Tour Divide 2010

[redcliffs]

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?

First, I think the paper was seeking to protect Dave's reputation and memory. That article was correcting a previous article in which a trooper stated that it was unclear whether or not Dave was wearing his helmet. That statement, which turns out to be false, was not in the first line of the original piece, or even in the first paragraph -- it was well down in the piece. A pro-bike community such as Steamboat was likely troubled by this prospect and wanted to correct the misinformation as prominently as it could. This may particularly be because as a state, Colorado is fairly ambivalent about bikes, and there are factions that would look down upon Dave, and cyclists in general, for getting in an accident while not wearing a helmet.

Protecting Dave aside, I think we are in general interested in this information because people who feel a sense of loss, especially friends and family, especially those who are not cyclists and are not familiar with our habits and practices, but who are still pained by a tragedy like this, want to know that this was "really an accident," that Dave protected himself and was acting responsibly. I'm not saying that had Dave not been wearing his helmet, this would have been any less of an accident or any less of a tragedy. I'm saying that some would be even more torn apart knowing that he had not.

I say all this from the position of the only cyclist, let alone long-distance cyclist, in a family that has known Dave and Lexi for give or take 20 years, who feel a great sense of their own loss, who feel absolutely shattered for Lexi and Linnaea, and who look at me, a family member, and ask, "do you wear your helmet all the time?" (I do.) I know that people around me are relieved and comforted to know that Dave was wearing his helmet. It may not be important to everyone, but it is for many people.

[EDIT: "of the original piece"]

[mtbcast]

The account I read was that there was doubt about the helmet itself but that he was wearing it. Your point is well taken, though, and the emphasis that he was wearing one is important.

[redcliffs]

The account I read was that there was doubt about the helmet itself but that he was wearing it. Your point is well taken, though, and the emphasis that he was wearing one is important.

Yes, I see -- I read that as "there is now some uncertainty about [whether he was wearing] his helmet," but it easily could be, "about [the condition of] his helmet." Thank you for pointing that out.

[mtbcast]

In the long run, a helmet is good to a point. A fast descent and an abrupt crash like this is not something it can totally mitigate.

[redcliffs]

In the long run, a helmet is good to a point. A fast descent and an abrupt crash like this is not something it can totally mitigate.

Very true.

[Manabezho]

^ THAT is wacked!

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

Kent's call-ins are always great and this one is quite moving.  We really are fortunate to have the opportunity to become connected to these racers lives while they take on this epic challenge.

Best wishes to all of the racers. 

[bruce.b]

>>In the long run, a helmet is good to a point. A fast descent and an abrupt crash like this is not something it can totally mitigate.<<

    Bike helmets offer very limited protection and have to be limited due to weight and bulk considerations. Don't ever fool yourself into thinking they offer more than minimal protection. I always wear one but I try to stay aware of their limitations.
   

   bruce.b

[lexi]

First, I think the paper was seeking to protect Dave's reputation and memory. That article was correcting a previous article in which a trooper stated that it was unclear whether or not Dave was wearing his helmet.
[EDIT: "of the original piece"]

Thank you Stephen, I agree.  And tell your mom that Dave would want you to keep biking.  (And in fact had some plans for rides for the two of you to do.)

[lexi]

A memorial gathering for Dave B.  will be held at 10 AM on Satuday July 10 at the Green Mountain Club in Waterbury Vermont. (https://www.greenmountainclub.org/)  Folks are welcome to join me afterwards for a hike in Dave's memory.

[JeffOYB]

"Kent's call-ins are always great and this one is quite moving.  We really are fortunate to have the opportunity to become connected to these racers lives while they take on this epic challenge."

Yes. We are let in on some big stories and dramas and comedy...and tragedy.

We're at risk for all of it by looking in on it.

The riders are at risk, sure. But we are, too.  

You follow something like this at a hazard. It's open-ended. We don't know what might happen. We might be changed. They likely will be. But there's no knowing.

It's creative, it's art. Time and chance are involved. Thus, story. Performance. It's the Beau Geste. We might doubt it because it's not "necessary" -- was it worth the cost? -- but actually art and performances are more necessary than necessities. We look to them for inspiration for life. I know that I'm inspired and that I'm thinking about things, in my own small neighborhood action, thanks to TD.

This is why people do, and follow, sport -- so it seems to me, now. It's different from when and why businesses produce "sport-like objects." In this post-modern era it takes EFFORT to be real.

Some stories are short, some go on for many chapters. We'll never know.

But this Self-Support idea is key.

When each task is handled by a separate professional, what happens to story? It dies! Life is a whole, it's not pieces. For sport to WORK for us, for it to do its job for us, it has to be able to tell the story and stand on its own, no matter what its length. Then we know there's an author behind it.

Oh, pro-sport has story, too -- but it takes so MUCH more work to grasp it -- and the aspect of FAKERY is nearly total. To some that doesn't matter. In some ways it reflects modern corporate life better (with all the special teams and complication of pro football, say). Story is everything in "rigged" sports -- no reason to begrudge the artifice? A Shakespearean play is all fake, too, right? I'm not sure. Pro wrestling has a story that can be gotten and appreciated. So what if it's show-biz, it still might have something to say.

Fresh simplicity and candor are sometimes darn good, though. And that's the Tour Divide. It's RIGHT THERE. No one's controlling anything!

[DoesntOwnAbike]

How will this tragic event affect future TDR races? I assume all riders sign waivers
prior to beginning the race.

[SimonK]

Conditions must be nasty in the Hila today. Matthew seems to be sheltering at the ranger station and Blaine and Erik have been in Pietown for quite a while (unless they turned their SPOTs off). There's only so much pie a man can eat.

[Jeff Tomassetti]

Patrick Tsai is in Colorado! Go Patrick! Does anyone know his Bio?

[mtbcast]

Kent posted a pic of his bike after it landed in the barbed-wire incident. Wow!
Kent's Bike Blog: This is not a staged photo http://bit.ly/bn88Em

[JeffOYB]

Patrick Tsai is in Colorado! Go Patrick! Does anyone know his Bio?

Yes, let's not forget our faithful Lanterne Rouge!

Others may put in more speed but he'll be putting in more hours by far!

[bmike-vt]

Yes, let's not forget our faithful Lanterne Rouge!

Others may put in more speed but he'll be putting in more hours by far!

He's getting his money's worth.

[bmike-vt]

Is the large lead on the record that Mathew has amassed due primarily to the re-route? Or is it possible to pick up time in NM?

[Jeff Tomassetti]

Is the large lead on the record that Mathew has amassed due primarily to the re-route? Or is it possible to pick up time in NM?

I think he was 9 hours ahead of his prior record at the splti prior to the re-route.

[AmyL]

"Is the large lead on the record that Mathew has amassed due primarily to the re-route? Or is it possible to pick up time in NM?"

This gain in time is primarily due to the reroute.   At Abiquiu (the town before the reroute) Matt was 90 minutes ahead of his record.  14:10:20 vs 14:11:50.

Nearly all miles in Colorado are on high quality graded roads.  However, much of the mapped route through New Mexico is on much rougher road, not single track, but since it is not regularly graded the surface is often rocky and/or rutted.  The stretch between Abiquiu and Cuba is mountainous and rough surface, whereas the reroute due to the fire is on paved road.  

In one of his call-ins Matt stated that 2010 is no longer a record-chasing year, because of the reroute the race times don't really compare to prior years.

Between Cuba and Grants the ACA routing is through beautiful remote landscape on rough roads, a stellar piece of the whole GDMBR.  However, the TD (and GDR) rules allow riders to choose a paved alternative, which nearly all racers choose.  Likewise, south of Grants most racers take a permitted alternate paved route instead of the primary ACA route.  I think a couple years back one or two racers did take the ACA routing, but I don't remember their names.

[bmike-vt]

I think he was 9 hours ahead of his prior record at the splti prior to the re-route.

Hmm. When I look at the split chart I see this:



*edit, AmyL responded as I posted this... Thanks!