Hi everyone. I am absolutely loving this years TD. However...
I have a question that I'm sure many of you may have already considered.
What do you think about the use of drop bars and cyclocross bikes in what is considered a mountainbike race?
I don't know what the situation is in the US but here in the UK you are not allowed to enter MTB races using cyclocross bikes. Equally I would believe that the use of drop bars would also be frowned upon.
Please don't shoot the messenger here, I think that I am asking a valid question and I am interested in hearing other peoples opinions.
Thanks. Neil.

Not on your Nellie!  I just rode my cross bike in UK MTB Enduros on the last two Sundays - there is no such restriction over here in Blighty.

As far as the TD is concerned I can think of at least 3 good reasons why I wouldn't want to risk it on my cross bike:-
1.  the lava pavement section
2.  the sand traps south of Silver City
3.  the rail trail section
When you also add in all of the rocky downhill sections, you really don't want to be on a cross bike with two inch tyres.

Having said all that, I am full of admiration for the guy who's giving it a go on a cross bike this year. Can't wait to see how it goes for him and his post-race feedback.
   
 

Looks as though Alex - if he keeps going - will get close to Mike Hall's 2013 border time of 23:44. That's some effort!

Wow - what a first day!  It looks as though Connor O'Leary was first to stop - a good 90 minutes before his 3 chasers who crept a few miles past him. Looks like those 3 may all be in the cabin alongside the track. Whilst they sleep, three more chasers are still on the road, and are closing fast. It's going to be fascinating to see how they all emerge from their first night's rest. Will anyone push on to the border without stopping?

Great to see Marshall Bird (flag carrier for the more mature riders) having a good run this year and already well past Corbin.

Fascinating start to this year's race with a new bunch of youngsters setting a really hot pace on Day 1. IMHO the first day is probably one of the easiest of the entire route - day 2 in the Flathead will start to reveal the true front-runners.

Mind you, I see JayP's SPOT hasn't sent an update for the last two hours so I guess he's going to magically appear in Elkford any second now!

Great to see fellow Brit Andy Laycock up near the front - great stuff Andy - keep it going !

I used a Cateye Enduro 8 computer for TD in 2012 and it never skipped a beat. It's wired (heavy duty wiring), big buttons and large displayed numbers. Doesn't have many functions, but then you don't need much for TD.

I've had bad experience with wireless computers due to range (distance from sensor to computer) limitations and signal interference from battery pack to front light cabling. If you go this route, make sure you test it all out with all of your other handlebar electrics switched on before you get too far south of Banff.   

It can be pretty tough getting out to train for TD during the upcoming winter months - lots of wet, cold, early mornings. Here's a little inspiration including a novel way of getting over those pesky Montana wire cattle fences...

Danny Macaskill: The Ridge

Coming out of the Basin on the old Oil Company Road I stuck on a playlist of my all-time favourite Northern Soul classics. Man - that had me dancing on the pedals like Bert Contador.

Good to use headphones that let plenty of ambient noise through. I nearly got ambushed by a pack of dogs coming out of Pietown at night. I didn't see them until the very last second, and didn't hear their snarling due to being lost in music. 

+1 for Terra Nova Lasers

Took a Laser Photon 1 on TD 2012 and it worked very well for me. Up and down in a few minutes and only weighs 1.5 lbs.

Didn't even consider a bivi bag as I've used tents a lot throughout my life and much prefer the roof over my head feeling.

One small gripe - the titanium pegs were SO small - like large paper clips - that I gradually lost them in the dark mornings and had to replace them with something a bit more substantial and visible.

 

Adding together Stopped and Moving time gives 16:02:40 - a few minutes faster than Ollie in 2012. Another truly great Tour Divide completion - well up there in the all-time list of TD rides.

I rode the TD 2012 with my bike set up to closely mirror my road bike position. That was a recipe for disaster, and sure enough by the end of the race my hands were virtually useless - I had to buy some pliers to use in place of my fingers. When I got home I tried physio on my hands, arms and neck with little improvement. After two months I had nerve conduction tests that suggested severe lesions to both major nerves at the wrist and elbow. After a further 6 months with very little improvement, I finally decided to have surgery on my left elbow and wrist (carpal/cubital tunnel release ops). I am now finally back on my bike and have little trouble with my hands. In fact working all day on a keyboard gives me more discomfort than riding my bike. Over the last year, my right hand (originally less affected) has gradually recovered without surgery to the point where both hands are equally recovered now. If the surgery hadn't been effective then I was planning on trying acupuncture next.

So to recap, the surgery has helped me, but I wouldn't describe it as an overnight miracle cure. I guess the nerve still has to recover/repair itself after the compression is released, and that just takes time.

Hope you get sorted out soon - I was miserably depressed whilst I couldn't ride.


     

Looks like 3 hrs (Mike) vs. 8 hrs (Craig) last night, with a resulting 5 hr 80 mile gap this morning (both moving again).

So we can assume that Craig is pretty well rested, and Mike may be struggling to stay awake in the saddle before too long. Should be a fascinating day ahead... 

Wow! Mike Hall's moving again already - must have been less than a 3 hour rest. The next 24 hours are going to be very interesting - hope he can keep going!

Looks like Mike finally stopped near the main road junction - just before the drag up the main road towards Rawlins. Craig's been stopped for around 6.5 hours now or is moving in SPOT off stealth mode.
 

Spot on Georg - I guess we forgot to pack those last year...

Could be a blessing in disguise - there's still a long way to go.

Looks as though all the top ten are up and running right now.

Given the amount of trail being covered in the dark, it looks as though a really good (hub dynamo-powered?) lighting setup is going to become standard kit for any future serious contenders.   

And Craig is off again - Mike Hall apparently enjoying a brief lie-in.

You really have to wonder whether this kind of pace is sustainable by Craig. Mike certainly seems to have just eased off a touch over the last 24 hours.


 

Great start by Mike Hall - come on all you Brits!   (and Max and Rudi - rooting for you too, old buddies)

Hugely jealous not to be out there this year, but still recovering from 2012 - hand/arm surgery 6 weeks ago to finally relieve TD nerve problems.

John Phillips

ur welcome, stig

I used Shimano PD M530s - cheap as chips - and they made it all the way to the border  . The platform around the pedal clips allows you to get one or two urgent pedal strokes in before you are fully clipped in, which can be an advantage when remounting up some of the steeper stuff.

Well, using this year as an example, the exceptions to the ACA Route maps (GoldDust Trail plus CDT section) were posted on this forum in the months leading up to the start, and a new 10000 point GPS route file (plus 2 x 5000 points files as well I recall), including the two new sections was posted on the TopoFusion web site ( http://www.topofusion.com/divide/gps.php ) about a month or so before the start.

I don't know if any new "feature" sections are planned for inclusion next year - I guess you just need to watch this space.