I'll try not to stop these white winters, and to be fair, since I've been here they've been better than the recent average :-)

Ha ha that was my plan for next weekend I think to check out the Mukluk at foxcomp! You don't happen to know how much it is going for there do you, as they have no info on the website other than 'come check it out'! Will probably buy through my good friend Eppu at Tikkurilan Ajomies if I go for one...

I think the map problem has been in my head as much as anything. In the UK we have obvious trails (bridleways) that you are allowed to ride, well marked on maps and often signed on the ground. They also tend to be obvious connecting routes from village to village over hills or similar, allowing longish routes to be easily planned. Smaller trails you're legally unable to ride (footpaths). Here there are so many small trails on maps and unmarked, but none really between places (around Helsinki anyway) other than gravel paths for leisure cycling/commuting/sking and running. Makes it more difficult for me conceptually to plan a decent route. I guess I just need to go out and get a little lost!

Just looked at the fetch app, looks a little complicated for me, though I'll give it a try.

Thanks as always for your thoughts and advice.

Congrats to Kevin!

Yep, looked like a 20 mile detour for John Ross, with the wrong turning coming just before he was about to make contact with the first of the 5 riders immediately in front of him. As you said DaveH, he was making good progress up the field for a flatlander pretty much throughout the race. Shame, but at least he did correct the mistake and has made it on to Silverton, and though a couple of racers have caught up to him, I expect him to not lose any places even if he's unable to catch up to the same people in front again...

Sending good route finding vibes for the rest of the race John!

Oh dear, John Ross has headed off track just after Cataract lake. I wonder if the altitude is causing problems as he's just gone over the highest peak of the race and was on the highest extended section. Anyone know if there is anywhere to bail out to along Pole Creek, which is where he's heading down. He could be just losing height the easiest way possible I guess, or just have made a wrong turn. Hope he's OK and can get back on track!

Another fab video and write up. Am seriously considering a Mukluk (which will probably guarentee a snowless winter!) an hope to do some of the 'track less followed' type riding this autumn. Out of interest, what scale maps do you use to find tracks? How good are they at identifying routes? Totally unfamiliar with the Finnish map quality (I've been here 3 years and only bought large scale so far)...

Scott or anyone, any idea why Cat Morrison is showing up as 1st place when you click her 'full history' link on tracklogs? So is KT, did she start at a different time?

Excellent, John Ross' progress up the field continues smoothly, currently asleep in 10th place with a decent gap to 11th, Cat Morrison just repassed him. Must feel good to be passing so many riders all the time, though I wonder if at any point he'll regret not starting faster/with less sleep. Will he keep up the 8 hours a night sleep routine to the end, or start racking up the sleep deprivation any time soon?

Oh yeah, it looks like he's smoothly moving up through the pack now. He's been taking 8-9 hour breaks but has still moved from the 40s, 30s, 20s into the high 10s in terms of position. He injured himself a few weeks before the event, so is probably keeping it easy the first few days to see how his legs will respond... Hopefully there is enough in the tank for a few shorter breaks as he gets closer to the finish.

Go Shaggy Go!

Re Stefans pics, pic 3 centre is John Ross from the UK. 4th place finisher in Iditabike 2009, another event us Brits can't easily train for (altitude in the case of CTR, desert and high temps for the AZT300/700 attempts I made)! Usually SS but gears for this race as far as I can tell.

Re Bretts pics, John is in pics 53 (no footer river crossing), 54, 55.

Jealous!

IanC

According to the flow chart, Jefe just passed Kurt while he was still stopped for the night!

Except there's been no point from Kurt for an hour and a half, has he gone stealth? The last point from Kurt there was 20 mins and <2 miles between them (Jefe <2 miles behind kurts overnight stop, but potentially Kurt had packed up and set off 20 mins previously with the Spot off).

Also, is it just me, or are there quite a few Spots failing this year? I guess not all of them are operator error...

Ha ha should have known Mathew (and others in the USA?) would be glued to their screens even at 4am to see how the grand finale happens... Full rolling 24hr coverage from TD fans from NZ, Europe, USA etc!

As of 11am GMT (UK time) Jefe had caught up to within less than 2 miles of Kurt, who'd been sleeping/stopped for over 6 hours. Waiting for Jefe to catch him to ride in together to the finish? Succumbing to the heat of the desert? Less rested than Jefe who had a hotel stop and shower ready for his final push to the finish? Camped in the middle of the trail so Jefe has to ride past, hoping to play on his heartstrings so he wakes him up, then Kurt uses his gears in a sprint finish to the line? :-) Exciting stuff!

Eric - regarding the Cordillera, does the same donation to the ACA and LB college fund apply if you buy the electronic download through LuLu as ordering the paper version?

Hey thanks for the reply Sean, I appreciate the time setting something like this up on top of work and entering other events, good on you for creating something new! Good luck, I look forwards to seeing the pics and maybe making an attempt next year (July is good, huh? My brother is getting married near LA around then, hmm I sense a plan...!)

Thanks for the info, I think that's a bit risky considering I'd be planning the trip from Europe months in advance, I think I'll stick to AZ and the AZT300 or Coconino 250 routes... Good luck to anyone making a go of this later in the year!

he he cold for me now I'm living in Finland is -5F or lower... I probably overpacked for AZT750 last year, but given it was snowing when I left Flagstaff the day before the start, and at the Mexico border, I tend to pack heavier rather than lighter. Think I could have coped fairly comfortably down to 10F. 80 is probably hitting my 'too hot' limits at the moment! Ok will look at logistics and the Coconino route and make a decision at some point, thanks again for you help and info Tim!

Thanks Tim, just something we don't really have to worry about very much over here! Yeah from what I read, the Gila Monsters really aren't too bad so long as you're not old or ill and can get help reasonably quickly. Thinking about it, both of those and one rattler were v dozy early in the morning, and the two rattlers together were late in the pm. Hmm the Coconino is another good shout, is that going to be too cold in mid Nov, it might be logistically easier than the AZT300?

AZTripper - how 'bad' is the snake situation in mid Nov compared to AZT300 time and/or the end of May? I saw 3 rattlers during my AZT550ish, all on the 300 route, 2 together and happy to slink off as soon as they saw me, 1 in the middle of the trail rattling like mad... Do they make sleeping out in the open at night in any real way dangerous? Or bushwhacking at night any more risky? I didn't even relaise the Gila monsters I saw were potentially poisonous until after I'd googled what the heck they were, the UK is such a safe country wildlife ways these days! (One venomous snake that is fairly rare and hasn't killed in years, and practically nothing large enough and wild that would even think of attacking a human...).

Hey Sean - is Late Oct/Early Nov going to be too late in the year (in terms of snow, I guess) for the route to work? Am currently deciding between an ITT of this, the AZT300 route (which would be logistically more difficult) or something else while I'm over in the US for work and to see relations... Any news on the full tracks etc?

Thanks!

Nice writeup Eric! I had many of the same problems last year, I also couldn't find the water cache at Freeman road, and finished with the slowest ever time after tube and tire problems galore... I don't think I quite experienced the lows you mentioned, but my state of mind was heading there some of the time, and I was more scared/excited about gila monsters and rattlers than worried about them being evil incarnate :-)

And congrats on the podium finish!

Well done Max, many congrats!

Ian

As far as I know they allow a certain number of camp permits for the Corridor campsites per night, and a smaller number of 'backcountry' permits per night. The former you have to camp at the site you ask for. The latter let you camp according to the regulations of zones - zones closer to the corridor have specific campsites, but you can camp at any of them, zones further you can pitch anywhere including specific sites. Hence if you got one of the latter while on the AZT750 you could leave the route, camp in one of the other zones, and return to the route at the same point, but I think they are even harder to get than the corridor campsites so you'd be lucky to get one...