Tour Divide 2010

[BobM]

It looks like Kent is following the "hot breakfast" racing strategy.

Go Mountain Turtle!

[montanakb]

Manabezho, thanks for the link to the Mountain Turtle's blog!  I love his call-ins, too.

[firetwofire]

Happy Fathers Day to all the Dads out there Riding the TD

[jose]

I think one interesting part of Mountain Turtle's preparation is that the dial-in on his bike started over a year ago. It was important to him to have the actual bike early on, my guess, to get his body conditioned to the positioning and contact points and what not. He had a lot of time to fine-tune the equipment used, too.

Very different approach from some of the riders who received their race bikes last minute.

You could also say the Mountain Turtle's preparation started over 20 years ago, when he gave up on cars and decided on bikes as his transportation mode. I believe he switched jobs a few months ago to something nearer to home too, so he could ride more actual mountain trail miles and less city-commuting miles.  And of course, he rode the 500+ miles from seattle to banff just to get to the start of the race!  Got to admire the dedication.

I would love to get more info on Matthew Lee's preparation. I hope he teaches a course when he retires to reveal his secrets on preparation, equipment, and how he manages to fly through the mountains and mud without banging up his derailleur!

[montanakb]

Speaking of Kent's commuting, my husband made the connection that he's profiled in this excellent book about biking:

http://bikeportland.org/2009/03/19/a-review-of-jeff-mapes-book-pedaling-revolution/

I remember the crazy guy who commuted from Issaquah to Seattle, but didn't realize he was one and the same.

[SteveW]

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.

You're right, my mind wasn't in the right place last year. I think I wrote something like 'I don't think I could have faced getting dropped.' At the time I didn't think about it anymore than that. I think it's very unlikely I would have ever quit, only injury would see me do that, but riding in company made sure I didn't ever have to question it.


It is probably more than chance that my two trips down the Divide have mostly been in the company of other racers. It's my holiday, and I want to have fun first, times second. Also, after I rode across Australia solo years back, I vowed never to do something like that solo again. However I plan to return to the Divide and ride on my own in 2011.

[ksb]

Looks like Mr Lee is back on the move after a 2 hr stop in Rawlins. From Google maps it looked like he was at a supermarket or similar.

I too have been loving Kent P's reports. Having now heard about his car-free approach to things it kind of explains a lot. Going by bike is nothing new for him and it seems to show.

Also, having seen the pics of Matt Lee, I'm amazed at how little he's packing.

[cbillman]

Hey, teamfaeth ... Just learned today that the Billmans have distant relatives (cousins on our dad's side) whose last name was Faeth. They lived in Ft. Madison,  Iowa. Interesting.

Give Pete an attaboy for me when you get him home.

[RossC]

Also, having seen the pics of Matt Lee, I'm amazed at how little he's packing.

Does anyone out there have any info on what is in Mr Lee's kit? He seems to have it completely dialed and it would be interesting to see what you can do without.

[Manabezho]

          "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".

Hey ScottM, I'm interested in the oldest/youngest question.  Where can I find that thread?  Thanks,

[BobM]

Does anyone out there have any info on what is in Mr Lee's kit? He seems to have it completely dialed and it would be interesting to see what you can do without.

There is an bonus feature on the Ride the Divide video where Matthew talks about his kit.  1 pound bag, 8 ounce bivy, very few tools (no pliers, no chain breaker).  He says just pack like for a day ride and add the sleeping bag/bivy, a few extra clothes, and your food.

[tetontodd]

Great race so far! Does anyone know how John Nobile is doing? I don't see any spot info on the web? It will be interesting to see how he compares to ML, sounds like he is going for the record!

Kent Peterson, what an inspiration! I love this guy, lives on the bike basically! How about Marshall Bird? Great effort! Experience is paying off, that's what you need for these type races. I found out when you DNF it only makes you dial it in that much more, you watch, all the people that have dropped out will be planning there next attempt soon! Good weather here in Wyoming, that will be nice for the racers

[porter]

I had forgotten all about the race until my girl friend mentioned it today! We rode the GDMBR last summer after the race in around three months (none of this sub 20 day stuff) and it is some of the best touring we have ever done. We met Blaine in Polebridge (top of Montana) - he was out for a short tour with two of his mates and all three of them were the nicest guys you could meet. Blaine got out our ACA maps one evening an marked up some of the places (mainly hotels - I'm not sure he got to see much else) that we shouldn't miss.

For those looking to put a face to the name check out the second picture down http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=RrzKj&page_id=122946&v=96 on our tour journal.

We have been following his and the other leaders progress today and reminiscing fondly. I estimate that they cover in a day what took us three days (not including rest days)! Simply amazing and if I remember correctly Blaine is around 50 as well!

Best wishes to all the riders and especially to Blaine!

[teamfaeth]

Hey, Teamfaeth ... Just learned today that the Billmans have distant relatives (cousins on our dad's side) whose last name was Faeth. They lived in Ft. Madison,  Iowa. Interesting.

Give Pete an attaboy for me when you get him home.

Hi Chillman
 I just read your post. We have been at my son's soccer tournament all day. They had 3 games and they won first place. I picked up Pete last night, and we didn't get to bed until 1230a. Our alarm went off at 530a to take my son to soccer. For those who asked about Pete's foot. It is his shin that has a possible stress fracture. He doesn't remember when it happened. I figured his feet were frozen when he hurt it. Any hew, glad he's home. He came home a bit scruffy and stinky. Ha. He had to buy a pair of shorts at REI to travel home.
Who are the Billman's? Is that you guys? Any relation to Bill Billman?  It would be interesting to find out if there is a relation somewhere down the line. We've had more cool small world stories while Pete has been on this trip. I've missed tracking the race today. I am all caught up and just heard earlier on the radio that Billings Montana had tornados and Flagg Rancho has 500 burning acres. Yikes!

[clancyarn]

Wow, just got online and Dave Preston is a little off course, heading south to Jackson at 55 mph.....I guess he was thirsty and done huh...too bad

[fneilsimms]

There are several bike shops in Jackson, maybe he got a lift for repairs. On the other hand, there's a shop (maybe only rental?) in Moose, and he just blew through there!

[fneilsimms]

Blaine just rolled into Rawlins - he must be feeling good as he appears to have taken a good chunk out of ML's big lead.

[scott-australia]

Does anyone out there have any info on what is in Mr Lee's kit? He seems to have it completely dialed and it would be interesting to see what you can do without.

I tend to think he can do without it knowing what his body and mind can put up with.  Certainly he uses a very small frame bag.

[DoctorRad]

...very few tools (no pliers, no chain breaker)...

Jeez... I carry more tools than that for a two-hour ride in the woods...! I guess if you don't ride an antique bike like mine you might feel you can rely on it better. That said, he does get bike shop tune-ups on the way... I wonder what those involve?

Looks like Matt is sleeping on the Wyoming-Colorado border tonight.

[krefs]

Blaine is cruising!  And he put in a big day yesterday, getting all the way to Rawlins from not too far outside of Boulder!  Up ahead, it looks like Matthew (who's just shy of an hour ahead of record pace at this point) is enjoying breakfast at the Brush Mtn Lodge.  Kirsten, who runs the lodge, loves the race and goes far, far out of her way to help TD riders.  I have fond memories of downing many cans of cold lemonade there near the end of a tough day.  The terrain over the last ~40 miles of Wyoming is very challenging despite only being "hilly."