Yes, I mostly agree with you..... but it would be fun to watch. My Lightning Cycle Dynamics P-38 was surprisingly capable offroad. I tried most every 'bent available at the time (1994?..... a friend had a 'bent store so I got to ride everything) and the P-38 was better than anything else offroad, in fact it was a lot better. The only place I had a problem was climbing if it was steep and at all technical. Really tight technical singletrack wasn't so good either. I took it down some of the tougher technical hills here in NJ and was able to ride down pretty much anything a regular mountain bike could. On some bumps I'd almost get launched out of the seat. It was great fun.

It all sounds really bad! 

Painful to watch? Intolerable to do?

My guess is that Matt has eyes on The Place cafe today at the worst and Pinedale/Boulder at the best.

Race Across Convenience Stores!

       Where are the recumbent riders? That would be great fun to watch.

Given the dirt aspect I doubt that going 'bent would help anyone. Would likely hinder everyone. They always weigh a bit more and tend to be less good for: lower speeds, dirt, climbing. ...Check, check, check for this course.

John Nobile did make good use of 'bent-ish fairings in his past win, as I recall. Wonder if he'll use 'em again this time. Hey isn't he supposed to be starting his ITTD today?

It doesn't look like there's a Helmet Rule yet it looks like all riders use em. I'd think there'd be a deviant among these deviants...

(Sans-helmet is simpler, weight-saving, neck-saving... Possibly most world long-distance tourists still don't use 'em...? Etc.)

What's the rationale for the time of year when TD starts? I wonder if the rainy-season for certain parts of the course could be more risk-reduced. Likely that's all been parsed out and there are pro's/con's. Maybe it gets too hot in the south if you wait much longer. ? Anyone know the scoop?

I vaguely recall that John Nobile is planning to start his ITTD on the 18th -- I wonder if he's doing that with a thought to weather. (I have no idea. Just a notion.)

The hike/carry-a-bike thru the Basin road-slime that now seems likely sounds quite miserable...

Don't forget that this race is purely about the racers.  Most of them are out there to become immersed in the vastness of the landscape and escape the unnecessary complications of ordinary daily life.

My take is that your concept is moving in the right direction, but I'd take it two steps further. Check it out -- see what you think -- I think it's in your same vein...

I'd say the race is about the trail and the everyday touring riders out there. The racers are celebrating, representing and drawing attention to those two sweet features.

It's a bit like how AT thru-hikers aren't so well known themselves but their triumphs uplift the TRAIL and everyone who uses it (and motivate preservation).

That's my take, anyway. I hope it's OK with you that I tried moving the ball further -- heck, it can probably go further yet.

In short, I believe that racers are always representatives of something. Their names change, but we're interested because they symbolize something for us. It's a drama with multiple storylines that connect back to life. That might also be why we get peeved or lose interest when an event -- like TdF or RAAM -- becomes alien and remote, and why we spark back up when a human face is recognizable again, even when our reaction is WOW.

Whattaya think?

Hey, I notice that the MTBCasts are all coming in *double* on the TD Updates homepage. They're all single on the MTBCast page itself. I can't find an email address for Kevin Montgomery (or anyone else -- I'm so Web 1.0... how do people connect online nowadays?). Can someone get the word to someone?  : )  Thanks! --JP

they are all mad.Cant understand why you would want to make it harder then what it can be but best of luck to them.

Hi all... I only rarely ride SS, but I don't mind speculating here as to the Why's. If anyone knows better, let's hear it.

I'm thinking it's mainly about pacing. An SS is more like hiking. One stride-length. Seems likely that you coast the downhills. Otherwise, you trundle-spin the flats/mellows and work the up's -- just like wearin' boots. You'd pick a gear where the up's aren't a (knee)strain, I suppose.

The second factor might be simplicity and durability. The brain has fewer worries as you go along -- it's possible that there's noticeably less fatigue when "what's my gear?" is just not part of the picture -- and there's less that can happen to the bike.

Lastly: wouldn't it save, like, 3 whole sweet pounds?

PS: I wonder if any use flip-flops or (what would seem to be lame) tensioners.

Here's a funny one, to me anyway.

I got a chance to finally meet and have a quick chat with Matthew Lee mid-race in Salida, CO.

We'd emailed over the years and I also had my digicam with me so I put it on video-mode as we chatted so I could upload something "newsy" from the race to YouTube and my OutYourBackDoor website.

I'm a DIY sort of journalist but I couldn't think of any good questions to ask him. It about made me laugh.

I mean, it seems like I could've asked something like "So what's the best time been for you so far out there? The worst?" He's done the route/race 6 times so I could've asked how this year is comparing so far to the others.

But he was in The Zone. And it kinda seemed like questions were silly. So we just chatted about more general race topics---origins, food, water...

So much for the sharp journalism! : )

--JP

Hey all... It's been great fun watching this event play out and keep playing out. The fun isn't over yet!

I posted before that I met Matthew and posted some pics and video at my OYB site.

Lately I've been following the tight cluster of 7 or so riders who are closing in on the finish.

A few days ago I jotted down the 7 names, in their order, to see if anyone came on real strong and changed the finish order.

Well, lo and behold, Joe Meiser wasn't even in that lead group now he's near the front of it! What's the news there? Offhand, it seems like he suddenly put a good days-worth of riding on everyone. What??!!! What a finish! Or maybe he has always been close and I screwed up?

I wish I could follow this action even better somehow... Well, I'm just a lightweight at following this stuff.

I kinda wish the splits showed the time between the readings rather than the elapsed time so we could see who did each section how fast.

--JP

PS: Those Picasa pics look neat. I've been scanning thru them. If anyone has any links to fave pics from this batch can they call em out for us/me? The original mentioner of this link said there were some "candid" and "ridiculous" pics which sound right up my alley! Thanks!  JP

Hey, thanks, Gary, for the heads-up (on the ULB email list) about this Forum source for TD info!

At first I thought this was a backpacking forum. Darn, I'm behind the curve! Bikepacking...the next big thing! : )

I hadn't found much TD info elsewhere online. This seems the best place. Better than the TD.org site itself, even. The homepage is great, of course, for "live" type news---the SPOT info and podcasts---but obviously there's much more lowdown to share and learn about.

Anyway, here's the story of my own contact with the TD... I've also posted a short report and a couple pics and will put up a bit of video at my http://OutYourBackDoor.com website.

I've followed and helped promote the GDR and now the TD, but I hadn't met anyone involved. This year I was distracted by a big family road trip we were doing and hadn't been following the race. As we rolled into CO last week I suddenly recalled that the TD action might be going down and checked my laptop at a wifi hotspot and sure enough thanks to the SPOT info it looked like we might bump into Matthew in Salida. And we did! That was great fun. He looked good. He was also clearly in The Zone.

I've now started following the podcasts (for the first time...never podded before) -- good fun!

Tracey sounds fresh --- seems like a good portent for tandems.

I'm rootin' for everyone! --JP