I read Ethan Passant saying that to do well in this type of race "don't ever reach a red-line, ever". I assume this is regarding pacing, effort and heart rate. Does this seem accurate to you all that have done this before? Is there any times when you do put the hammer down, or is it totally off the table to go hard?

Guess it depends on how you define 'red-line'. I reckon it's reasonable to ride at XC race-pace from time to time. I did so to make it to Wise River before the kitchen closed, and again trying to escape a thunder storm on the Divide north of Mimbres. It was fun to ride fast for a while, even though some extra recovery was required at the end of the day.

I'm really happy for Ollie to see him and Craig sharing this adventure! Personally, on the Divide I generally found I went further on the days I was riding by myself (although when I rode for a while with Ollie at the Petit Brevet he was keeping the pace ramped up pretty high). Maybe Ollie or Craig would be covering more ground if they were solo, but it seems like they might end up with a race record and best mate. Jackpot!

Really loving the forum guys. Especially all the photos etc. Does anyone know if there is an Aussie in this years race....or if an Aussie has ever finished it? Any guidance would be appreciated.

An Aussie finished the Great Divide Race in 2007. Alex Field.

I also wanted to chime in that I enjoyed the Rail Trail. I rode it in this drenching rain and then the sun came out just as I was rounding the gorge over the Warm River. That section reminded me of Alaska in its own way.

I suspect there is a huge difference between riding it wet vs dry. I would certainly skip the first half of it if I was touring there in the dry (or racing and the rules allowed). That said, it may have improved  - wouldn't take much to smooth out the worst of the corrugations. And the last third was lovely.

Wonder what problem Craig has had? Ollie has some big decisions ahead of him this afternoon!

Ollie's used the Rohloff in hillier events in New Zealand and been fine. I suspect the high gear limit will be fine (with tire legs, at least).

Damn mozzies nearly carried me away in Idaho - the worst I've ever encountered.

The railtrail after Island Saddle was the first place I regretted having rigid forks. Will be interesting to see if that part sees a split in any groups.

The Scenic Byway is scenic, and it is tarmac, but from what I remember it is like riding a railway! The expansion gaps seemed really wide and there was a constant thud every few seconds and i think I remember it being a bit of a false flat all the way until the top of the pass above Elkhorn Hot Springs.
Admittedly I was touring and not riding at the pace those boys are  

In 2008 that was were John Nobile made his second break (the one that stuck). A bunch of us stayed in Wise River while he and Geoff rode over the hill. Not easy to do while dog tired, but still one of the easier stretchs on the divide, even with the cracks before the climb starts proper.

Ollie and Craig are doing awesome. If they make it to Island Park tomorrow, that'd probably put them a full day ahead of the chasers (starting from Butte, it's hard to see any of them getting to Lima, but I'd happily be amazed!).

In 2008 the GDR started on something like the 21st June. Still quite a bit of hiking through snow on the high passes, but generally very nice weather - no snowfall and only about 8 hours rain for me. Mind you, most of that came during a wicked thunder-storm north of Silver City - that really put the fear of god into me. Avoiding the New Mexico thunderstorm season is one of the reasons for a June start, eh?

I understand the year before had even better weather (also with a later start).

Ollie is running a Rohloff hub, too.

He's been the first rider home in the 1100km Kiwi Brevet (in 2010 and 2012).
http://www.kiwibrevet.blogspot.co.nz/

Pretty sure he'll still be smiling when he hits Lima. Beyond will be uncharted territory.

I don't know about this whole Stans ammonia problem. Is it a myth? I've run the following tyres with Stans for a season at least, and no problems.
Continental Explorer and Vertical Pro (non UST)
Stans Crow and Raven
Kenda Nevegal (non UST)
Racing Ralph (non UST and not snakeskin - these took a week to seal well)

I had no punctures on the Great Divide (was running Crows).

http://sheldonbrown.com/650b.html

Depends a bit on how well suspended you are. I rode on a fully rigid bike and was very glad to be running reasonably fat tyres at very low pressures.

I run a 1100km event down under called the Kiwi Brevet and the general consensus is that cyclocross tyres don't make for an enjoyable experience overall.

Could you run 2.1 by 650B tyres?

I think a trike (especially a recumbent trike) is a really bad idea for technical riding where you want to pick a line and do dynamic moves over obstacles, but there is very little of that type of ride on the GDMBR, so you might finish in less than a month.

I'm a fan of Stans Ravens for this type of riding.

Lance griffin is usign the Kiwi Brevet as a warm-down event after last years Tour divide.

Ollie Whalley ia using it as practice for this yeras Tour Divide. He's put over 100 km between himself and the rest of the field in less than three days!
http://trackleaders.com/kiwibrevet

We're just a few days out from the 2012 Kiwi Brevet. There are a whole bunch of interesting bikepacking rigs on the rider profiles page:
http://kiwibrevet.blogspot.com/p/rider-profiles-2012.html

If you are a blue dot junkie, the SPOT action starts on early Saturday (that's late Friday in North America). The faster riders will complete the 1100 kilometre course in about 4 days.

I ran Stans sealant and tires - very light and no punctures.

Yep - nicely done Kurt. Some brilliant pacing in the last few days.

And congrats to Jefe and Paul who must also be finishing mighty soon. Best of luck to the rest of the field for a safe and speedy completion.

Yep - Kiwi land it is.

C'mon spots! Refresh, damn you - refresh!

Anyone else remember the days when you had to wait for 2 weeks to see the latest Tour de France coverage? How times have changed.

10:30pm down here.
Pretty soon Kurt will be in a position where he could get two flat tires and break a chain and still scoot to the finish in first. But Paul and Jefe - man, that's still too hard to call! 53 minutes since Paul's last spot was posted - could he be over the last climb and flying downhill to Banff right now?

Hope there's a reception waiting for them all, despite the time of day.

Looks like Kurt is 10 miles out and soon to crest the last rise on the Divide. Anybody got the current time in NM?

32.02miles to go for Kurt 
Paul A's Spot seems to have stopped or has Paul stopped??
My Mate Lance is camped high on the Indiana Pass road at 11224ft. That's very high for a Kiwi, brrrr it'll be cold up there.
I had my worst day of the whole GDMBR tour up there, snowing and below freezing, and yet I am still super jealous that it's not me out there camping 
Awesome effort by everyone

That's funny. There wasn't a breath of wind and barely a cloud in the sky when I was up there. I spent an hour soaking in the view, sorting out some gear issues and loving it. Hopefully Lance is enjoying similar conditions.