TD'11 Race Discussion

[CathyP]

Aidan is my hero.  The mental clarity to stay in the game with the emotional and mileage setback he had with the broken frame, I can't even imagine.  Go Aidan! 

What she said!!

[Mrs.BigPoppa]

I'm glad Aidan is back in the race too.  I felt horrible after as well as he was doing that he suffered such a setback.  Also, what is the total mileage this year with the re-routes?

[Pelican Peloton]

I am practicing for a future TD by not taking a shower for the duration of this race.  Please pass the baby wipes.

[ridingman1]

Looks like David Horton spent the night in the Great Basin and is up early and on the move. He likes early starts. Maybe he will call in?

[woody]

Aidan already got his bike welded/fixed and is opting to ride back on 40 to rejoin at night. truely epic and still might finish ahead of mid-pack.

It's pretty amazing that Aidan was so close to a town where he can get his "Ti bike" welded/fixed. What are the chances?

Woody

[sluttyduck]

Getting ready to fly to Banff.

[SimonK]

This isn't necessarily true. John Nobile set his 2008 GDR record without crawling into a sleeping bag once. He spent a couple nights out, essentially, by riding his bike through the night or very late into the early-morning hours. But there was no camping. No one has yet ridden the border-to-border section of the GDMBR faster.

But yes, for most of us hotel stays become a big time suck. In this regard, all the time advantages already go to those willing to duke it out in the dirt and festering saddle sores for multiple weeks. There's no reason to legislate hotel stays in order to level the playing field. It's just a different race strategy, and arguing that it's the wrong one is simply a personal opinion.

+1
I'd say spending extra time lying down because you're in a hotel is a sign of weakness, but not staying in a hotel, as such.
Also racing in the 2008 GDR was Carl Hutchings (who came second). I split a hotel room with him a couple of times and he was always up and outta there before I got out of bed. Last I saw of him was Lima - he got up and left at 3am while I rolled over and got an extra sleep cycle.

As far as drugs go, I see no problem with legal prescription drugs taken as directed - popping the odd anti-inflammatory is a sensible way to stay healthy. But once you start dealing in stuff banned by the UCI or WADA, you're on a slippery slope (and an uneven playing field, which should be a concern for anyone getting their time put up alongside other riders).

Classy effort by Aidan!

Awesome to see only 2 miles between Kurt and Jefe. A close race is a good race!

[Georg66]

Getting ready to fly to Banff.

Go ahead ... we are following you. Good luck!

[SlowDave]

 Mat, the closures I am referring to are due to the drying conditions in the NF.  In MN the course goes through numerous jurisdictions but the weather doesn't give a damn about political lines.  With the heat and drying more closures can come on fast.  No district supervisor wants to be the guy who kept his turf open and then has a fire.  Futhermore, it is cheaper to manage a closed park so there is a subtle motivator to jump on the bandwagon.

[moosevt]

Getting ready to fly to Banff.

eyes on you my friend. Go to it!

[Mathewsen]

Mat, the closures I am referring to are due to the drying conditions in the NF.  In NM the course goes through numerous jurisdictions but the weather doesn't give a damn about political lines.  With the heat and drying more closures can come on fast.  No district supervisor wants to be the guy who kept his turf open and then has a fire.  Futhermore, it is cheaper to manage a closed park so there is a subtle motivator to jump on the bandwagon.

Yep, OK. Thanks SD. Thankfully the GDMBR is open for now. TD is fully dialed in with the boys at Beaverhead Work Ctr and the Black Range Mgmt office in T or C. Please keep us posted if you hear anything else in the news.

[mtbcast]

Jefe Branham called in from the Rocky Mountin Lodge. Paul Attalla called in from Lima. Wow! Martin Wimpenny called in from Rawlins. JP Evans called in from Rawlins with his best Martin impression.

You can get the audio here, via RSS,  or on iTunes!

[6thElement]

Just starting to look at my stats and photos.

1037 miles ridden, 62000ft of climbing and my favourite - max speed of 47.7mph as I overtook a big rig coming down Teton Pass. I chickened out and braked before beating my PB as the side wind was scary

[brunch]

One more thing I am having a very hard time selling this to my better half and will have resort to bribery.

My recommendation (and I have some credentials to back me up on this as my first TD started only 4 months after the birth of my daughter!) is that you have to show your spouse the way but don't force the issue. They must decide for themselves that this is a good thing.

The TD is a selfish obsession that will change the household dynamic for months and months so they need to really buy into it. As the saying goes.. you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink. OK, maybe that isn't exactly the best maxim but you probably get my point.

Check out this year's Cordillera. We have two great articles about the home-front during a TD race. In Clare Richert's piece we get the perspective from a wife with two kids who proudly watches her husband race and then in Grant Crosby's article we hear about a less harmonious TD  discussion that eventually works itself out to everyone's satisfaction but not until Steamboat Springs.

My advice is to buy a copy of the Cord and leave it on the bedside table. They'll eventually come around.

Here's the link:  https://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/the-cordillera/15659154

All proceeds benefit Dave Blumenthal's daughter which is something I normally stress but in your case maybe you shouldn't mention it!

Matthew Lee I think may have some additional wisdom. His wife must be supportive patience incarnate to put up with so many Divide runs!

Eric

[29singlespeed]

I can't wait to hear Aidan's story of getting to Steamboat, bike fixed then rallies by pedal power back on course and still in the top 1/2 of the contenders. Maybe even pictures of the frame fix job.

Jefe and Kurt bivy so close together but oh so far away last night.

[Erick L]

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

[vancouvergnome]

Thanks brunch.

The ironic thing is that my wife unknowingly created this monster when she gave me Paul Howard's Eat Sleep Ride for my birthday this year.  She thought it was just another book about bike touring but little did she know that she has become a modern day Dr. Dividestien “it’s alive”. As for The Cordillera, by chance, I ordered a copy last week. 

Safe Riding. Gnome

[mikepro]

The ironic thing is that my wife unknowingly created this monster ....

That's usually the way it works.

[29singlespeed]

That's usually the way it works.

Or you tell yourself for years "I never want to do that stupid sport" then one year it clicks and while sitting and hitting refresh all day long, you order all the packs to outfit your bike. Not confirming or denying thats what I just did, but Coco250 may have another person to give it a try. 24hr racing is so 2002.

[mikepro]

Safe Riding. Gnome

Gnome ... not sure you've come across this thread from earlier in the year, but you may find some nuggets in it regarding balance of family/spouse vs. solo-adventure-by-bike ... http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,1776.0.html