Tour Divide 2015 - race discussion thread

[mikepro]

Angler, tell Connor that spending a day resting and trying to recover isn't the end of the world! There have been plenty of racers in past years that have managed to recover from injuries and push on, finishing strongly. He might not be able to meet his initial goal if he slows up a bit, but he can still have a great experience on the route and come back next year to make use of all he learned.

To Connor: to echo Kurt ... 'finish, learn, and return!'.  Your are still sitting top 10, and 7 out of the 10 are straight-up TD veterans where as the other rookies in the 10 besides you may be TD rookies, but are solid ultra bikepacking veterans (SD, NB).  Finish the route, so that you can, at minimum, get a feel for differences in the route and gather first-hand experience which is the most valuable data anyone can acquire.  Look up how long it took Matt Lee to finish the route his first couple go 'rounds, if you want.  And, look at an example like Calvin Decker rookie last year who was into Lincoln at just over 5days, outside the top 20 overall, and ended up finishing in 2nd overall in just over 18days.

To the pink dots: keep crushing it!  Multiple position changes daily and nightly, tight top 5-6 group.  Come on AD!

Marshal B: inspiration.  his route prep and approach impressed me much back in '10 and to follow him doing so well 5-yrs later/older gives him rockstar legend status in my book.  And I'm hopeful the bike fit and saddle probs of the past have been put to rest.

Dylan T: second place Arizona Trail Race finish a few months ago, and now solid top-10 effort in the TD.  Keep it up Dylan!

[mikepro]

Roland Gugger just called in to say he is OUT with neck and shoulder issues. Could it be swimmer’s neck?

Ha.  That'd be Shermer's neck.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Shermer

[Krampus Snail]

Loving the women's race! It's so great that for once, the women's race is competitive! Go pink dots!

I notice that Lisa Downing and Rosemary Lee have switched to touring mode. They're still great, and strong. Go Lisa and Rosemary!

[pbarsom]

Marshall Bird has entered Ovando.  Looks good.  Knee bothering him off and on but says that's just normal for him.  Fueling up and heading out.  Pleased that he is doing so well.

Glad to see this.  I recall riding with Marshall into Butte last year when he was having all sorts of trouble, a little before he decided to pull the plug.  It's a different race every year, that's for sure.  I hope his luck (and everything else) holds up.

[mtbcast]

Ha.  That'd be Shermer's neck.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Shermer

Thanks for the correction!

[mikepro]

how about green square with triangle inside? (not the tent symbol!)
and what about yellow square?

green square with black triangle - restart after a brief stop (the asset has moved)
yellow square with black double-vertical pause symbol - a brief stop

I'm also seeing that the Gen3 Spots will show a red square with white power icon - presumably when the unit has been powered off?  Gen3 units record every 5mins and show as blue diamonds.  Older Gen2 units record every 10mins and show as small white diamonds.

Scott, please chime in with a more detailed explanation of what determines when a pause or restart symbol is generated.  I'm guessing that it's when spot doesn't move (relatively, perhaps moving in feet, not miles) for 2 or more consecutive points, or something similar.

Anyone please chime in with more knowledge or correct me if I'm wrong.

[Angler]

Message from Marshall:

Tell my wife Sharon love ya lots!!!!

To Scott Happy Birthday!!!!!

[sbird]

Thanks!! It is great seeing his picture and knowing he is okay.

[danwiz]

i may have missed this in an earlier post. but who is the woman with the dog and trailer?  any updates on those two?  is this the first time a cute pup has been a part of this?

all of you doing this are amazing individuals....Godspeed to all of you!!!!!

[megand]

i may have missed this in an earlier post. but who is the woman with the dog and trailer?  any updates on those two?  is this the first time a cute pup has been a part of this?

I think she might have been just along for the ride/touring, and not racing/no spot tracker. At least - by a process of elimination she didn't seem to be one of the females I didn't recognise from the list!

[kiwidave]

The front two are starting to hit Helena and heading for food and resupply it seems. Fast turnaround at the bike shop for Neil. What's the best TD hot food and resupply options in Helena? The bigger towns seem to be a time suck with so many choices.

[Krampus Snail]

The second two are in Helena now; the first two have gotten through.

[Hurtin Albertan]

i may have missed this in an earlier post. but who is the woman with the dog and trailer?  any updates on those two?  is this the first time a cute pup has been a part of this?

all of you doing this are amazing individuals....Godspeed to all of you!!!!!

CrazyLarry and I ran into this couple with their little dog ('Eva') late Friday afternoon (Day 1). We thought they were pretty much the Lanterne Rouge, but there was at least one guy behind them.
Can't recall their names at the moment.
Took a few photos of them, had to resize to post here.  

.../JP

[unitdrop_forge]

Imagine if Spot trackers could relay difference between your location and the record "ghost" as is shown on trackleaders.  

I'm sure everyone has the averages in their heads, but still!  I guess I'm just so enthralled by the first 7 pink dots and the EH flag...totally different situation than the Jay / Neil  and Alex / Seb pairs tearing each other's quads off at the front of the pack.

[richpips]

Imagine if Spot trackers could relay difference between your location and the record "ghost" as is shown on trackleaders. 

You could easily have a set of waypoints on your garmin with record times to check against. 

[Angler]

Joe Fox, MO, Greg Galway, NZ, Martin Vit, Czech Rep and Evan Woolff ride-a-long from NZ arrived in Ovando.  Photos pending.

[superdavebruno]

Man this is a race this year!!  Like seven guys ahead of the record tracker, nearing Butte, really??  Wow, next level. Respect to all of you. Glued to the blue dots from Thun, Switzerland.

[unitdrop_forge]

You could easily have a set of waypoints on your garmin with record times to check against.  

 
Ooh, clever!  As a more neanderthal-like person, I would likely write them down, fail to pace myself and blow up, and then promptly lose the paper I wrote them on over the course of day 1

[danwiz]

CrazyLarry and I ran into this couple with their little dog ('Eva') late Friday afternoon (Day 1). We thought they were pretty much the Lanterne Rouge, but there was at least one guy behind them.
Can't recall their names at the moment.
Took a few photos of them, had to resize to post here. 

that is awesome...what a way to spend a few weeks touring on your bike with a very excited pup!!!!  thanks for posting that

[schillingsworth]

IIRC, The JayP ghost will stay in Lincoln for a while. I believe he dropped his SPOT, so I'd expect it to bounce ahead by a good margin at some point.