot food and resupply options in Helena? The bigger towns seem to be a time suck with so many choices.

Smart money is on the experienced. 💀

They all have immense talents and I'm also really curious how a top pedigree former roadie like Connor (a former rider in the US Under 23 development squad) will match up against one of the top ultra marathon specialists like JP.

One by one the blue dots are going live at Trackleaders.com. A big thanks to everyone whose annual enthusiasm and efforts make this underground race such a great event; from Matt Lee and Scott Morris through to Chris Bennet and Joe Polk, and also the townships and services along the way that pull out all the stops to help people to fulfill their goals.

Good luck to everyone, and especially to all the Kiwis and Czechs riding this year.

Hi,

How are you all securing your GPS's. I hear many have a back-up lanyard/cord in case it comes out of the mount, but how are you fixing it to the Garmin it so it is removable? I'm running an Edge 800 and was thinking to use an out front bike mount, but I can't figure out the backup system.

Cheers,

KiwiDave

What are the best weather apps for Android for US weather? Something with 48 hours of hourly temperature, precipitation and wind direction. I'm in Europe and use local apps which don't cover the US.

Cheers,

KiwiDave

A program I use for teaching lets me input GPS data and mess with it.

This is a really cool graph - what is the software that you use to generate it?

I like to have an visual overview of what's ahead and what has to be tackled between where I start the day and the POI's.

What cranks you planning on running?

Is was planning on XT with XT (M785) pedals. But I see there are more BB failures than crank issues, so I'm flexible on the cranks.

Thanks.

KiwiDave

How do you guys deal physically with the heat in NM? I'm from a mild climate and have no experience in endurance racing in the heat (i.e. over 32 degrees centigrade). I know I need to carry (& drink) extra water, sunscreen, buff, arm coolers - but what other hot weather adjustments or precautions should I be aware of?

Cheers

KiwiDave

[Bottom Bracket]

I'm having a Ti 27.5 built for the TD and need some advice on what Bottom Bracket to use.

I've looked at all the old posts here and Googled this, and it seems that the consensus is to use a threaded BB (73mm BSA), with the square tapered Shimano BB's LX/XT/XTR being suggested, or Shimano UN52 BB, or Velo Orange's Grand Cru square taper BB.

It also seems the XTR is light but not long lasting, so not really a starter.

Question: Some of the above is for Q&A's going back 4 years, so what would you experienced bikepackers recommend?

Thanks,

KiwiDave

Does anyone know why Toby's posts all now say his name is "done"?

And now TRP have a new mech caliper called Spyke, which has dual actuated pads, so you get more even pad wear which was one of my dislikes about the BB7

Thanks WS. These seem Spykes seem interesting - has anyone had some experience with them in terms of durability? The reviews I found were of prototypes or early users with under 1k km on them but were pretty much all favourable. I'm not an early adopter type and would rather something tried and tested.

Thanks for all the feedback.

Any updated answers to this question for current 2015 tire models?

But I really don't see why anyone would want to run 27.5 tires. Tires are the most likely thing your going to need and those are going to be the hardest to find.

I can't ride 29 as I'm 5'5'' with short legs and can't get over a 29er Frame. Or if I get one built there's no clearance for a seat bag and no room in the frame for a reasonable sized frame bag. I'm also riding carbon forks, so I want the 27.5 to give a bit better "wheel shocks" compared to the 26. I'll open a 26/27.5/29 on the question and answer forum as there are a lot of valid comments and opinions about the various merits of each but it could go on quite long here.

Any more comments on brakes / rotors are welcome as I live in the Czech Republic and have MTB, Roadie and Touring friends, but no Bikepacking friends so Bikepacking.net and the forums are really useful for me.   

Brakes: Mechanical vs Hydraulic and Rotor sizes Front and Rear

I'm getting a bike built (27.5) for 2016 TD and am not sure which brakes to install. I've read the couple of threads in the Q&A Forums which are helpful.

I'm 62kg, plus 24kg +/- bike & gear fully laden. So 86 kg / 190 pounds

Mech: pros: easy to fix in the field, easy to adjust cons: can tire hands more (seems to be some debate, and TD doesn't have many super steep descents other than off Fleecer Ridge does it?)

Hydro: pros: great brakes, great stopping power cons: harder to fix, harder to adjust, possibility of malfunction is low risk but high consequence (although - has anyone on TD had a hydraulic brake failure?),

Opinion: I am leaning towards hydraulics as I hear that after 22 days on the bike that the hands get weak and I would still like to break well. Also, with minimal single trail I can't see how I'm going to break the hydro cables in a walk-away crash.

Question: What do experienced TD people recommend?

Rotors: What sized rotors front / rear would people recommend. 160 F / 180 R?

Thanks.

KiwiDave

This web site has great info on lighting systems and it has been referred to in a number of other posts in the TD threads of the Ultra Racing forum.

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/lightingsystems.htm

AC - Do you know anything about the logistics of this? The web site is pretty brief. Is free camping possible on the route or do we need to find hotels/pensions along the way?

Bear Spray: Thanks for all the answers and ideas for carrying.

Tour Divide Shoes:

I'm trying to choose between the Mavic Scree and the Shimano MTB 71. I ride in the Alps with the MTB 91 boot, so I am leaning towards the Shimano. Does anyone have any comments? I'm committed to taking a comfortable off hike-a-bike shoe as it seems many withdrawals are from Achilles problems whilst walking. It also helps reduce the chances of falling on the hike-a-bike sections.

Cheers,

Dave

Bear Spray - where to carry?

Hi,

I'm looking at racing in 2016, and I'm going to carry bear spray. (As they say, "you pack your fears", and I'm scared of bears.)

Can someone with experience of riding with bear spray please give me a heads up of the best locations to carry? In a handlebar bag? On a harness?

Cheers,

Dave

There's a nice tussle going on at the 25 day marker with Casey Rhea, Geoge Koefler and Ken Waring. Will they beat the 25d and what order will they finish in? All three have been see-sawing their race positions and are sleeping within 16 miles of each other. It's going to be a long day coming up for these three.

It is great that after 24 days these guys are still RACING.

Hi I am Tim highway wife and I would like to know why he is now an orange line, where did he deviate from the route,  dies this mean he is disqualified or what

I was looking at the new Dot colours and it is not easy to see how they were allocated. Totty - I looked at TH's track and he seemed on route other than taking an alternative before Cuba. Perhaps that was an "in case of fire only" alternative? But KT/SC/PB/KM/PP/AA all seem to have taken the same route but there dots have not changed colour, so it would seem that the route is OK. That would suggest that it was some other rule infringement.

On the other hand some of the finishers went clearly off route and their colours have not changed.

I guess this is part of an unregulated race that you have to follow the rules and trust the organisors to deal with any issues appropriately. They do have a huge collective experience of the TD Race and have the wisdom to decide what is best for the racers involved, the other racers and the TD in general.

However, Matt and Scott - great idea with the colours so us "Blue Dot Watchers" can see who is racing on even terms. I think everyone would agree that skipping a section in appalling weather gives a huge advantage (physical (effort and injuries and fatigue) / pyschological) against those racers who rode the section in the weather.