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Vagabond with a Camera

Ride The Divide teaser

Just to keep myself reminding of what will be an amazing documentary. Thanks to Mike Dion and Hunter Weeks. You guys rock for piecing this production together!!!

Teaser Matthew Lee from Ride The Divide on Vimeo.

July 7th, 2009 Posted by Rich | Great Divide, Racing, Tour Divide, Videos | no comments

Tour Divide finishers

More people finished in the last few days. Here is the current unofficial standing (days:hours:minutes):

  • Matthew Lee - 17:23:45
  • Kurt Resfnider - 18:11:30
  • Jay and Tracey Petervary - 18:13:50 (New Tandem record)
  • Chris Plesko - 19:00:21 (New Single-peed record)
  • Leighton White - 21:05:15
  • Blaine Nestor - 21:05:15
  • Steve Wilkinson - 21:10:34
  • Joe Meiser - 21:10:34
  • Eric Bruntjen - 21:11:54
  • Alan Goldsmith - 21:12:59
  • John Fettis - 21:12:59
  • Cannon Shockley - 21:12:59
  • Jill Homer - 24:07:24 (New Female record)

I just checked the SPOT leaderboard and Jamie Thomson crossed the finish line a few hours ago, too. Despite the worst weather there has been lots of finishers this year, 15 so far (with 6 more possibles still out there biking). I guess it should not really surprise me given that there were 42 (!!!) starters. I wonder what 2010 will be like? 100 starters!!!

The still-out-there racers are the trio of Trevor Brown, Paul Howard and Per Nilsson Eklof riding together and are about to hit the Gila National Forest; the other three are cycling individually somewhere in upper New Mexico: Brad Mattingly, Deanna Adams and Michael Komp. The seventh rider, Bruce Giroux, is still pedaling in Colorado, albeit in a touring mode.

Deanna Adams is especially worth to watch as she will be the FIRST EVER fixie finisher and she deserve special respect. To ride this monster of a ride on a fixed gear bike is just unheard of!!! Unbelievable feat!!!

Finisher’s final words (all of those who left some):

MTBCast podcasts (by Joe Polk):

 

PS: This will be likely my last post about the Tour Divide 2009 race as I will be heading out on my own Tour Divide adventure ride in seven days. I will not be updating my blog during the ride but will definitely make a serious effort to post something when I get back. Until then. Tailwinds all the way;)

July 7th, 2009 Posted by Rich | Cycling, Great Divide, Racing | no comments

More finishers

More racers are crossing the line in Antelope Wells, NM. Currently, five of them are done (unofficial standings):

  1. Matthew Lee - 17d23h45m
  2. Kurt Resfnider - 18d11h30m
  3. Jay and Tracey Petervary- 18d13h50m (new tandem record)
  4. Chris Plesko- 19d0h21m (new single-speed record)

Congratulations!!! You guys are an inspiration. With weather still throwing fits of rage, the rest of the field seems to have slowed down a bit. The chase group of 8 riders has been split up. They are making their way through the Gila National Forest, the last big obstacle on the course before reaching Silver City and making the mad dash for the border.

Plus, there were more pullouts in the last few days. The longer this race goes, the harder it becomes to stay mentally focused and keep going… For the current race status, see the race report by Mary Metcalf. In the report, you’ll find out more about an accident Pete Basinger, one of the legends of the Great Divide racing, was involved in. Luckily, he is OK but had to give up on his stealth attempt to best Matthew Lee’s record. Based on his split times, he really was flying on the route. And don’t miss the Jon Billman’s interview with Matthew Lee, a really insightful read about what it takes to win the Tour Divide, mentally and physically.

Finisher’s call-ins:

More updates:

July 2nd, 2009 Posted by Rich | Cycling, Great Divide, Racing | no comments

Matthew Lee is IN

Matthew Lee hit the border in Antelope Wells, NM as the first finisher of the Tour Divide 2009 edition, some 2 hours ago, @ 9:45am MT. The time: 17 days 23 hours and 45 minutes!!! He rode straight through the night just get get this sucker over with. TRULY AMAZING!!!

Awesome ride in this year’s atrocious conditions. Matthew mentioned in his call-ins that out of the 18 days there were only 3 (!!!) that he didn’t get wet from rain, hail, sleet and snow. Add to that the longer and more arduous section in the Flathead valley of the Canadian Rockies and his new record gains more respect.

For more see Kevin Montgomery’s update @ Tour Divide 2009 Blog:

More TD stuff:

June 30th, 2009 Posted by Rich | Cycling, Great Divide, Racing | one comment

Ride The Divide movie

Today, I found out that Mike Dion who followed the race in 2008 with a camera is working on a documentary. Here is a preview of the “unofficial” trailer (YouTube.com) and a few teasers (mikedion.com) from the upcoming movie:

UPDATE (June 30th, 09): The things are lighting up on the production of the Ride The Divide documentary. Currently, the movie is in the final two months of post-production. GREAT!!!

More links to related websites:

So, fellow Tour Divide endurance junkies, bookmark or RSS for future updates;)

June 29th, 2009 Posted by Rich | Cycling, Great Divide, Racing | no comments

TD close to finish

Yes, another week behind us and the Tour Divide is nearing its finish. At least, for its leader Matthew Lee who is rapidly closing on Silver City. He should close it out some time tomorrow night. The battle for the second spot is still going on between Kurt Refsnider and the “Loveshack” tandem of Jay and Tracey Petervarys. Chris Plesko isn’t far behind in the fourth place and provided he finishes at his current pace he will shatter single-speed records for both, the Great Divide (held by Kent Peterson from GDR ‘05) and the Tour Divide (by Jen Hopkins; TD’08) races. After these guys, there is a main “peleton” of 8 with almost 3 days behind led by Joe Meiser.

Rather than re-iterate what’s been already posted over at the Tour Divide website, let me just provide you with links where you can get the complete scoop on the race:

Latest update on who’s still in and who’s out posted by AmyL on bikepacking.net: Tour Divide 2009 forums.

Tour Divide “official” race reports (by Kevin Montgomery and Mary Metcalf):

Outside Online Adventure Blog writeups (by Jon Billman):

MTBCast podcasts (by Joe Polk):

Tailwinds to all the races out there. You are almost done!!!

June 29th, 2009 Posted by Rich | Cycling, Great Divide, Racing | no comments

The Race of Attrition

This year’s Tour Divide is shaping up to be the edition with the worst weather in its short 11 year history. The elements are taking their toll on the riders. Yesterday was the day when some of them could not bear it any longer and decided to bow out of the race. Others just could not deal mentally/physically with racking up miles day after day and decided to slow down to either enjoy the route more and/or prevent damage to their bodies. Moreover, equipment is not faring any better in this mud and bikes are braking down a lot faster than in recent years: broken chains, ripped derailleurs, seized bottom brackets, etc…

Slowing down is smart this year. Personal records will be a few, if any, so it’s better just keep touring the route, get more beta for the next year, come back and hope to race it again, in better weather. Touring, even fast-touring, is a whole different animal, both mentally and physically. It is lot easier to cycle 8 to 10 hours a day (80 to 100 miles) rather than waking up in wee hours at 5:00am and hitting trails cold and hungry and keep pedaling until 10:00 or 11:00pm night with some breaks for re-fueling and short rests… The top 15 racers are averaging from 125 to 150 miles a day through some really rough terrain. That’s simply mind-boggling in these conditions.

Yesterday, four racers pulled out: Josh Ficke in Jackson Hole, John Nobile in Flagg Ranch, Kevin Dean (with a pulled quad, near Togwotee Pass, I think) , and Steve McGuire in Dillon. Earlier in the race, Cadet Bryant in Eureka, Kevin Hall in Kalispell, Matt Thourot, Jeff Kerby in Butte, and Jeff Naylor in Butte, too.

Plus, three more riders switched to touring mode: Bruce Giroux, Martin Rendl and Justin Kline. Also, David Nice, the South-North ITT (Individual Time Trial) Tour Divide racer is out, after 1133 miles. That’s the farthest anyone rode on a fixie, just plain impossible!!! Dave, I don’t know you in person but you are one tough guy;)

Guys, keep your heads high. You achieved the unthinkable and challenged yourself to extreme levels of ultra-distance endurance racing. I applaud you!!! Plus, there is always the next year. Hope to see you out there in 2010. For the rest, still 30 racers left (out of 42), keep rocking all the way to New Mexico. Tailwinds!!!

More recent updates form the race with the first two as always entertaining Jon Billman’s write-ups:

June 22nd, 2009 Posted by Rich | Cycling, Great Divide, Racing | no comments

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