Oh, one question...why did Guy Sutton go so far off route at Lake Hodges?  It looks like he went into a country club 2 miles away when services were available 100yds off course.

Awesome race Brendon, thanks for putting it together.  Finally coming back to life, though still don't have any felling in my pinkies yet!

Todd, hope you recovered from the heat in Borrego.  Man it was hot out there. 

Keith, thanks for dragging me up Fish Creek Wash while I was fully bonked and dehydrated!  I'm really not sure I would have made it alone.  Our 1am stagecoach chat inspired my run for 60 hours, thanks for planting the seed.  Hope all went well with the family on Monday.

Sam, it was a pleasure to spend so much of the race with you.  Your route knowledge was encyclopedic and pace was amazingly steady.  I'll always remember ripping though San Diego at night together. That was a blast.  Your daughters should be super proud of you because you really crushed it out there! Hope we get to ride together again sooner than later.

Looking forward to next year already.

Erick

Update on Jill H...she suffered a major mechanical with her drivetrain.  She's backtracked to a bikeshop in Denver, but is having trouble finding a shop that has what she needs in stock.  I won't speak for her, but sounds like she's bailing on the "race" and will head back out for an ITT once it's all sorted out.

Send some good bike juju her way!

Bummed to be out of the race, but super stoked to get to watch the dots move along the trail this year! 

From my ride last year, I know all too well what these guys (& girl) are facing coming out of Oracle.  It's a tough stretch of trail, and I imagine any of them who haven't ridden it will underestimate the time it will take to complete the race from there.  Even with his record breaking run, Kurt's ride from Oracle to Picket Post still took 23 hours.  No matter what it looks like on paper, those are seriously tough miles.

For me though Oracle signaled the home stretch.  You smell the finish amid the arid desert air, and feel lifted knowing that monster of Mount Lemmon is in the past.  With 200 miles down, once you roll out of Oracle, it's pretty hard to justify bailing.  I'm confident, from all of the riders I met on the trail, most of which were more prepared to suffer and fight for the finish than I was last year, anybody who leaves Oracle will find a way to come rolling down the AZT to Picket Post.

Thinking of all the riders still out on course.

Erick Lord

Hey all,  blew apart my rear shifter at mile 74 last night, and have spent the last 40ish miles with only 2 gears.  I holed up in Sevilla for about 4 hours, to avoid the rain, but decided to throw in the towel and bail onto roads, so I'm officially out of the 2012 race.  Godspeed to those racers who continue on in the snow.  Looks like a great race and I can't wait to watch it from home.

Onward to 2013!
Erick Lord

I cannot tell you how disappointed I am that neither Bloodsucker Wash nor the jeep roads north of the Gila aren't in the race this year.  I experienced my lowest of lows on these parts of the course last year and am bummed that future racers will be able to run the course without experiencing what it's like to be giving it everything you've got in your granny gear riding DOWNHILL in Bloodsucker, or the torment faced, by pushing your bike to the top of a jeep road only to find that the half mile descent leads to an even higher jeep road hike.

I can't begin to count the number of times in the last 60 or so miles of the race last year I swore to myself I'd never set a wheel in AZ EVER again. Weird what a year of reflection will do to you.

See you all in Parker Canyon Lake   

Major props to Jill Hueckman for rolling into Durango in the middle of the night to become the 4th woman ever to finish the CTR!

I'm in awe of your tenacity and courage to fight it out.  I never had any doubt that you would find a way. Huge congrats!  Now get some sleep, the Crown will be waiting for you to get home.

Anybody know what's going on with Jill Hueckman?  Looks like Her Spot has been pinging in the same place for about 16 hours now.

I spoke with her when she was in Silverton and she complained of an ankle injury but was still projecting a sub 7 day finish.  She took off from there and looked good, I was surprised to see her stop when she did.

She flatted earlier in the race, and reported that her pump wasn't working properly so she had to wait for another racer to come along with air.  I imagine the same thing could have happened again, but this time with so many long layovers in Silverton she'll be waiting a long time.

After having to bail on the AZT 300, she is determined to finish the CTR come hell or high water, so I wouldn't be surprised even if she came down the trail into Durango having carried her bike the last 40 miles!

What do you suppose the minimum riding speed is (vs. walking)? 

Jill Hueckman's speed has dropped to .7mph for the last 2.5 hours.  She flatted earlier and reported that her pump was broken.  She had to wait for Forest Baker to catch her to get some air in the tire.  Hoping she hasn't flatted again, and is left pushing until another rider comes along.

Anybody heard from Max Nuttleman?  Wondering why he bailed, and if he talked with Jesse on the saddle where he has been camped out.

Gotta say I'm a little worried for Jesse.  Three 4+ hour stops in the last 24 hours, and parking on top of a ridgeline at 11,400' with storms in the area seems indicative of something beyond fatigue or minor mechanical.

I would like to know the spirit in which the "no forward progress" clause is intended. I think it is being misapplied.

In the Rule FAQs Admin, presumably Matthew Lee, states the following: "FWIW, the original intent of prohibiting forward (on-route) hitchhiking is A) to ensure a challenger rides the entire GDMBR (one cannot cheat, i.e. fudge a re-start when only hitchhiking backwards), B) to prevent the reconnaissance of the route ahead and C) to penalize a rider for getting in a car."

The following is from a write up about the Leadville 100 in 2009: " Matt Shriver, the Fort Lewis cycling team's coach, was enlisted by Lance Armstrong last weekend to help the 7-time Tour de France champion set a course record at the Leadville Trail 100."

While the TD may not be a time trial, it is an INDIVIDUAL  race.  In the future will we start seeing unofficial teams pacing riders to the front?       

Interesting question.  I was at that Leadville 100, and if my memory serves me correctly Lance did a 60 mile solo effort after dropping Matt & Dave.  Matt pushed the pace at the start to limit the size of the field, but then Lance took off.  Matt ended up finishing third.  How is that any different than Jefe pushing Kurt to ride harder and faster and pull all night efforts to take the lead.  Is it unfair that there was another strong rider that made Kurt ride harder and faster to win?

Every mountain bike race is an individual race, but that doesn't mean that a racer shouldn't try and tag on to a faster rider to help keep their pace higher.  Even in legitimate ITTs, riders will use the rider ahead of them as a carrot.  Does that make that effort not an "individual" effort because there is somebody else on the course that is making that rider go faster than they would if it was just them all alone on course? 

In the context of the TD, solo effort, is loosely defined, and the essence or spirit of the race is still being established.  Riding an individual race along side others doing the same seems to fit well within the defined context...more than say a tandem team right?

Anyway, back to the race....What are the chances Justin Simoni will be able ride back into the field, losing the Lantern Rouge designation?

Kurt, I think you nailed it.  It is simply more about setting fan expectations.

Whether Matt Lee knows it or not, he has developed a new Grand Tour.  With origins remarkably similar to the Tour de France, instead of having course stewards to ensure participant stay on course, we now have Spot tracking.  What really makes this Grand Tour, and other bikepacking races, a game changer is that it has made cycling a truly spectator friendly sport.  I have sat on the side of a mountain in Italy for 6 hours waiting for the Tour de France peleton to fly by in 30 seconds.  It's not fun.  But to be be able see real time updates of riders, post comments and even hear their voices by call in, that is amazing.  To try and create an environment where fan interaction is discouraged is doing a disservice to a sport that has been for years trying to find ways to create a wider fan base.  That said, just like in other grand tours, riders aren't going to stop on the side of the road to sing autographs and take pictures.  Aside from handing up a can of coke or a bottle of water, fans know not to interfere with the progress of the race, let alone jump on their bike and try to ride along.  This is a Grand Tour and the precedent has already been set.

Fans should have signs, cowbells, cheer loudly, or even jump up and down wearing a devil costume. Just don't be mad if racers go by without even acknowledging your are there.  After all it is a race.

And as long as I'm talking about expectations and such the comments about the Euro Train baffle me.  Saying this race is an ITT is a statement filled with irony.  By definition ITTs have staggered starts and race against a clock, by having a grand depart, mass start, this is a race to see who can finish first, not a race against the clock.  Yes it is a personal challenge, and a method of self discovery, however if people chose to ride together, share hotels and what not, why would it be against the nature or essence of the race?  I think the days of Thoreau-esq TD rides through the woods are long gone, this is an entirely different beast now.  

Where's Dejay Birtch headed now...?  Did he miss the turn on to 197 whilst frolicking with the elk?

Justin has found the route!  Go Justin!!!

Looks like PA missed a turn near Holland Lake. 

Joe, I'm not seeing the call in from Jefe on mtbcast.  Am I missing something?

Is Paul A off course?

The river crossing on the main route was flooded for all of the SOBO riders.  Not sure if it still is, but Paul is following the same impromptu detour they did.

I'm most certainly over analyzing this as it sounds the most likely scenario is that is batteries ran out, but for the sake of discussion...

Kurt rode later and (I think) started earlier.  In any case from my eye there is no chance that Jefe is in front of Kurt.  But I could be reading it wrong too...Jefe's last few points are flakey.

Jefe's last recorded point this morning was only 4-5 miles behind Kurts camp and was a full hour before Kurts first point this morning.  I tend to think that it is entirely possible that Jefe got the jump on Kurt, and the way he was tearing up the climbs in MT and CO makes me think that he could be trying to open up a gap before Cuba, as that seems to be his best chance for a win at this point.

Either way, if he's not doing it on purpose, and has been able to take the lead, his spot failure could actually work out to his advantage as it will put Kurt on the defensive to bridge an unknown gap.

No Spot update from Jefe in almost 5 hours.  Think this is strategic?  Maybe he's making his big break without big brother watching!

For a mechanical breakdown, as long as he returns from where he stopped, he's good.

It seems that quite a few people believe that as long as you return the the point you left the course you are good, but that simply isn't the case.

A rider may never make forward progress on course by motor vehicle, for mechanical issues or otherwise.  Erik Lobeck was relegated last year for this exact infraction.