Tour Divide 2017 - race discussion thread

[PMalcolm]

There's one guy in Belgium sells Lauf forks... I don't think he's going to have a happy morning.

[BobM]

Can anyone confirm that Ben can catch a ride back to that turn just outside Wise River, then pedal on from there? He did go sideways off route-initially.

Yes, he can be returned to where he left the course and carry on.  Question will be how long to replace the fork.

[flyboy]

Yes, he can be returned to where he left the course and carry on.  Question will be how long to replace the fork.

I recall there was a pre race notice that there would be no mechanics at the Outdoorsman, not that it would be hard to swap a fork. I hope he can get back on the trail quickly.

Josh and Brian must be syncronised! They both started pedalling within 2 minutes of each other this morning.

[BobM]

I recall there was a pre race notice that there would be no mechanics at the Outdoorsman, not that it would be hard to swap a fork. I hope he can get back on the trail quickly.

The time it will take to GET a replacement fork may be the issue, although he may be willing to take whatever he can get in Butte at this point.

RULE POINT:  "In the event of a serious mechanical that renders a bike unrideable, a rider may hitchhike[3] by motor vehicle in ANY direction to repair the problem. The location of the incident must be well documented by SPOT tracking or other GPS logger. A rider may also receive assistance returning back to the exact location of the breakdown to begin forward progress."

So if anyone is near Butte and can give him a ride back to the point he left the route, that's legal.

[jjmundt]

Brian is on the Bannack Road and seems to be showing solid pace.  The rains may have stopped early enough yesterday to allow the surface to firm up.

[bikeny]

He just posted this photo to one of the facebook groups

Oh no! Just tuning back in this morning, that is such a bummer! As others have said, foremost I hope he is OK. As to what fork it is, Lauf only has 3 models. The Carbonara is their fatbike fork with 150mm hub spacing; From looking at the picture he is not on a 150mm front hub, so that model is out. The Grit is their road/gravel/cyclocross fork, only fits up to 700x42 tires and only has 30mm of travel. My guess is he is not using that for either. That leaves the Trail racer, which comes in a couple of different versions for 29" or 27.5 tires, and for 100mm or Boost 110mm hubs. My guess is he is using the 29" 100mm version. In any case, it sucks, BUT we don't know what happened at this point, or how many miles are on the fork, or if there was previous damage, or if he crashed hard, etc. I'm kind of hoping it broke in a crash and didn't just give out while riding...

As someone else mentioned, the hard part is going to be getting a new fork delivered. I'd assume it this point he would be willing to take anything that will fit, rigid, suspension, whatever. Swapping a fork out is an easy job, and my guess is most of these guys are competent bike mechanics. Hopefully nothing else broke in the process, brake lines or levers, etc...

[PMalcolm]

Says he's fine on his post this morning, no major injuries.

I think he was using the fork on the 250km gravel race I did with (read 2 hours behind) him back in April, we talked about the Divide a little then and he said he was using the bike he wanted to take. Not much you can ride off road in Flanders that will give it a pounding, however.

Another friend just bought one for his BMC cross bike that he used on Tuscany Trail and the rep had to jury-rig it with a  crown race adaptor from a Cannondale Lefty to make it sit right on the bearings, I recall thinking that sounded janky at the time. No idea if the Cube needed similar treatment or not.

[Russ Kipp]

Brian is on the Bannack Road and seems to be showing solid pace.  The rains may have stopped early enough yesterday to allow the surface to firm up.

Staying at High Country Lodge last night was part of Brian's strategy to give the Bannack bench more drying time.  Looks like it worked in his favor.

[jjmundt]

Staying at High Country Lodge last night was part of Brian's strategy to give the Bannack bench more drying time.  Looks like it worked in his favor.

Indeed it has!  Brian is now on the Medicine Lodge road and looks to be moving nicely there, too.

[Yann___k]

I can't believe how Jay is progressing. Amazing. From math perspective - if everybody Brian, Josh and Jay keeps current pace Jay will catch them.

[mtbcast]

#TourDivide17 Overnight and morning: Marty Johnson called in from Big Fork, Andrew Stauffer called in from Helena, Randy Neill called in from Whitefish!, And Tony Buchman called in from Big Fork!

http://mtbcast.com/site2/category/td17/

[Drewdontdothat]

I can't believe how Jay is progressing. Amazing. From math perspective - if everybody Brian, Josh and Jay keeps current pace Jay will catch them.

Pretty amazing following his dot while replaying the map from the start. I wonder if putting him behind so many is pushing him harder. A position he is probably not very comfortable in nor use to being in.

[pbarsom]

It's inspiring to see so many riders taking the bad conditions and twists of fate in stride.  Chapeau, folks!  A real display of patience and presence.  Of course, that's a bit of what we're asking for doing this thing, finding out how deep our well of acceptance goes.  Living in two modes at the same time, misery and ecstasy, and trying to keep one's attention on the latter as much as possible.  But I didn't have a drivetrain (or fork) rip off in the middle of nowhere (thanks Rohloff, anvil of a beast that you are) so I can only imagine that scenario.  Just a lot of amazing people in the world and it seems a lot of them show up in Banff in June.  I also think Crazy Larry infuses everyone with something that says "I got this."  Love that guy.  One of the least crazy people I know.  Proud to have any connection with all who have done or will do this thing. 

[Russ Kipp]

Josh Kato dropped into the Grasshopper Valley this morning.  He had a wet night near Basin two nights ago, got dried out in Butte yesterday and is ready to peel some mileage off today. 

[saskawhat]

Pretty amazing following his dot while replaying the map from the start. I wonder if putting him behind so many is pushing him harder. A position he is probably not very comfortable in nor use to being in.

I'd wondered too if it also eases the mental grind / loneliness to some extent, knowing that he's going to see at least a couple other riders basically every hour (and someone different each time too) he's out there.

[BobM]

Anyone know what Ben is up to? I hope he's not dropping, but he is heading towards Bozeman at 60mph right now.

[Iowagriz]

Anyone know what Ben is up to? I hope he's not dropping, but he is heading towards Bozeman at 60mph right now.

Likely to the next closest bike shop for a new fork.  Bozeman has multiple bike shops, only approx 70 miles away.  Missoula also has many shops, but closer to 110 miles away.

[Angler]

It appears I have reached my maximum capacity.  It will only print one more photo.  any more and I get a 404 Not Found.

Have not tried 10 times including with reboots of the site.

Sorry!

[eec]

It appears I have reached my maximum capacity.  It will only print one more photo.  any more and I get a 404 Not Found.

Have not tried 10 times including with reboots of the site.

Sorry!

will it work if you start a new thread?

[BobM]

According to the Spot Dot, Ben is at Summit Bike & Ski in Bozeman.  If he can get the bike repaired and get transported back to the route this afternoon he has a good chance to make up the miles and catch the leaders.  I'm definitely rooting for him!