Tour Divide 2010

[BobM]

Gee, maybe now that Matthew has his bike fixed he'll be able to race 

[Maelgwn]

Gee, maybe now that Matthew has his bike fixed he'll be able to race 

Ah, yes from his podcast!

I had a little chuckle too ... he was worried the competition were going to catch him (but hadn't). I really hope they do ... makes for some racing :-)

Maybe Erik can start racing now that he has his bike fixed too.

[SimonK]

I've gotta say, I'm impressed with this guy Blaine. A few days ago there were a couple of big passes between him and Matt - now it's just Boreas Pass (which, while high, is relatively easy).  He seems pretty damn steady. And no mention of major mechanicals - wonder what sort of rig he's riding?

Fingers-crossed that wind change comes through as predicted.

[dmt]

Caught up with Matthew on his way up Boreas pass, he stopped and chatted for a bit which was very cool. Hopefully he and the other racer's don't get into too much wind through south park. I'll try to get photos of the other racer's coming through.

[Porkchop]

Simon - this was posted on the Tour Divide Blog...

The Riders & Their Bikes... (due to popular request)
Submitted by Jeff Potter on June 15, 2010 - 11:03am
OK, here's a table of the riders and their bikes (as self-reported). Compare, contrast and be edified!

***

Aillaud, Brian              Specialized Hardtail 26"

Arnold, Mathew          Gary Fisher 29er hard-tail

Baker, Forest              Salsa Mamasita - 29er, hardtail

Billman, Jon               Siren John Henry 29er (SS)

Bird, Marshal             Carver Ti, 29er

Blumenthal, Dave       Niner Air9 (hardtail 29er)

Borstmayer, Robin       Niner AIR 9 - fully rigid

Bruntjen, Eric             HT 29er

Butler, Cricket            2010 Gary Fisher Superfly 29'er

Christiansen, Reid      Gary fisher Cobia 29er

Crosby, Grant             Gary Fisher, hardtail, 29er

Dawe, Heather            Ira Ryan 29r rigid SS ratio 32:18

Dean Kevin                 Niner Air 9 Hardtail with a Rock Shox Reba xx

Domecq, Christina       Giant 29er

Faeth, Pete                  Fisher Rig, SS (generally 32/17ish)

Fogg, Phillip               Niner SIR 9, Geared

Foster, Brett               DeSalvo custom Ti converted to 3X6

Foster, John               hardtail titanium, front suspension, 29er

Gibney, Michael         Moots 29er

Gilbert, Devian           Hunter 29er, rigid

Harding, Aidan           Singular Swift 29er, 32:18 (SS)

Helms, Jim                 Homemade steel 29er HT

Huddle, Sephen          Gary Fisher Ziggurat Hardtail, 26, Rohloff

Huston, Tony              2007 Orbea Alma 29er Hardtail

Johnsrud, Jacob          Cutters Quarry Worker, Hardtail, Rigid Fork,

Kerby, Jeff                   Rigid, 29 In---Built by Chauncey Matthews

Lee, Matthew               Cannondale Flash 29er Hardtail

Lobeck, Erik                 Moots softtail 29er [updated]

Marcoe, Suzanne          Custom Steel DeSalvo 650b

Marr, Bob                       1989 fully rigid Giant Sedona 26r

Matthews, Chauncey        Geared 29er, Custom (of course), rigid fork

Moczynski, Bob          29er Gunnar(shoulda bought the Moots)

Moriarty, Tom            Salsa Mamasita (hardtail 29er)

Nelson, Eric               Vassago Bandersnatch, fully rigid geared 29er.

Nester, Blaine            Cannondale 29er hardtail

Nobile, John              Titus Racer-X (26") FS

Perry, Brad                Siren Song 29er

Peterson, Kent          Monocog Flight 29er Singlespeed 32/18 Rigid

Preston, Dave (? info a bit disorg)          GT Zaskar Hardtail 29er

Prochaska, Mike          2009 GT Zaskar 29er

Richert, Derek               29er Gary Fisher superfly

Santacroce, Thomas         Gary Fisher Paragon, Hardtail, Susp. Fork

Senie, Nicolas          Home mounted Commençal Bike 26" with home made luggage compression Bag.

Sheppard, Shawn          Sette Razzo Hardtail 29er

Temple, Simon               Giant 29er

Tremblay, David          Van Dessel Ramble Tamble 29er Rigid Internal Geared 36/20

Triplow, Grant             Giant XTC 29'er Hardtail

Tsai, Patrick                2005 Giant NRS C2 full suspension 26 inch wheels

[Kevin Montgomery]

I'm curious, to what degree do those who have ridden the TD coming from lower elevations notice the air? I just moved away from Boulder after 4 years and when there, I found I only really started to feel the elevation at 9K'+. A local brevet organizer advertised a ride that started outside of Boulder (~5400') and headed into Kansas as lowlander-friendly. Now that I'm hooked on the TD and have to start planning for it, I'm wondering whether I need to plan in several weeks at altitude first!

Elevation isn't really a problem starting the Tour Divide.  Every year I started, I came from sea level and only had a few days at the start to get acclimated.  That said, Banff is only at 4,800' and the Divide doesn't really get that high up for a while.

On the other hand, doing something like the Colorado Trail Race from sea level is a disaster.  I can tell you going from the Ocean to 9000' in less than 48 hours does not work too well :-P

[SimonK]

I'm curious, to what degree do those who have ridden the TD coming from lower elevations notice the air? I just moved away from Boulder after 4 years and when there, I found I only really started to feel the elevation at 9K'+. A local brevet organizer advertised a ride that started outside of Boulder (~5400') and headed into Kansas as lowlander-friendly. Now that I'm hooked on the TD and have to start planning for it, I'm wondering whether I need to plan in several weeks at altitude first!

Having gone from sea-level to XC racing at altitude a couple of times before (and suffering) I did an 3 week altitude simulation course before heading over to Sante Fe for a couple of weeks acclimatisation. What was really hard to deal with for the first week in New Mexico was the heat and low humidity. It was good to adapt to that a bit.

'Racing' on the Divide is generally done at low intensity, so the lack of oxygen isn't a major problem (if you start out fit). For me, the digestive system was much more tested than the cardiovascular system (that and the backside). 

[Jeff Tomassetti]

How many riders are left? Less than 50%? How does "main pack" location compare to last year? I know I can figure this all out, but I am busy packing for Banff . Thanks!

[dmt]

Blaine charging into Breckenridge this morning.

[bmike-vt]

No Fargo this year on the bike list... hmm.

[BobM]

Caught up with Matthew on his way up Boreas pass, he stopped and chatted for a bit which was very cool. Hopefully he and the other racer's don't get into too much wind through south park. I'll try to get photos of the other racer's coming through.

Matthew is such a great ambassador for this race, this route, and racing in general.  I wonder how many frontrunners have stopped during a race to chat and have their picture taken with fans?

Every interaction I have had with Matthew has been upbeat, respectful, and encouraging.

[Stinkybikeseat]

Matthew is such a great ambassador for this race, this route, and racing in general.  I wonder how many times Lance Armstrong has stopped during a race to chat and have his picture taken with fans?

Every interaction I have had with Matthew has been upbeat, respectful, and encouraging.

I think this comment is unfair to Lance. How much money has he raised to help cure cancer, support and help those who have this horrible disease.   Do you think Lance can stop during a flat, mountain stage or perhaps a TT of the Giro, Tour De France or TOC and shake hands, discuss current issues and etc. Just chat and watch the 40+kph peloton ride away and give up the race.  Here is a guy who has given a huge amount of time, energy and money off the bike to a wonderful cause and yet we rip on him for not stopping during a race to chat and take a picture during a race.

[BobM]

I think this comment is unfair to Lance. How much money has he raised to help cure cancer, support and help those who have this horrible disease.   Do you think Lance can stop during a flat, mountain stage or perhaps a TT of the Giro, Tour De France or TOC and shake hands, discuss current issues and etc. Just chat and watch the 40+kph peloton ride away and give up the race.  Here is a guy who has given a huge amount of time, energy and money off the bike to a wonderful cause and yet we rip on him for not stopping during a race to chat and take a picture during a race.

Sorry about that!  I certainly did not mean to imply quite that much!!  I have modified my comment above.

Bob

[Stinkybikeseat]

Sorry, I blew up!!! Have a great day and I agree I do not know nor have never meet Matt L.  but I find his calls and personality wonderful.

[dmt]

Erik heading into breck.

[Marshal]

     

This is one of the pictures Marshal sent last night.  The snow was on Fleecer Ridge and the rider I believe is Aidan.  There are a few other pictures on his blog.

[JeffOYB]

This is a geo-culturally educational race, right? Just like the TdF shows us things about France and Europe. I learned something from Matthew Lee's recent MTBcast. It was bad news, though. He said something like "Wow, Breckenridge is quite the tourist trap." It's hard to believe. Or, hard to accept.

I did drive thru last summer and it was quite shocking, but my family was whining and wouldn't let me stop and wander and ponder. I just assumed there's always a way to find the Inside of a place even when it's built-up, but maybe there's a limit. I hope they haven't gone over the edge, but it looked like they were poised to do so. It could end up as the Disney of the Rockies if they don't watch out.

I lived there in the mid-80's, in a cobalt blue mining shack on the edge of town. The free shuttle bus made a custom-request stop there to pick up / drop off my pals and I each day. The town was said to be quite built up even then. ...There was one stop light.

By then "they" already said the ski bum was dead. But we were ski bums! I hope they're still out there...

They also said hitch-hiking was crazy. But Stapleton to Breck was faster by thumb than by driving. (Driveaways were also a fun way to get across country and back to Michigan.)

The locals knew to use sidestreets and the alley on weekends---Main St. was silly to try to drive down, so we didn't.

I worked grooming the XC ski area, which at the time included a ranch 3 miles north/downhill of town and up against the mountains. That was a long, lonely grooming run out to that ranch...at 5am. In addition to pay, as a resort employee, I got a Summit Pass -- which let me ski free everywhere around, incl. Vail, I think.

Keystone was known as the touristy place and was avoided for work or skiing.

One friend lived in a teepee within the Breck ski area, another lived in a little shack/cabin within the area, another lived in a cabin within the XC area.

No one ever paid to ski even if they didn't have passes. They even advanced at the end to some kind of scanner at the base and we'd still get thru. Girls could do it blatantly. Hike to upper lifts was the fail-safe.

We didn't pay much for dwellings, either -- our neighbor rented out their closet and had, like, 7 in their apt. I rented the end of a hall my first winter. We had 7 at least in that miner's shack, including a band who lived in the foyer.

They say you can't go back again. Well, rats, it woulda been nice.

Do the dogs still run loose?

There was one place for groceries -- that's where you could catch up and visit with all yer local pals. Or at the post office.

I don't recall paying for lodging or skiing at Aspen or Winter Park (Mary Jane) either. I hope they're still Spacin' at the Basin. I enjoyed skiing laps up and down Boreas. --It was nice seeing the pics of Matthew Lee up there.

My day was: grooming 4-8am, nap til 9, XC 10-12, lunch, tele 2-4, free happy hour dinner for price of a beer... I got in 200+ ski days per annum.

I was with the Mackinac Island crew which rivaled the Brits, Ozzies, Kiwis as a sect and had its own Ullr Fest squad.

***

Durango and Salida seemed to be holding their own as real towns when I last visited.

Boulder seemed hanging in there in terms of managing the two sides of the sword, but steroidal construction was under way that looked likely to take it into hyperspace. (I paid, like, $200/mo for great places on either end of the Pearl St. Mall in the late 80's.)

Apologies for Old Fart rambling -- but I do like hearing about and seeing what the territory looks like that the TD rolls thru -- both natural and developed.

[JeffOYB]

     

This is one of the pictures Marshal sent last night.  The snow was on Fleecer Ridge and the rider I believe is Aidan.  There are a few other pictures on his blog.

Holy moley!

Speaking of ski days!

Dang, what hero bikers we have! TD even has the '88 Giro Gavia Pass thrown in! ...Probably times 10!

[ridingman1]

Has anyone ever reporting seeing Bigfoot during the Divide? Would make for some hilarious stories.

[BobM]

Has anyone ever reporting seeing Bigfoot during the Divide? Would make for some hilarious stories.

Adrian Stingaciu reported a yeti sighting in a 2008 call-in.  I think he was kidding