TDR 2018

[Bearlegged]

I am a reformed triathlete though.

You've discovered sleeves?

[johnnystorm]

Doesn't the Cordillera have stats about the bikes each year? So after that comes out we'll have a better picture of the breakdown.

Even those are skewed. I think the editor struggles to get people to submit their info as the numbers have increased!

[GregMay]

I am a reformed triathlete though.

You've discovered sleeves?

I have. They were a revelation.

I have yet to discover style though.

[whitestone]

And they're off!

[jameso]

Cursed my decision not to take aero bars and just use the Jones bars.

Pad the rear section, hold or rest on the front arms almost folded/crossed, works OK for me. Or, well enough that I don't look like a triathlete with an extra 400g on the bars.

[Bearlegged]

Slightly OT, but do carbon Jones loops absorb more vibration than the ali ones? Is there a benefit other that the weight saving?

Very OT, and possibly snake oil, but in an effort to emulate Spank's Vibrocore technology, a friend of mine filled his bars with expanding foam. He reckons it works a treat, so probably worth a try if you've a tube of expanding foam lying around. He reckons the trick is to do it a little bit at a time, to avoid it spilling out of the ends.

[ianfitz]

Slightly OT, but do carbon Jones loops absorb more vibration than the ali ones? Is there a benefit other that the weight saving?

I’d say yes and yes to this.

Noticeably more flex too. May be an issue for stand up high torque mashing when single speeding

[ianfitz]

I is confused. Why have this years dots moved already? I though it was a Saturday start?

Must be Friday ‘cos I was at work today. Have I been conned into working a Saturday by mistake....

[voodoo_simon]

I is confused. Why have this years dots moved already? I though it was a Saturday start?

Must be Friday ‘cos I was at work today. Have I been conned into working a Saturday by mistake....

Yeah but it’s time zones like. You is in sunny UK and it’s friday, them in Canada is like Saturday Simples really...

I’m sure last year it started on a Friday?

[Pirahna]

The start is always the second Friday in June.

[ianfitz]

The start is always the second Friday in June.

I’d misremembered this as the second weekend and assumed it was the Saturday...

[BreninBeener]

wow, ive just realised i know the current leader of the TDR! Seth Wood is a professor of lit at OK state university. only a couple of years ago he was hit by a car in a hit and run car accident. He was v badly injured, and had 7 figure medical bills.

He is a gent! Im wishing everybody well in this epic

Ian

[AlasdairMc]

I’m cheering on Greg Gleason (friend of a friend), and Bailey, whom I met last year in South Dakota. A very strong rider.

[GregMay]

Always a Friday Ian.

[Asposium]

Looking through the bikes, even though many are drop bar gravel, it is curious how many bikes are 1x
Are the ratios afforded by a 46 tooth chainring of little use in such a event??

Also interesting how many are riders are using a dynamo hub, mainly SON.
Limited availability of mains for charging??

[whitestone]

When does the touring mode rule on Trackleaders apply? Do they wait a day or two in case people have problems on the first day or just taking their time getting into the swing of things?

@Asposium - I'm coming round to the idea that limiting your potential top speed on events like this is the way to go. It's a bit of a balancing act though - you want a hard enough gear that you don't get frustrated on those bits that you can make good progress on but equally you don't want a top gear that's too hard that encourages you to over exert yourself and go into the red. Mr May will have a better insight into this.

[mountainbaker]

I know Lewis currently in 2nd place, met him around 2009 at bike polo world champs in berlin and hung out in karlsruhe, he was just a kid! Now he's 28 and is flying. Vegan power.

[voodoo_simon]

Can’t belive the pace, amazing how they do it.

Currently 445 miles at 1 day 14 hours for the leader! More impressive is that the Mike Hall record has even more distance, incredible

[Scattamah]

@Asposium - There's a few tarmac sections where a big front ring would be advantageous, such as the run from the bottom of Galton Pass into Eureka, leaving Sargeants before turning left onto the gravel, El Rito to Abiquiu, etc. But you have to balance that out with a ring you can turn over when the big climbs come into play. Keep in mind most people are doing 8000' or more climbing each day for 3 weeks in a row.

I was happy enough to climb with a 34t, but it made for interesting times. The tarmac climb from Radium to Kremmling in the heat had me wishing for lower.

Greetz

S.

[Pirahna]

Currently 445 miles at 1 day 14 hours for the leader! More impressive is that the Mike Hall record has even more distance, incredible

The route is longer than when Mike did it with the detour via Fernie. I think when Mike set the record conditions were about as good as they get. There's been snow overnight in Montana so that will slow them down, it's apparently a couple of feet deep in places. Ovando is reporting snow above 5000 feet and high winds. There's also a large forest fire but I can't remember where, but it'll mean a detour for the riders.

Edit: I can see riders taking a detour north of Pinos Altos and apparently the National Forest between Cuba and Abiquiu is closed.

[mountainbaker]

apparently the National Forest between Cuba and Abiquiu is closed.

What a shame, that was the worst day of my life through there!

[GregMay]

When does the touring mode rule on Trackleaders apply? Do they wait a day or two in case people have problems on the first day or just taking their time getting into the swing of things?

For the TDR, it used to be sub 25 days, applied about a week in. HT550 is different, we apply it for riders who've scratched, but ask to remain tracked.

It's a bit of a balancing act though - you want a hard enough gear that you don't get frustrated on those bits that you can make good progress on but equally you don't want a top gear that's too hard that encourages you to over exert yourself and go into the red. Mr May will have a better insight into this.

Certinly is a balancing act. I chose 2x10 so that I'd have the option of very spinny gears, to give my knees a rest. As a singlespeeder I tend to opt to stand and pedal, often forgetting to change gears when I'm in a gear similar to my SS. The flip side, with a wide range settup the option to sit and spin rather than "make progress" becomes an issue. Over a race like the TDR that relaxed attitude on climbs would lose you days, rather than Strava KOMs. Sometimes, you need to just pedal harder. So yes, balancing act.

[GregMay]

I was happy enough to climb with a 34t, but it made for interesting times. The tarmac climb from Radium to Kremmling in the heat had me wishing for lower.

Thankfully rode that at night. It was still unbelievably warm. That place is astonishingly warm.

With the lack of rain in CO and NM I'd be betting on a lot more fire diversions this year.

[voodoo_simon]

Who on this forum has completed the ride?
-Greg May
-Johnnystorm
-Blackhound
-Mountain Baker

Anyone else??

[BreninBeener]

Just seen a post by Bailey Newbury. His bike was covered in snow. Apparently at Red Meadow there was a couple of miles of 2 foot of snow, but he is through it at Whitefish.

Sadly these places dont mean much to me other than the guide book, but it adds some detail if you have been there.

Ian