Tour Divide 2015 - race discussion thread

[multisportscott]

Holy moly check out Seb Dunne, keeping the big boys honest up the front. His wife Beth Dunne is cruising along nicely too. Cleary doing the Kiwi Brevet earlier this year taught them both a lot.

Come on the Kiwi contingent Rob Davidson, Greg Galway, Peter Schaap and Dallis Waters!!

Lael Wilcox is riding so so fast, man I hope she can keep that up, awesomeness.

Scott in NZ

[Rooster Cogburn]

Jeff T (nobo) looks to be having a tough time finding the route just N of Pinos Altos - hope he figures it out soon.
Alex H pulled all the way over Cabin Pass until 4am, took a 3hr nap at the Wigwam, while most other leaders took the 3hr nap earlier at Butts Cabin.  Yet top 6 or 7 are all within 30mins of each other entering the US.
Marshal B is riding solid - go Marshal!

Jeff is probably headed over to Lake Roberts for water and a greasy hamburger.

[daveinbanff]

Just south of Elkford, the bridge over the Fording River is out and has been since the floods. Is everybody just hiking down the steep section, fording, and hiking up again? How dangerous is that?

joshafine falls is the re-route,  5?km of single track.

Apparently he had a shredded tyre, and then a failed fork.

Robin?     Hes all fixed up and in banff.   might restart.

[mikepro]

Jeff is probably headed over to Lake Roberts for water and a greasy hamburger.

Yes, there's that now, but earlier he went too far up 15, then backtracked to the route, then meandered around off-route in a different ridge/hill looking for the route.  Glad he found his way and hopefully Lake Roberts wasn't closed or at least he got some ice cream there.

[pbarsom]

Looks like the leaders are now traversing Whitefish Divide.  I understand that since last year a lot of the downed timber in all the avalanche chutes there (look at the satellite view and you can see them) has beed cut out so there will be less bike carrying through all the downed trees and piled snow.  That along with somewhat less snow this year should help the pace stay high.  Looking forward to reports/photos from that stretch.

[JosiahM]

curious.  would Lina Rice be the youngest person to take on this race?
also, is the JayP record pace flag his actual location at this point in the race from the past, or is it a constant line that always moves at a constant pace of his average speed across the route?

[mtbcast]

TourDivide15 - Marty Johnson called in from Elkford! Josh Kato called in from Eureka! And Larry Bennett called in from Sparwood!

ttp://mtbcast.com/site2/category/calls/

[Iowagriz]

Looks like the leaders are now traversing Whitefish Divide.  I understand that since last year a lot of the downed timber in all the avalanche chutes there (look at the satellite view and you can see them) has beed cut out so there will be less bike carrying through all the downed trees and piled snow.  That along with somewhat less snow this year should help the pace stay high.  Looking forward to reports/photos from that stretch.

Those trees were cut out by the Forest Service by July 25th last year. And based on the tracks of previous SoBo ITTers it looks snow free to me.

[jryter]

Oh the snow and mud...that was a good time, wasn't it Jarral? I remember spending the entire snow hike over Red Meadow Pass talking about Chinese food with Josh. 

Lael is an amazing rider (and human being). With good weather and good luck, sub-18?

As much fun as it is to watch the EH ghost dot each year, I would LOVE to see Lael crush it start to finish. Maybe that way I could actually get stuff done for the middle 20 days in June...

Having a fast ride up there makes one want to try again! That hike-a-bike section was ankle deep mud and then the 6in of powder on the next pass.... And then the damage to feet, ankles and cycles/gear. I bet El Jefe is chomping at the computer now!!!

I think your record is going to last E. Lael is just in the US now. You were there just a little later even with the slow hiking and getting stuck in Corbin behind the coal train. And then you started to really go fast after the next couple of hikes in MT. So....my prediction. Even though I would love to see your record go down 

[richpips]

curious.  would Lina Rice be the youngest person to take on this race?

Probably. There was a 17 year old last year.

http://trackleaders.com/tourdivide14i.php?name=Max_Southam

Tracker says he deviated from the route though.

[geekonabike]

Question, Is it cool to text someone that they've missed a turn & need to go back?

[Eszter]

Question, Is it cool to text someone that they've missed a turn & need to go back?

Nope. Self-support means self-supported navigation.

[Iowagriz]

If it makes you feel better, they likely wouldn't get your text anyway.  Too remote in that part of the country.

Lots of racers trying to hit Eureka. What is the over/under for number in Eureka overnight?  40?

[geekonabike]

 Got it. Thanks. Man us Zonies seems to be Navigationally Challenged. Me mos def included.  

[Iowagriz]

Got it. Thanks. Man us Zonies seems to be Navigationally Challenged. Me mos def included. 

Who is it?  The only person that I currently see off route is Joe Pavlik and his spot is doing 46mph on a highway, so I'd have to assume he had a problem and is getting a ride someplace.  Maybe for repairs?

[dp]

Man, folks be flyin'!

[Krampus Snail]

Joe Pavlik left the route in Sparwood. Certainly looks like he had a problem and intentionally left the route.  I hope it's nothing major.

[geekonabike]

Who is it?  The only person that I currently see off route is Joe Pavlik and his spot is doing 46mph on a highway, so I'd have to assume he had a problem and is getting a ride someplace.  Maybe for repairs?

Mike Ingram North bound had a shorter misstep, but backtrack to the course. Looked to be a left/right thing.

[ScottM]

A few answers--

Alternator - significant deviation from the route.
Touring - 32+ day pace.
Guide - just a trackleaders term for a non-racer still being tracked (MTBCast in this case)

The record flags are the actual SPOT data, so they are not interpolated.  JP's track, for instance, has several bad tracking patches, so it will get stuck.  All the more incentive to track well. 

The record flags (and pace flags) will go through Rawlins, etc.  That comparison might be interesting to watch unfold.

Would love to know who the racer is with the dog so we can note that on the tracking.  First canine TD finisher?

Also there was a comment somewhere about route violations through Kananaskis campground -- we added the actual line racers were supposed to take somewhat after the leaders got through.  Shouldn't be any relegations in that area.

This is shaping up to be one of the fastest and most competitive TD shows to watch unfold yet.  Start popping the popcorn!

[pbarsom]

Looks like our leading quartet will get to Whitefish just in time for dinner.  Piggyback BBQ?  It's right on the route.  Fuel up to motor the flat section south of town!