How do the fast guys manage to carry enough water with so little water carrying capacity?

That pic is only 2x600ml bottles and I don't see any likely location for a bladder

I thought I saw a bladder tube sticking out the front on one of his shots somewhere. That might be it in that shot too.

Thanks too to Simon Kennett, who after doing the GDR in 2008, brought the concept back to New Zealand and blooded us with the Kiwi Brevet. It probably has a bit more climbing per km, at steeper gradients, but the fact that its only 1100kms and you are at no risk of being bitten by a bear or snake makes it a good intro to bikepacking. It sure hasn't done Ollie any harm : )

Still lots of fun to be had out there. Keep it rolling everyone.

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Does anyone know who is the youngest ever rider to cross the line first?

Ollie gone to radio shack? a bit of course...

Does anyone know what the amount of climbing typically is in the TD?

Good golly Ollie Whalley!
Not that you will be reading this but...
Go you good thing!

Yeah! Pies AND the internet would definitely be heaven.

I can imagine if I was doing the TD and I fell asleep, and awoke in a town called Pie Town, I'd probably think I died and went to heaven.
Pies. Hmmmmmmmm.

Looking at the pictures of Craig's rig, the pedals appear to be XTR. I'm really surprised that these died on him. When I heard that he was having pedal problems, I really expected them to be Crank Bros..

That's really too bad. I hope he can come up with a solution ASAP! Go Craig!

Yeah, its Crank bros that have the bad rep, but XTR failure is a lot more common than you'd think. My buddy experienced it last year, about 20 mins ride from the start of a race. I had to push him, while he pedalled one-legged, into a side-wind so strong that they had to cancel the race due to crashing pine trees.  http://jeffsbike.blogspot.co.nz/2011/11/real-challenge.html (pix). The problem with cheap chain store BMXers is that the pedals are often of a smaller diameter than standard : (  What a complete bummer for Craig. I hope he comes up with something.

That's the beauty of chocolate milk and peanut M&Ms - some protein and fat with your sugar. I tried to stop for a cooked meal most days - a salmon omlette on day two was the best! All the same, I had a crook guts from just before Butte right through to the finish (and normally have a a pretty solid digestive system, regardless what I eat).

My in-laws picked me up from Antelope Wells. They were waiting when I arrived at about 5pm and had a chilly bin out with some fresh lettuce, tomatoes and fruit in it. I immediately scoffed the lot. Only found out much later that it was their dinner that they were about to have for themselves.

Hmmmm! Can't beat chocolate milk Simon!

Not to distract anyone from the Rules thread or anything    but I'd love to hear about the riders out on the course, from family, friends, or fans.  Tell us something about your rider, it makes it more fun to follow their dots.  Last year we discovered some interesting things about the riders - unusual occupations, accomplishments in sport (or life) prior to the TD, family ties, motivation for signing up for the TD.  Want to hear about back of the pack, front of the pack, and everyone in between!

I am not a buddy of Ollies, but have done 3 events (that I know of) and bunked with him at the Single Speed worlds in Rotorua in October 2010.
The other events were the Kiwi Brevet in 2010 and 2012, both of which he won. The latter in 3.5 days, 1100kms over some pretty challenging terrain. I am pretty sure Ollie is an engineer in Christchurch, the city that was devastated by earthquakes from September 2010 to 2011. He is a very personable guy but is intensely competitive at the same time. I like that in a person.

Yep - and T-race is also quite a bit ahead of record pace.  The front 3 ladies are smoking!

Now this business about "solo".  That term really doesn't belong in the rules for a race - it is conflicting and has led to many disagreements over the years.  Self-sufficiency is one thing, solo quite another - and TD is not solo.  You simply can't call an event with 105 starters a solo event.  It's always seemed so obvious to me, but most don't see it that way.

The whole "group ITT" thing started with GDR, and thankfully that term is not much in vogue anymore.  But, the idea behind it was to start together to add competitive motivation to the effort.  That is exactly what the leaders are doing, and is perfectly within the intent of the event's origins.

As for the benefits of riding together - not everyone would benefit!  There are a few anti-social racers that prefer to go it solo and thrive off of it.  You know who you are (finger points back at myself, I'm a big proponent of the ITT)

Groups form every year.  Riders get to choose what sort of experience they want out there, and not everyone thrives in the same environment.  It's all good.

What is really apparent the last couple of years is how much better, across the board, riders are getting at these bikepacking events.  From the front of the field to the back of the field there is more consistency than ever.  That is darn exciting to watch!  Next best thing to participating.

I totally agree with Dave, when 100 plus people start riding together it seems a bit silly to talk about group riding. The ITT is a different thing. Are the records kept separately? If so, then I cant see a problem. Some of these guys I would think  possibely go better by themselves, not me, but I like the carmarderie of this type of event. It would be the main reason for me doing it. Go Ollie and Craig!

Recent call-ins are great.  Listened to them in the car on the way to work ... didn't really pay attention to traffic as my mind had me: pedaling through headwinds and with tailwinds in the Basin (yes, both at the same time, that's why day dreaming is so great); experiencing pain threshold; managing swelling and achilles flares for hundreds of miles on end; standing up hammering downhill into the wind at 4mph; riding while talking into a phone to make a call-in; thinking of what cherries must taste like after ~1,500 miles on bike; imagining what it's like to drink Rockstar for the first time on Union Pass; imagining what it's like to hallucinate about food and places to sleep only to find out thought I'm hallucinating, and that second-guessing whether the real lodge that's supposed to be there is really there after all; thinking that Rawlins stands for "really crappy windy place to ride a bike"; and wishing my dad Happy Father's Day while my voice cracks.

Heh heh. I listened to a bunch of call-ins on my phone while doing the supermarket shopping last night : )

Got a picture of 2 Riders today (Tom Thomas on left, Nathan Mawkes on right) just south of Yellowstone Park.  They were really in a good mood and stopped to take a quick break as my family cheered them on from the highway. They said they are both having a good time and feel good.  Good luck guys - you looked strong.  Hope the mob of people watching the grizzly bear cubs off the road (5 miles ahead of this picture)  didn't hold up your ride.

Looking good. Nathan is a rock. Rides very conservatively and will only get stronger. Man they are still wearing a heap of clothes !

following the two kiwis with great interest from midwinter NZ. surprised at no formal coverage over here

 

I don't think there is going to be any cycling in the mainstream media 7 days either side of a Rugby test Darren : )

It really varies from what I've seen but my worst fatigue was between Cuba and Mimbres. Hot, tired, close but not enough to really feel like the finish is right there. More than one nap on the side of the road to keep from falling asleep at the bars.

What happens to the guys starting from the south, when they get to the snow in the north, completely shagged and with a body fat level of 3 % ? That blows me away.

Jeff

If it works out that way, and that may be a big IF, it would be way cool to see Craig and Ollie finish together in a mutually-shared record time.

While everyone has to do what makes them most happy, it would go to my belief that there is soooo much more to biking than just comparing oneself to timing numbers on a website or a piece of paper.

Keep rockin' it everybody!

I couldn't agree more. Right now Ollie and Stappy have made a friendship that they wont forget, and Ollie is doing a PB. I am sure he is over the moon with how well they are both going. I really expect he would not have had real intentions of doing this well from the outset. I hope that either one, or both of them can keep it rolling like this to the finish. Who knows where "half-way" is in this  event. They use to say it was 30kms in a marathon. Can anyone tell me where the "wheels fall off" most commonly?

Cheers
Jeff

What's something legal to take? If you need sudafed because you're sick then take it. If you have a testosterone patch because your doctor prescribed it then take it. If you're using testosterone to recover at night you're cheating.

If you go down the path of trying to define it you will require a huge list of rules for this topic. Also doping crap costs a lot for most things. In a sport with no prizes I think that's somewhat self limiting though I admit someone might still do it. Then again they can arrange car rides too and just turn their spot off.

Is there a reason for a Dr to prescribe anyone a testosterone patch? Apart from the fact that you are getting old? I'm serious here.

On the Rohloff discussion......there were many times on TD that I had to pedal gingerly or even dismount on mud to avoid a drivetrain melt down. It sure would be nice to apply full power with no fear of calamity. OTOH, it seems hard to fine anyone who can correctly set up a Rohloff with a belt and get it right. It would be a technical mystery for me.

Yeah Ollie has done his research, and plenty of testing on the Rohloff, including two Kiwi Brevets.
Some Rohloff belt-drive nerdery on his blog here:
http://mountainpedalernz.blogspot.co.nz/2012/02/tightening-belt-couple-of-notches.html

Fair comment Troy, they can be cranked up very tightly. The Flash is pretty light weight.
Jeff

To be more precise, it was a carbon Flash. Dunno how strong the alloy ones are.