Tour Divide 2010

[bjamin]

Looks like a well-rested Erik is charging hard. lots of racing left! where's my coffee...

[bshan]

Am I seeing that right, did Blanie Nester just backtrack for 45 minutes? Missed the route?

[ztirffritz]

Yeah, looks like Blaine just backtracked quite a bit, but it looks like he was on the trail.  Maybe a mechanical?  Dropped something?

[MrsPivvay]

Dropped something or forgot something where he stopped to eat is my guess. When you're carrying so few things, it's hard to leave stuff behind. Esp if it was a jacket or leg warmer or glasses.

[redtabby]

When Erik reported the destruction of his rear tire's sidewall due to mud abrasion, I recalled krefs comment earlier in the year about his experience with the new, lightweight nanos - and in particular their fragile sidewall (which didn't fare well with his pounding on the AZT).  I'm assuming Erik is running nanos; it will be interesting to see if mud ate the classic or the "neo" nano.

[fneilsimms]

Dropped something or forgot something where he stopped to eat is my guess. When you're carrying so few things, it's hard to leave stuff behind. Esp if it was a jacket or leg warmer or glasses.

Looks like he missed the turn and had to go back to it.

[delilo]

GDR riders --
Is the course doable on a cross bike?  Anyone ever tried it?

[MrsPivvay]

GDR riders --
Is the course doable on a cross bike?  Anyone ever tried it?

Doable, yes. As fun, not in my opinion. Faster. no way. It's been tried and usually results in excessive flats and contact point fatigue at best.

[cbillman]

Couple more guys dropped in Lincoln: Huston and Santacroce. Bummer.

Pete Faeth says riders battled snow and hail on trail from Helena to Butte.

Also, you've gotta listen to Stephen Huddle's call in from Butte. He's in a good mood.

[krefs]

GDR riders --
Is the course doable on a cross bike?  Anyone ever tried it?

It's definitely doable, but not necessarily as comfortable on a mountain bike.  The vibration-dampening of the skinnier-higher pressure tires is not nearly as good as the fat, low-pressure tires most are running on their mountain bikes.  Pinch flats are also going to be far more common, and tubeless cross setups don't seem to be entirely dependable yet.  That being said, I've seen a few riders touring it on cross bikes, Deanna rode it last year on a converted '70s road frame running cross tires, and Fixie Dave used a more modern frame with rather scrawny tires last summer.  

[bruce.b]

It all sounds really bad!  

Painful to watch? Intolerable to do?

     Heh, heh. I wouldn't do it but I think it would be excellent fun to watch someone else try. Dave Nice? How about if we get him a recumbent?
     I'd much prefer doing it on a P=38 recumbent rather than a fixie. I'm sure it would be much less painful and I'd bet serious money it would be faster. About the only possible physical problem you might develop is 'bent butt. I never had a problem with it on the P-38 butt then I wasn't racing the divide.
      
     Back to the current race in progress.....

     bruce.b

[naked indian]

Looks like Erik Is Reeling Blaine IN.  NICE!

[ztirffritz]

Looks like Erik Is Reeling Blaine IN.  NICE!

 
Can't really call it reeling him in since Blaine was backtracking for 45 minutes, but the end result is the same.  Sucks for Blaine.  Erik is just flying now.

edit: Just noticed that Blaine's last SPOT marker is 56min old, while Erik's is only 2-3min old, so Blaine is actually likely a bit further ahead on the trail, but I Erik is still likely to catch him before too long.  Either that or Blaine back-tracked and stopped for some reason.

edit2: Blaine's SPOT just updated.  I'd guess that he and Erik are riding almost side-by-side now.

[krefs]

Erik rode the section from Lima to Red Rocks Pass 2 hours faster than Matthew.  His legs must feel pretty good after 30 hours with minimal riding, though it's considerably less windy today on that stretch.

[JML]

Just spoke to Erik.  he just saw Blaine. Erik is having lunch and Blaine is off again.  Blain was apparently a bit lost earlier.  Erik now has a busted front brake. all the fluid came out.  he is getting bummed about all the mechanical problems on top of the cold shitty weather.  I think he will keep on trucking and dreaming about colorado sunshine.

[ScottM]

I've owned a recumbent ever since I killed my hands racing the divide in 2005.  I've definitely thought about using one on the divide.  I'm not sure I hate my hands enough to race the divide on an upright bike.

The divide is almost entirely non-technical, so it would not slow you down there.  Climbing might be slow, but fast/flat/windy sections would be faster, esp. with some fairings.  I bet we will see someone make an attempt one of these years.

I never got accustomed to the position enough to be able to ride for more than 3-4 hours.  But mine is a low end 'bent (with a 26" rear wheel capable of clearing big MTB tires) with a crappy seat.  I know it is possible, since Peter Heal has been rocking his recumbent for the last ~48 days.  Blue dot junkies may want to check out his tracker:

http://trackleaders.com/aroundozi.php?name=Peter_Heal

He is about to wrap up a record setting ride around Australia, self-supported style.

[ScottM]

Erik Lobeck, again courtesy of Todd Ison:

[naked indian]

Just as I suspected, Its not coincidence the fastest guys on the tour are not using backpacks, thats the way I got my kit set up currently, nothing on the back.

[JeffOYB]

Thanks for the Oz Record tip! I hadn't heard of that. I've long been interested in self-supported fast action. I'm waiting for folks to dig into self-supported road racing and records, like the Trans Am (East-West axis). Chris K was organizing such an event a few years ago, but I recall that Lon H. talked him out of it. I emailed Lon myself about such a concept and he said it was too dangerous. I just can't see it. Though, of course, he really DOES know a ton. He suggested that people would ride too hard and get into trouble on their own -- then end up in a traffic accident. He says backroads dirt touring is a different matter. (As I recall, from our years-old chat.) I still disagree. Folks can ride far'n'fast within their limits -- I mean, they have to. There's no more likelihood of someone riding outside their skills there than anywhere else. Also, one can emphasize backroads as much as possible. The route doesn't have to all be paved, either. Basically, ultralight fast touring -- even credit-card style -- seems totally great/doable/reasonable to me. As folks explore it and dial it in the continent-crossing times would likely drop. I recall the record is 14 days set in 1958 by a Rich Berg, so the lore goes. C'mon, it's low hanging fruit. Right? But for all I know it's now a hot topic and there's a full forum about it somewhere. I'll go look!

[redcliffs]

Thanks for the Oz Record tip! I hadn't heard of that. I've long been interested in self-supported fast action. I'm waiting for folks to dig into self-supported road racing and records, like the Trans Am (East-West axis). Chris K was organizing such an event a few years ago, but I recall that Lon H. talked him out of it. I emailed Lon myself about such a concept and he said it was too dangerous. I just can't see it. Though, of course, he really DOES know a ton. He suggested that people would ride too hard and get into trouble on their own -- then end up in a traffic accident. He says backroads dirt touring is a different matter. (As I recall, from our years-old chat.) I still disagree. Folks can ride far'n'fast within their limits -- I mean, they have to. There's no more likelihood of someone riding outside their skills there than anywhere else. Also, one can emphasize backroads as much as possible. The route doesn't have to all be paved, either. Basically, ultralight fast touring -- even credit-card style -- seems totally great/doable/reasonable to me. As folks explore it and dial it in the continent-crossing times would likely drop. I recall the record is 14 days set in 1958 by a Rich Berg, so the lore goes. C'mon, it's low hanging fruit. Right? But for all I know it's now a hot topic and there's a full forum about it somewhere. I'll go look!

People already do it with some regularity, not as long as the TD, but still pretty long: www.rusa.org. Although the longest brevets are 1200K randonnees (~750 miles in <90h), if you search the permanents database (look at the left sidebar), you'll see 9 routes from 1000-3000K; taking the entire permanent system, you could string together rides through at least the middle half of the country (Denver or Salt Lake to IL, MO and points east). The brevets are not completely unsupported the way the TD is, but permanents nearly are (by rule, there is greater flexibility in terms of connecting with people you know en route, though you certainly don't have to do it that way).

I've never used a SPOT on a brevet or randonnee, though I'm sure some have. Certainly, if I were doing some of the longer permanents, I would for safety's sake.