I've wondered how cell phones play into the race as well.

Devil's advocate here: Kurt knew he was the only one who went up Mt Lemmon yesterday evening from talking to me, so he probably thought he had a considerable lead throughout the day, possibly causing him to pedal with a bit less effort. I'm guessing Stefan, if he hasn't caught glimpses of Kurt already, will soon - so Stefan will also have that added boost of power, knowing he's so close. At the end of the day, do cell phones change anything, or is it a wash?

Frankly, I'm surprised cell phones are allowed on the course. I had assumed they were banned until Kurt called me last night.

-Maggie

Just talked to Kurt - he's had four flats, he's at the Gila River, and he was just stopping for a bite to eat and to change his lenses. He sounded very upbeat. He hasn't seen Stefan (or Jefe) yet, but I imagine he will soon - this race will be close!

-Maggie

Talked to Kurt last night - he said climbing Mt Lemmon in those miserable conditions wasn't too different than a lot of training he'd done this winter, so he was warm when I started talking to him (cold by the end of his burrito break). He had ambitions to break the course record - I'm tempted to set my alarm tonight as well!

-Maggie

Man Chad, that's a lot of failures in just a single day.  Now I'm even more nervous...

Impressive job prevailing!

The forecast for Mt Lemmon: Saturday - High of 40, scattered snow showers, low of 25!?

I thought going to southern AZ would be a nice escape from winter.  Apparently I was wrong...

Hmm...looks like I need a username/password, which I assume has already been assigned to this unit?  I emailed Matthew Lee about it...he'll probably send that on to tech guru Kevin if he's the one with access...

Scott, are you planning to set up a SPOT tracking page?  I just got Mike Dion's SPOT, and I assume you need the code for it if you're doing that?  I've never used these before, so this is new territory for me...

I'd also say that this "new" singletrack should be included...the topo map makes it look like it'd be pretty fun terrain, but what do I know, anyway?

While I don't know anything about an "official" scheduling of the Grand Loop, I'm tentatively planning on a mid-May ITT, assuming that the snow melts off earlyish this spring (and this is a big assumption!).  This is the only late spring/early summer time that fits in my race calendar for this year, so it's either then or 2010.  A few others have expressed interest in joining me if conditions look good, so I just wanted to throw this out there for anyone that has a hankering to race one one of the most grueling courses that has been thought up. 

I'll also be at the start line in Banff.  I agree with Chris - it doesn't matter if the races are one and the same, but it'd be fantastic if everyone racing from there that week would start the same day.

Sold!

I've got an unused OMM Sherpa rack collecting dust.  It still has the hardware attached in the original packaging, so it really is brand new.  Disc and 26" model.  $70.

I think I might give this thing a go in 2009.  The 300, that is.  It sounds like a good route that keeps getting a little bit better!