TD'11 Race Discussion

[Mrs.BigPoppa]

I'm also following Justin Simoni's progress closely.  He appears to have been travelling very slowly on the Flathead route (?) for 18 hours.  I hope he's ok.

I know, he's moving so slowly, but there was a reason they did the re-route.  I image the conditions and snow are horrible through there.  Hope he pushes through, I would love to see him finish.

[Pollyhound]

just noticed that a couple riders slightly diverted off course between rooseville and eureka. What happens when riders miss the correct path?

I guess they are out of the race unless they go back in the morning.  See the rules http://tourdivide.org/the_rules

[gpe]

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.

[gpe]

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!

[mtbcast]

Calls overnight:
Kurt Refsnider called in from Whitefish. This call is a bit garbled but he seems to be in good spirits!
Kevin Hall called in from Fernie to say he’s out. He said he had too many mechanicals and some issues with his Achilles.
And Dejay Birtch called in from Dickey Lake. He and Jake Kirkpatrick have had some Spot issues and apparently some navigation issues.

Get them all here!

[vancouvergnome]

Anyone have any idea how many more kms or miles Justin S has to cover to the clear the Flathead section of the course?

[FernieTeam]

That is east of Pie Town

THANK YOU for the updates on those fires  !
Paul Attalla , Franck Gimard & Russ Mcbride should be in Pie Town anytime soon now..

[TXMTBCHICK]

@gpe, no worries on JP, he's with Ray.  He just doesn't know that his SPOT is getting out of sync.  Told him and Ray to keep an eye on that.  Those SPOT's can be flaky if they don't have a clear view to the sky.

[Georg66]

Anyone have any idea how many more kms or miles Justin S has to cover to the clear the Flathead section of the course?

... he has to ride (or walk) 45-50 more miles and 2 passes (Cabin and Galton >6000ft) to reach Rooseville. Will be hard for him. Good luck, Justin!!

[bmike-vt]

Friends, family, spouses, and stalkers of riders - SPOT trackers can be finicky things. They need a relatively clear view of the sky, they need to be turned on and put in tracking mode, and they need batteries. And a rider needs to remember to turn them on! Even if everything is done right, and you are in a deep valley, or under tree cover, or your SPOT gets turned around on your pack or your bike... it might not connect and get a message out every 10 minutes. Just the way it it is...

[DoctorRad]

I probably missed this, but with this years detours, will the 2011 race times count for the overall TD record list?

[teamfaeth]

This is for Steve Moore's wife..my lovely teenager deleted all my text, so I can't text you back. You can email me and I will send you my number. Thanks for reaching out to me. I really appreciate you getting the guys to their start. Looking fwd to hearing from you. I hope the smoke isn't too much of an issue for them. Enjoy your Sunday with the kiddos. Praying for the safety all the Tour Divide riders!

[SlowDave]

Pie Town weather:

Sunny...windy. Areas of dense smoke. Highs in the 70s to upper 80s. Southwest winds 10 to 20 mph increasing to 20 to 30 mph in the afternoon. Gusts up to 40 mph.

Right now it is 63 f and a couple of big pieces of pie would taste really good.  The cafe also has an oil drum wood stove in the middle of the dinning area which would probably be very welcome.  

The forecast wind direction SW will put the riders right in the path of the smoke.  I believe this will be particularly true near Grants.  The good news is the tail wind is sure to be welcome.

[Newfydog]

... he has to ride (or walk) 45-50 more miles and 2 passes (Cabin and Galton >6000ft) to reach Rooseville. Will be hard for him. Good luck, Justin!!

A shame the old border crossing on the Flathead isn't open. Seems some people still use it. I used to live in Fernie, right on the course, and was embarassed how bad the Sparwood-Fernie ride was.  The new route is better, but a bit contrived and rugged, just to get to the official border crossing.  It would be nice if you could go to Roosville and register for a permit or something.
Anyway, go Justin!

[SlowDave]

Here is the smoke warning for the area the North bound group are in:

The following message is transmitted at the request of the New
Mexico department of health and the environmental department.

The air quality for northern... central and southwest New Mexico
and in eastern Arizona is expected to worsen today... especially this
afternoon and evening.

Winds from the southwest will bring more smoke into areas that
experienced impacts yesterday and earlier last week. This could lead
to air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups... including
those with asthma... lung or heart disease... children and pregnant
women... across much of northern... central and western New Mexico
including Albuquerque and Santa Fe. These impacts would also create
conditions that will decrease visibility to the range of three to
five miles. Some of these same areas may also experience periods with
visibility of one and a half to two and a half miles... which is
indicative of air that is unhealthy for all groups. Take this into
consideration when deciding whether or not to participate in outdoor
activities this weekend. However... conditions can change quickly and
these projections are based on anticipated weather conditions and
fire activity which may change through the weekend. Near the wallow
fire in both Arizona and New Mexico... areas can anticipate periods of
potentially hazardous levels of air quality. In these areas... which
can expect heaviest impacts in the evening and early morning hours...
outside activities should be minimized where possible and caution
observed when driving in the anticipated low visibility of less than
three quarters of a mile.

Your eyes are your best tools to determine if it is safe to be
outside. Remember... if visibility is ten miles and up... the air
quality is good... six to nine miles... air quality is moderate...
three to five miles... air quality is unhealthy for sensitive
people... one and a half to two and a half miles... air quality is
unhealthy... one to one and a quarter miles... air quality is very
unhealthy... and three quarters of a mile or less... air quality is
hazardous.

For updated smoke plume and concentration information... please go
to www.Srh.NOAA.Gov/graphicast.Php?Site=abq&gc=1 all in lower case.

[Marshal]

It’s basically all Operator Error

All else being equal, (properly turned on in the track mode etc etc) the MAIN reason some riders Spot units consistently show up and others do not show up or are unreliable is MOUNING POSITION. 

If your rider’s Spot is inconsistent try to get a message to them to re-mount their unit so that the Spot ‘logo’ on the face of the unit has a clear, straight up shot to the sky.

In other words the Spot’s small, relatively weak transmitting antenna needs all the help it can get and correctly positioning the Spot is how one helps the antenna link up with a rather distant satellite. 

[Groundshine]

This is a big change of pace - to be watching the the race unfold on the computer.  Cheers to all the racers dealing with all the snow and re-routes!  Really makes me wish I was out there again.  Here's some photos from last year to look at in between waiting for new posts to pop up.
https://picasaweb.google.com/parisbrestparis/TourDivideRace2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCMC1vfjPtofuUg

[pgadola]

Thanks for the awesome 2010 pictures! 

Here's a question for ex-racers...how much food did you have to carry between most resupply points?

[mtbcast]

Niki Yoblonski called in from Silver City to say she’s out. She got very dehydrated the first day and is unsure about tackling the stretch of back country ahead to Pie Town. Rob Roberts called in from Columbia Falls. He recaps his first two days. Jon Pettit called in from possibly Eureka. He’s getting his bb repaired. And Dave Bruno called in from Lincoln. He reports that the cut-off from Ovando to Lincoln is closed and flooded!

Get them all here!

[Marshal]

Thanks for the awesome 2010 pictures! 

Here's a question for ex-racers...how much food did you have to carry between most resupply points?

only enough to get to the next resupply so it constantly changes depending on how far in time the next point is (plus 1 or 2 extra e bars for back up)
the logistics of water and food run through your mind in endless loops--do a good job here and all is smooth saling--mess up and lose time