You say in your press realease that the dirt alternates in new mexico are encouraged but not required.
what happens if the lead riders take the pavement? do subsequent riders need to follow to be considered finishers?
I guess I am confused because this option will have risk of seperating the great divide classic into two potential routes.
The ones who took the dirt and the ones who took the pavement.
Can you give me some guidance on weather I should follow the leaders to remain competitive in the classic route ?

Don't consider anything I say official. But if I remember correctly before the paved alternatives became the de facto option, the dirt alternatives were optional and there were years when riders were split. I don't think it matters which route someone in front of you (or behind) decides to take. The option is there for each individual rider. But that's just me. As I said, I'm not making any of these rules. I'm just going to show up and follow the line on my GPS. I'm planning to ride the dirt alternatives (since that's where the line will take me) unless the route is impassable/closed when I eventually get to that point.

This is not the same thing as the classic Kokopelli Trail Race which was/is an unsupported ride.

Also,

Much love and respect to everyone racing the TD this year and all those of you have raced it in the past. I'm just a grump, so don't take me too seriously.

This is what I don't understand. Why are they starting the Tour Divide? Trackleaders even offers a GDMBR touring page for folks who want tracking for friends and family. Anyway, maybe I have been immersed in the ultrarunning community for too long. These attitudes would not fly at the Hardrock 100. In that race, lots of ordinary folks accept a seemingly impossible challenge. They follow the rules, they follow the course, they do everything they can to battle to the finish in 48 hours. Many of them fail, and that in itself is a worthy experience. I'm certainly not a purist and not about to tell anyone what their experience should be, but I feel sad for those who miss out on the intensity of such experiences by selling themselves short from the get-go.

But I have hijacked this thread long enough. Go everyone out there who is actually riding! ;-)

The Hardrock 100 doesn't last 20-30 days. Plenty of regular people line up at 100-mile mountain bike races and stay on course, follow the rules, etc. But the TD is different simply based on its length, cost, time commitment, and so forth. For a lot of people, it's a huge bucket list item, and if the choice for them becomes "drop out for X reason, or skip a portion of the route and keep riding", many will choose to keep riding. And good for them.

I think everyone that lines up for the TD should follow the rules and the route. But it also shouldn't bother people so much when they don't. Unless someone knowingly cheats, and tries to claim a result, as happened at the Stagecoach this year, then who cares if Rider A helps Rider B fix a flat?

TG criticized people for far more than rules violations. He got angry at everyone for just about everything. He caught well-earned blowback.

Agree, people have diluted the original intent of the grand depart.

Which was what, exactly?

People may still be "disqualified" for skipping parts of the route they don't like, but I'd be willing to bet a fair number of them don't realize this.

That's what happens when a "race" has no official organizer, a website that hasn't been updated in 5 years, conflicting interpretations of the rules, and nothing at stake for anyone who rides in it - no prize, and nothing to be DQ'd from.

The TD has a mind of its own now. I'm surprised people follow the route as closely as they do. Especially with BS like Koko Claims being included. However, most of the riders lining up know the rules (even they follow them in varying degrees), know the route, and understand the history of the TD. That said, if the unofficial organizer never sent out another email again, there'd still be 100+ people lining up in Banff on the 2nd Friday in June every year. The GD is a self-sustaining event The GDMBR is not the TD, nor is it dependent on it.

The truth is that there are only about 10-15 riders at the Grand Depart who are racing. Everyone else is there to see if they can ride to Mexico. They push themselves, no doubt. But that might mean 80 miles a day. It might mean 20. And it might mean 150. Who cares? It takes nothing away from me if someone rides slowly, or takes the Fernie Alt. Too many of us seem to want others to ride the route the way we did (or tried to, in my case) instead of just letting people ride it the way they want to ride it. We ought to celebrate the diverse people that show up for the TD, and every other bikepacking race, year after year. It wasn't long ago that this sport was for the ultra-fit, ultra-competitive, and ultra hardasses. It was close-minded, and far, far too strict about everything.

More people loading bikes with gear and riding the GDMBR, and other routes, is a good thing. It's good for ultra-racing, it's good for the small economies along the way, and it's good for the guys who build the bikes, sew the bags, and draw the maps.

Going for some redemption this year, Grizzly?

I'm always looking for redemption.

Yep, it's pretty easy to describe -- you just go the way you'd drive on the highway between Abiquiu and Cuba.  96 and 550, IIRC.  That's what we used in 2013, and I don't know of any reason it wouldn't be the same should it be needed.

Cool, thanks. In the end, it's all just pedaling...

Crikey!  I am skeptical that it'll reopen before the leaders get there.  They usually want 3 solid days of monsoon rains before they'll lift it.

IIRC 2013 had this closure/detour, which made MH's blazing time that year not quite an official record.

Any chance that the re-route is decided on soon enough to recreate the GPX before the race starts? This one looks serious enough to just go with it.

I can't imagine stopping mid effort and downing a large meal, and then getting back on the bike and get back into effort. After a nap, maybe.

You'll imagine it pretty quickly when the food monster wakes up. When that happens, you'll be hungry before you eat, while you're eating, and after you eat. And after you eat again. Hunger and a voracious appetite are like headwinds and thunderstorms on multi-day rides. Always lingering...

Future 4) Do nothing. Organizers maintain status quo, and settle in for a life playing FB whak-a-mole

This would be my vote. Except I don't think FB needs monitoring. The existing groups are all closed, so they aren't being pushed out to the public.It'd be an impossible task to try to limit what individuals share on their own pages - and trying do so would only incur resentment.

Matt, thanks for contributing to the conversation. This type of discussion seems to come up every couple of years. I appreciate everything that you, and others have done to make the TD into what it is - and has been. I never raced in the early days, but I watched as closely as I could back then. There's a lot to love about the simplicity of those early years, but I also think there's a lot to love about the way that the TD/GDR has given rise to one of the best communities of people that I know. Every bikepack race that I have done, I have met people that have become life-long friends. Including the '17 TD despite my early scratch.

FWIW, sharing photos during a multi-day race has become something I really enjoy. I prefer Instagram. (Facebook is a hot mess, no doubt, the only saving grace are the closed groups!)

Perhaps a moderator could move these posts to a separate thread? The race discussion has been hijacked a bit.

We've also got Harvey Pass this year, between Fernie and Butts Cabin. 3 big passes between Fernie and Eureka, all over 5500 feet. The first several days could see a lot of hiking!

If you've got the eTrex 30x, use the TD17 track (which is yet to be released). Waypoints are nice, but you'll appreciate the simplicity of a line drawn on the screen. Just follow the line. I use waypoints for things like camp grounds, gas stations, known water sources, etc.

https://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snow/snow_map.html

Start with an overnighter, and build from there. Most of my trips are sub-24 hours, fairly close to home. You can learn a lot in a short time.

As far as the TD goes, there are plenty of guys older than 42 that have been very successful.

I don't have any experience with the route. This will be my first time riding in that area. But I like to err on the side of easier.

It looks like Jackson's is open 24 hours. Just off route. Looks like you could cut across the grass off of Main Street to avoid going all the way around?

Also looks like there is Base Camp Fuel at the intersection of Warm Springs and Main. Not sure on the hours though.

Yeah I saw that. The race has been re-routed.

When I load up my eTrex 30 to the computer, my recent rides are not showing up in the history folder. Sometimes only some of the files show up.

Any ideas?

I'll be riding in the Smoke n Fire, and thought I'd get a thread going about the race. Ready, Set, Go!

https://smokenfire420.wordpress.com/

Neil is rolling into Silverton right now (9:45a MDT). Will he catch Ben? I think he will. Will he catch Jefe? He just might.