NOBO grand depart is listed as midnight???  Seems weird to start at a different time than SOBO.

Not really, it sucks racing through the day in the desert in summer. The best riding can be done in NM at night.

For the last couple of years the new trail maps in the area have had this on it:



However as far as I know they don't actually have the closure implemented yet, and there are no actual no no-entry signs or the like.

Additionally they cleared all the deadfall along that section recently.

Any word on Rob Davidson? He's been in Pie Town for over 19 hours.

Ok here's what's happening. Rob Davidson bike is broken. Needs a new part will have to hitch to Albuquerque and back, about 2 1/2 hrs away. His goal is to complete the divide... but he has about 2 days of riding and his flight home is Saturday our time..
Lets see if he can do it.

or wasting bear spray on it, what can a rider do?

That's not wasting, its exactly what bear spray is for, preventing an animal from attacking you.

I hear a few riders were having an issues at the turnoff onto Corbin Road off the Crowsnest Highway.

The road used to look like this (current route GPX overlaid in red):



However the old road no longer meets the highway and that whole section has concrete barriers along the roadside instead you can only get onto it easily via the switchback a bit further along the road:



Google Maps View Streetview (last Fall)

Interesting tires on JP's bike.  Blades on the sidewalls for side-cut protection and low profile.  Front tire says "Sparwood" on it.  Anybody know what these are? Nano-something-ish.

Apparently they are a new tire from the new QBP brand Teravail

How many of the top men riders have beards? Think about it. 

How many of them (with or without beards currently) will have beards by the time they hit Antelope wells though?

Interesting bike JayP is rolling this year.  That frame's not a regular Salsa production bike.  It's not a Warbird and they don't yet make a non-fat bike carbon hardtail. 

http://salsacycles.com/culture/introducing_cutthroat

I took a random bunch of photos at the Y, trailhead & Goat Creek, you can find them in this gallery.

These nasty critters are out in force up north after the relatively mild winter. You may be less likely to pick them up on route through Banff/Kananaskis as you won't be brushing through vegetation so much but they are out there and they can transmit some things you really don't want, so at the very least check for them at the end of each day.

(the one above is one of a couple I picked up riding Lake Minnewanka a couple of days ago)

I turn it on every morning and leave it in tracking mode all day, turning it off when I stop for the night (or a little before if I am concerned about Spot stalkers). I can't imagine trying to remember to send an OK message every hour during the day.

Bob

I think Simon means the tracking interval when you have tracking on. You can configure the interval at which your track is updated on your spot configuration page to: 2 ½ (with Extreme Tracking only), 5, 10, 30, or 60 minutes.

In turns out that the external batteries (one a Plox 4500 mah and a ebay 6000 mah ) were at fault. Kerry from Klite explains it as the two devices not having the right hand shake protocol.

Maybe they would work if you used a USB cable with the data (D+/D-) lines disconnected so it can't do anything smart at all, just supply dumb power.

I use an unmodified Fox 32 and it works but its pretty tight:



Note that I usually leave it just a tad soft, if I inflate it for a very firm/fast tire it will jam solid, so I wouldn't recommend it (without modification) for an extended or fast tour.