 Topic Name: Tour Divide 2009
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Reply #140 on: June 24, 2009, 11:30:48 PM
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hungry gnome
Posts: 29
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« Reply #140 on: June 24, 2009, 11:30:48 PM » |
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Who knows...Kurt's spot could have also stopped working. Maybe he decided to wait for Chris?  |
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Topic Name: Tour Divide 2009
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Reply #141 on: June 25, 2009, 04:38:11 AM
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Marko
Location: Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Posts: 6
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« Reply #141 on: June 25, 2009, 04:38:11 AM » |
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Chris Plesko, riding as light as anyone in the race (he’s carrying only the bedroll on his handlebars, a seat bag, frame bags, a few mystery items in his three jersey pockets, and whatever he’s stowing in his cheeks), also maintained a record-pace on his, uh, rigid singlespeed. It’s not clear how this is possible. It also appears that he is carrying his camera inside his stomach, which might help explain why he and Matthew are the only two racers not wearing backpacks.
I passed Chris and Kurt while they were on their way into Steamboat yesterday morning. I couldn't stop to chat because I was in a green government rig but I gave them a honk on my way by and got big smiles and waves from both of 'em. Chris was definitely wearing a backpack, and it was even bigger than the one he used for the CTR. Jess caught up with the Petervary's in Steamboat while Tracy was getting burritos for everybody at the Creekside Cafe. She got pictures but I haven't had time to see if any are worth posting. |
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Topic Name: Tour Divide 2009
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Reply #142 on: June 25, 2009, 12:30:54 PM
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DaveH
Moderator
Posts: 975
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« Reply #142 on: June 25, 2009, 12:30:54 PM » |
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Wow. Plesko actually left Salida. It was starting to look questionable! Marni - is he more or less rested now? Ha, nevermind  Put those recharged energy stores to use and go chase some rabbits Chris!!! |
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Topic Name: Tour Divide 2009
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Reply #143 on: June 25, 2009, 01:20:38 PM
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MrsPivvay
Posts: 45
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« Reply #143 on: June 25, 2009, 01:20:38 PM » |
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Chris does have a super lightweight sil-nylon (I think) bag that can stuff down into nothing -- that way when he needs to carry extra water or extra food, he can... otherwise he prefers to keep the weight off his back. Yep, he left Salida a bit late. He had to wait for the bike shop to open at 9:00 am to get his drop boxes and essentially a new drive-train, tires, etc. He was at the bike shop for nearly an hour getting it all put together, then had to run the extras/olds to the post-office before leaving town. So... he is quite well rested and ready to hammer out the rest of this course. He knew people would be ragging on him for taking some good stops, but he knows that if he lets himself run low, he'll be going awfully slowly which makes it miserable on the single speed -- if he took a night or two to actually get some real rest, he could really put together some good efforts (i.e. the 170 mile day yesterday that only took him a little over 12 hours of ride time). He's feeling good, motivated, and now has a chain ring that's not folding over onto itself Don't quite count him out yet  |
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Topic Name: Tour Divide 2009
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Reply #144 on: June 25, 2009, 09:29:42 PM
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riverfever
Location: Woodland Park, Colorado
Posts: 257
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« Reply #144 on: June 25, 2009, 09:29:42 PM » |
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I'm on the edge of my bean bag over here!!
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Topic Name: Tour Divide 2009
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Reply #145 on: June 26, 2009, 08:50:03 AM
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Marko
Location: Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Posts: 6
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« Reply #145 on: June 26, 2009, 08:50:03 AM » |
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Jess got this shot of the gang outside of OP in Steamboat.  It is overcast and cool up here this morning. It should be perfect weather for Jill to make her way down to Steamboat. |
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Topic Name: Tour Divide 2009
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Reply #146 on: June 26, 2009, 05:29:26 PM
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richNYC
Posts: 41
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« Reply #146 on: June 26, 2009, 05:29:26 PM » |
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Do you guys know anything about Pete Basinger being on the Tour Divide??? Where to follow his progress??? Just read it here: http://outside-blog.away.com/blog/2009/06/tour-divide-race-day-15-radio-free-divide.html |
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“Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: “WOW!!! What a ride!” -- Dean Karnazes
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Topic Name: Tour Divide 2009
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Reply #147 on: June 26, 2009, 05:39:08 PM
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Topic Name: Tour Divide 2009
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Reply #148 on: June 26, 2009, 07:04:11 PM
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riverfever
Location: Woodland Park, Colorado
Posts: 257
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« Reply #148 on: June 26, 2009, 07:04:11 PM » |
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Excellent!! TD porn!!! Thank you Marni!!
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Topic Name: Tour Divide 2009
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Reply #149 on: June 26, 2009, 08:51:05 PM
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walkre73
7/4/08 Tour Divide sunrise outside Salida , Colora
Location: Ketchum,Idaho
Posts: 17
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« Reply #149 on: June 26, 2009, 08:51:05 PM » |
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Thank you for these wonderful pictures brought to us at such an expensively green and carbonfree media . Bravo !
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Only those that attempt the absurd may achieve the impossible !
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Topic Name: Tour Divide 2009
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Reply #150 on: June 27, 2009, 07:16:52 AM
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rocky rode
Posts: 98
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« Reply #150 on: June 27, 2009, 07:16:52 AM » |
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I finally have time to add some photos and comments. It's been quite busy here in Del Norte. First I'll cover Matthew. As always, he's cool and calm, but this year I felt more of a sense of urgency from him. He knows Kurt is riding well and needs to keep moving. He was only here a couple of hours, long enough to eat and shower. He didn't do laundry or relax at all.
Notice there is no map/cue sheet on his bars, he doesn't even carry one anymore. Only Henry Branch to guide him.
The chain he shipped to Steamboat got returned for some reason. He chose to wait until Salida to change it but Scoty told him it was too far gone to change unless he did at least a cassette too. Matthew was unwilling to pay retail for an XTR cassette so he's riding the same drive train all the way. I put my chain checker on his chain, out of curiousity, and it is WAY stretched. I hope it will live to the border. He always runs the same Nanoraptors for the entire route.
You've all probably heard of the weather issues so I won't comment on that.
Gary
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« Last Edit: June 27, 2009, 05:46:02 PM by rocky rode »
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Topic Name: Tour Divide 2009
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Reply #151 on: June 27, 2009, 07:26:25 AM
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rocky rode
Posts: 98
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« Reply #151 on: June 27, 2009, 07:26:25 AM » |
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This is the first time I've met Kurt. He is really mellow, relaxed and confident with no ego issues. I like him!
He seems to feel really well, considering. He has a little ankle issue but seems to be holding up amazingly well. He spent the night here and I rode out with him for 45 minutes, or so, before I had to turn back to get to work.
His bike is good to go and it appears he is too.
As I was coming back into town I met JP and TP leaving. I was short on time so only rode with them for a couple of minutes. They weren't aware we are a stop on the route so hadn't called us. I'm sorry we didn't have a chance to spend more time with them.
Gary
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Topic Name: Tour Divide 2009
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Reply #152 on: June 27, 2009, 07:34:55 AM
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rocky rode
Posts: 98
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« Reply #152 on: June 27, 2009, 07:34:55 AM » |
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Patti was out for a ride and I was working so Chris had the house to himself. I came over and showed him where to find the shower, food, etc. We only spent about 10 minutes chatting. The guy is amazing!
He is a bit tired (who isn't) but looks good too. He's going after the SS record for both TD and GDR and because of the cell phone rule for GDR he was unable to call Marni from here as we only use cell phones and don't have a land line. This is a rule that really needs to be changed, assuming GDR survives.
He does have a backpack. It's a very simple cuben fiber (lighter than silnylon) stuffsack that has shoulder straps and a sternum strap. I think it's a really great idea, he only wears it when he needs the extra room it offers, otherwise he can stuff it into one of his bike bags.
No photos, sorry.
Gary
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Topic Name: Tour Divide 2009
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Reply #153 on: June 27, 2009, 08:48:02 PM
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riverfever
Location: Woodland Park, Colorado
Posts: 257
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« Reply #153 on: June 27, 2009, 08:48:02 PM » |
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I hope Matt is ok. He's been off course for almost 6 hours now and he's heading west on 197. Not good.
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Topic Name: Tour Divide 2009
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Reply #154 on: June 27, 2009, 09:03:38 PM
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700see.
done.
Posts: 30
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« Reply #154 on: June 27, 2009, 09:03:38 PM » |
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I hope Matt is ok. He's been off course for almost 6 hours now and he's heading west on 197. Not good. He's on a legal alternate...the red line only shows one option. |
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Topic Name: Tour Divide 2009
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Reply #155 on: June 27, 2009, 09:10:39 PM
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riverfever
Location: Woodland Park, Colorado
Posts: 257
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« Reply #155 on: June 27, 2009, 09:10:39 PM » |
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Gotcha. Thank you.
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Topic Name: Tour Divide 2009
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Reply #156 on: June 27, 2009, 09:11:47 PM
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ScottM
bikepacking.net admin
Location: Wherever the GeoPro is parked.
Posts: 2863
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« Reply #156 on: June 27, 2009, 09:11:47 PM » |
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He's on a legal alternate...the red line only shows one option.
Yup. The red line shows the main GDMBR route, but most (all?) racers will end up taking the paved alternate to Grants, followed by the paved alternate around El Malpais, both of which are allowed by traditional 'divide' rules. Expect to see Matt and everyone else 'off course' for quite a while now. |
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Topic Name: Tour Divide 2009
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Reply #157 on: June 28, 2009, 03:31:06 PM
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JeffOYB
bikes, boats, skis... outdoor lore & more!
Location: Williamston, MI
Posts: 92
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« Reply #157 on: June 28, 2009, 03:31:06 PM » |
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Hey, thanks, Gary, for the heads-up (on the ULB email list) about this Forum source for TD info! At first I thought this was a backpacking forum. Darn, I'm behind the curve! Bikepacking...the next big thing! : ) I hadn't found much TD info elsewhere online. This seems the best place. Better than the TD.org site itself, even. The homepage is great, of course, for "live" type news---the SPOT info and podcasts---but obviously there's much more lowdown to share and learn about. Anyway, here's the story of my own contact with the TD... I've also posted a short report and a couple pics and will put up a bit of video at my http://OutYourBackDoor.com website. I've followed and helped promote the GDR and now the TD, but I hadn't met anyone involved. This year I was distracted by a big family road trip we were doing and hadn't been following the race. As we rolled into CO last week I suddenly recalled that the TD action might be going down and checked my laptop at a wifi hotspot and sure enough thanks to the SPOT info it looked like we might bump into Matthew in Salida. And we did! That was great fun. He looked good. He was also clearly in The Zone. I've now started following the podcasts (for the first time...never podded before) -- good fun! Tracey sounds fresh --- seems like a good portent for tandems. I'm rootin' for everyone! --JP |
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Topic Name: Tour Divide 2009
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Reply #158 on: June 28, 2009, 04:24:38 PM
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wookieone
Location: Gunnison, Colorado
Posts: 310
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« Reply #158 on: June 28, 2009, 04:24:38 PM » |
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Just want to say how excited I am watching this, nice work out there folks. Really truly makes one want to get out there and do some riding, so awesome and inspiring to see humans doing incredible things, never ceases to capture heart and mind. Keep on rocking everyone!!! Jefe
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Topic Name: Tour Divide 2009
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Reply #159 on: June 28, 2009, 05:35:33 PM
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JeffOYB
bikes, boats, skis... outdoor lore & more!
Location: Williamston, MI
Posts: 92
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« Reply #159 on: June 28, 2009, 05:35:33 PM » |
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PS: Those Picasa pics look neat. I've been scanning thru them. If anyone has any links to fave pics from this batch can they call em out for us/me? The original mentioner of this link said there were some "candid" and "ridiculous" pics which sound right up my alley! Thanks! JP
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