2011 Tour Divide

[Done]

so, the bluedot app for the TD?
is that official, or not? sanctioned?
does / will bluedot have access to trackleaders data?
or is bluedot, like eatsleepridegreatdivide voluntary?

curious. have enjoyed seeing these various route / tracking / elevation / etc. takes on the same route / race / etc.
will likely follow all of them, come the GD.

For an "unofficial" event, TD is getting pretty official. It now has a rules committee (or whatever it's called), selective partners (Trackleaders.com), sanctioned re-routing, etc. Not that any of this is bad, just taking note that the TD appears to be transitioning into a more formal event with a top-down organizational structure. I really don't know whether this is good or bad, but I'll be curious to see what happens as I get closer to giving the race a go in the future.

[jhl99]

Speaking on behalf of TD and Trackleaders, we respectfully prefer the TD live race tracking reside on the TD event website exclusively.
I'm sure you can understand.

I'm not party to this issue, but I am impressed by Dave G's work.  Is there some copyright, exclusivity or legalise somewhere that makes the Spot data proprietary?

I'm guessing, and only guessing that reading between lines, the first statement might be read
"Speaking on behalf of TD and Trackleaders Inc." and that would be something I could understand.

[bikpdlr]

If any Banff starters are bored at 0800 on Wednesday, pop to the BSH and watch the hare start southbound - I know I will be chased down by the wolfpack starting on Friday.

Good Luck Rob ... and ALL TD racers in 2011.  I'll be anxiously watching you all on trackleaders.com and looking forward to my own GD in 2012.

May your journey be blessed with ample amounts of strength, courage, wisdom and patience.

Now go Ride the Divide !!!

[bmike-vt]

I'm not party to this issue, but I am impressed by Dave G's work.  Is there some copyright, exclusivity or legalise somewhere that makes the Spot data proprietary?

SPOT data is likely owned by SPOT, and the sharing of this data is up to the person paying for the unit and the subscription. I can share my 'share page' with any number of friends, family, etc... and I'm guessing that Trackleaders, DaveH's BlueDot App, and DaveG's web mashup all use the same or similar data from behind the scenes. I looked into using the data to do real time updating on my blog - but I'm not a code geek, so didn't pursue it any further. In the end, its all zeros and ones.

Matthew's post did read a little bit like a 'cease and desist' without the legalese and the lawyers involved.

Good luck to those hitting the starting line! Getting close.
I'll be spectating from the computer screen...

[BigPoppa]

To me it seems that the Tour Divide 'came of age' a few years back and the organizers are trying to keep things centralized to simplify the grown. Kind of like pruning a bush as it grows. Sure some shoots get cut off but it is with the intention of keeping the plant growing in a healthy manner.

We all want the Tour Divide to be an organic experience. But, let's face it.... This things has had rules since the first time it was raced. That's kinda the point of sport, physically excelling within certain boundaries.

[BobM]

Matthew's post did read a little bit like a 'cease and desist' without the legalese and the lawyers involved.

It read to me more like "Hey, a bunch of us put in a lot of work for no money to put on this race and we're using this event as a way to test the waters with certain business ventures, so we'd really appreciate it if you didn't duplicate our efforts elsewhere."

Sounds reasonable.

[JF-mtnbiker]

Interveiw w/Kurt on Outside mag website. Check it out.
http://outside-blog.away.com/blog/2011/06/the-cycle-life-10-questions-with-tour-divide-favorite-kurt-refsnider.html

Good luck and a safe ride to all in this years TD riders. North or Southbound, taking the snow head on or not. Gonna be a sweet ride and im jealous I'm sitting at home this year. But, there is alot to watch in the "arm chair racer" catagory this year.

Jay Petervery heads out to Cali on Friday to ready his self supported RAAM ride. Wishing him safe travels. Be watching his spot.

Also, 2010 Divide finishers Matt Arnold and Dave Preston will compete in the 2 man RAAM. Best of luck to those guys!

[bmike-vt]

thanks for the outside link!
nice looking kit that kurt is packing. love the kiddie snow shoes on the front.

looks like the revelate bag may be cuben fiber?
and his mitts, i doubt they are carbon... most likely cuben as well?

pretty cool stuff.

[stappy]

Best wishes to all the starters in Banff and Antelope Wells this year. No matter what anyone says, you're all the real deal just for making it this far. I unfortunately have been writing checks that my achilles tendon can't cash. I am out for now. I hope the snow through elk pass isn't too severe.

[Martin W]

Shame about the Achilles Craig, hope you have a successful ITT later in the year.
Thanks to you and Manny for all your help with everything and for the ride from Calgary.

Martin

[SlowDave]

Best wishes to all for a safe fun trip.  Thanks to all who work so hard to make this race and this site happen.

Dave

[Blackhound]

Is the Gold Dust trail still mandatory or optional? - not been able to find out for sure since the re-routes and cannot find in the rules any more.  Thanks.

[BigPoppa]

Is the Gold Dust trail still mandatory or optional? - not been able to find out for sure since the re-routes and cannot find in the rules any more.  Thanks.

The page that lists the 2011 reroutes states that the Gold Dust is not mandatory and that it will 'wait for 2012'.

Look on the reroutes page to be sure but that's how I understood it.

As listed under the Notes sections (just before each reroute is explained):

"Grab the latest GPS files here:  http://topofusion.com/divide/gps.php There is a separate full route file for each Grand Depart. There is also a separate snow detours file. Noticeably absent from the southbound file is the Gold Dust Trail north of Como, CO. It will wait for 2012."

[Nathan Jones]

Looks like slow going through the double passes.  About 6 hours for Rob to make it through, gonna be rough!

[Mathewsen]

Is the Gold Dust trail still mandatory or optional? - not been able to find out for sure since the re-routes and cannot find in the rules any more.  Thanks.

Gold Dust is optional as it may still be under snow by the time Sobos arrive. Find the cues here, but no mileage with the turns as it was not possible to get it clocked (ACA-style) this spring: https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?hl=en_US&hl=en_US&key=0AkjYTTBAyG5KdEw3OTRtQzBTYm1WNE4tbnQ3NE9OREE&output=html

Locals say it's very followable as is. If you want to ride GD in the right frame of mind, be sure to pause at the base of Boreas to power up at Starbucks for double shot then Breck Brewery with a pint.

[Mathewsen]

Looks like slow going through the double passes.  About 6 hours for Rob to make it through, gonna be rough!

Let's take this talk over to the race discussion thread and lock this ad nauseum puppy up!

[BigPoppa]

Looks like slow going through the double passes.  About 6 hours for Rob to make it through, gonna be rough!

If you look at his speed vs time plot there is a precipitous drop in speed as he gets to the expected snow elevation at both passes.

I like all the new geek out features for tracking this year.

[ScottM]

I'm locking this behemoth of a thread. Definitely the largest in bp.net history.  To discuss the 2011 race as it starts, please head over here:

http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,2179.0.html

Thanks all.