Tour Divide 2010

[ScottM]

Looks like both Matthew and Erik are pinned down in buildings while the storm rages.  Matthew is in the Grasshopper valley and Erik in Wise River.

I just spoke to Matthew briefly.  He said he knew it was going to rain last night so he asked in Basin if there was some kind of structure he could bivy under.  The bartender sent him to the 'Old Jail' which had no doors or windows but an in tact roof.  Freezing rain woke him up at 4:30am, but it was too cold and too nasty to even consider leaving the shelter of the jail.  He got a much later start than he had intended as a result.

Otherwise things are going well.  He is understandably very concerned about getting shut down on the upcoming sections of clay-mud, given the current storm and 100% chance of precipitation tomorrow.  Several times as we were talking he'd look out the window and say something to the effect of, "wow, it's really letting loose now."

The next couple days are going to be interesting...

[teamfaeth]

Hi Scott,
 When the racers get to there check points do they have to check in or cross a certain point for the time to post? I noticed that Faeth and a few others are in Lincoln but their time hasn't posted. I hope I'm not being impatient.

[AmyL]

A good blue-dot junkie tool is the "photo" feature of google maps.  Especially for spouses and friends, so you can get a sense for what you're racer is seeing.  You can't turn on "photo" in the Leaderboard.  Instead, open a different browser window, go to maps.google.com, get to the location of interest, and check the "photo" box under the "More" box.  It's a great way to get a better feel for the area. 

Many of the photos are from paved roads, so you won't necessarily find something right on the race route.

Amy

[AmyL]

And another great tool for blue-dot junkies, in case you haven't found it already.

http://www.wunderground.com/

Get the forecast for the nearest town to your favorite racer.  Then, in the middle of the page, click on the link called Wundermap

The Wundermap shows dots for each weather station in the area.  Wind speed and and temperature are shown on the map.  Click on the dot if you want to drill down for more detail.  When you click a dot, you'll see a pop-up box with a temperature graph.  In the upper right of the pop-up is a blue underlined station code.  Click that link for even more data, often including the hourly graphs for rainfall rate, wind speed, and wind direction.

The cool thing about Wundermap is that it includes thousands of private weather stations in addition to the government agency sponsored stations, so there's much better coverage than you'll find on most weather resources.

[DonnieK]

I also love figuring out which restaurant they've been parked at for a while and then later asking on the phone - "So how was breakfast at Jax cafe?" or wherever....blows their mind a little.....  Virtual spying (stalking?)

[ScottM]

Hi Scott,
 When the racers get to there check points do they have to check in or cross a certain point for the time to post? I noticed that Faeth and a few others are in Lincoln but their time hasn't posted. I hope I'm not being impatient.

The splits are all computed automatically from the SPOT data.  Sometimes the point people have to cross to be registered for that split point is on the far side of town, meaning they may not show up on the split chart until they leave.  Matthew and I haven't come to a consensus on what we prefer the split chart to mean -- "time in" or "time out", basically.  So there is some ambiguity.  I could adjust the points, but I'm somewhat inclined to keep them the same as last year so the splits are comparable.  I do recall that Lincoln ended up being "time out" for most people.

[AmyL]

Matthew Arnold and David Goldberg must be tired.  They turned west on highway 12 and spent 20 minutes climbing before they realized they were headed in the wrong direction.  Dark, possibly raining, eager to get there.  I bet they're happy to see Helena.

[montanakb]

I think they are.  We just saw them coming into town (Helena), hollared, "Good luck, guys!" and got a happy hoot in return.

And, luckily, the rain has stopped here.

[heathercycle]

This is going to sound rude, sorry in advance.

No one is going to check on anyone.  You should read the rules and FAQ on the TD website and understand a little bit about the race before posting repeatedly asking if anyone has seen or knows what is going on with a particular racer.

 

If you know your going to be rude then maybe you should check yourself at the post, I was just wondering, how others new about the whereabouts of certain riders, but not Heather.  I have every right to be concerned for a rider and to be a fan.  Oh by the way I had already read some of the rules but wasn't sure how people knew of certains riders issues.

[Jilleo]

Just catching up on the happenings in the 2010 Tour Divide. I haven't had a chance to follow the action since Day 1, so I only was able to quickly skim the forum/leaderboard, but it looks like 2010 is shaping up to be every bit the beast of '09, at least in terms of snow and rain in Southern Montana (the roads on either side of Lima are gruesome when wet.)

I for one am bummed that three women had to call it quits. They all had strong credentials and it looked to be the makings of an ultra-competitive and exciting race on the female side. Cricket can hold her own, though. That woman is as tough as nails. In 2009, she and I both spent Tuesday night in Lincoln, having both been seduced by tasty-sounding entrees and restaurant marquees and calling it a day earlier than we intended. So far she's keeping the pace this year, and certainly has the ability to kick it up a notch.

I am in Whitehorse right now, on my way down the Al-Can to make a move to Montana. Along the way, I'm hoping to drop into Banff on Friday morning to see my friend John Nobile start his ITT of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. For newbies on this board, John's the current record holder of the border-to-border route, which was (and maybe still is?) raced as the Great Divide Race. I think his record is 15 days and change, set in 2008. He's going after Matt Lee's Banff-to-border (Tour Divide) record, so it may add an interesting twist to the 2010 race, as John will be marking off his splits only one week behind Matt and company. I will post pictures up here if I make it to the Spray River Trailhead in time.

Good luck to all the racers!


- Jill Homer

[flatfishy]

aidan harding and john foster seem to be stopped by a medical centre in helena, hope nothings wrong.

[Jeff Tomassetti]

Water Questions. How much water capacity does the typical racer have? How much do they usually carry? How often do they have use stream water? Do they ever go to private homes/ranches and ask for water?

Thanks!
Jeff

[fneilsimms]

Matthew was asked about water procurement at a screening of the Ride the Divide film here in Carrboro, NC, a week before he left for Banff. He said he preferred to get water from proper sources along the way (ie, tap water), and avoided taking it from streams. If forced to use stream water, he treats it with pills, and does not carry a filter (he feels using them is dangerous, as they are difficult to keep from contaminating with the very water they are being used to filter).

At the moment, I'm wondering where he is - looks like he's turned off his SPOT again. And forward progress will be painful the next few days at least, with the mudfest that is sure to ensue.

Hang in there racers!

[bgiro]

I carried at least two bottles of water while I was in the Northern sections of the course.  I could have carried just one as there was plenty of ground water to filter/treat.  Once I got to the great basin in Wyoming I found out that two bottles and a 100 oz camelbak were not enough for me as I ran out of water but was fortunate to get more water at the A&M reservoir.

Once I got to New Mexico I could not rely on ground water.  Streams and cattle tanks north of Cuba were dry.  I carried 200 oz of water in two camelbaks along with the two bottles for the longer sections between Pie Town and Silver City.

I didn't have to ask anyone for water along the route.

I used a steripen for treating all stream water.  On one occasion when the steripen didn't seem to be working correctly, I used a chemical tablet.  I hated waiting for the water to be treated with the chemical tablets.

[montanakb]

"aidan harding and john foster seem to be stopped by a medical centre in helena, hope nothings wrong."

It looks like four riders hunkered down in about the same spot there last night.  There's also a budget motel just around the corner, so I'm assuming the maps are only so accurate and they were all at the motel.

It's a deluge in Helena this morning.  Absolutely pouring.

[DaveH]

Matt Lee is being very cagey with his SPOT.  He's not giving up his secret spots...maybe he doesn't want that fresh, relevant data out there for Nobile (or the entire TD field for that matter) to use as he chases him?

[Jeff Tomassetti]

Opps, looks like Dave B. is off track.....

[cbillman]

I think they are.  We just saw them coming into town (Helena), hollared, "Good luck, guys!" and got a happy hoot in return.

Hello, all! Been lurking and watching the SPOTs ... finally decided to chime in. Thanks for all the updates and photos. Please keep them coming.

If anyone sees my brother, Jon, on the route (he should be leaving Lincoln for Helena/Butte today) tell him to keep it up, call in more often so our mom doesn't worry, and maybe give a shout-out to his nieces on the MTBcast call in ...

And, most importantly, don't forget to pack plenty of salty nuts (the key to his successful '07 ride).

Cheers!

Clay

P.S. Is Kerby officially out?

[timroz]

If you know your going to be rude then maybe you should check yourself at the post, I was just wondering, how others new about the whereabouts of certain riders, but not Heather.  I have every right to be concerned for a rider and to be a fan.  Oh by the way I had already read some of the rules but wasn't sure how people knew of certains riders issues.

I guess my point was that the only person that really knows what is going on with a person is that person.  Unless they are calling you and giving a 1st hand update you just don't know what they are up against.  2nd and 3rd hand info in this race is about as good as you are typically going to get, and it is usually not completely accurate, and may cause alarm that is not necessary.

Tim

[DoesntOwnAbike]

Kerby hasn't officially scratched but it's safe to assume he's done.