Here is a photo of some happy faces the day after (July 5) (l to r:  Tom S, Lee K, Tori F, JP E, Martin W, John U)  Looks like they've followed Rob Collivers cues:
123.9 Antelope Wells
Finish!!!!!!!!!  YIPPEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!
Get off bike
Massage arse
Drink beer

For Jeff Tomassetti:  JP Evans and his wife are driving to El Paso tomorrow, but staying in Deming (east of you tonight).  They are at Denny's in Lourdsburg (sp) right now (5pm), so best is if you can hook up with them now.  They're going back down to AW in a bit to pick up Tori (and probably Martin can be convinced to join them).  JP's phone number is:  1 972 571 6127.  Please call him if you're still looking for a ride.  Great job by the way!

Hi, everyone--just a quick update on Kim Reaymaekers.  We ended up tag teaming with Daniel Bayley's parents last night to get him back to Deming.  Daniel's parents got down there to wait for him, only to find poor Kim all alone and unfeted.  They got some pix of him at the sign.  We were a few minutes late--suspecting that the truck full of smiling faces heading northbound from the border crossing (just a mile before we got there) had picked him up.  We confirmed that with the border control.  We were able to make a handoff when we caught up with their truck just past Hachita, having a quick roadside chat with Bob Anderson at 9:30pm before he made his last push for AW.  This meant Daniel's parents could stay close by the route, since they had no idea where their son was at that point (no cell reception below I-10).  Kiim told us he would have rather died on the spot in AW than to have to get back on his bike and ride north, so good thing he had a ride (or two) waiting for him.  He was in great spirits.  Exhausted but very glad for the experience.  Hopefully he'll call in and share more of his thougths with you.  He got to speak with his wife and then crash at the hotel here.

We are off in a few hours to meet JPE, Tom, Ray and anyone else who is arriving this morning at the border.  In the American way, all three of the girls have very big cars, so we have plenty of room extract anyone else who might need a ride around that time.

Thanks to Matthew, Scott, Joe and all of the other TD volunteers for such great organization!  It's been fun following.  We'll keep following and rooting for the others.  TD Riders, you are all amazing! 

KimR is taking the rough beautiful dirt GDMBR route from Cuba to Grants, not the permitted paved alternate that most people take. 

Good for Kim and glad to hear it!  I saw his spot going off route and I was worried he was having fire troubles there, too.

[fire update]

!!!! I have a fire update from Tom Sap who is in Abiquiu right now with Rob Colliver.  The Forest Service told them that FR 144 [edit] between Abiquiu and Cuba is literally on fire in places and that they will need to go to Cuba via Hwy 84, then left on 96 to Cuba--no going in the forest.  Unfortunately, Bob Anderson and Jeff Tomasetti are on that route right now.  Rob also phoned this in, but I gathered Joe might not be back yet to post.  Tom said the sky turned black in Abiquiu and there was ash all over the clothes he's hung out to dry.  The locals said that they've never had ash in the valley before.

This is a question for Scott or other folks with experience.  How are the finish time projections on the Leaderboard calculated and how accurate are they?  Mrs. JPE and I are trying to figure out when we need to be at AW, which involves buying plane tickets.  JP and Tom have crossed the NM border this morning (along with Ray, Norb and presumably Martin--hoorah!).  If I count the number of days according to Steve Wilkinson's 2009 write-up (plus adding in some hours for the new route), they would arrive on Saturday.  Although, they would probably not put in some of the extra-long days the group of Eight did.  On the other hand, the projections on the Leaderboard would have Tom and JP arriving at or after midnight on Monday (going into Tuesday).  That's a big spread.  My guess is Sunday.  Overall they've been averaging 113 miles/day if I take out two short days.  At what point does the pedalling get easier? Any thoughts?

For the press listing:  here's an artical from Cyclingnews.com that a friend just sent me on the first finishers:  http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/refsnider-first-to-finish-2011-tour-divide-race

TS called me this morning from Platoro and it turns out his little pack did not know that people crossed the line on Sunday!  Well, I didn't tell JE, but I figured they'd hear about it at one of their stops.  That's what happens when you're riding out in the middle of nowhere:  you lose touch with reality, she said, as if a TD race were reality.  :)

Any idea what Lee Krumholz is doing off-course at Platoro?  I hope all's okay.

sorry, martin, but i didn't/don't have your spot!...hope it finds you!
ride safely!

I think I'm the one that started that rumor about Martins' SPOT.  So strange that it's not with you, Kirsten, because as of Thursday morning, when you click on his name, it show's he's sitting at mile 1447.  Maybe the postman hid it behind the bushes somewhere...I'm just catching up on today's posts, so maybe the mystery has been solved in the meantime.  Thanks for the pic's of the crew on Wednesday night!  Everyone looks like they're having a great time.  

The ironic thing is that my wife unknowingly created this monster when she gave me Paul Howard's Eat Sleep Ride for my birthday this year.  

No, here's the ironic thing.  Your wife will agree and then be awonder at all of the time you spend in front of the computer each evening in chat rooms scheming for your ride.  Happy that you're working toward your dream, she'll still think "Get out and DO something!", secretly looking foward to when you finally take off for the Grand Depart, imagining all of of the things she'll get accomplished while you're gone and all of the ME time she'll have.  Instead, she will spend the next 3+ weeks every evening (plus solid weekends) in chat rooms and following your ride.  THAT's what you need to prepare her for.  :)       
(I think the rest of my family would also have appreciated being warned about the TD Effect.)

My advice is to buy a copy of the Cord and leave it on the bedside table. They'll eventually come around.

It is a great book.  Just don't let her read the story about the wild dogs.  After having come to grips with the threat of bears, snakes and scorpions, that will have her worried all over again.  (Yet I think I just read on Aidan's blog the other day that it's the moose one has to worry most about.)

In addition to stalking the progress of my own family members (who are making their way through the basin now), I've been following the progress of fellow Belgian Kim Raeymaekers.  He was really cruising the past few days, but now his spot has been stuck in Rawlins for the 17 hours.  Does anybody have any idea if he's on the move?

I was glad to hear that Martin "without-a-SPOT" Wimpenny made it to Jackson.  Tom called me last night (not sure if 4am counts as last night or this morning for me...) to say they had inadvertently lost Martin.  They were riding as fast as possible to get away from the treacherous Rail Trail.  I'm not sure what happened (this is where my 4am brain comes in), but what I deduced was that three of them must have stopped at bike shop and they assume Martin carried on thinking they were farther ahead.  The upshot is that Tom, JP and Ray also ended in Jackson on Sunday, so maybe they will find each other at Monday pancakes.  At least that way we'll still know how to keep tabs on Martin.  Tom said they're all in good sprits and he's enjoying the ride, but described the last two days of riding as a little dull in terms of road terrain.  He'll be glad to be in mountainous Colorado today!

JE is also a native Virginian!  He just talks like he's from Texas.

Tom Sap’s girlfriend here (and another sister of JP Evans).  Someone had complained on the blog yesterday about “friendly groups” which were forming.  So I would like to add to Cathy P's comments on JPE and Tom.  JP and Tom did not intend to be riding together.  When they both committed to the race, they had independently concluded that they would complete it in 24-25 days.  Tom is usually riding solo, but I’m very glad to see them riding together along with Ray and Martin, especially given the comments people have made about the mental challenges of riding alone for so long.  (Read Tori Fahey’s awesome Day 6 blog post on social isolation (http://www.observatori.ca/2011/06/tour-divide-day-6.html).  (Matthew Lee, I hear you yelling from your armchair now, “But that’s a large part of the point!”)

Some insights on Tom:  I’ve asked JP to get Tom to call in.  I know his family (and I!) would love to hear his voice.  But he’s an incredibly quiet guy, so I’m sure that the fact that he has no phone with him and his calling card ran out would be his excuse.  (Another reason I’m glad he’s with JP—at least I get word that he’s safe.)  Tom’s life is all about biking.  He is not one to compete against others though.  When he’s out there, he’s competing with himself.  The longer and steeper the climb, the more he loves it.  Regardless of what the Belgian weather brings, you can find Tom out slogging away in the hilly/muddy Ardennes (and even hillier Luxembourg) most weekends.  Two years ago he got the bug riding marathons and pretty much everywhere on his rigid singlespeed 29er, so that’s the question I get from our friends here now:  “Is he riding his SS on the TD?”  No, he’s got gears this time and front suspension.  Go Tom!

When Justin finishes the ride, will he get credit for being both the winner of the "real" course *and* the Red Lantern?  His spirit is amazing!

Any idea why JP Evans' SPOT does not work from time to time?  I'm certain he's pacing with Tom and Ray right now, but it's not updating his signal since he stopped in Eureka last night.  Is it something to do with the fact that his is not a TD-issued one?  I'm not worried, but it freaks some of my family members out when they don't see him progressing.  Making their way toward Stryker Pass nonetheless!

Somehow I didn't imagine myself worrying until the race started, now I can hardly quit looking at updates!

I guess we'd better get used to the stress (and hours of unproductive time).  After seeing the difference between the current route and the traditional one they're missing out on (other than Justin!), I have no doubt they'll feel compelled to tackle the unexplored trails in 2012.

Another spouse checking in...  I'm looking forward to the cross over the border so I can actually get a call while he's in cell range.  I'm proud of my hubby, but looking forward to getting him home too.  Anyone else planning to go to Antelope Wells to meet them at the finish?

My sis-in-law and I are planning to meet JE and TS at the end of the ride at AW.  They were forecasting their finish times to be about the same.  We'll see how the ride evolves to know for certain which day(s) we need to show up.