TD`13 Race Discussion

[elobeck]

Record or no record he will be a TD legend for a long time to come.

TD "HALL" of fame

I was already impressed with his round the world effort, but his TD effort is my kind of context. Rock star.
The question I have: He mentioned he had "unfinished business with the route" prior to this years race.
Will this effort squelch that fire, or will he be back.....

[richNYC]

Record or no record he will be a TD legend for a long time to come.

Yep, that's so true!!!

It looks like he'll be back on the main route in about an hour when he hits Cuba... He is flying on the detour;)

[MikeI]

I expect the decision is Matthew's.  The detours do not affect the current year's race results, only comparison with historical results and course records.

Curious...  Is there a summary of the major detours and closures for the last few years ?   Just thinking that between some snow detours that I remember reading about, and lots of fires in NM over the years, do we have more than one or two years where the whole route could be done ?    ( Other than the year they made the movie ? )
 

[JayP]

yet, another classic year...

honestly, i have not spent a bunch of time in the details of the race but have been lurking the forum here fairly loosely and scanning posts. i have also been keeping an eye on the front dots once twice a day.

both craig and mike showed us some seriously strong riding with some good independent style.

there is a side of me that cares for the record very little then there is the side of me that hopes it gets broken so i have another excuse to do what i truly love doing, challenging myself and riding the route faster.

i truly felt depressed when i seen Mikes dot on the detour today. he was riding a much deserved record ride and i salute him as top tour rider!

all this talk about start dates, being eligible for classification, blah blah...maybe its time to start a date that is for people that want to race and push each other. how about getting all previous winners, contenders, fast dewds and dewdettes, line up, and go at each other? Mr. Lee you coming out of retirement? now that sounds like a good time regardless of records or detours or not...

[mtbcast]

Episode 156 – Tour Divide 2013 Day 12! Bear scat everywhere, Mike Hall forced to re-route in New Mexico, and we true up today’s calls!
http://mtbcast.com/site2/category/podcasts/

[Jilleo]

Curious...  Is there a summary of the major detours and closures for the last few years ?   Just thinking that between some snow detours that I remember reading about, and lots of fires in NM over the years, do we have more than one or two years where the whole route could be done ?    ( Other than the year they made the movie ? )
  

All of the 2012 southbound finishers rode the full route. There were snow detours in 2011 and I believe a fire detour in 2010 (?) 2009 and 2008 finishers rode the full route. Riders contested the border-to-border route from 2004-2007.

If you want to be literal about it, though, no one has ridden the exact same route during any year of the Tour Divide. In 2008 they rode the Fernie route through Canada. In 2009, the Flathead segment was added. In 2010, fire detours. In 2011, snow detours. And in 2012, there were the two singletrack sections (Gold Dust Trail and CDT in NM) that had been added a few years earlier, which the 2009 crowd did not ride. And this year, it seems there will be fire detours again. So, in that regard, it's always been a little different.

[THE LONG RANGER]

Cripes, Mike Hall, you totally rule. I'm not sure if you make it look, "easy", but you sure make it look, "easier"!

Getting that fire reroute message in Platoro in 2011 after taking on all that snow up North was certainly a major hit to my ride, but by that time, I was already in a different state of mind. I remember passing right by the closed off turnoff back onto dirt near Cumbres - thinking: "What do I do?!" sneaking in wouldn't have been hard, but I truly respect the people who are fighting these fires. It's a dirty, dangerous job.

Allons-y, Mike!

[serge]

My new favourite racer has to be Hugh Harvey.
 it looks like he was riding with Walter brumniach when he had his accident, accompanied him to the hospital in Rawlins. he then rode backwards about 25 miles to the the scene of the accident to continue his ride.
It's gotta be tough losing your riding buddy at this point but it looks like he's determined to finish.
go Harvey go!

[annais]

My new favourite racer has to be Hugh Harvey.
 it looks like he was riding with Walter brumniach when he had his accident, accompanied him to the hospital in Rawlins. he then rode backwards about 25 miles to the the scene of the accident to continue his ride.
It's gotta be tough losing your riding buddy at this point but it looks like he's determined to finish.
go Harvey go!

Thank you, and I'll let him know he has a new fan/follower!

Kirsten at Brush Mountain is keeping an eye on his blue dot too and says if he comes through for breakfast she'll take a photo.

 

[Family Guy]

Thank you, and I'll let him know he has a new fan/follower!

..Make that fanS/followerS - I'm full of admiration of such true sportsmanship - you must be very proud. Hope the trail gods give Harvey a decent respite after all that

James has never done anything like this before so he (and we) had no idea how he'd get on. The 3/4/5 has me addicted to my refresh button - nailbiting stuff from three amazing rookies! (though anyone even attempting this race is pretty amazing). Whatever the outcome, hoping they're all having a great adventure.

[ChrisE]

I know James a bit.  I worked out a Transalp a while ago that I did which was pretty full-on from Geneva to Nice.  After a lot of chatting James said he would like to have the info I gleaned, maps etc and he went and did it although he camped it where we stayed at climbing huts.  All the chatter we had convinced me that he’s a really nice guy.  I set off on another one (Geneva to Como) in 10 days and have promised to tell him all I know.  I’d be honoured if he took the time to do it.  More recently he’s been really helpful to me with some information (a bit of a secret really) so I owe him one.  He’s a top guy,


C

[SimonK]

All of the 2012 southbound finishers rode the full route. There were snow detours in 2011 and I believe a fire detour in 2010 (?) 2009 and 2008 finishers rode the full route. Riders contested the border-to-border route from 2004-2007.

If you want to be literal about it, though, no one has ridden the exact same route during any year of the Tour Divide. In 2008 they rode the Fernie route through Canada. In 2009, the Flathead segment was added. In 2010, fire detours. In 2011, snow detours. And in 2012, there were the two singletrack sections (Gold Dust Trail and CDT in NM) that had been added a few years earlier, which the 2009 crowd did not ride. And this year, it seems there will be fire detours again. So, in that regard, it's always been a little different.

Riders contested the border-to-border route from 2004-2009. You covered the GDR on its event blog in 2008 Jill! (and I think a couple of guys did it the following year).

Massive respect to Mike Hall - his pace is phenomenal!

[Donald]

All of the 2012 southbound finishers rode the full route. There were snow detours in 2011 and I believe a fire detour in 2010 (?) 2009 and 2008 finishers rode the full route. Riders contested the border-to-border route from 2004-2007.

If you want to be literal about it, though, no one has ridden the exact same route during any year of the Tour Divide. In 2008 they rode the Fernie route through Canada. In 2009, the Flathead segment was added. In 2010, fire detours. In 2011, snow detours. And in 2012, there were the two singletrack sections (Gold Dust Trail and CDT in NM) that had been added a few years earlier, which the 2009 crowd did not ride. And this year, it seems there will be fire detours again. So, in that regard, it's always been a little different.

That is a very lucid piece of analysis which suggests that the idea of a record is very elusive, perhaps unobtainable.

I think there may be even more complexity in the picture. Although all the SoBo riders in the GD rode the full route in 2012, all the mountain passes as far as Seeley Lake were full of snow, requiring many miles of hiking. A snow-bound pass is something of a hidden detour, making time comparisons even more difficult.

[BobM]

All of the 2012 southbound finishers rode the full route. There were snow detours in 2011 and I believe a fire detour in 2010 (?) 2009 and 2008 finishers rode the full route. Riders contested the border-to-border route from 2004-2007.

If you want to be literal about it, though, no one has ridden the exact same route during any year of the Tour Divide. In 2008 they rode the Fernie route through Canada. In 2009, the Flathead segment was added. In 2010, fire detours. In 2011, snow detours. And in 2012, there were the two singletrack sections (Gold Dust Trail and CDT in NM) that had been added a few years earlier, which the 2009 crowd did not ride. And this year, it seems there will be fire detours again. So, in that regard, it's always been a little different.

Quite true!  If bad conditions (snow, mud, wind) are considered just part of the effort perhaps "good" breaks, like a paved re-route due to road closures, should be considered "luck of the draw" and the record should stand based on the route as it had to be ridden in a particular year.

[woody]

I looked at Mike Hall's Twitter and he posted this:

https://twitter.com/Normally_Human/status/349765836426317824/photo/1

Forest Service called where he was eating lunch to make sure no sneaking around the closure.

Woody

[jmh]

Looks like Mike is taking it slow this morning and hasn't moved for almost 9 hours.  Shame.

[ComoDepot]

All of the 2012 southbound finishers rode the full route. There were snow detours in 2011 and I believe a fire detour in 2010 (?) 2009 and 2008 finishers rode the full route. Riders contested the border-to-border route from 2004-2007.

If you want to be literal about it, though, no one has ridden the exact same route during any year of the Tour Divide. In 2008 they rode the Fernie route through Canada. In 2009, the Flathead segment was added. In 2010, fire detours. In 2011, snow detours. And in 2012, there were the two singletrack sections (Gold Dust Trail and CDT in NM) that had been added a few years earlier, which the 2009 crowd did not ride. And this year, it seems there will be fire detours again. So, in that regard, it's always been a little different.

I have had a few people come down the Gold Dust, it goes from the edge of Como to the top of Boreas Pass. This year the top couple of miles are on the route. The lower section is semi serious Singletrack so would be challenging for those hauling gear and very challenging for those heading north.

It does form part of the third loop of the Breck 100.

[honez1414]

So as usual, I can't get enough "Divide" entertainment during the summer.  I've read "two wheels on my wagon", "divide the great", "be brave, be strong", the Cordillera volumes, and several blogs.  Is  there anything else out there?

[Newfydog]

If you want to be literal about it, though, no one has ridden the exact same route during any year of the Tour Divide. In 2008 they rode the Fernie route through Canada. In 2009

I used to live in Fernie and was always embarassed that one of the worst segments went past my door.  The Flathead is a real improvement.

There is a wonderful alternative now to the section of interstate into Butte, and Mike McCoy may put it into the next revision.  The course record is a nice concept, but the route needs to evolve, and floods, fires, avalanches, logging, new trails will always be a factor.  We need to accept that, and not put standardization of the course above the route itself, which is a continuously evolving work of art.

[BobM]

So as usual, I can't get enough "Divide" entertainment during the summer.  I've read "two wheels on my wagon", "divide the great", "be brave, be strong", the Cordillera volumes, and several blogs.  Is  there anything else out there?

Twenty-nine Hills by Marty Basch