PS: So it looks like JP was in the Team event. I saw his FB post about his partner dropping out due to Shermer's. Then he put in a 369-mi last 29 hours! YOW!

Was there a separate Track Leaders for that? How did anyone see his dot passing others?

I've been having a hard time making that thing behave. I see there's a pulldown for two options: east and westbound. However, I can't get it to filter them out from each other for showing the dots -- all dots stay in the view. No option that I saw for Team, etc. Any easy way to work that tool?

Is anyone else watching JayP's dot just passing other riders like a maniac. He is a machine.

The TA is finished, right? What race do you mean? I'm slow on this stuff.

link?

ah. I found it on the facebook event page. interview w L right at the finish. ...good one!

Just watched the video where Lael talks about crossing paths with Steffen. I don't feel bad for him anymore.

link?

So maybe I'm missing something but is Lael the first woman overall winner? I haven't seen anyone make anything of this. To me when women win the overall title of an event it's a big deal.

A week no chat? ... I'm liking seeing Lael in 2nd overall getting so close to the finish.

(Do I have this close to right: Lael is 6th overall on the road and only a day or so behind the overall record pace and she's on a singlespeed?)

I like the 3-up dynamic. Let em do as they please. This whole thing is so different from other stuff that regular concepts don't apply. Or, we see the usual dynamics in new lights. Athletes interact and lift each other up, raising the game, in every sport. ...Teamwork among rivals. Victory is one of many worthy dynamics in play. (...Sleep dep not being one of them.) (I wouldn't even mind seeing other rule changes so good thing I'm not writing them! Go team, go drafting! Share the work, share the load! But that's too crazy. Or at least another new category.)

I don't like to see much of a sleep dep contest at the finish (or even elsewhere). Nor do I like to hear about skipping pie. C'mon! To make a massive horse-race more massive they should mellow out on the dep and stick to the hammer. (Unless they really do get in a groove and don't need it now and just plain don't wanna be layin around wastin time.) All 3 should get 5 hours then hammer down. C'mon! No skippin or sneakin!

Yay to Jason -- the Monster from Michigan!

First TD -- and on a Fixie, no less.

Amazing!

I've seen suggestions to "take it elsewhere" when people post off-topic about TD rules in the "live race happening now" thread. So here's such a thread! Feel free to discuss all things theoretical and admin oriented here!

Please don't post anything in the "race" thread that's not about this year's race as it is happening. (I suppose it could be said that the other thread's title isn't clear enough. But its intent sure is! People there don't want to hear ANYTHING about rules concept. It's all action all the time over there.)

***

Amateurism is at the heart of the TD. Once money is involved the *faces* change.

When I first started bike racing in the early 80's there was still the official split b/w amateur and pro events. Today you don't hear about that anymore. Except here at the TD. Great!

In addition to policy back then there was also reality. There really WAS real amateurism. And amateurism really IS different. ...And possibly better in some ways!

My favorite races in my first few years were the Mackinac Island Relays. It was an end-of-summer round-the-island race for island workers and their friends. There'd be a dozen each men's and women's 5-member teams, each person doing a lap. Hundreds of spectators. Insurance concerns killed the race in the end -- with many feeling that an entire era of community spirit died then for that Island. That race meant a lot. ...And was 100% volunteer. User-generated. Simple rules. Zero $. Spirit sustained it. When that wasn't enough, well, it meant that the whole Island died to a significant extent. Amateur events are SYMBOLS of the people. When amateurism isn't enough, the people aren't enough. They've lost. (I sure hope there's as much community on the Island these days but when I talk to people, to today's young workers there, it seems like there's more TV-watching and less fun, sorry to say, tho I'm sure some keep the torch burning as best they can.)

We recently started a Facebook Page for those olden Island days. People are posting race pics from When We Were Very Young.

Here's my point: One HUGE thing that I notice is that there is MORE HEART on the faces in the photos of that AMATEUR race than I've seen in bike racing pics since then. You can so easily see the thrills and strains in those pics. Total intensity. When I see bike racing pics today at any level I rarely see that passion coming out so obviously. It is startling to see the difference. We look more pro than today's pro's!

(I also note that we weren't dilettantes. Many earned their living all summer on a bike as Dock Porters. We did training rides after work most days. We did other races, rode across the US. We achieved a few 27-28mph ave lap times for the 8.3 miles around the Rock! ...On old steel bikes with zero aero devices. And we were sometimes in TT mode when a Relay member put the hammer down to regain the main pack. There was no support so a crash or flat would often put teams WAY in arrears. But that didn't mean they were outta contention! There were quite a few big comebacks over the years. I think the Lap Record comes from just such a TT comeback effort which was capped by a sprint win by my brother, Tim.)

(A couple times off-island "ringers" would be recruited by teams. Their times might simply be omitted. It was a judgement call. If you were a Cat 2 and had never worked on the island or didn't even know anyone, well...)

(And ONE dude did end up having the final say about it all. No one elected him. He did the work. He wasn't paid. He was our hero.)

I recall suggestion that all "non current race action" discussion go to another thread.

Yeah, it happens every year, but really all discussion of race concept, rules, admin, belong elsewhere.

Really, NOBODY wants to see a SINGLE post in THIS thread about anything except racers on the course. So, c'mon!

I have no interest in TD admin (other than to say "YAY MATT! THANKS!") so I don't know if there is such a thread. Anyone who IS interested can start it if it hasn't been.

Posts and comments about JILL AND HER RECENT BORDER-CROSSING INCIDENT do not deserve to be buried! They are NOT "add on's" in this thread. They are the HEART of it!

Please, stop hijacking this thread. No more off-topic posts. The race-under-way is on topic.

So, let's hear it for our racers!  

I've been offline for the TD and most everything else until a couple days ago because I was working an outta state intense project. I was missing the TD badly. Well, what a thrill to see Jason Snell's name in the listings! He's a local up north Michigan pal and monster hammerhead. I knew he was making cool bags for TD racers but had no idea he'd thrown his hat in the ring. What neat news to discover! And FIXIE, no less! I caught back up with the race when I got home by starting at the start -- no spoilers!

Last year Jason blew me away with his riding when I was visiting up north. One day he took off after work at the bike shop and biked until work again the next morning. I shoulda got the clue then! He didn't mention any goals. He didn't even really say what he'd done, I had to piece it together, "Oh, so you were riding ALL NIGHT." I just thought that's how he has fun in the summer.

Well, best wishes, Jason, as you get ever closer to the finish!

Ah... Thanks for the website heads-up. Sounds like more of a "too much to do, haven't gotten around to it" kinda thing. Good sign that it's still THAT small.    I'd volunteer to help with updating but that just reminds me that my own website is busted and I gotta earn a living from it. Yikes! Back to work...
 
***

I suppose the "no help" rule is also to prevent a group from "sharing the load" -- one pump among 3 riders, one set of particular spares, one GPS, cell, etc.

Help in trouble seems way different, yet, you're right, all part of the ol' gray line.

Man, everyone is so minimal that it would seem to be hard to gain anything by load-sharing. In the old days 2 could save weight with one carrying a tent and the other carry the poles but who's riding with 2man tent anymore?

Seems there's very little overlap and redundancy anymore where much could be saved by having only one among many.

I disagree that a website goes against the spirit. This event by whatever name (race or not a race or not a certain kind of race) isn't averse to stories and fans.

I note that I never said anything about wanting or having an organizer. I agree that there is no need for one in this context. One could materialize if ever needed, allowed, etc.

I did speculate that maybe the website was stopped for that reason. I have no idea if a website could be done as a place for news/stories without an "organizer" label being legally applied on it whether it wants it or not. Or if it really does bring bad attention to it. I know it definitely brings GOOD attention but maybe the tag-along negs offset that.

It all depends on the goals. If the goal is fewer racers and fans, that could likely be achieved. But the spirit of "race to the lightpole" isn't necessarily snuffed when more people do something or know about it.

Numbers can be a problem totally apart from the spirit of the thing.

I'd love to share my secret powder skiing stashes with more people but it just doesn't work like that... : )

So do you think the need to avoid "an organizer" is why there's no centralized-ish place for current info, reports and such?

I'm just curious about that. Seems like it might be a good reason.

Still, it seems like a main site could be set up anonymously and posted-to, maintained communally. Maybe?

But if there's a desired limit of, say, 100 participants / season and maybe a couple hundred spectators then maybe we're already there and no more PR awareness is desired.

Also, this forum thread isn't without its charm.

On the dead homepage linked to above I see this:

Rule #2: "    When:  All summer long...however, an informal common start date known as the 'grand depart' traditionally kicks off the season 2nd week of June from both termini."

I don't see any mention of Friday.

So how does everyone have this all figured out except for me?

Oh, I see it now, near the bottom. I did a websearch of the page for "Friday." Is THAT how everyone knows it's Friday? Tricky!

Is "anti PR" part of TD charm? Could be!

Where did you find that out? (How does anyone/everyone find it?)

Any link to a homepage for the TD'14...? I must be blind, but I've been googling awhile. Just keep running into the dead main site. Any idea why it's been left for dead? Odd to have a main domain like that for a big deal like this. Must be monkey bizness. Actually, it's the first time I've seen that. Some squabble? It's the only thing I can imagine.

So, what's the start date? Is there an HQ website with this kind of info?

I'm just playing catchup and wondering if I've missed a new active website or blog summary of the race.

The .org main site is still dead.

Or do we just watch the blue dots and wing it?

Anywhere consolidating stories and info? Just this thread? I suppose it'll be good enuf, esp if it's all we have.