TD'12 Race Discussion

[mikepro]

A friend of mine checked this and sent this to me yesterday, wondering about the same area, I can't confirm or haven't checked myself: "just downloaded the official map into google earth. the one on the spot trackers is wrong"

If you read back through the TD pre-race discussion thread, you will see that there's a recently re-built forest road up in the Gore Pass area, just at/near the high point where the route touches off on hwy 134 briefly.  This change is captured in ACA addendum, and is not on ACA map, and I have no idea if it's captured in the latest GPS track that folks are using.  In any event, the path that people are riding diverges from the "red route line" on Trackleaders for about 1/2mile there and it will be that way for every rider that goes through that area.

[Climb On]

Anyone care to speculate on Eszther Horanyi's finish time? She's on pace for 18+, so she could dial it back and still finish in 19+ or 20+. Even if she cut her miles/day by 30% and rode 100 mile days to AW, she would still finish in 21+. Whatever the end result, she has ridden an amazing race! 

BTW--I'm guessing 17days:18hrs:19mins. This would mean averaging just over 154 miles per day, a pace she seems quite capable of riding.

[BobM]

His Name is Mark B, he's from California.  He doesn't have a race tracker but is riding the TD. Not sure how that works...

He's a really great, upbeat guy.  I met him at Butts cabin.  As to how it works, Spot tracking is not required for Grand Depart riders per the rules.

[Cosmo K]

Looks like Perry Clawson PC missed a turn....and another.  He's maybe 8 miles off course at the moment.

[blades2000]

Watching Dave Nice tackle his nemesis head on is gripping in a slow-motion way.  Anyone seen the wind he has been pushing through? More importantly, anyone know if there is a water source anywhere near his current location?

He is having such a determined, impressive ride on that fixie.  Go Dave go!

Hi Dave,
I posted this earlier it may help you work out the wind he is facing. Sorry I have no idea on the water front.
http://hint.fm/wind/

[mtbcast]

Calls today:
Ollie Whalley called in with Craig, calling from Salida. Recaps a great day of riding yesterday.

Craig Stappler called in from Salida. A big moment for him was passing through Pinedale where he pulled out last year. The Great Basin wasn’t so bad and the day before yesterday was really cool. Matthew Lee and wife are running the Brush Mountain Lodge for the next couple weeks. Excited to be wearing clean clothes right now.

Jim Stansbury called in from Butte. Leaving Butte after getting his bike repaired at the Outdoorsman. They rock! Got his GPS working, body repaired, bike repaired and is ready to head south!

Michael Arenberg called in to say he is OUT! He’s go pulmonary edema!
Heal quick, Michael!

[SandLizrd]

More importantly, anyone know if there is a water source anywhere near his current location?

He is having such a determined, impressive ride on that fixie.  Go Dave go!

I suspect he is at Diagonus Well right now.  Just south of the route, by Picket lake.

I've heard it said this well is hard to find, but I had no problems.  The water was cold and had a little bit of that machine-taste, but no complaints!  Lots of wildlife there too.

Go Dave Go!

[KRyter]

Was curious if there is any news on Lawrence Brouwer. His spot has been off since mile 505 almost 7 days ago and he isn't in the scratched list.

[speedracer]

I just talked to Eric S.  He is at the hospital as his lungs are bothering him.  They are telling him it is nothing serious, but he is planning on staying in Steamboat to recover a bit.  He said aside from his lungs, he is feeling great.  Hopefully he gets better quick and can get back to his previous pace!

[ride MT]

Surprised at the number of people with lung/breathing issues. Doesn't seem to be dependent upon living at altitude or not...wierd.

[ThatDudeOnABike]

Surprised at the number of people with lung/breathing issues. Doesn't seem to be dependent upon living at altitude or not...wierd.

Wait until they get into the areas with forest fire smoke.

[KRyter]

It also looks like Josh S is holed up just across the CO border. I hope the road rash from his crash isn't hurting him.

It was an extended stay for him but it looks like he is back on the trail. Good Luck, Josh

[cc4005]

Wait until they get into the areas with forest fire smoke.

As of right now, the Gila fire satellite images begin at #7 here: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/fires/main/usa/index.html
Newest is several days old, but looking at the progression of photos from late May into June, it seems almost certain the smoke will continue to blanket quite a few miles of the NM section. Bad enough...but fingers crossed the fire remains at bay.

[JeffOYB]

I recall a few years ago at RAAM that several racers pulled out in the desert, in and pre- Colorado, due to lung distress. What's up with the lung glitches in these long events?

Indeed, one of the racers was given a diagnosis of never racing again -- I vaguely recall he did have a prior asthma condition of some kind. He was riding a recumbent and was the first 'bent rider to be in contention for the overall lead -- in an event that may well have included Jure Romic.

(Heck, yesterday I was going hard with a fast training group and felt like maybe I inhaled a bit of pollen about 10 minutes from the finish and coughed quite a bit until the end. Maybe it was exercise-induced asthma, though. I'm not in buff fitness so I was pushing hard -- definitely a step up from usual exertion. Anyway, maybe this long distance event lung distress is induced. I suppose that's obvious.)

[LyndaW]

Anyone care to speculate on Eszther Horanyi's finish time? She's on pace for 18+, so she could dial it back and still finish in 19+ or 20+. Even if she cut her miles/day by 30% and rode 100 mile days to AW, she would still finish in 21+. Whatever the end result, she has ridden an amazing race!  

Ez doesn't have "dial it back" as part of her repertoire.

She is blazing across the country. Very impressive to watch her go day after day. Super proud of her.

[cousinmosquito]

Recent call-ins are great.  Listened to them in the car on the way to work ... didn't really pay attention to traffic as my mind had me: pedaling through headwinds and with tailwinds in the Basin (yes, both at the same time, that's why day dreaming is so great); experiencing pain threshold; managing swelling and achilles flares for hundreds of miles on end; standing up hammering downhill into the wind at 4mph; riding while talking into a phone to make a call-in; thinking of what cherries must taste like after ~1,500 miles on bike; imagining what it's like to drink Rockstar for the first time on Union Pass; imagining what it's like to hallucinate about food and places to sleep only to find out thought I'm hallucinating, and that second-guessing whether the real lodge that's supposed to be there is really there after all; thinking that Rawlins stands for "really crappy windy place to ride a bike"; and wishing my dad Happy Father's Day while my voice cracks.

Heh heh. I listened to a bunch of call-ins on my phone while doing the supermarket shopping last night : )

[DaNM]

I caught up with Serge in Breck today, he was looking a bit worked but determined to catch up to the pair in front of him. He said they looked strong when they passed him. Looks like he made good time over Boreas. He was in good spirit and said he was doing damage control, something like that. Its about as hot as it gets up here, the sun is so intense it makes my freckles hurt. Go Serge.

[Ryan Correy]

Here's a pic of Ryan C. and Josh S. with Matthew Lee at Brush Mountain today

[ThatDudeOnABike]

Phil Liggett with Paul Sherwin and Bob Roll have agreed to do live play-by-play, analysis, and commetary while watching the live tracker for next year's TD. 

It is, of course, a joke.

[ComoDepot]

Fixie Dave in his Glory