If this were facebook, I'd like this post. Radical.

Yep, it made me smile on a monday morning.

OP: Take lots of photos and report back so we can all live the dream too!

I have just had an Australian refuse a free Beer.

Wonder if he will be stipped of his Citizenship?

Yes

Hey guys - let's talk about the race that's why there are trolls.

Apparently Jesse was picked up by a truck driver unconscious and driven to Como when he is staying currently. He will have to backtrack in the morning to the spot he came off, assuming he is recovered. Not doing too bad for a rookie...

Mental stuff. I hope he is OK!

Stuff of TD legend, that is for sure.

Looks like Mike Hall is pulling away. Stapplers been stopped for 3.5 hours now.

THat just means that Craig's spot hasn't updated for 3.5 hours. He could be riding right next to Mike and just has bad batteries in his spot. His updates have been patchy today so I suspect his batteries are getting tired and need replacing. The 4 am wake up call will reveal all!

We [in the southern hemisphere] should be able to hijack this site for a few hours while they're all sleeping......

They should be sleeping but Alex Harris is at it again. It's 0200 hours over there and he is still moving and has passed Liam again.

The race flow graph makes for really interesting viewing. Mike Hall has been motoring to haul in Stappy!

The link i tried to view on the mavic website was dead when I tried to check out the spoke count. I'm totally guessing but i assume they are 28 hole? My experience with low spoke count wheels (versus 32 hole) is that when you break a spoke, they go out of round in a big way. Particularly if you are carrying any sort of load.

I've seen it happen on three different wheelsets and decided that for my 'big ride' wheels i'd go 32 hole for a little bit more piece of mind. Just a stray thought since no-one else had chimed in.

I think some of these guys have forgotten the  component of , "Eat, Sleep, Ride".

Given the amount of downtime, I think 'Eat' might be in danger of being skipped too. "Ride, Ride, Ride"

On my reckoning Craig had 50+ miles on Mike earlier on and he certainly has pulled a bit back. But the big mover was Jess Carlsson who was set free by his minder [Liam Crowley] from Helena. His sectional times through to Butte were faster than Craig and Mike. Think you can start to write out the prizemoney cheques

Go the Aussies!

Jesse was hauling until he stopped for a nap. Looks like he is getting faster as the race unfolds.  In the meantime Alex Harris is still going at 0300hrs and has almost caught Liam who has been stopped for about 3 hours. Some very interesting strategy going on here.

Could be a bad spot update but Scott McConnell looks like he is off route?

The single speeders are making great time!

My good mate Jesse carlsson has made a good start sitting in third. For those following the race Jesse is a two time world champion in BMX so he's showing he also has form on races longer than a minute. Expecting long days from Jesse and could be a dark horse

Looks like Liam is right beside him too. Go the Aussies!

My 0.02.

Go for it. As long as there are plenty of bail out options along the way to use if you aren't making the required time, then all is good. The important thing is to have fun and spend the time outside.

Don't drop out on the first night because you only made 60miles, just ride for the next 2 days and adjust your final goal accordingly.

And take lots of photos!

I use a down bag, but I think the principle might be the same.

I found it really hard to get the sleeping bag to pack small enough when it wasn't jammed into it's' own stuff sack. Rolling it always seemed to wind up larger. So I put the sleeping bag in stuff sack in the middle and then roll the mattress around the sleeping bag.

Since the groundsheet will likely be covered in mud, I then fold it in half so the dirt layers are against each other and the clean side showing and then roll that around the outside of the whole lot. Total packing up time is still pretty racey if you want it to be or leisurely if you are carrying a stove and making coffee.

Yup, that is just crazy. I doff my cap to him.

Those photos are spectacular Sean. I wish I could get back there this year for it 2014 perhaps.

I just deflate tyre to about 3-4 psi leaving the Stans in there.

Urgh, wish I had seen this while I was in the States

Holt,

A few toes on my left foot are still numb from AZT too. I've had it happen quite a few times before and healing time has been anywhere between months and years depending upon what I do to aggravate the situation again. It's just something that happens, don't freak out, in my experience, it sorts itself out.

My hands were fine after AZT and I was on a rigid. In the past, I've completely destroyed my hands while riding a 4 inch dually to the point of not having enough grip strength to operate a clothes peg for several weeks after a ride. The dually was set up in an XCO race position - long and low putting lots of weight on my hands. My rigid is much more upright and is much better on the hands. YMMV

Just got home and had some time to look at the GPS file to figure out my actual depart time from Parker Lake. Scott, put me down for 2 days 23 hours 4 minutes thanks.

Hey all,

My knee was giving me trouble and i called it a day at the end of the 300. In hindsight, i suspect the knee wasnt as bad as i thought and it was just my sun addled brain that got the better of me.

This course is a real beast and it was such a pleasure to share trails and tales with an awesome group of riders that i bumped into along the way. Those 'next time' thoughts are already creeping in and there are a few key things i could do better next time.

Thanks to Scott and Tim for all tge advice and lead up work and for cramming more type2 fun into a course than i could imagine. So rad (in hindsight and with beer).

Edit: Oh, and Go Max!!

No, thats cool, i was going to go North first and then backtrack on 89 which should still work.