Great read as always!  Thanks to all involved!!!

Boy I bet Hal is taking it all in right now.

Bittersweet I'm sure.  I sure hope his doctor gives him the go-ahead to do this again.

Looks like Scott can take that old, obsolete Women's Singlespeed Record flag off the tracker!

HUGE congratulations to Alexandera.  You are the best (literally)!

Anyone know what drivetrain ratios any of the singlespeeders are running?

From Alexandera's blog:

"19 teeth in the rear. 36 in the front."

Yes, she broke the record twice, first Grand depart, section itt

That makes her the 2015 female winner.  The Rules make it quite clear that ITTs count in the GC for the year.  Wikipedia is user-driven, so not necessarily correct all the time.  From the tourdivide.org rules:

    Who: Any determined cyclist may challenge the Great Divide Route at any time, in either direction, to qualify for the Tour Divide (TD) General Classification (GC).

    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.

His dot just reappeared about where we last saw him.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, Chris can cruise on down for the win.

Sounds like poetic licence to me - but who knows what Chris is thinking. Probably “let it be over”!

He is going to have a hot ride to the border.  At least it looks like he will get a cross wind rather than headwind.

I would love to know where Steve actually is.

And he's off!!  Steve's about 45 miles behind and Nate another 60 behind Steve.  No guarantees yet.

It's 5am and Steve Halligan is up and chasing down the easy trail from Grants to Pie Town! Gotta love this guy's drive. You never know what can happen - KEEP MOVING!  ---Tour Divide Forever

Assuming he gets up and moving soon, I really like Chris's strategy.  He will be rested and refreshed from Pie Town to Silver City and then it's just a massive sprint to the end.

With all the debate online about visitation, film crews and real life spectating, made me think that maybe the racers are getting tired of the interruptions by people wanting to interact with them.
I know I was frustrated with repeatedly having to re-explain myself hiking through the Grand Canyon

The ones who hate that sort of thing (and there have been some big names in the past) do an ITT.  No one needs to know you're out there except Matt.

The 'Toaster House' hostel in Pie Town usually has food in the freezer on the back porch. Just be sure to leave a donation in the jar by the kitchen table.

Good point - 24 hour resupply if Chris is aware.

Apologies in advance in case this has been discussed.... in depth.

Why does the TD always start in mid June? It seems like a number of years have substantial snow years. I'm not too informed about the weather variations throughout the course, but wouldn't a mid-August start improve the odds of better conditions. The northern half would be snow free and the final stretch (New Mexico) would probably a little cooler.

Thoughts?

Matthew chose that date to maximize daylight.

Let's hear it for Alexandera Houchin!!  Currently almost 200 miles ahead of the women's SS record flag!!!

Next year everyone will be rocking big leather hiking boots 

Josh is fantastic for many reason, but "2019 Josh" will be remembered as "the cyclist who first trailblazed the Watershed Divide in a wicked blizzard."

Way to go, Josh!!

All the best, and get well soon!!

And don't forget the mountain lion!!

Aha, I should have known that one from plenty of experience

There's a local race that I have 2 starts in.  First time DNF second time DFL.  DFL is definitely better for the ego.

Ok, I'm stumped... what is DFL? Google says its 'dating for love', but I kinda doubt that is the intent here

Dead Fricking Last??

From my own experience of riding this (as a solo tourist), mental fitness is as important as physical fitness, maybe more so. If you're half way fit leaving Banff you'll get better on the way down, if your head is wrong you'll never make it. It took me a couple of weeks to get my head around the endless loneliness that was Montana and Wyoming, when I made it to Brush Mountain I stayed for a couple of days just to talk to people.

Quitting wasn't an option for me. I had a deadline to finish as my wife was flying out to Phoenix so we could do some riding in Arizona, we're from the UK. So when I'd finished the Divide I went on a two week tour with my wife.

I'm quite friendly with Tea Boy. He posted on his Facebook from Lima that he was quitting because he was bored, he'd been by himself since Banff. Then he hooked up with a few riders and made it to Boulder, he's not going any further. He's a very fast rider and I think he'd expected to be at the pointy end of things. I think being a few hundred miles off the pace despite his best efforts took it's toll, once he had quitting in his head his race was done. I'll get the full story when he gets home. Similar tricks of the mind will have crept up on Lael and the others, they all had goals for the ride and once those goals were unobtainable what's the point of going on?

I can't begin to imagine what it would be like to push for days with snippets of sleep, channeling all one's energy into the race and then be forced to abruptly stop and eat pizza, nap, and chat for 2 days.  How could anyone get back into race mode mentally???

I’m just going to throw this out there. Not trying to be ugly, however, it is my opinion that it is extremely poor form to quit a race because you can’t set a new record or because you can’t win the race.  I think it disrespects the other racers and the community in general.  These races are about many things, including, adversity and how you deal with it. Examples from both sides of this view by multiple riders this year.   I’ve said my peace.   Thanks,  Scott.

If you are referring to Lael, there was a link a ways back that explained her scratch.  It was not because she couldn't win or break the record - it was so that she could include her friend in the festivities at BML.  In order to comply with the Rules of the TD, she would have had to ignore her friend for the entire time they were at BML.

I am not judging, was merely speculating which is why I suggested “they have all done the TD before” and there is simply no way to win it (or go close to a record time) after being holed up in BML for so long. Perhaps their leave timeframes don’t allow them to finish now? Everyone has real lives too.
LW wanted to set a record time and have it all on film. Perhaps that doesn’t suit their agenda now. Personally, a movie where they all get stopped by snow, then push on eventually and keep smashing it out would be better than one that is all rainbows and tailwinds to a record finish. The TD tends to be the former in my mind - but that is just my take on it.
Go Chris, Josh and Steve!! They are the real deal for sure!

Indeed, very few unicorns out there.

Any news on why Lael decided to scratch? It looked like she was still in a commanding position to win the women's race.

Pretty amazing that Alexandra is still way ahead of women's SS record pace.

I'm guessing she had no desire to win the "women's race".  She was out to win the Tour Divide.