Tour Divide 2010

[multisportscott]

I have been away from \internet contact for the past couple of days. I had read about Dave B's accident before losing "contact".
For the past couple of days I could not get Dave out of my mind.
I am devastated by the news I have just read.
I too did not know him other than via this site and his blog. He was an inspiration to me as I got to "know" him. I was following his blue dot more closely than anyone else.
My love and thoughts go out to his wife and daughter.
Ride on Dave.

Matthew Lee was already a hero to me, but now after hearing his eloquent call in, he has been elevated even higher. What an awesome man you are Matt Lee.

I am a long way away here in New Zealand but having toured the route last year I feel very close to the event and the racers.

Ride on Dave...

Scott in NZ

[RossC]

I couldn't see this had been posted yet... The Mountain Turtle is out according to his blog. Freehub failure in the middle of nowhere apparently.

What a bummer, I really enjoyed his call ins and the spirit he brought to the race.

Edit: Whoops, I missed the post on the previous page....

[SimonK]

It's terribly sad to read of Dave Blumenthal's accident. There was a lot of good humour and joy evident in his last call-in. I hope, in time, his family and friends find some small consolation in that.

I was also sorry to hear about the fire south of Abiquiu. The Polvadera Mesa is one of the more beautiful parts of the Great Divide. It will be interesting to see if many riders now choose to skip the alternate south of Cuba.

Safe riding to all.

[mtbcast]

Hey everybody,

First of all, I'd like to offer my condolences to Dave Blumenthal's family, especially his wife and daughter. I can't imagine what they're going through right now.

Secondly I just wanted to clear up the speculation regarding Kent Peterson's course deviation. After a tough couple of days, he's decided to call it quits. You can read about his decision at his blog.

It wasn't an easy decision for him to make, but we're all really proud of him. To be able to ride 2K+ miles (he rode from Issaquah to Banff as a warmup) self-supported, on a single speed at 51 years old is an incredible achievement. Go Mountain Turtle!

-Eric Peterson

Sorry to hear that Kent pulled out. I looked for a call this morning, though I'm sure he'll give have one later. Kent is an inspiration to me personally and his positive attitude is always so refreshing to hear. I'll never forget his first time doing the GDR. No one had ever done the race SS let alone rigid. When he pulled into Whitefish one of the other racers said, "We didn't think you'd make it this far."

[BobM]

Sorry to hear that Kent pulled out. I looked for a call this morning, though I'm sure he'll give have one later. Kent is an inspiration to me personally and his positive attitude is always so refreshing to hear. I'll never forget his first time doing the GDR. No one had ever done the race SS let alone rigid. When he pulled into Whitefish one of the other racers said, "We didn't think you'd make it this far."

I was shocked at first to hear that Kent was pulling the plug, but after a bit of thought I realized that even a grizzled veteran Mountain Turtle can have one setback too many.  Theoretically he could spend a couple of days getting the freehub fixed and another day getting back to the route but then the question would be "Why?"   Add on the emotional upset that all the racers are feeling over Dave B's passing and I think Kent will soon be exactly where he should be.

As Joe Polk has often said in the past when racers have been forced to drop "The route will still be there".

Maybe another year will be the one for the Mountain Turtle.  Thanks, Kent, for your example and particularly for your upbeat call-ins.  Your fans will be watching your blog for news of future adventures.

Bob

[jewels]

Today my steps are a bit slower and a little heavier having read of Dave Blumenthal's passing.   Being from my hometown of Montpelier, VT, he was a rider I followed with great interest, and I looked forward to his calls every day.  I hope that all of the thoughts of support and condolences on the TD blog offer his wife, daughter, family and friends a brief moment of respite from the grief and pain of losing him.  

I will be hiking today above Spray Lakes near Banff where the race started with a man from Vermont whose joy of riding this great race reflected his love of life and adventure spirit.  Although his tracker has stopped, the rest of the riders will carry him to the finish line and his memory will continue to shine for all who knew him.

And wishing all of the riders safe travels.

LCarter

[mtbcast]

Just got calls from Grant Crosby and Matthew Lee. Matthew was in Cuba. Going to try to clean up his call before I post as it has a nasty buzz in it.

Update: Calls are up from Matthew Lee in Cuba and Grant Crosby and Shawn Sheppard in Silverthorn. Shawn is waiting for his Spot to show up!

[mtbcast]

Several calls posted for today. Erik just called in from Cuba and warns about the traffic on the re-route. Any NM'ers out there? Any chance of getting some patrol visibility up there? A thought.

[ScottM]

I just got off the phone with Matthew, who is in Grants, NM.  He has quite the story to tell... his next call in should be a good one, but here's the lowdown.

He was eating at Mickey D's, watching his bike outside from the window.  A guy walked up, looked him in the eye, hopped on his bike and took off!  He and several people took chase on foot, but didn't catch him.  By dialing home to someone watching trackleaders, he was able to track the bike in town, eventually finding it!  Too crazy!!  Good thing his SPOT was on his bike and still turned on.

I am so glad he got it back.  Can't even imagine him losing his bike at this stage in the race and with everything that has happened so far.

Keep pedaling Matthew... almost there!

[mtbcast]

^ THAT is wacked!

Kent Peterson just called in with some final thoughts and inspiration. http://tinyurl.com/28dvn6p

[northofbeyond]

OMG, I hope they didn't steal any of his gear. Glad he got it back.

Go Matthew!

[murphyo]

Snow storms, impassable mud, forest fires, and bikejackers -- what next?! (Never imagined SPOT would be used like that!)... Way to persevere Matthew. And everyone else still out there. Wishing y'all a wonderful but relatively uneventful stretch to Mexico! Looking forward to the stories.

-Owen

[montanakb]

Mountain Turtle, it was so fun to follow you through your blog and call-ins.  Kinda wish we'd tracked you down when we knew you were at Park Avenue Bakery in Helena, just meet you.  Today's call-in was particularly special.  Good luck to you.  We're headed out to ride now.  Can't NOT ride after that call-in.

[redcliffs]

A further piece from the Steamboat paper on Dave B.: http://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/2010/jun/26/cyclist-fatal-crash-was-wearing-helmet/

[mtbcast]

A further piece from the Steamboat paper on Dave B.: http://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/2010/jun/26/cyclist-fatal-crash-was-wearing-helmet/

It's good to see the information come out to give a picture of what happened. Dave was avoiding mud, as we all would. The driver stopped, trying to do what he could. This was an accident all the way around, no one to blame as it were. It's a no win for all involved. When we send our best wishes let's think about this driver who was in the wrong place and has to live with the reality that someone died hitting his truck.

[AmyL]

I just looked at the details of Matt Lee's Spot dots in Grants.  Between 20:45 and 20:55 the bike went from McD's across the tracks to the back corner of what looks like a warehouse area, hidden amongst vehicles.  Matt sure did some quick work to track it down, at 21:05 it's back at the McD's parking lot.  Amazing story.

[Newfydog]

Got to love that story.  We ought to just put out bikes with spot trackers to rid the world of scum like that.  I always clip my helmet through the spokes to trip up a grab and dash thief.

[bmike-vt]

A further piece from the Steamboat paper on Dave B.: http://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/2010/jun/26/cyclist-fatal-crash-was-wearing-helmet/

I just wish we could all get over the whole 'cyclist was / wasn't wearing his / her helmet'.
Why does it always end up in the first paragraph, or even the headline?



Pedal on Dave. We did a short dirt ride today in your honor, and toasted you with some VT brew on Thursday evening.
Peace to your family.

[northofbeyond]

Wonder if Matt called the cops in Grants. Could have been scary going to get it back by himself. Glad that it worked out so well.

Sending out safe vibes to all the riders left on the tour.

[DiDaDunlop]

"I always clip my helmet through the spokes to trip up a grab and dash thief."

That's a good one. Gotta remember that one.

I also did a small trip this weekend. It was already planned but it did have something special and I toasted to Dave in the evening.