60 miles N of silver city at 5 PM means hitting that CDT alternate section during the dark. UGH...

SFuller's right.  If they haven't done the CDT segment, north of Silver and Pinos Altos, there will be quite a few hours more for them to get through there.  More in the dark.

Maybe 4 or 5 hrs depending on the wind.  You want to be heading for Separ right now.

Also, if they're North of Silver City, then they'll probably stop and refuel which will add to time to get to Separ.

We want to be in Separ when our husbands go through. How long will it take for them to get to Separ from Silver City? They are riding at a 28 day pace, Peter Yerger and John Bowers. We were going to stay at Lordsburg but don't know when to get there. They are 61 miles north of Silver City at 5:00 pm Thursday. Anyone who has done the race or picked up that can help us out, that would be great! We are both 5 hours away from Lordsburg. Nancy

Maybe 4 or 5 hrs depending on the wind.  You want to be heading for Separ right now.

Bill,

I met your wife and son in Separ earlier Monday evening as I was prepping for my last push. I saw you guys slow down on the way back but was too focused on getting to the end to stop and chat. Apologies for the rudeness and I'm glad your ITT went well.

They only slowed because they weren't sure you had support waiting at the end.  Considered going back but thought you said your family was on the way.  No rudeness, that's not a time to stop and chat.  Congrats on finish.  That's kind of a nice time of night out there. Sort of a shame to stop.

For the record ...

I finished my SoBo ITT Tuesday, July 7th, at 12:15 am.  Based on my start time; Friday June 5th, 6 am, that's 31 days, 18 hrs, 15 minutes.  Just called MTBCast in the last few minutes.  I forgot to call once we were up on I-10 and had connectivity and have been in a semi-coma state here in AZ for a day.  Spent today catching up on something like 83 pages of this topic alone on Bikepacking.net.

My goal was 30 days, but I missed it by almost two days.  However, I did trim 4 days and 1 hr off of last year.  I'm most proud that I raced the whole way, in my own slow fashion, and did the entire race Solo.  It's different out there when there's no one but you and the stars to talk to.  But, each to his own.  My Spottracker stats are whacked because I'm ITT, but have asked them to fix them up and mark me as Finished.

Thanks to all supporting the race directly or indirectly.  There are a lot of motel and little store owners out there who invest a lot of energy and love into helping us along.  Also, thanks to Trackleaders and MTBCast for helping to connect us to the rest of the world.  There are a lot of people who are exposed to ultra racing because of them.  Don't forget to donate to them.  The resources they use aren't free.

Thanks,l

I don't think anyone would be bold enough to claim an official mileage, least of all me.  The # shown on trackleaders is likely somewhat inflated.  If I wanted to get the most accurate number, I would take the official ACA mileage (from the maps) and subtract the difference between the 2014 and 2015 files.

The 10k GPX track is likely too low.  The trackleaders # is too high.  The truth is somewhere in between.

Hope that helps a little.

I think that the Trackleaders number is what people went with last year, which supports Striker's idea.  Again last year, I think the number moved around a bit during the race and settled.  I plan to use 2,753 for a window sticker, but will probably wait a while to see if Matthew adjusts things by the time the last riders arrive at AW.

That is one of the approved alternates as the dirt road around El Malpais can be impassable when wet.

and has been a Mandarory alternate for at least the past three years.

Mile 4ish is when you come around a small hill that blocks the boarder and you can see the gate!!! I went wild here last year with Joy! I was singing Glory Halelujah and Amazing Grace!!! I was jumping in the saddle and my rear tire was going flat but I didn't care. Josh, Jay and Neil will be celebrating soon too! It's an amazing feeling seeing the end and knowing you can finally sleep and eat!

About that time, I was listening to Queen and trying to find the song about "I love to ride my bicycle ...", never did find it but still love my bicycle.

Josh Kato is my hero

+1

I think that they'll be going full out to the finish. I can't imagine that one of them won't crack. But I think that if you look around 5 miles from the finish and you've been riding next to someone for the last 100 miles you roll across together.

Why 5 as opposed to 4 or 6?  It's called a race.

How these guys decide to finish the race is up to them. However they do it it's an exciting event to watch unfold.
(I won't be able to make fun of my wife for watching golf for a while though, whatever)

Is there roadworks or something going on through Silver City??

There's a major bridge out, being replaced, on US 180 in Silver City.  You'll have to follow a posted detour around the missing bridge.

[King of the World's Hardest Mountain Bike Race]

I'm behind on reading everything that's gone on in the last month so maybe this has been posted already, but ...

What an impressive title ...

King of the World's Hardest Mountain Bike Race
http://www.outsideonline.com/1996951/king-tour-divide

Couldn't go to a more deserving guy!

It has been suggested that Salsa Cycles, with its launch of Cutthroat to coincide with this year's Tour Divide, is somehow attempting to co-opt the event. The timing was simply a smart marketing move from a brand that for years has demonstrated passion and commitment to this form of cycling. And let's not forget the deal Salsa made with Pie-O-Neer to provide sustenance to the riders.   

+1

holy shiz with a z...that rig just oozes a Win

or not

Looks like it's actually about 29 days since she was in Banff.....for some reason the clock restarted about 9 days ago for her on her statistics though.

One of Trackleaders unique features is that when they start the clock for the Grand Depart, data for the ITTs, etc get whacked.  My data points from Canada down got trimmed about the same time as the GD.
You need to look at all the data available for the rider and make your own calculations.

Oh jeesh. Wamsutter is a bleak town.

It's not a scenic location but it has everything a rider could want in one place.  Lots of liquids, Subway, Chester's Chicken, convenience store, bathrooms, showers, more liquids, a place to sit and eat, drink, charge electronics, drink some more.  24 hrs a day. Interesting people to talk to on the sidewalk while you clean your bike.  Converted two truckers into blue dot trackers while getting things together in front of the store.

But, yes, it's bleak. 

A friend of ours from WY told me the Subway was the/one of the largest volume in the US/world because of the number of oil field workers who do breakfast/lunch and dinner there.

But, yes, it's bleak.  Not sure I'd like to live there.

@ Gringo

On the MTBCast call-ins, there is lots of talk about stopping to clean drive trains. Naturally, I know how to do this in the comfort of my garage with bike conveniently hanging from the work stand (chain cleaner gizmo & cassette brush). How is this best done on the trail?

BTW: Thanks Get Mounted for asking about Rohloff/IGH! I've been wondering this myself from studying the pics. I was beginning to think the cost could not possibly be the main reason I'm not seeing more of them in use here.

Clean drive train means get at least enough mud out so that you can ride.  The mud has built up on the wheels to be over the width of the fork/seat stays, scrapes off and falls into the front derailleur mechanism, chainline, rear derailleur, etc.  It's thick enough on the wheels to wedge them where they won't turn so you're dragging the bike.  The added weight is noticeable.  Likewise, your shoes have like an added 10 lbs on each one.  The much contains gravel the size of rice crispies, so if you're not careful turning the cranks, you'll crunch something.

So, cleaning to me is finding a stick or rock to scrape all the big stuff off.  I also carry a couple of old toothbrushes and some popsicle sticks to then get in and dislodge the next level of stuff.  The brushe help clean the chain.  Then, if I have enough watere, I use a bottle to hose down derailleurs and chain.  Finally, get some oil on the chain and derailleur pivot points.  Do some more scraping to lighted shoes.

In Montana, if I figured out in time that the mud wasn't a short term thing, I'd give up early and walk it off the road through the sage brush.  The sage would help rub some of the mud off of me and the bike plus the smell was really something (good).

ymmv

Looks like Bill P is posted at the top of Red Rock Pass to welcome the leaders to Idaho.  Pics?

Yes, I stopped at the pass and took a photo.  By the time I'd put the phone away, Jay P had flown up to the crest with me, literally jumped off the bike and asked my to take his pic.  He was riding like it was the finishing sprint in a road race.  Don't know if he was riding that hot for real or it was just jubilation in reaching the pass and me.  I know that catching me was a major goal for his day ;}.  Regardless, we said hello and he was gone in a twinkling.

I didn't stick around to welcome the other leaders.

I think everything closes in Lima by 10pm. Assuming Alex needs to get food there, getting there in time will be a big factor on whether he can stick close to JP and Neil. The clock is ticking...

For future reference and in case it's not obvious, Lima has the rest area with plenty water, bathrooms, etc.  If it's cold, there are enough separate restrooms that you can roll down to the last one when no one is looking and sleep in comfort on the floor.  Outside, by the dog run, you'll find a nice water spigot to help clean your drive train. (before the next span of mud).

Hungry Bear!!

Hungry Bear is 1 mile off course but well worth it.  Great food and welcoming.  They serve pretty late and are at least open pretty late for water and bathroom, since there's a bar.