Super excited for you Mike!!!!! Congrats on a great ride.  Enjoy some well deserved down time now.   

I was all wound up about going through Vallecitos from all the stories. When I went through Vallecitos at about 7:30am I didn't have a dog even bark at me let alone chase me. Maybe riders have hit them with pepper spray a few times and they don't chase riders any more?

Being northbound I was one of the first few riders to run the Vallecitos gauntlet and made it almost all the way through, until the last driveway where a cute little terrier mutt came tearing after me.  I quickly unloaded a seconds worth of my pepper spray directly in the cute face of this mutt and was on my way.  Having my pepper spray in hand definitely came in handy as they tend to come out of nowhere and are pretty damn quick.  Nice adrenaline boost!

First northbound GD rider to reach Banff!!!!!  Well done Jeff

Yes Jeff Taylor!  Way to persevere.  So glad I had the chance to visit with you briefly at Bowlin's CTD Store in Separ on our way north.  Those Kipper snacks sure looked delicious!

Finish strong my friend

Kevin Jacobsen here.  Northbound GD single speed. 

I am between Atlantic City and Boulder and am officially pulling out of TD 2015.  Been struggling since Salida (3 days) with only one operable quadricep.  My right quad is toast.  Not sure what the issue is but I cannot put any downstroke pressure on the pedal.

I came here to go fast and had a great run up through New Mexico and Colorado, but am not able to keep the race level effort I expect of myself.  Frustrated for sure as everything else (body, mind, bike, kit, etc.) was operating perfectly.

Congrats and continued success to the rest of the individuals busting their asses this year!

We'll done Dylan!  Very fun to watch.  Looks like a few more tough souls might finish yet today.