TD'11 Race Discussion

[Bounce]

Everyone probably knows this, but just in case:  Gila is pronounced "hee-la."

FWIW

[SlowDave]

I'll add some to the Gila discussion.  It takes forever to get anywhere.  A few years ago I had to take an elk hunter to the ER in Socorro after he slashed his thigh, 4 hours each way by jeep.  In bad weather the roads get wiped out and it can be weeks before they are repaired.  There are no real supplies available except Reserve or Silver City.  If you forget something you have to spend a day getting it and that is by car.  There are a lot of water sources there but not on the route.  The Aldo Leupold Wilderness area is part of the Gila.  For a wilderness area designation an area has to be large enough for a 2 week back packing trip.  The lower areas can be hot with no relief what so ever.  Up higher I have camped when it has been in the low teens.  That said it is a beautiful place.

[tiggermm62]

Thanks that helps alot in the context of the water resupply discussion!  I appreciate the input, especially since I am trying to plan for doing the TD next year!

[Georg66]

http://tinyurl.com/3m3ofeg

great site and great place ... absolutely worth to visit, best outside of TD :-)

[Jilleo]

The Gila Wilderness is enormous and amazingly remote. In 2001 I was backpacking near the West Fork and met an man who was out for an extended sojourn in the Gila, and hadn't passed through a town in more than three weeks. I forget the exact amounts but he started his hike with a big bag of rice, a slightly smaller bag of lentils and several pounds of butter, and that was his entire diet for three weeks. He gathered all of his water directly from rivers and streams - no filtering - and hiked about 10 miles a day on the large network for trails. That lean, bronzed bearded guy made a lasting impression on me in my early days of "adventuring." Namely, a realization that you don't need much at all to explore the world around you.

However, the Gila as part of the Tour Divide was brutal for me ... I got caught up in a major storm and slushed through peanut butter for the better part of 45 miles. I was crazy cold and shivering. I couldn't do anything to stay warm, quite the opposite of most people's experiences in that part of the desert. I remember daydreaming about ditching my useless bike and setting out on foot away from the peanut butter roads with only a bag of rice and lentils. I think I still envy the backpacker I met in 2001 for his level of simplicity.

[kiotee]

I just saw Craig Dolwin on his way out of Helena, MT.  He looked good and I didn't stop him to chat.  He will be on Birdseye Rd headed north to Lincoln.  Weather is finally clear with light clouds and the temps are rising.

[mikepro]

However, the Gila as part of the Tour Divide ..., quite the opposite of most people's experiences in that part of the desert. I remember daydreaming ...

That's one aspect of the TD and GDMBR that I love ... Mother Nature dishes out varied conditions from day to day ... one rider's heaven is the next rider's nightmare and vice-versa.

[mikepro]

... I remember daydreaming about ...

And the daydreams, too ... another aspect that I love ... they can get intense while riding out there.

[wookieone]

Hello all, just a quick chime in. Man I am tired. Feet and ankles are still swollen, face a bit swollen. Slept in my bed, that was good. Been some questions about things, try to answer. My gearing was 33x19, rigid bike. No regrets on those choices, the flats were torture but the climbs were just hard, not cursing hard, but the flats were so hard especially when I was out of food.

My hands were fine, a bit sore the last few days, but are fine now, no pain or tingles. My feet got ripped apart from friction, not sure exactly what, but my left foot was sooooo sore the last four days, hurt to mash the pedals every stroke. Over all I didn't fall apart as much as I thought I would, but at the same time it hurt more than I thought, the day to day abuse really took it's toll.

I have to be honest, going into this I was unsure I could even finish it, much less at 150 miles a day as I wanted to do, much much less the 167.6 miles I managed to pull off. I was inspired to do this race as far back as 04' and once thought this effort was impossible. Now that I have done it I am still in disbelief that I did it, hope inspires others and those others inspire even more. Being out there some of the best moments were when I would be in a place that just made me feel like the world was such a big amazing place that needs to be experienced. So get some people out there, the world is too cool, beautiful and wide to stay inside and be sad, GET OUT THERE!!! Jefe

[caseygreene]

Adventure Journal's Daily Bike post focusing on you Jefe http://www.adventure-journal.com/2011/06/the-daily-bike-june-28-2011/

GET OUT THERE!!!

well said 

[multisportscott]

Jefe, you are an inspiration, thats for sure.
That is an amazing feat.
Thank you 

[woody]

Adventure Journal's Daily Bike post focusing on you Jefe http://www.adventure-journal.com/2011/06/the-daily-bike-june-28-2011/
 well said 

Got some press in the Denver Post as well today.
http://www.denverpost.com/extremes/ci_18267362

Woody

[gpe]

This is a question for Scott or other folks with experience.  How are the finish time projections on the Leaderboard calculated and how accurate are they?  Mrs. JPE and I are trying to figure out when we need to be at AW, which involves buying plane tickets.  JP and Tom have crossed the NM border this morning (along with Ray, Norb and presumably Martin--hoorah!).  If I count the number of days according to Steve Wilkinson's 2009 write-up (plus adding in some hours for the new route), they would arrive on Saturday.  Although, they would probably not put in some of the extra-long days the group of Eight did.  On the other hand, the projections on the Leaderboard would have Tom and JP arriving at or after midnight on Monday (going into Tuesday).  That's a big spread.  My guess is Sunday.  Overall they've been averaging 113 miles/day if I take out two short days.  At what point does the pedalling get easier? Any thoughts?

[Bounce]

I was riding my bike on the road from Platoro to HORCA today and ran into Lee Krumholz.  What a great guy.  He is looking strong.  He's got a great attitude and still has a smile on his face.

He wanted me to pass along to family and friends that he's thinking about you and he's doing well.

Here are some pics I took:

[ScottM]

This is a question for Scott or other folks with experience.  How are the finish time projections on the Leaderboard calculated and how accurate are they?  Mrs. JPE and I are trying to figure out when we need to be at AW, which involves buying plane tickets.  JP and Tom have crossed the NM border this morning (along with Ray, Norb and presumably Martin--hoorah!).  If I count the number of days according to Steve Wilkinson's 2009 write-up (plus adding in some hours for the new route), they would arrive on Saturday.  Although, they would probably not put in some of the extra-long days the group of Eight did.  On the other hand, the projections on the Leaderboard would have Tom and JP arriving at or after midnight on Monday (going into Tuesday).  That's a big spread.  My guess is Sunday.  Overall they've been averaging 113 miles/day if I take out two short days.  At what point does the pedalling get easier? Any thoughts?

The projections are a pretty simple calculation -- based on miles remaining and overall average speed.  They do not take into account what the terrain or times ahead are.  At this stage in TD, when riders are looking into New Mexico, it is generally going to predict a slower finish time than actual -- since the two big paved sections go so much faster than the average mile on the divide.

So, I think your guess of Sunday is a good one.  Hope that helps a bit.

[ScottM]

Great to hear from Jefe and Kurt here.  GET OUT, indeed.  Congratulations guys!!

And thanks for the article links -- nice to see some TD press for this amazing race.

[krefs]

I just talked to Caroline...a few interesting pieces of info coming from her today:

- Last evening she was in fairly thick smoke climbing out of Abiquiu, and during the night on Polvadera Mesa, the smoke got worse as she slept! The course is pretty dang close to the fire above Los Alamos!

- This morning she rode over a hunk of metal that tore through her tread AND sidewall, so it took her a while to get that fixed and get down to Cuba. She's going to push on to Grants in the morning (avoiding the pavement across the Navajo Reservation at night for safety reasons), and I shipped a new tire to a truck stop in Grants for her to install on arrival.

- While she was fixing her tire, a Forest Service truck drove by, and the woman driving alerted Caroline that the section of Santa Fe NF above Cuba will be closed to public access as of Friday morning! So from the sounds of it, any riders coming through Abiquiu starting late Thursday are going to have to take a detour around to Cuba!

[CathyP]

Justin Simoni's blue dot is in Colorado!  Woot!

[brunch]

A quick Cordillera note...

If you already have a Cordillera Volume 2 in your possession hold on to it. It's going to be a collector's item.

One of the riders mentioned in Jon Billman's excellent piece didn't like the way he was portrayed. He's since contacted the printer and forced them to stop shipments.   That explains why some of you have had trouble placing orders today.  

I rebuilt the book without the alleged mis-diagnosis that caused the drama and set everything up again so sales can resume now but without Jon's contribution.

The Cordillera is not intended to be controversial nor does it want to hurt feelings in any way so I'm going to resist calling this guy out for jeopardizing the fundraising effort and just move on.

It really is a great book, this is just an unfortunate distraction.

Click below to purchase your own copy of the new revision:

http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/the-cordillera/16163086


Eric

[sluttyduck]

I'll buy an original copy for 25k