Tour Divide 2010

[JeffOYB]

Here's a wonderment about the vibe of the race... It seems like there might be a good social aspect to it. It looks like a small posse is riding and bunking together. Seems like fun to me. At the same time, it also looks like there are a string of riders rolling along who are, like, a couple miles apart -- a few minutes -- for days on end. To each their own, right? Now, it seems to me that this race would appeal to folks who want to ride hard, all day. It also seems like in a race this long there'd be no real reason to, like, try to get a quarter mile further down the trail before setting up camp, or to eat breakfast a minute faster. Of course if you really DO want to be by yourself the whole time, then by all means -- in the end all those clumps of motion optimizing would add up. At the same time, if you're hangin' with some folks who all get along and who like to get a move on and and who eat similarly and like to ride, say, at least 100 miles of dirt a day, then why not have it be "the more the merrier"? In short, is this a bit like other Big Rando rides where folks group together by general pace/distance. They might get spread out but also often like to ride, eat, bunk together from time to time? Sure, maybe not all the time. It's an "on your own together" thing. I'd just think it would be super-darn fun to see and chat with Bill or Sally every few hours or every day or two out on the trail. You know what I mean, right? I wonder if they do ride it a bit like that. Just mullin' it over...lookin' at the boot-tracks. (PS: Hey, folks here keep mentioning "the blue dots." I only ever see orange boot-tracks on the SPOT Leaderboard. But on that TopoFusion week-long wrap-up time-lapse deely-o why there sure enough were blue dots. So is there more than one way to follow this race?) (PPS: I also agree with the idea to take any rules chat to another thread. It's simple that way. )

[Maelgwn]

Here's a wonderment about the vibe of the race... It seems like there might be a good social aspect to it. It looks like a small posse is riding and bunking together. Looks like more fun to me. At the same time, it also looks like there are a string of riders rolling along who are, like, a couple miles apart -- a few minutes -- for days on end. Now, it seems to me that this race would appeal to folks who want to ride hard, all day. It seems like one might naturally enjoy hanging and riding with folks of a similar mindset. But! It also seems like in a race this long there'd be no real reason to, like, try to get a quarter mile further down the trail that night before setting up camp, or to eat breakfast a minute faster. Of course if you really DO want to be by yourself the whole time, then by all means, get rolling before the guy you were chatting with zips up after a pee break. Sure, in the end all those clumps of 30 seconds would add up. At the same time, if you're hangin' with some folks who all like to get a move on and not dawdle and who eat similarly and like to ride, say, at least 100 miles of dirt a day, then why not have it be "the more the merrier"? In short, is this a bit like other Big Rando rides where folks get spread out but often do like to ride, eat, bunk together from time to time? Sure, maybe not all the time. I'd just think it would be super-darn fun to see and chat with Bill or Sally every few hours or every day or two out on the trail. I wonder if they ride it a bit like that. Just mullin' it over...lookin' at the boot-tracks. (PS: Hey, many folks here keep mentioning "the blue dots." I only ever see orange boot-tracks on the SPOT Leaderboard. But on that TopoFusion week-long wrap-up time-lapse deely-o why there sure enough were blue dots. So is there more than one way to follow this race?) (PPS: I also agree with the idea to take any rules chat to another thread. It's simple that way. )

Yeah totally agree that there is a big social aspect to it. The peloton that formed last year is a pretty big example of it. 8 guys riding together for bits of the race but they met up and lost each other numerous times.

The leaderboard can be a bit confusing ... due to the timing of the signals and whatnot, it is impossible to tell how far apart most guys are riding most of the time. Also, the rule about no drafting means that they can't ride too close some of the time.

Check out Steve (???Wilkinson???) ride report from last year. He had a bit of a tough time mentally before the start but says that he couldn't and wouldn't have done it without the other guys there.

Matt Lee does want to ride by himself a fair amount of the time and he obviously enjoys it. That is probably a pretty key ingredient to his success.

[teamfaeth]

Unfortunately, single-speeder Pete Faeth has called it quits in Polaris. Read about the bike cop's quest from his local paper. Neat story. Hope he's not too down.

Looks like the remaining three SSers are Harding (who is booking it), Billman (who better call in soon, maybe from Lima hopefully) and the always upbeat Mountain Turtle.

[JeffOYB]

It's interesting to me that even a Loner sort of rider would end up dealing with hundreds of people during the course of this ride. All the store, restaurant, motel and bike shop people. There must be lots of other folks one bumps into on the way.

So you'd be in restaurants having meals and folks would want to chat. Wouldn't they?

Or, do some riders get their meals to go?

Maybe ya get tired and don't feel like talking -- just chow the burrito and fly.

I have no idea! Never tried something like this.

...About the no-drafting rule. I kinda wish it was allowed or that maybe there was an Open Category or something. Do rando riders draft? I have my previously mentioned fantasy of cross-continent road self-supported fast tour. I'd probably prefer the buddy system in so doing. Might as well draft if'n'ya feel like it. But maybe if you really like drafting you should just use a tandem....  Whups, that's rule-talk and goes in the "other" thread! Or, maybe there should also be a TD Fantasy thread.

[Slowerthensnot]

It's interesting to me that even a Loner sort of rider would end up dealing with hundreds of people during the course of this ride. All the store, restaurant, motel and bike shop people. There must be lots of other folks one bumps into on the way.

So you'd be in restaurants having meals and folks would want to chat. Wouldn't they?

Or, do some riders get their meals to go?

Maybe ya get tired and don't feel like talking -- just chow the burrito and fly.

I have no idea! Never tried something like this.

...About the no-drafting rule. I kinda wish it was allowed or that maybe there was an Open Category or something. Do rando riders draft? I have my previously mentioned fantasy of cross-continent road self-supported fast tour. I'd probably prefer the buddy system in so doing. Might as well draft if'n'ya feel like it. But maybe if you really like drafting you should just use a tandem....   Whups, that's rule-talk and goes in the "other" thread! Or, maybe there should also be a TD Fantasy thread.

donno i've spend so much time in my own head on the route anytime a person started talking to me it was like verbal vomit =)   18 hours without seeing anybody is kinna trippy

[bmike-vt]

rando - drafting OK.
but not if being used for RAAM qualifying.

most other 24h 'ultra' road events - typically no drafting.

[teamfaeth]

bruceb and chillman
  Pete just called me from Salt Lake City. He said his foot is throbbing and purple. Yikes! He called me last night and we talked it over. I am really disappointed he didn't finish, but super excited to have him home with us in one piece. It has been so much fun reading all the blogs and tracking all these guys. I feel like I know them all. Ha! I will keep tracking and have Pete update all his supporters when he gets home. My daughter fell from the monkey bars today. I may have to take them to the doctor for a two for one. Ha. A special thanks to all who reached out to Pete to encourage him. You are the best! This race has really inspired me to ride my bike. Maybe I will try the new tandem Pete just bought us before he left. Take care and God Bless! Cindy F.  

ps. If anyone has pics of my hubby or the group photos please send them to my email. Thanks
cindyfaeth@gmail.com

[ScottM]

The 'blue dots' originate from the first Tour Divide leaderboard, which was in 2008 and put together by Kevin M (of New Eon Media, and designer of the TD web site).  Racer icons were the generic google maps blue tear drop.

The name has stuck, but since 2009 and the inception of trackleaders, racers are represented by the SPOT "boot print" tear drop, which is a condition of SPOT's sponsorship of TD/Trackleaders.  The banner ads for SPOT and SPOT adventures are as well (we don't get anything for them).

That reminds me that I want to thank everyone that has donated to trackleaders to help support the tracking and the event.  This stuff is a lot of work and it means a lot to us (TD organizer Matthew Lee is my partner in trackleaders).  If you're enjoying following the race and digging the call-ins (I know I am) please consider donating to MTBCast as well (they have a paypal donate button on their site too).  Thanks!

I am impressed that Matthew is already back to taking time out of record pace.  He's finding his stride.  

I'm also rooting for Marshal Bird, who is in the 50+ category and is totally rocking it.  There was a thread here on bp.net about oldest and youngest finishers of the divide, and I know there were several in the 50+ category to finish.  Pretty sure if Marshal continues this pace, he will be the fastest 50+ thus far.  Correct me if I'm wrong.

[BobM]

Here's a wonderment about the vibe of the race... It seems like there might be a good social aspect to it. It looks like a small posse is riding and bunking together. Seems like fun to me. At the same time, it also looks like there are a string of riders rolling along who are, like, a couple miles apart -- a few minutes -- for days on end. To each their own, right?

Steve Wilkinson quote:

"To ride fast, ride alone; to ride far, ride together."

[munsonr]

Teamfaeth: I met Pete today in Butte at the Outdoorsman--great guy!  It's really a bummer about his ankle, but I really think he gave it his all.  

All the divide riders that have been through Butte have been great.  Incredible people taking on an incredible challenge--what more can you say?  I'm already looking forward to everyone coming through Butte again next year!

Ryan Munson

[teamfaeth]

Yea..thanks! I think he's pretty great. He is stubborn, so it is hard to believe he is calling it quits. I am sure he will be sending out tons of thank yous when he returns. Thanks for taking care of him! C

[teamfaeth]

I'm rushing around trying to get cute for the homecoming and the kids are making signs. LOL I feel like he's been on deployment. Thank goodness this isn't the case.

[montanakb]

Teamfaeth, it was a pleasure meeting Pete (as well as Brad Perry) at the bike shop here in Helena.  Great to shake their hands and tell them how inspirational they are.  The riders are all gone from Helena now, so we're just watching online and already looking forward to next year.  Hopefully there's a next year for Pete!

[montanakb]

Can someone who's participated in the TD tell me a little bit about how they trained for it?  It's nowhere in my future ... the York 38 near Helena is plenty of challenge for me ... but today out riding I got to wondering how somebody gets ready for 100+ miles a day for day after day after day.

[teamfaeth]

I can give you my perspective on Pete's training. He rides around 30 miles a day at work. He is a bike cop in downtown Davis, Ca. We have rolling hills behind our development in Rancho Murieta, Ca. He did his normal rides which he avg around 25 to 30 a ride. He just loves to ride..I read where Dave Peterson rode 100m rides to prepare for this race. Pete didn't have a whole lot of time to ride as much as he would like to (2 jobs, bike cop, pilot for the military, 3 kids, new goldendoodle 8 mos dog, and a then there's me!) He was introduced to mountain biking around 4 yrs ago, when we were stationed at the Marine Cold Weather Mountain Warfare Training Center off Sonora Pass. His first love for years was soccer. He played for UC Davis, and some pro. He started reading MTB mags and bought his first mountain bike and he has been obsessed since.He loves working on them as much as riding them.  I am sure he could tell you more about his training for this race.   Ok..off to pick him up. Thanks again for helping a brother out!

[Manabezho]

Check out Kent's bike blog at http://kentsbike.blogspot.com/ .  He's been writing about his preparations for the race for a year now.  He's a great writer, funny and inspiring.

Go Mountain Turtle.

[jimmythefly]

I'm new here, but I haven't seen your question answered so I'll take a stab at it.  I can think of a couple of situations where I might take a car ride along the course, only to return to my starting point and get riding again.

Have you ever been on a ride or backpacking and wondered what the trail conditions were up ahead? Are there good camping spots, or should you rest now? Will the trail get worse considering the weather, or is it actually not that bad? This kind of info has real strategic significance, especially if pushing on means the difference between sleeping out Vs. a warm meal in a hotel. If you're already considering resting for the night, why not rest in a heated car while you preview the next day's riding?  And if the trail looks good but the weather is building, maybe you'll get out of the car well rested and push on through the night, safe with the knowledge of what lies ahead and how bad it could be if you wait, with the added bonus of vehicle tire tracks to guide you.

This is just speculation on my part, but that's how I see where an immediate preview of the course ahead could constitute an unnatural advantage. Hope that offers at least one possible explanation.

PS go mountain turtle!

For the record ... I don't think I know better than Matthew Lee, or any of you, what the rules "should" be for your race - and I haven't called for the rules to be bent for the benefit of anyone in this year's race. You could have a rule that a name is drawn out of a hat each day and that person is DQed. Anyone who raced would obviously have agreed to it, so it would be completely "fair to everyone." I'm not arguing with that.

I just asked if someone could give me an explanation for why the rule about traveling forward by motor vehicle on the course exists and explained why I didn't understand it. I'm still waiting for a serious response to that.

If I had looked on this board and seen people saying that Lobeck should be DQed because he accepted a ride in a car and that was against the rules because this is a self-supported BIKE race, that would have made sense to me and I would never have posted here. But when I read that accepting the ride to go and get his bike fixed was fine, but that he should be DQed because of the route the car took, that just sounds asinine. And while I don't think the rules should be made for the benefit of people, like me, who follow the race on the Internet, I don't see how it would hurt to explain the reasons for them to us. If Matthew Lee has a good reason for this rule, that's great. I'd like to know what it is.

[MrWaves]

So Erik is in Pinedale, where Mat stopped for a while yesterday. The time difference there is 15 hours, and he was 24 hours behind getting into Lima because of his mechanical problem. So in 2 days of riding, he has made up 9 hours on Matthews record breaking pace. Just amazing!

 

[bruce.b]

I can give you my perspective on Pete's training. He rides around 30 miles a day at work. He is a bike cop in downtown Davis, Ca. We have rolling hills behind our development in Rancho Murieta, Ca. He did his normal rides which he avg around 25 to 30 a ride. He just loves to ride..I read where Dave Peterson rode 100m rides to prepare for this race. Pete didn't have a whole lot of time to ride as much as he would like to (2 jobs, bike cop, pilot for the military, 3 kids, new goldendoodle 8 mos dog, and a then there's me!) He was introduced to mountain biking around 4 yrs ago, when we were stationed at the Marine Cold Weather Mountain Warfare Training Center off Sonora Pass. His first love for years was soccer. He played for UC Davis, and some pro. He started reading MTB mags and bought his first mountain bike and he has been obsessed since.He loves working on them as much as riding them.  I am sure he could tell you more about his training for this race.   Ok..off to pick him up. Thanks again for helping a brother out!

     Wow! How does he do it? That's an amazing amount of responsibilities to have and still be able to train. Please tell him a lot of us were rooting him on.
     How did he hurt his ankle? It sounds like he got it pretty good.
     bruce.b

[KootenayB]

Gotta give a big "whoot, whoot" for Blaine.  A fellow Canadian quietly still rockin' it!!!