I used an edge 810 for Tour divide this year and had the entire GPX route loaded as a single file... 20000+ points... it worked fine - I'm not aware that there is a points limitation on the edge like there is on the e-Trex.  Downside of course is the reliance on recharging every 15 hours or so or a dynamo hub with some sort of USB charger (I ran supernova with the plug II - it failed due to long descents blowing the capacitor but allegedly the plug III is much better).

However, it took a good 3+ minutes for the edge to load the track at the start of the day   Think for this one I'll be splitting it just to save the load times!

Nice thing about the edge was having 20+ days worth of data files to upload when i got back - did wonders for my Strava stats

How exactly is corporate involvement with a rider any different now to how its been in the past and (controversial point) so what if a rider has corporate sponsors?  Does anyone feel that Mike's (and JP's and Matt's and... ) effort is in any way diminished because there is some corporate involvement with the rider?

I consider myself pretty lucky - I have a good job and supportive home life that means that I can afford the time to train for race like Tour Divide... I can also afford to pick and choose and buy the gear I want - I get some support from by local bike shop through reduced prices etc but probably not a lot more than any other valued customer.  Others are not so lucky - to follow the sport they're talented enough to have sponsors around to help with the cost and time.  So why shouldn't the sponsor be able to capitalise on the investment?

Sure, we all know that Mike could have probably won on a Huffy... so what's the harm in Pivot getting out and saying 'hey look, a guy riding our bike did this amazing thing'?

Corporate involvement in athletes is not evil... the guys competing in events like TDR at the top level are amazing athletes and by the way have amazing stories to tell... surely this is the sort of role model we want out there for our kids rather than the roadie scene or heaven forbid other sorts of professional sport?

I'm not sure how this is pushing the average endurance rider out?  Sure its pretty intimidating to think someone can cover the distance in sub 15 days but really... if that puts you off then perhaps the even isn't for you in first place?  I heard tales of what it was like to be at the front (say top 10) of the race and it was a different experience to mine... which I'm sure is different again to those that are still out there... that doesn't make any of it less valid or 'better' just different.

If the race aspect puts you off... show up on a different weekend to the GD and just through-ride - no-one puts a gun to anyone's head and says you must be there on the 2nd Friday in June or it doesn't count.  I suspect that most finishers would be finishers no-matter when they chose to ride.

Cut-offs and separating riders based on times are tricky points. The TDR feels like an open and loose event and I like that. I think the leader's pace will always be what the back-markers will be judged on but also one man's race pace is another man's tour, who are we to judge their efforts from a distance? A LOI that says you commit to giving this grand tour all the effort and dedication it deserves is enough imo. If people ride it in 28 days or more and they can look themselves in the eye and say they raced and gave it their all, that deserves our respect.
I guess the issue may be that people turn up under-prepared and giving it their best may still be under-performing compared to their potential, another year of preparation may be a benefit, but that's impossible to judge.

Keep it open and free of regulation, times and positions are the only rankings we need. I have no idea how the start list can be kept at a manageable number, for the front-runners it'll never be a concern but I see the problems in having too many riders starting out. Perhaps the boom has to be accepted as part of the event's success and appeal and another event will emerge before long as 'the new TDR' to relieve pressure. If there's demand, let's look for what else is out there rather than change and possibly devalue what the TDR is.

Well said - I had a long rant reaching the same conclusion but deleted it when I read this.

I worry about the GD and how unmanageable this seems to be getting but really, I don't have a better suggestion that won't mess with the character of what has been with one of the experiences of my life...

I'll take a stab at this. I just finished TD in 22 days (3rd place SS) on 32x18, which is also what Taylor Kruse (sp?) was running. That was perfect for me, as I think the stuff I walked would've had the same outcome regardless of gearing.

Don't know Aaran Pearson's ratio, and I want to say both Scotts (McConnell and Thigpen) and Rich O. were in the 34x21 range. Prentiss Campbell was running 34x18 contra the too tall 36x18 he ran (and finished with) last year.

Don't know mr. Money's #, but Chris Plesko's SS record was on 32x17, Jefe killed it in 2011 on 33x19, and Justin "Long Ranger" Simoni prefers 32x19, IIRC.

Not sure on Fixie Dave's rig or Drew M, who I believe just finished this TD on a fixed gear as well. I ride a track bike at home but can't even imagine doing this route fixed -- standing + coasting was the best part!

I was running a belt so the ratio is a little odd but close to 33:19 (ratio of 1.75).  From memory I think Scott was running 32:21...

That ratio for me was pretty good - a fair bit of walking in Montana but could get up (almost) everything in Colorado and most of New Mexico...

Tough parts were the sandy roads into a headwind and that stretch in Idaho along the rail trail... couldn't get on top of the gear.  There was some spinning at the end but the climbing in the hills made it worth the spinning on the flats.

Cheers

(ArranP)

Would have really loved the reroute detail to be on MTB cast... Cell coverage is patchy and cell data coverage is worse... Word of mouth is unreliable... Local business interpret (yeah... Apparently FR150 is opening by lunch according to one 'source' :/ )

Even local officials aren't a good guide (spoke to USFS fire guys near the start of the reroute and they thought FR150 had reopened... Of course this was not the case...)

At least a word on mtbcast (even something like 'there is a reroute, check email / trackleaders etc) means we should have the best chance of getting the info. )

You can fly from Phoenix directly to silver city as well...

The newer cycle specific units (800 / 500 and up) use a different file format - .fit files which are considerably smaller than gpx. As an example, 24hr race (recording hr, map and power every second) was about a 7mb gpx and an 1.3mb fit.

Strava just happily records for as long as you want - just notes it as all being on the start day 

Using an 810 for td this year..  Got a 500 and cue sheets as a backup...

Well, after many planes trains and automobiles this Aussie arrives at the Lodge... Looking forward to catching up with others.

Hey guys and gals with a dyno + light + Plug (etc): what are you using for a single pole double throw switch? I'm looking for something a little more elegant than just a plain toggle.

If you really wanna go the extra k, shoot specs 'n pics to rbabington@snl.com.

Thanks,
Ron

My Supernova setup just has a simple switch on the light to turn it on an off.  The Plug is wired in parallel to the light so when the light is off the plug gets power and charges your stuff.

It _will_ charge with the light on but you need to be up around the 30+km/hr mark and even then it is patchy as the supernova lights work of a capacitor so there is a constant on/off thing that happens... the plug and light are quite happy with this but the device you're charging may not be (fried my Edge 800 doing this... not happy Jan!)

Hey all, in the end we got 5 intrepid starters and a 100% failure rate... an Antarctic front swept through on day 3 and it pretty much makes the roads impassable!  (average temp on day 1 - 24'C, Day 3... 3'C with rain and 60km/h winds).  Shows that even a pretty simple route can catch you out!

Write up on the blog at http://www.wannaberacer.info - good thing from an organiser's perspective is that I have 5 entrants hungry for next year!

This weekend sees the inagural running of the Mawson Mega Marathon in South Australia - a 876km (545 or so miles) ride from the North of South Australia to the South Australian capital, Adelaide.

The route is fairly flat and fast but made challenging by the often 150km+ distances between services (including water) particularly in the more remote parts of the Australian outback.

So far there is a small group of 5 (possibly 6) in for the not-so Grand Depart on Friday 7am (AEST).

There is more detail on the blog at http://www.mawsonmegamarathon.blogspot.com and for those dedicated to chasing the blue dots it will be available at http://trackleaders.com/mawson13

Enjoy and hope to see some overseas visitors for the next one!

I have a plug II+ and its been great for charging but the think to remember is that it has some electronics to force it to only output to USB specs... If the device has a higher draw then it is unlikely to work (although lower draw is generally ok)

My experience is also that some devices are 'fussier' than others... IPhones for instance want USB spec and shut themselves off if they don't get it (both too high and too low). Garmins otoh need a min of 3.3v so will charge at voltages lower than USB spec.

Charging at lower voltage than spec can make some battery packs unhappy so the better ones usually have some mechanism to prevent this (works like iPhones).

I orininally had mine on a carbon crown fork.... Just left the steerer uncut and cut a slot to feed the cable in from the side...

I've been running a Supernova Infinity S for about a year now and its a great little unit - fairly lightweight as far as dynamos go.  Currently built into an ENVE XC rim and it is lovely 

Light-wise I'm using the E3 triple also.  Interestingly Supernova's recommendation was the smaller E3 light, the reasoning being that whilst the E3 triple has a higher output (lumens) it really needs more than 15km/h to get that.  Less than that it drops pretty quickly back to a single LED.  The smaller E3 (duo?) has less output but will put out more light at lower speeds.

The capacitor does keep the light going when walking but its pretty dim - about ok for seeing where you're going to step and thats about it...

Based on my experiences with it I have added a Exposure Diablo IV to my setup... both for walking and attempting anything technical where you don't have the prerequisite speed to make stuff works.

I also have the plug - this is a great piece of kit.  I had an iPhone and an Edge 800 on a 6 day race and only had one charging 'incident' (my fault not the system, charged iPhone rather than GPS... tactical error!) I might try using a small USB hub on the next ride although the iPhone is pretty power hungry.

The plug probably needs more than about 8km/h to charge the Garmin and 10+ to charge the iPhone... and won't charge anything while you're running the light

Yeah, I'll be on a rigid SS... I figure I'll miss some of the more challenging stuff in favour of doing some actual sightseeing!   Bit of re-integration into society before sitting on a plane for 20 hours to get home

Awesome, thanks for the tips/advice... Of course by then I may be do over it I trade the bike for a lift to the nearest Greyhound stop!

Surprisingly given the (a) amount of wilderness we have and (b) propensity for Aussies to sign up for stupid things the ultra (not really) racing thing has yet to take off in a big way... until now... Ok, shameless promotion.

I'm planning on riding the Mawson Trail (http://www.southaustraliantrails.com/top_trails.asp?mawson) - a 900km trail that winds its way from outback South Australia, through the Barossa and Claire valleys and eventually ends up in Adelaide with a view to hopefully establishing this as a more or less annual event.

The inaugural (not-so) grand depart is set for 19th April 2013 in Blinman (one pub town...).

If you want more info feel free to PM me or check out the event page at http://mawsonmegamarathon.blogspot.com.au/

Just planning for 2013... flying over from Sydney so getting to the start is the easy bit but what to do at the end?

Somehow (assuming that the bike gods have been favorable) hitching / catching some random bus doesn't seem like the way to end it and the chances of my wife making a trip to AW for a pickup with two small boys under 4 are pretty remote...

So I was thinking of just riding on to a major airport - Tuscon looks to be the closest spot (can get connections from there to anywhere...) and have been looking at routes etc... but stumbled across the AZT and that looks to be an interesting option... does anyone have any suggestions on getting from AW to the trailhead on the border and then the general trail to Tuscon?

The maps and stuff are fairly gettable its more the resupply options etc... thinking I'll slow it down some and enjoy some scenery (so 60 miles / day )

Thoughts / experiences etc all welcome.

Thanks.  Arran P

I've managed to get a room at the Y (thanks all for the tip about calling / e-mailing rather than relying on the booking form) and checked out the air port shuttle but was wondering about the feasibility of riding Calgary - Banff (maybe via Canmore)?

Anyone localish with an idea of what that might be like?  Yes riding to the start of the race doesn't sound that smart but I'm planning on getting there about 5 days before the grand depart anyway so may as well work the kinks out of a long flight (Sydney - Vancouver - Calgary... about 17 hours or so) with a ride...

Warning... counter eTrex opinion.

I used an Edge 800 at the NZ Southern Brevet earlier this year - 6 days and only one night in a motel.  I love the Edge - the memory capacity is to all intents and purposes unlimited and the FIT file format means you'll be able to keep logs of an entire TDR worth of data for downloading when you get back (self confessed data weenie speaking...).

Downside is that pesky battery life - the claim is 15 hours but when you have it displaying a real time map then somewhere around 12 is more realistic... less if you have any backlighting on.

My solution was to run a dynamo hub (I use a http://supernova-lights.com/en/products/infinity_s.html) with a USB charger in the headset (details at http://www.wannaberacer.info/2012/07/do-you-have-power.html sorry for the lack of pics)- using this I kept an iPhone 4 and Edge 800 happy for the ride (ok... except for one long day where I stupidly kept the iphone on charge rather than the GPS and then had a long night ride.  Idiot).

The dynamo requires that you go over about 14km/h to charge / run your lights and you can't run lights and charge at the same time (duh).  I now have an exposure Diablo as a helmet backup light as well which also USB charges.

The dynamo costs you about 5W at 30 km/h.

Planning to go SS next year (2013) as well - haven't decided on ratio as yet... probably 32:18 on the 29er.  Like most its not so much the climbing that I'm worried about but the flatter bits (well... more or less the combination I suppose).  Although once you accept that in a SS you are mostly going to be in the 'wrong' gear then somehow it seems less of a chore