2007-07-11 03:44:30 GMT

This is Nathan Bay. Hey, I just wanted to let you know, I'm in Antelope Wells. So, it looks like I made 25 days, 8 hours, and 37 minutes was my time. So anyway, I think I'm the 2nd single speeder to do it so I'm feeling pretty proud. Thanks for all your help when I was there with my bike stuff. I'll talk to you later.

Wow.

This year's race was another fascinating, exciting, and inspirational event. With Nathan done and off the course, it's really over.

Thanks to everyone who made this story so much more interesting because so many focused their attention on it. And most of all, hats off to the racers. All of them. You have my deepest respect. -Tom P.

2007-07-11 00:23:33 GMT

Hey Tom it's Jon Billman calling from Deming, New Mexico. I made the border, Antelope Wells at 11:25 this morning, so I just barely made the cut-off after a hard time trial down the tarmac. Anyway I want to thank Tim of the Border Patrol he's been fantastic to not only me but the riders that came in ahead of me. And he's a big fan--good to get the support from the Border Patrol. And it was good to see Nathan coming down on our way out. And he's looking great, and looking strong. He should be finished right about now actually. Anyway, thanks for all the postings, and it was a great time, and we appreciate it. Bye.

2007-07-10 15:38:06 GMT

Hey Tom Purvis this is Matthew Lee calling ... I'm calling to check in and applaud all the Great Divide Racers. I haven't really been in touch, but it sounds like almost everybody is done, and I wanted to say that I'm really proud of everybody. It's truly a great event, it is The Grand Tour of moutain bike racing. And you are correct that it is at least as hard to carry a medium pace as it is to go fast ... it's not easy to go slow because you're right, you are out there for longer so the energy expenditure is just as great. Anyway, congratulations to everybody who have finished, and I hope that those who fell to dehydration are recoverd. I wish everybody the best ...

2007-07-10 05:12:34 GMT

Hey there, it's Nathan Bay. It's about 11 o'clock on Monday night. I'm in Silver City, and looking forward to finishing this thing up tomorrow night. Hopefully around 8 o'clock tomorrow evening is my goal. My wooden dowel slash jb weld seatpost held up really well from Grants to here, knock on wood. The Gila is everything it's ever been portrayed as. Ho-lee shit. Well, on that note, I'm going to bed. Bye-bye.

2007-07-09 22:46:23 GMT

Hey Tom it's Jon Billman, Silver City. It's Old Home Week, here, the brits... I ran into the brits downtown. They are headed north and I'm headed south. It's great to see them, they look great--a couple of them need a shave. So, it's very cool. The folks at Gila Bike and Hike are amazing. They hooked me with some new tires. Came in on spit and prayers with these tires. Both of them were coming apart. I could see the insides of them. I guess that'll happen after 2000 miles. Anyway they got me some new skins and some new slime tubes and I'm ready to tackle the last section here. I'm going to get something to eat and head south. Camp in the Separ area and then head for the border in the morning. Alright, bye.

2007-07-09 16:08:10 GMT

Hello, this is Josh Ficke calling from Blythe (presumably Blythe, California). Got to the border last night, 11:50. And my brother was picking me up down there--thank God, that's a desolate place. ...(garbled) ... and then saw Ashley on the way in, so we had a big party there at the finish with Ashley and John my brother, and then we got the heck out of Antelope Wells. It wasn't a real hot spot. ... (garbled) ... over. Good time. Met some fun people. ...(garbled) ...

This was a very poor quality recording, but it was clear that Josh finished a bit before midnight, a little over an hour before Ashley rolled up to Antelope Wells. Congrats to both of them. Way to go!

2007-07-09 09:11:22 GMT

Hey, this is Ashley McKinzie reporting in. Rolled across the border at a little after 1 o'clock in the morning this morning. It was actually about 1:03 by my watch. Luckily Josh Ficke and his brother were leaving, I was 6 miles out and they were gracious enough to turn around and wait what I thought was going to be half an hour. But then the road turned and I had killer tailwinds, maybe took me about 15-20 minutes to get there. But they were gracious enough to wait that long, that late at night for me to finish. And they whisked me away to some little town in New Mexico that, surprise surprise, there's no food to eat in. But I'm in a hotel, and I've got food. So, just happy to have finished. I want to thank everybody that helped with the race, Adventure Cycling, John Stamstad of course, and Mike Curiak all for being inspirational and creating with the race. Matthew Lee for encouraging me to do it. And mom and dad, Bob ... Mary ... and Heather and everybody who helped me. Just incredible--I definitely cursed Matthew a few times during this race but I do, in the end, thank him for encouraging me to do it. Alright, it's late and I'm going to get a shower, go to bed and dream about eating tomorrow. Later.

2007-07-09 01:28:13 GMT

Hi everybody, it's Matt Kemp. I arrived at 5:40, and basically everything is done and dusted. Don't know what I'm going to do next. Not certain what the next challenge is... Hopefully I'll arrange transport out of here in the morning. Alright, love to everybody and I'll be in touch soon. OK, bye.

2007-07-09 01:15:53 GMT

Hey, this is Ashley McKinzie, it's about 7 o'clock on Sunday. I'm in Separ I guess? About 70 miles from Antelope Wells. So I'm going to push on, and I think I can make it tonight, but if I don't I should be there early tomorrow morning. But I'd really would like this to be my last day of riding. I'll give you a call when I get down there. Later.

2007-07-08 16:34:42 GMT

Good morning, it's Sunday, 10:35. It's Matt Kemp speaking, I'm at Separ, or however it's pronounced. I'm all stocked up with water, and ready to go. And yeah, looking forward to getting this over and done with. But I've still no idea how I'm going to get from the finish to El Paso. Bruce, if you're reading this mate, turn on your mobile, I'll just try to find out how you got there. Cheers everybody, bye.

2007-07-08 13:51:46 GMT

Hey there, this is Nathan Bay. It's about 7:30 on Sunday morning. I'm just leaving Grants. I stayed an extra day here, trying to get my fluid levels up and shake some diarrhea that I had. So, at this point, I'm just trying to finish this thing safely and not so much worried about the cut-off date and all that stuff. Trying to look out for my health. So I'm going to hit the road, bye-bye.

2007-07-08 10:07:12 GMT

Hey, Hurly here. Ripped it. Shredding is complete. Got to Antelope Wells at 1:50 AM on Sunday. It was closed. No payphone, no access, no cell phone service. Calling from the first phone I could find. Man, it was push to the end. Last 16 miles was a gradual uphill, with a good headwind, or breeze actually, it was a great-feeling breeze. But still rough. I just have to say, it was awesome. The whole race. I have to say thank you to... the obvious ones, John Stamstad for ripping it first and for the inspiration, Mike, Pete for inspiration as well as organization. And to everyone who's done it before, Matt Lee, Trish, Brad, Steve Fassbinder, everybody... Rudy. Just for the inspiration. It's been great. I'll try to get some links, once I can type some stuff up. It was awesome, thanks again, quite the experience. Now I'll figure out the whole trick to getting home. Seeya.

2007-07-08 07:45:03 GMT

Hi, it's Matt Kemp here. I'm at... it's 1:30 in the morning, I'm in Silver City. Big thanks to George from the local bike shop, if I had known that the Wal-Mart was open 24 hours, I might have had a snooze (I think that's what he said) before carrying on. But anyway, the plan is to eat here, and head on south. Yeah, next time you hear from me I'll probably be from the border. OK, take care everybody, thanks, bye.

2007-07-08 02:31:06 GMT

Hi, this is Bruce Dinsmore here giving you a post-race posting in Silver City. Guys, this is very special, really really special. I'm incredibly privileged to have raced and finished the Great Divide, and join a very select band of people. I join a very select band of people, so yeah, really special. The time, the result, 22 days and 2 hours is way beyond what I expected. Yeah, 5th place is brilliant, 4th rider from Banff, 3rd foreigner, 2nd brit, and 1st veteran. Buy hey, the results are immaterial, the quality of the experience and the quality outcome is what I came here to enjoy, and I've had an absolutely stunning time. The highs? The wildlife is just incredible. At times it's like being in a BBC wildlife program with David Atinborough, just incredible. I saw a roadrunner today, I thought that was like a cartoon character, you know? It's just brilliant. The lows? Um, uh, really, I'm sorry; I had about a 15-minute blip coming out of the Great Desert Basin but nothing that a packet of nuts and a pint of water couldn't fix. Uh, the people have been brilliant on this trip. The people supporting the race; Tom, all you guys on the MTBCast forum, all the bike shops, everybody I've met in the bars, motels, cafes, you've been really beautiful, and made the trip very special as well. A big shout to the other racers, particularly a mention to Kevin: your youthful enthusiasm and naivety is highly entertaining. But, you know, everybody you need to approach this race with a huge amount of respect, and you need to be very lucky to finish it, and I've had a lot of luck on this race. Massive shout to my friends and family and support people back home in England. I love you loads. I'm really looking forward to Emma and Ean's wedding. We're going to have a great party. Happy birthday Dean, sorry I forgot to send you a card. A P.S. Tom, if you want I'm happy to help you out transcribing the blog for next year, if I can help. And if anybody in the U.K. is looking at doing the race next year, give me a call. I'm more than happy to help, because this is a truly amazing experience and something that more people should try and share and enjoy. My telephone number is 01-423509976. Give me a week or so to get myself back to the UK. That's it for me, I'm going to go and have beer and tequila. I love you, bye-bye.

2007-07-08 00:32:16 GMT

Hey, Hurly here, checking in from Separ. I got shut down on the trail coming from Silver City to Separ for about an hour with thunderstorms with lots of lightening. Train in the background now... Now I'm shut down in Separ with a storm that chased me down here through all the wet sand that I had to climb through, with like 40 to 60 mph, actually about 60 to 80 mph winds right now. And the rain is slowly moving in with a lot of lightening. If anyone is behind me they are getting annihilated. So, man, this thing is not over until it's over. Last two days have been dead legs, man. When I headed into the Gila and realized that I couldn't pedal anymore for that night, and the body just didn't want to go, so I threw up a tent, threw a sandwich in there, jumped in and passed out on the sandwich. Didn't do anything good for the legs. Last night I ran out of food--two nights without any replenishment. I'd like to get this thing going, but there's no way that you can ride in what's going on right now. I think it's the start of something really crazy about to happen. Alright, I'll keep you guys posted.

2007-07-07 23:36:28 GMT

Hey Tom it's Jon Billman here, I'm calling from Pie Town, New Mexico. It's Saturday afternoon. The 3rd component to my bad luck today is the Pie Cafe is closed until Monday. No pie in Pie Town. So, I'm having a good morning, kind of surfing the divide there in the Cibola National Forest and a black feral cat runs across the trail. Anywhere else I wouldn't think much of it, but out in the middle of there I though "uh oh". And it wasn't 20 minutes later I take a wrong turn that cost me 10 miles, and then I get two flat tires, and now no pie. So uh, bad luck comes in threes, the three has run it's course here I hope. But the cool thing today, this big cowboy in a big giant diesel pickup truck stops in the middle of the road, I'm thinking he's going to come out and tell me I'm trespassing or I'm wearing Brokeback Mountain bike pants or something. He just said, "I want to shake your hand. I think what you're doing is really really cool. I'm going to do it on horses next year." Anyway, that kind of made my day. There are some hippies down the road, I'm going to ask them for some water--water up and head south. Bye.

2007-07-07 20:31:04 GMT

Hi, this is Bruce Dinsmore here, calling in on Saturday the 7th of July. It's uh... I got to Antelope Wells at six minutes past two. I guess that puts me in 5th place and 22 days--oh, and the first veteran to finish I think. Yeah, absolutely stunning. Just a quick call, I'll give you the War and Peace version when I get back to Silver City. Love to everybody, bye-bye.

2007-07-07 19:05:40 GMT

Hi there, it's Matt Kemp, it's Saturday afternoon, it's quarter to one. I'm at Beaverhead Work Station. I've got just over 200 miles to go. Not far now. Alright, I'll be in touch soon. Bye now.

2007-07-07 16:57:11 GMT

Hey, Hurly here, calling from Silver City. Ended up having an OK day yesterday, at least in the morning part. In the afternoon cloud cover came in, showers came through, I didn't get hit bad, I think Josh might have, he was behind me somewhere. Up ahead though, had alot of climbing with trails that were just bogging down the tires. That made it take a lot longer to get through the Gila than I thought it would--or was hoping for. Got really low on food, was heading toward the 27th crossing of the divide at night, apparently had stripped down my light system a little too much. White light on white sand and white rocks kind of killed the definition. So I hit a groove and then hit the ground going about 15-20 mph. Tore up the leg, and the hand. Pushed on to Mimbres, camped there. Got up, left before anything was open. Got a flat on the way to Silver City. Just got done eating, finally getting some food in me, so I'm pressing on to the border. I was hoping to have this done by now, but now is as good a time as any. So many dues to be paid on the Great Divide. It's rough out there. Great Divide + You = Dues to Pay. Alright, I'll call you from the finish.

2007-07-07 16:20:14 GMT

Hi this is Steve Wilkinson calling from Antelope Wells at 10 o'clock. Well, here ends the adventure... yeah, over and out. Steve Wilkinson. Bye.

2007-07-07 02:44:10 GMT

Hey there, it's Nathan Bay calling from Grants. Doing alright, still not totally recovered--I don't think I'm going to totally recover, but I'm going to push on, and be just fine I think. And I'm going to hang out here. I'm going to try to find a bike shop in the morning and get a new seat post. I don't know where this fabled Grants bike shop is, but that's what I'm doing. Bye-bye. Oh, and Mr. McFee, I'm sorry that you had to cut it, but I'm glad that your brain caught up with your heart. Cheers.

2007-07-07 00:37:53 GMT

Hi, this is Bruce Dinsmore calling in from Silver City, it's Friday and just gone 6:30. Beautiful riding through the Gila the last couple of days. Found a slice of mountain bike heaven on the beautiful little canyon riding up to continental divide crossing 23 or 24. Just stunning. Yeah, the boys from Banff seem to have done pretty good, I'm chasing Steve and Alex, but I don't think I'm going to catch them. I might pull an all-nighter, but I'm definitely heading south on to Antelope Wells. Just loving it. Bye.

2007-07-06 23:45:03 GMT

Hey Tom, it's Jon Billman calling from Grants, New Mexico. Route 66 country here, it's Friday afternoon. Yeah, just blasted through the reservation today. Had breakfast with Nathan, I hope Nathan's doing OK out there on that busted seatpost, he's certainly giving it a great effort. A shout out to Jeff Kerby and Matt McFee, man, guys you put in a hell of a race. We miss you out here. Tom, we appreciate you keeping everyone posted on the scrap (?). So, Pie Town tomorrow and then the Gila. Thanks, bye.

2007-07-06 22:38:27 GMT

Hi, this is Steve Wilkinson calling in from Silver City. It's 4:30. I've just had some food and I'm about to stock up on supplies and head out to see what I can get done overnight. Aiming to be at Antelope Wells before midday tomorrow. It's been pretty brutal out there the last couple of days, the heat and the thunderstorms. I've been caught in both, but they are north of me at the moment. So, things look OK south. I'm hoping for a clear run. Hopefully the headwind will die off as it gets later. But uh, yeah, hoping to put in an all-nighter, get there tomorrow, and end all this. I'm still feeling strong, so um, hopefully it will be over soon. Bye.

2007-07-06 21:40:54 GMT

It's uh, Alex Field. I got to Antelope Wells at 3:26 on Friday. I don't know where Steve "Moon Tan" Wilkinson is, but um, I haven't passed him. If he's ridden hard in the past couple of days he might have overtaken me, but I haven't seen anyone here. And uh, yeah, so I'm not sure. But anyway, yeah, I guess that's it. It's been a good experience, I guess. Today wasn't that good. I started off well, only had an hour's sleep, that was fine. And then, uh, headwinds started up, and I pushed into it, and I um, think I pulled one of my (unclear). And uh, yeah, made the last 60 miles quite work. Apart from that, I guess it doesn't matter. So yeah, I'm not sure about the transportation back to civilization, but I have seen the shuttle with Chihuahua/Phoenix written on them, and I stopped one of them and he said there are constantly shuttles going between Antelope Wells and back into the states. So, I'm not sure if I have to wait--he said that he would be back, and there were quite a few of them, but, I don't know. Maybe if you're trying to hook someone up with transportation maybe you can google it and work it out. But anyway... Apart from that I just want to say thanks to Tom Purvis for typing out all the reports. Hopefully next year they can work out a better system, where you don't have to type so much, or you can get someone else to do it or something. And uh yeah, thanks Mike and... MTBCast guy sorry I forgot your name (Joe Polk) for organizing things. And to all the other racers--pity I didn't get to ride with anyone else. But um, yeah. Thank you all, and um, I'll uh, get some riding... (call is cut off by the 3 minute limit).

I did do a Google search for Chihuahua/Phoenix shuttle, and came up with this information about transportion along the New Mexico/Old Mexico border. Check the 2nd page for information about the regular shuttle traffic through Antelope Wells. -Tom P.

2007-07-06 20:13:50 GMT

Hi (garble) Matt Kemp (garble garble) Pie Town (garble garble garble) ... call ends.

I've had a number of calls from Pie Town where there was a lot of distortion. Sounds like a cellular pay phone or something. This was the worst of the Pie Town calls.

I would say quite definitively that Matt Kemp was in Pie Town around 2 PM today, 7-6-2007. -Tom P.

2007-07-06 15:54:14 GMT

It's about 10 AM, calling from Pie Town. It's Josh Ficke. Feeling really good. Had a great night. I'm at the cafe... (garbled) It's definitely a must-stop for anybody coming through Pie Town. About to head out, and see how the day goes. Should be nice. Got some high clouds. I'll see how close to Silver City I can get tonight. And then wrap this up. Could be brutal. Or, could be really outstanding, we'll see. It would be nice to see some people at the finish, but it looks like Steve and Bruce are a full day ahead. I wonder what happened to old Matt Kemp. But uh, maybe I'll run into him on the trail today. Alright, bye.

2007-07-06 14:04:46 GMT

Hi, this is Jeff Kerby, and I just wanted to call in and let you know what's going on. I am at home. Yesterday, after I called, I did enter the emergency room, I believe that it was the same one the Matt McFee went to in Espanola. The long and the short of it was, I got the I.V.--they put 3 liters of fluid into me. They tried to draw blood, but they couldn't even get two vials out, because everything was so thick. They ran some kidney tests which came back really bad. Basically said that if I went back out I was risking some pretty significant damage. I had hoped to hell to finish, and I will always believe that is exactly what would have happened had I not gotten food poisoning. What can you do? I was lucky enough to be out there for 20 days, and I'll take it any day of the week. That being said, there was a couple people that I did want to thank. One of them is Joe Polk, who, from the first day, when the bike didn't come in, the guy was totally there for me. And, he had no idea whether I was going to be a one day flameout or anything else. And he treated me very well, and I hope it did him proud. Chauncey Matthews, the guy who built my bike, I told him, you know, build it heavy, build it whatever just make it stronger, to take me home. And I have no doubt that thing could make it three or four times over the Divide, so. He did an excellent job and everybody always commented about how beautiful they thought the bike was. Also would like to thank T.S. Last from the News-Bulletin in Valencia County. Wrote some very nice stories about what I was doing. And I just wish the ending could have been a little bit happier, but like I said, I'll take what I can. I went to bed knowing every night that I had pedaled the last mile I could before I finally fell asleep, and I got up and got on the bike and tried it again the next day. I did it until I couldn't do it anymore. And for the people on the road who I met, I'd like to leave my contact email, and that is redkerby@aol.com. And uh, last but not least, I 'd like to thank Tom for transcribing all this and I would also like to tell Jon, I hope you finish it man. Do it for both of us. Take care, bye.

2007-07-06 04:08:40 GMT

Hiya, this is Ashley McKinzie. I just got into Grants at about 9:30. It's a big day. Luckily I had some fairly cool weather. Crosswinds, and then a good tailwind pushing me into Grants. Pushed through a sandstorm tonight, feel pretty good. And I got 170 miles in today, so, getting close. Hope everybody's doing well. Later.

2007-07-06 00:09:31 GMT

Hey, John Hurly calling in from Pie Town. Um, I missed the Pie. No Pie. Unfortunately the cafe's are closed. I had to stick around in Grants to pick up some supplies there from... that I had at the post office, had to wait for the post office to open. As a result, got loaded up and missed the pie. I was pretty psyched on that pie. I'm going to have to annihilate some when I get to Silver City. Heading out. A little worried about the Gila. I've heard a lot about it. Has me a little worried. But, on the other side of that--is pie. Alright, that's all I've got. Talk to you later.

2007-07-05 22:22:23 GMT

Hi it's Matt Kemp, it's 4 o'clock on Thursday, I'm in Milan just outside of Grants. Quite an eventful night last night, I think I did the right thing to wait out the storm. Where the thunderstorm moved through was a bit flat and exposed. Camped beside the road and after the fireworks had gone off for the 4th of July. Anyway, uneventful journey to Milan, other than being chased by a couple of dogs. Alright, I'm going to re-supply and head out to Pie Town. OK, cheers everyone, bye.

2007-07-05 21:41:00 GMT

Hey, it's July 5th, Nathan Bay calling at 3:30. I'm in Cuba, and I spent the day yesterday between Abique and here, because I had projectile... um, let's see what do they call it? Frontal and rear projectile nutrition loss, simultaneous style. I spent yesterday recovering in my tent, and I rode here. And I'm going to call it for the day, because I'm feeling about 40%. So I'm going to try to get some nutrition back in me, and be able to start back to the hundred+ mile days. And maybe I'll get a new seatpost in Grants tomorrow! Alright. Bye-bye.

2007-07-05 21:46:56 GMT

Hey Tom, it's Jon Billman calling in Thursday afternoon from Cuba, New Mexico. Spent the night up at altitude last night, and Jeff Kerby was camped out with us up there, and with Nathan, and Jeff, uh, I've never heard somebody vomit so bad. Anyway, he was looking a little better this morning, he was going to roll back down to Abique. But anyway, this is a shout out to him, and I hope he's OK, and the main thing; I hope he's feeling better. Anyway, we're going to push on to Grants through the hot desert tomorrow and keep it rollin'. So, alright, bye.

A little after 1 PM yesterday, Jeff Kerby's wife called in to report that she was with him in the Espanola hospital, where Jeff was getting a series of I.V.'s to treat a serious case of dehydration. She said that Jeff had not yet decided to officially drop out of the race. He may return to the course to attempt a finish.

To be clear, Jeff, and any other racer, will have to arrive in Antelope Wells, NM by noon on July 10 in order to finish within the time limit. -Tom P.

2007-07-05 21:21:37 GMT

Hey there, this is Matt McFee, calling in from Bayfield, Colorado at my house. I decided to pull the plug. I was a little nervous about continuing to press on, and even at the moment I'm still feeling a little dizzy and slightly disoriented from my dehydration fiasco. And I... it's extremely extremely tough to pull the plug after riding 2000 miles and being so close. But, as Tom's message here suggests, you know, you've got to kind of weigh the benefits of going forward versus doing harm to yourself, I suppose. And you know, I'm going to probably feel some regret and be pretty bummed out, but I am pretty proud of myself how far I made it. And I feel like I'm not quitting for some trivial reason. I feel like it's dangerous. You know, frankly, the rule of having to get back to the point on the course where I left under my own power was a little bit too daunting. It was 40 miles and probably 4 or 5 thousand feet of climbing up through the desert to back to where I was, and I just couldn't get my mind wrapped around doing that whole climb over again, to get back up there just to rejoin where I was. If I could get a ride I would have maybe considered it, but rules are rules. And, what a great race, it was an amazing adventure, at the moment no regrets. Thanks Tom, thanks Joe, thanks Mike Curiak and everyone. And congratulations to Jay for setting the record. And uh, Godspeed.

2007-07-05 19:07:47 GMT

Yeah, it's Alex Field, 5th of July. I'm in the Beaverhead Work Center, which is just before the mountains in Gila National Park. Yesterday, the 4th of July at 2:30 I was in Pie Town. So, unless has come up I think I'm still in 3rd place. Yeah, after I realized that I probably wasn't going to make it in 19 day finish, I slept a bit too much last night and the night before. That's OK, I got a bit sick of riding in the dark, it's quite boring. And, the corrugated road is starting to give me a headache. But um, apart from that, the temperatures actually are not that bad. I imagined that it would be much worse. Yesterday there was a headwind and a crosswind most of the day, then I rode through another storm. And then, yeah, today it was a bit windy as well, but yeah, it's actually not that bad, it's a quite ice temperature. Hope to be in Silver City and ride on to the finish some time tonight, or tomorrow. But, apart from that, everything's fine. Brought more food with me this time, so I might ride into Silver City with extra, which is good. But yeah, I should be finished within a day if everything goes well. Pray for me, OK. Talk to you guys later, bye-bye.

2007-07-05 17:54:23 GMT

Hi, it's pie time in Pie Town. It's Bruce Dinsmore here just calling at 11 o'clock on the 5th of July. Just stuffing my face full of some beautiful pies and heading out to Mimbres which I'll probably get there tomorrow lunchtime. Thanks very much for your support everybody back home. I picked up some messages in Grants and, yeah, really great to hear all the messages. Lots of love to everybody. Bye bye.

2007-07-05 13:25:45 GMT

Hey, uh, Hurly here. Still shreddin' the divide. Got into Grants last night totally worked. Here's the way the last day went. Left Abique in the afternoon, day before yesterday on the 3rd. Did a 30 mile climb in the heat and the sun, it was just brutal. Camped because I was at a crossroads that I couldn't figure out the directions at. Couldn't see tracks at night, so rather than get lost I just camped there. Yesterday morning I started out with assault on the legs with the climbing, all over the place as the sun rose. And it just started beating down. Got to Cuba, grabbed some lunch, and started on the 100-miler--er, 120, out to Grants. The first 5 hours were just beating in the sun, just blistering in the sun, with a crazy headwind. Then it turned into a crosswind as I turned toward Grants. Thunderstorms moved in--ducked and dodged most of them, but you know, they caught up. After that, heading closer to Grants, I got at least 30-40 miles, as I hit the dust storm area of like 40 to 60 mph crosswinds. Had the sails down on the racks, carrying extra water. That didn't help any. It literally was just blowing them--I was fighting them, it was blowing the bike off the road, onto the gravel. Wanted to press on to Pie Town last night, just couldn't, legs were just resistant. I was hoping to be done by now, but it's just not happening. So I'm going to press on. Hit Pie Town and then press on into the Gila, see how fast I can get done with the rest of the course. It's going to be a rough one. Other than that, I think that's all I've got for right now. I'll keep you updated. Seeya.

Hey, Jeff Kerby in Abique. I was pushing off yesterday, and judging from the message I just heard before I'm leaving this one, I think you've probably heard this story before. But, Jon and I went up into a canyon, and it was just awful winds, raining like hell. And, I'd say about 5 miles into it I started realizing that something was very wrong, and the long and the short of it is that I've got food poisoning. And, it was clayish-type surface on the top so there was no descending, so I just pretty much spent the whole night--it was a very disturbing, awful situation. Did make the descent, would like to let Jon's wife know, please let him know, I know he was concerned. Everybody out there, hey, I did the best I could. As much as I could do. Bye.

2007-07-04 23:33:51 GMT

Hi, this is Bruce Dinsmore here, calling in on 4th of July. It's 5:30 from Grants. Just had a great day across from Cuba, and I'm going to head off to Pie Town, get loaded and stocked up and head off. The best thing about this race, the unexpected things like getting buzzed by an eagle last night, seeing a shooting star, saw quite a few snakes on the main route and arroyos one of which looked like it had stumbled across a chipmunk 4th of July party and had eaten all the chipmunks. And yeah, then Bob helping me out with some drinks on the last climb here. So, good day. Uh, Tom, just to let you know that there are some re-surfacing road works on descent into Grants. That's on the main route. They're operating a pilot scheme but they're letting me ride straight through. OK, thanks now, bye-bye.

2007-07-04 23:46:51 GMT

Tom, it's Matt Kemp in Cuba again, just a quick word: I forgot to mention that I'm feeling a lot better. A little flat, but that's probably just because I havn't eaten properly yesterday. Um, but everything is going well. I going to leave Cuba soon, but there's one hell of a storm brewing up behind me, so I may give it half an hour and see what happens. OK, cheers, bye.

2007-07-04 23:30:44 GMT

Hi Tom, it's Matt Kemp, it's 5:15 I've finally made it into Cuba. I bumped into Nathan, he's bivvied-up in the bushes on the climb out of Abique. It's most likely he has been suffering from food poisoning. He's probably going to lay low there for the rest of the day. He might not get into Cuba until tomorrow in case anyone is looking for him. But, yeah, plenty of storms, it's great, the rain, cools things down. And uh, the altitude is a lot cooler. Dropped back into Cuba and I'm amazed at how hot it is again. Anyway, I'll be speaking to you soon, and I'll be in touch, bye.

2007-07-04 22:01:31 GMT

Hi there, this is Matt McFee, it's about 3:45 or so PM on Wednesday. I'm in Espanola, New Mexico, I just got dropped off here at a hotel by a security guard from the hospital. I basically was seriously, extremely dehydrated, woke up, vomited before I started riding. Tried to ride to Cuba, got about 10 miles in about 3 hours. Had to lay down every couple hundred yards. And eventually I did pass out, and I was kind of face-first in the grass. A motorist came by, and thankfully, because I was really in the middle of nowhere... and the motorist drove me about 40 miles to Espanola to the hospital. And I spent about 3 hours on I.V., I'm now here in a Days Inn. I'm not for sure quite of the rules, about what I did--moving sideways off the route. I could have moved in reverse, because I don't think Cuba had a hospital. So, if somebody could have Mike Curiak call me... I'd like to understand what my options are.

2007-07-04 20:46:24 GMT

Hi, this is Steve Wilkinson calling in from Grants. It's 2:30 on the 4th of July. I've just had something to eat and I'm going to hang around a bit see if the temperature drops below 100, before I head out onto map 6. See you all.

2007-07-04 17:55:16 GMT

Hey Tom, it's Jon Billman here calling from El Rito, New Mexico. Let's see, pushing on through Abique and that big monster pass climb this afternoon. And uh, rolling onward. Thanks, bye.

2007-07-04 18:05:47 GMT

Hey, this is John Hurly. I'm in Cuba. Just got done eating lunch. Heading out to Grants. Later.

2007-07-04 18:04:54 GMT

This is Jeff Kerby. I'm in El Rito, New Mexico about noon on the 4th. Just wanted to wish everybody happy 4th of July. And uh, Ashley wanted me to mention that he's in town and uh, Jon is also in town in town right now. And, we're on our way to Abique. So, again, pressing on. Take care, bye.

2007-07-04 11:40:32 GMT

Morning, it's Matt Kemp. It's uh, 5:00 AM I'm in Abique. I ate last night and I ate this morning and kept my food down, so I'm going to press on to Cuba this morning. Hopefully starting out this early, the cooler temperatures will help me. And it's meant to be a little bit stormy and overcast, so hopefully I'll get to Cuba and try to press on from there. OK, cheers, bye now.

2007-07-04 01:30:43 GMT

Hi, this is Steve Wilkinson. It's 7 o'clock, and I've just been refueled in Cuba and I'm heading on. See you all.

2007-07-04 01:16:12 GMT

It's, uh, Alex Field. I'm in Grants. I called this morning, I think it's the 3rd. Yeah, I've got 190 miles ahead of me without anyplace to get food, so I've stopped off at the grocery store and found as much fatty food as I can, and hopefully that will tide me over until... I was hoping to get to Silver City by tomorrow night, but somehow I don't think so. So maybe, yeah, I'm not sure. Anyway, I hope to get to the finish by Thursday. Get this thing over and done with. That's the real motivating factor at the moment, finishing. Anyway, I'll... I guess you might not hear from me until I get to, I think it's Mimbres or Silver City. Might be, 36 hours or so, I'm not sure. Anyway, talk to you later. Bye-bye.

2007-07-04 01:23:25 GMT

The quest is on a knife-edge. The Great Britain/Great Divide Fellowship is breaking up. This is Bruce Dinsmore here in Cuba. It's just gone 7 o'clock. Rode in with Steve. I'm heading out on the proper full original route, heading down to Grants. I think Steve is going to be heading out on the alternative route, although he's going to wait for Matt who's got a little bit of dodgy breakfast burrito belly I think, or a licorice overload, I'm not sure which one. But uh, anyway, it's all going really well. It's really hot. And uh, I've got to give a big shout to the Uncle Bruce Fan Club, Ebony and Zoe, I love you guys loads. Alright, speak to you tomorrow evening from Grants. Oh, and it's Tuesday, the 3rd of July. Lots of love, bye-bye.

2007-07-03 23:53:57 GMT

This is Nathan Bay in El Rito. Uh... having a hell of a day. My seatpost snapped, and so I'm low-ridin'. I look like some grown man trying to cross the country on a bmx, which isn't far from the truth. I had three flats, ran out of patches, pushed my bike 7 miles, and uh, robbed a tube from a lady at the snack stand in Cañon Plaza I believe. Right about there, anyway. Got back on the road, and, I got here, and I got some more patches. Still don't have a backup tube--but uh, that's life. So, I'm going to have dinner here and ride super late into the night to make up for lost time. Sorry for being so long-winded, it's just been a hell of a day. Bye-bye.

2007-07-03 22:17:46 GMT

Hey Hurly here, calling from Abique. I just had lunch in El Rito with Josh and Matt. Um, Nate was with us earlier but he had a bit of a problem. Just after we got done discussing how our seats are going south, he uh... and how this race just keeps getting harder the farther down you go, he just uh, he broke his seatpost and he got a flat. So we're not sure where he's at. Pressing on, heading towards Cuba. I hear their people make some good cigars down there. Uh, other than that, I'll keep in touch. Bye.

2007-07-03 21:11:37 GMT

Hi, it's Matt Kemp. I'm in Abique, it's uh... back in Abique again, it's uh 3 o'clock. I'm suffering from cramps last night and nausea on the climb, and vomiting so I've bailed today and I'm going to press on tomorrow again. OK, cheers, bye.

2007-07-03 20:47:55 GMT

Hello it's Josh. I'm in Abique. I don't know what day it is, I don't know what time it is. It's hot. I'm at the Trujillo store. I'm about to have to take a nap here. Bye.

2007-07-03 15:08:01 GMT

Hey, this is Ashley McKinzie, I'm in Horca. It's about 8 in the morning, a little after. Looks like the store and restaurant are closed. So, I'm debating about whether I should just sit around and wait for them to open maybe, or head on--looks like there may be one other chance for food in the next 100 miles. So, that's my dilemma right now. Not sure what I'm going to do. But uh, I'm a little more than 700 miles from the border, so I'm getting there slowly but surely. Later.

2007-07-03 13:40:28 GMT

Uh, this is Jeff Kerby, it's Monday morning (actually the message was left Tuesday morning). We got into Platoro last night about 9. Thing of the note was: I was eating some cashews yesterday or a couple of days ago, and Jon looked over and he goes, "yeah, you know hey I think that's the key to the race, salty nuts". And I thought, yeah, well that's probably it. Anyone who's finished or is ahead at this point probably just has a greater salty nut intake than I do. And that's probably the way that's going to have to stay. So anyway, we're pressing on, we're going to eat breakfast and uh, I'm going to be out of here soon enough. And in New Mexico in 37 miles. Bye.

2007-07-03 13:05:04 GMT

Hello, this is Steve Wilkinson calling in from Abique. It's 7 o'clock in the morning, and I'm just heading out. Um, hopefully weather is not going to get too hot down here in New Mexico. Josh, where are you buddy? I'm missing you. All that time on the road together, and uh, haven't seen you for a couple of days. Maybe you'll catch up. Seeya.

2007-07-03 13:00:27 GMT

Hey Tom, it's Jon Billman calling in Tuesday morning from Platoro, Colorado. And uh, Jeff Kerby and I are here. We're going to push on into New Mexico. And I just wanteto say to Hillary thanks for the notes in my map cues. They got me through a tough ride over Indiana Pass yesterday. Alright, thanks. Bye.

2007-07-03 12:50:43 GMT

It's Alex Field, Tuesday morning, I'm in Cuba. I got here last night, I worked really hard to try and get here for dinner. Got here at about 8:35, of course that meant that I was 5 minutes late for dinner. But luckily there's a MacDonalds here, so I had the, uh, dinner of champions. Yeah. But uh, working hard meant that I was a little tired. Ended up sleeping in a couple of hours this morning. So yeah, I was hoping to get to Pie Town sometime tonight. But um, yeah, I was hoping to just try to get a nineteen-day--a hight nineteen day finish, but it looks like I'd have to do the 180 miles to Pie Town today and then do another 180 through the mountains to Silver City tomorrow, which uh, I don't know, might be a bit tough. I'm feeling fine it just, uh, yeah. Well we'll see. I guess it depends uh... depends what happens, huh? But yeah, so, got MacDonalds again for breakfast this morning. All I can say is thank God for the Snickers Bar. Or should I be thanking Mars? I'm not sure. Anyway, I'll call in probably from Grants sometime in the middle of the day today. Bye.

2007-07-03 01:55:27 GMT

Hi, this is Bruce Dinsmore here. Just calling in from Abique, some 15 miles south of El Rito. And it's, uh, Monday evening. Just getting some food, and the last two days has been just stunning. Really really beautiful riding; out of Salida and then out of Del Norte. Really really stunning stuff. Feeling strong, feeling fit, and well done to JP. That is a crackin' record, and yeah, really, congratulations. We've still got several hundred miles to go, and you've really put us to shame buddy. Well done.

OK, I have to say something about this report: for Bruce to say that anything has put him to shame is really ludicrous. This guy, and all these Brits, have been so damned cheerful and positive. The British stiff upper lip is truly inspirational--they've got to be feeling some pain. But you wouldn't know it to hear Bruce's voice. He sounds generally thrilled every time he calls in. You'd think he was riding this thing in a golf cart. Stunning Bruce, truly brilliant. (I want to be more like these guys, so I think I'll start using the expressions they use). -Tom P.

2007-07-02 21:05:22 GMT

Hey there, this is Nathan Bay. I'm in Horca. And, I don't know what time it is, but I'm going to guess around 3. And, I had a really hellish morning, climbing over Indiana Pass. But it's over now and, just going to keep on pushing on. Bye-bye.

2007-07-02 20:42:31 GMT

Hey there, this is Matt McFee. It's about 2:40 PM on Monday. I'm in Horca, Colorado, about 14 miles from the border of New Mexico, which sounds pretty nice to say at this point. And uh, had some slow going this morning up over Indiana Pass and up over Stoner Pass, but got two really good nights' sleep the last two nights and body feels great. Um, although the road here, albeit downhill, the road from Platoro to Horca pretty brutal. Pretty much burned a hole in every contact point that I have. But, all is pretty well at this point. So, we're going to try to do a good push here for the rest of the day, and then I think we have some big aspirations for some big pushes coming up. But we'll see, just see how it comes. Alright. Thanks, bye.

2007-07-02 19:20:45 GMT

Hey, this is John Hurly calling in from Horca. Just got down from Platoro. Got a flat in between the two. Fixed that, got into town here. Finally a day with only a little headwind. That's kind of helpful. Um, for those who are wondering what the Great Divide Race is actually like, I think I have come up with something: take the race from the movie Hidalgo, cross that with the Tour de France, add a little more pain, and pedal all of your gear everywhere. And that's about what you have. Alright, uh, heading out. There's no telling how long this next stretch is going to go, and how long... it'll be before I stop going. Alright, seeya.

2007-07-02 16:04:31 GMT

Hello, Josh Ficke calling. Just had food in Platoro. Now it's off for good times through New Mexico. Later.

I think I got that right, but it was a bit difficult to understand Josh. He has that gosh it's hot sound to his voice. -Tom P.

2007-07-02 14:04:38 GMT

Uh, it's Alex Field. It's Monday morning, I'm in El Rito. Congratulations to the lucky bastards that are finished already. I guess that's their reward for riding quickly. Yeah, yesterday was a pretty bad day. I think most people know what that northern section of New Mexico is like. Really really rocky and bad roads and that. My downhill speed wasn't much faster than my uphill speed, so I uh... so yeah. Ended up not getting any breakfast, lunch or dinner. But um, had enough food to sort of get by. Had a big breakfast this morning, and uh, get to Cuba tonight. And then uh, yeah, try and pick up the pace from now, on from tomorrow, along the flats. But yeah, apart from that, my knee's a little sore. It's made good the past couple of days, I've uh... as long as I ride the climbs in the small ring and don't get out of the saddle to prove you stay uphill pretty good. (not sure I transcribed that correctly, but it wasn't clear to me what exactly he said [I don't speak Australian]. He does sound quite tired) But yesterday I took a little spill and banged up my right knee, and so this morning it's pretty painful. But um, yeah, there's only I think 650 miles or something to go, so I should be able to hang on. But um, apart from that everything's OK. And uh, I guess I'll be trying to call you tonight. Bye.

2007-07-02 05:05:39 GMT

Hey, Ashley McKinzie reporting in. I got in to Del Norte at about 9:30 tonight. That was a pretty long push through for me from Sargents. So uh, happy to be here. Actually got some food and a hotel and I'm feeling pretty good, so I think I'll head out tomorrow, see how far I can make it. I hope everybody's doing well. Later.

2007-07-02 00:47:19 GMT

Hey it's Nathan Bay. I'm in Del Norte, and 6:45 on Sunday evening. I'm hoping to press on for quite a while tonight, I'm feeling pretty good. And, that's what's going on. Just had some dinner, going to head out. Some thunderheads cracking around. Uh, also, Tom I was thinking about that water filter-camelbak-connecter thing that I was talking about. That was actually... came with my filter, it was from Katadyn, it wasn't from Camelbak, so, if you were trying to find that, that's why you couldn't, because it's actually from my filter company. So, anyway, all is well. Bye-bye.

2007-07-02 00:52:21 GMT

Hi, this is the Great Britain/Great Divide holiday camp. We just got into Orca. It's 6:30 on Sunday. We're all feeling really good, and we're going to head off on up to Brazon Ridge (Brazos?) tonight. And yeah, should be a good camp up there. All going really well, love to everybody back in England. And big shout to the Yorkshire Mashers. Bye bye.

2007-07-02 00:34:59 GMT

Hey there, Matt McFee. It's about 6:20 on Sunday night. I'm in Del Norte. Got here about 5 o'clock and just had a nice big meal, and going to grab some groceries and head out and do some more miles. We've done about 93 already today. And uh, probably try to do about 20 more. Felt pretty good today. Got some good sleep last night after not sleeping at all the night before which then caused me to struggle badly up Marshall Pass. And um, it was very very hot today. Probably good practice for New Mexico, and a sign of things to come. But uh, Nathan and I are in good spirits and riding pretty hard. All seems pretty well. Thanks, bye.

2007-07-02 00:07:29 GMT

Hey, this is John Hurly calling in from Del Norte. Just got in here around 4. Grabbed some food, loaded up on some supplies, heading out. Blistering heat's out there. Heading out to try to see how far I can get on Indiana Pass tonight. A lot of climbing coming up. That's about all I got. Touch back later. Seeya.

2007-07-01 22:28:55 GMT

Hey everybody, Matthew Lee here. I just got in from the border to Lordsburg, New Mexico. And it is hot--not happening hot, just hot. I arrived at the border at 10:40 this morning. It's good to be finished. First, congrats to JP for his really fast ride. I'm humbled, and he has certainly raised the bar. I met my goals, and I'm happy with the legs I finished on, and with my sub-16 slash 18 day time. This was the weather year I've been waiting for. Good luck to all still out on course. Thanks to Tom Purvis for keeping everything together. Rock on.

2007-07-01 17:43:43 GMT

This is Jeff Kerby, it's 11:30 on Sunday and I just completed Marshall Pass and I'm in Sargents right now. And uh, I just wanted to say thanks to the people at Absolute Bikes for helping us out, very nice. The older guy that worked there--I must have looked tired or something and he said, uh, "you just keep it together, there's only a few people in the world doing what you're doing". And, I think that puts it in perspective, so, I'll be moving on. Talk to you later. Bye.

That "older guy" is Chuck Rose. He is one helluva nice guy, and a real asset to the shop. When I'm having a bad day, Chuck seems to sense it and always manages to find something good to say or do that makes it better.

2007-07-01 13:48:26 GMT

Morning Tom, it's the Brits in Del Norte. It's uh, 7:27 in the morning and we're going to head out to New Mexico this afternoon. Quick message to Josh: Josh where are you mate? We're missing you--we need your banter. Cheers, bye now.

2007-07-01 13:35:33 GMT

Hey this is Ashley McKinzie. I'm in Sargents. It's about 7 in the morning--about to roll out and try to make it to Del Norte tonight. Uh, nothing more to report than that. It's been pretty fun. Congratulations to Jay and Matthew. And everybody else out there, see you later.

OK folks, sorry for the delay in getting updates out today. I had to get up and ride the Monarch Crest Trail today with some friends. It was a perfect Rocky Mountain summer day, the ride was great, and I actually ran into Jon Billman while I was at Marshall Pass--chatted with him for 10 minutes or so.



So now, on with the updates. I'll transcribe the four that have arrived while I was out ASAP. -Tom P.

2007-07-01 11:28:14 GMT

Hey Tom, Matthew Lee here. I'm at the Continental Divide Store on I-10, getting ready to get on the last stretch of pavement before Antelope Wells. I had to sleep a little bit last night because--the Gila, just... ugh, tough. Anyway, all's well. I'll call you from Lordsburg I guess to confirm my time at the end. OK, bye.

2007-06-30 22:51:17 GMT

(Loud sigh) Boy. JP here. Hey world, I arrived at Antelope Wells at 4:18 PM Saturday, with absolutely nobody here. There's one gentleman here that's let me in to get a bunch of cold pops, let me use the bathroom, gave me some information about a shuttle in the morning, try to get to Deming some time tomorrow. And uh, yeah, pretty hot out there, but the Great Divide has treated me well. I have no complaints. And uh, thank you to everybody that's been involved. I hope everybody is doing well. And I will report on my times here soon. I will just be around thinking about things underneath a tree for the rest of the evening and day. Alright, thanks everybody, and thanks for getting this going. Uh, this was something else. Alright, yup, just sort of at a loss for words at this time, but catch me on the forum or something. Alright, thanks everybody, bye.

2007-06-30 19:31:27 GMT

Josh Ficke calling. Slept in yesterday after some bike issues in Salida. And Anton and the boys at Absolute Bikes took care of me. I was super happy after a frustrating day. And after, you know, having your bike deteriorate over time, to have someone work on it that did such an awesome job. Anton's the man.


Anton Van Leuken, mechanic, working on a GDR bike at Absolute in Salida

I was pretty roughed up from yesterday, and went to sleep fairly early yesterday, and slept in. This is probably the best I've felt all trip. Which is good--it's a long way to Del Norte. Try to make the trip tonight--see about getting there tonight or have breakfast there tomorrow, and carrying on. Anyway Salida was super cool. You really can't beat the scenery coming into that valley of Salida or going back out of it. Marshall Pass was awesome. Today's been a great day. I'm very happy that I took the advice that the boys gave me from Absolute, they said "don't get too tired". By then I was discombobulated and I just found someplace to lay down and did it. And I feel great! Alright, I've talked too long. Bye.

2007-06-30 18:58:34 GMT

This is Nathan Bay, it's about 12:45. Getting ready to roll out of Salida. Thanks Tom for all your help at the shop. And uh, going to hit the road and see what else we can get done today. All's well. Bye-bye. ... Oh, and I met Dave Nice's mom in Silverthorne at the convenience store, which I thought was pretty damned funny. Small world. Bye-bye.

2007-06-30 18:48:10 GMT

Hey, this is Matt McFee, it's about 12:30 Saturday. I'm in Salida. Tom knows this. I just stopped at Absolute Bikes. They took care of us, and more than that. Just awesome service and great guys to cheer us up along the way. Thanks Tom and all the boys at Absolute. And uh, we're headed out here, going to go toward Marshall Pass and see what the rest of the Cannonball Run brings us. Thanks, bye.


Matt, Nathan Bay and John Hurly were all here during the late morning Saturday. We sent them to get Big Breakfast at the West End Cafe while we fixed up their bikes. They are a class act, as all these GDR racers are. Tired but cheerful, humble, dignified--sometimes just a bit dirty. It's an honor to have them in our shop. It's fun for me to be able to meet them. -Tom P.

2007-06-30 17:58:56 GMT

Hey Tom, this is Matthew Lee. I'm on a pay phone at the Beaverhead Work Center which is in the crux of the Gila National Forest. I'm getting ready to submit to the beating--the final beating of Rocky and Black Canyons. Hopefully I can pony up and be in Silver City by 7 or so maybe? I don't know, it's hard to say. And if I've got any juice I'll try to ride on from there. Looks like I'll probably be able to squeak in under the 16-day mark if everything goes well, but don't quote me on that! OK, bye.

2007-06-30 17:24:46 GMT

Hey Tom, it's Jay again. I think I forgot to tell you that it's about 11:22 AM, and uh, yup, just wanted to give you the time. And uh, thanks again Tom for all your work and Joe, appreciate it much, for keeping the world in contact with us. Thanks. Seeya.

2007-06-30 17:35:27 GMT (11:35 am, Mountain Standard Time)

Hey hey hey, Daddy-Os! 72.7 miles left. Just crossed the Interstate here, what's that? 10 (I-10). So that puts me in Separ. Last couple things of ice cream and gator aid, and I'm on my way. Let's uh... let's turn them winds off. I'm tired of that headwind in my face. So uh, things are going good now. I was a little choked up this morning. And hey, Jeff Boatman, I didn't forget about you. YOUR BAGS RULE. Best way to tour. Thanks buddy. Carousel Design Works. And uh, everyone else, we'll see you soon. Thanks all! Peace out.

2007-06-30 17:34:24 GMT

Yeah, it's Alex Field. I'm in uh, Del Norte, on uh--Saturday morning. And I should be through to... somewhere over Indiana Pass into New Mexico by uh, tonight some time. But uh, yeah, that's about it. Bye.

2007-06-30 17:17:14 GMT

This Jeff Kerby calling from Hartsel. And, I just wanted to say that last night, I was about to camp, and John was by me, and there was this light, and it was like a tent. And we thought it was a GDR racer so we went back to check, and it wasn't, and it turned out to be something really bizarre. Neither one of us quite knew what to make of the situation. And I think he didn't want to mention it because he didn't want anyone to think he was crazy. And I told him, "Well, I'll go ahead and mention it because people will expect it anyway." But it was the most bizarre thing I've seen so far, and I still don't know what to make of it. It was a weird alien light, side of the road, nowhere-ville. So anyway, we're on our way to Salida. Hi everybody, miss you, bye.

So, there are plenty of earthlings that are tracking this race. Makes sense that there may be some visitors who want to keep up on the race too. My guess is, cosmic spectators. -Tom P.

2007-06-30 16:51:22 GMT

Hey Tom, it's John Billman checking in from Hartsel, Colorado, Saturday morning. Camped with Jeff near Como, Colorado. Both pretty whipped, but got some breakfast here, and moving on. So, uh, I want to say thanks to my wife Hillary for sneaking in some notes from home on my cue sheet. I just got those last night when I needed them, so that was pretty awesome. Miss you guys at home, and we'll check in from Salida. Bye.

2007-06-30 15:28:44 GMT

Hey, John Hurly calling in. Got in to Salida last night. Grabbed some food, uh, hit the hay. Forgot to call in, calling in now. Heading out, going towards Del Norte. Alrighty, seeya.

2007-06-30 14:51:00 GMT

Hi, this is Steve Wilkinson calling in from Sargents, it's about 9 o'clock (AM). Just heading out for Del Norte. Had a good day yesterday, managed to avoid the storms, but the cloud cover kept us cool. Um, all in all, everything is going well. Bye.

2007-06-30 14:19:13 GMT

Morning Tom, it's Matt Kemp calling from Salida--sorry, we left Salida last night, and arrived in Sargents last night. Heading out to Del Norte today. Apologize that we missed you yesterday, but we got here by the skin of our teeth. OK, take care, bye.

2007-06-30 13:21:52 GMT

Hello good morning. It's Bruce Dinsmore here calling in from Sargents Saturday morning. Great to meet you yesterday Tom and all the boys at Absolute Bikes, great job. Heading to Del Norte today. Got a bit of a shock looking in the mirror this morning. I've got loads of gray hair on my beard so going to have to get the old Leatherman out and pluck those suckers out with a pliers. Alright, have a good one everybody. Bye-bye.

Oy! Yanking out beard hairs? Makes my eyes water just to think about it. -Tom P.

2007-06-30 13:03:55 GMT

Hello all, it's 6:40. I'm in Silver City. It's JP. And uh, I'm going to Antelope Wells as we speak. This is my last phone call. I just wanted to give a big thanks for everyone who's been supporting me. Trace, I love you. Thanks again. Fitzgeralds Bicycles, thank you. Orbea, the bike flows like water. Crank Brothers for keeping me locked in. And uh, family and friends. We'll see you all when I come home. And uh, it's going to be an enjoyable 120 miles. Hope you all have a great day and uh, we'll see you soon. Thanks again. The trail treated me well.

I've grown accustomed to hearing Jay Petervary's confident voice booming into his messages. When I met him in Salida when he came into Absolute Bikes, he was focused, strong, and to the point. In this message today, the emotion was thick in his voice. He's clearly touched by the significance of this day, and of course he has to be tired and ready to go back to the comforts of home. -Tom P.

2007-06-30 01:54:07 GMT

This is Nathan Bay, I'm at Hartsel. 7:35 on Friday evening. And uh, had a pretty good day. The folks at the bike shop in Breckenridge took care of me. And uh... yeah, so I'm going to go have some dinner and then press on a bit. Bye-bye.

2007-06-30 01:46:36 GMT

Hey there, Matt McFee, Friday, about 7:32 PM here in Hartsel. That's really about it, had a pretty good day as far as GDR days go. Good weather and uh, felt good riding. And, we're going to grab a quick meal here, Nathan Bay and I, and push out, because we thought there was a hotel here but there is not. And uh, grab a quick bite to eat and press out. And probably be in Salida before lunchtime tomorrow. Alright, bye.

2007-06-29 23:57:54 GMT

Hey Tom, Matthew Lee here calling back, in Pie Town. I was trying to be so brief that I forgot to tell you that I had raspberry and coconut pie, with ice cream. Oh yeah, it wouldn't be the Great Divide Race without pie in Pie Town. OK, bye.

2007-06-29 23:41:38 GMT

Hey Tom Purvis, this is Matthew Lee calling from New Mexico's little slice of heaven, Pie Town. It's about 5:45 and I'm headed toward the Gila. OK, how's that for brief? Bye.

2007-06-29 19:59:51 GMT

Jeff Kerby, Silverthorne, 2 o'clock. We're going to eat lunch, probably move on. Lots of road bikers here, waving. They're all clean. Wearing spandex, pink spandex. I'm not willing to make that statement in my own personal sports wear. But, anyway, we're going to move on and everything's going well. Bye.

2007-06-29 18:32:18 GMT

It's uh, Alex Field. On um, Friday sometime. I should be in La Garita I think it is by tonight. I'm not sure about the whole food situation because there's not much out here. It's the middle of nowhere. But uh, yesterday started off pretty well. I did the 10-mile, 700-meter vertical Boreas Pass in like an hour and a half. Heart rate was like in 120's the whole time, I felt really good. Then caught up to a storm. Riding in the rain, that's OK, then it started with the lightening and the thunder so I stopped, because a steel bike in and open plain is a little risky. And uh, waited out half an hour. Kept on riding, got stuck in some clay-y bog, and um, it was on the road. The road was just shocking. And ended off snapping my rear derailleur off. So, luckily... Um, I lost two hours having to walk into Salida, and coast. But the guys at Absolute Bikes were fantastic. They came in after hours and helped me replace everything that had to be replaced. And now it's all running really smoothly. So uh, I only lost a couple of hours last night, so, it could have been much worse, could have been much worse. But um, yeah, I that's about it for me. I guess I'll be calling probably tomorrow from Del Norte. Bye.

2007-06-29 16:56:55 GMT

Hi, (unclear), it's Matt Kemp in Hartsel, it's Friday morning 11 o'clock. Just about to roll out with Steve and Josh and we're hoping to try and get to Sargent(s) this evening. Spent the night just below Boreas Pass and uh, got pretty cold, but it's hot again on the plains. OK, cheers, bye.

2007-06-29 16:48:20 GMT

Hi, this is Steve Wilkinson calling from Hartsel. It's half ten (?). I stayed just a couple miles short of Como last night. Camped down from the pass. Nice to have a cool night. Looks like the temperatures are going to be up near the hundreds again which I suffer a bit in. I'm pushing on for Sargents today. Bye.

2007-06-29 16:50:41 GMT

Uh, good morning, it's Bruce Dinsmore calling from Hartsel, it's Friday the 29th. Just heading over to Salida, and then hopefully over Marshall Pass to Sargent(s) tonight. Alright, everything going really well. Stunning, glorious blue-sky day here in the big hills of Colorado. Lots of love to everybody. Bye-bye.

2007-06-29 14:02:35 GMT

Good morning, good morning. 8 o'clock, Friday AM. I'm here in Pie Town, eating a lot of food at the cafe. My buddy Michael here is just feeding me big. And uh, I'm going to be heading out of here in a couple. And uh, had a pretty decent ride yesterday. Just long and hot as usual. And uh, I should be making Silver City here sometime before dark for sure, and pressing on immediately after that. So uh, just wanted to say, thanks for a great ride. And uh, I'll just be reminiscing for the next while, for the next 300 miles. Alright, well, everyone, have a great day. I hope to do the same. And uh, we'll talk to you soon. Alright, enjoy, thanks.

2007-06-29 05:05:27 GMT

This, uh, Jeff Kerby. I'm calling from a pay phone in Kremling, at about 11 PM Thursday night, which is like already the start of a really bad story. But, uh, today in general... it was just like hell. A vertical climb, all day long, I was off the bike more than I was on it, the winds were hellish. And if it wasn't for... I don't want to sound really Brokeback about this, but John Billman (I think that's what he said--sounded like "Biddingzak"?) actually happened to come upon me when I was trying to fix these mystery flats that kept occurring all day. But anyway, it was nice to have somebody like kind of in the vicinity because I probably would have lost what little bit of my mind I have left if he hadn't come when he did. And if that wasn't enough of an indignity, I had forgot to mention, outside of Butte I was riding at like 1 AM, and uh, this... I'm in the middle of like nowhere, like by an overpass and a cow pasture. And this guy and this girl come rolling up. And the girl is all hey, you know duh you know ... do you know how to get to Butte. And she's... they're both really drunk. And she decides on the basis of a 3 minute conversation that she's in love with me. Well anyway, her friend, and I think it was a friend like in a Rosie O'Donnell kind of a way, like they were friends, not like boyfriend/girlfriend because he was a little... Anyway, he was all drunk,
and he goes, "I'm not gay man, but I want to tell you that you have a nice ass." And, you know, I really didn't know how to respond to that because, on one hand I'm not really with probably his program, but on the other, you know I might actually have a nice ass. I don't know, but it was 1 and it was Butte. I just wanted to go to bed. And I think I might have slept on a fossilized cow pattie. So, I don't know--all I'm saying is this isn't really glamorous right now, and uh, I think John and I are going to try to push on to uh... we'll definitely be in Steamboat tomorrow (I assume he just mis-spoke, he reported in from Steamboat earlier. I doubt he would go back and then push on from there.) and I think we'll be going off from there also. So anyway, that's my update, bye.

2007-06-29 04:09:08 GMT

Hey this is John Hurly calling in from the Dillon Dam Brewery in Silverthorne. Grabbing a burger and a beer. A little worked after getting off Ute Pass coming into Silverthorne, there was about a 30 mile headwind. A bit demoralizing when you're doing up a slight uphill on the road, and not doing more than 5 miles an hour. Uh, just a little worked from that. I'm going to finish up grabbing some food, grab a room, do some whatever, do laundry and head out for Salida tomorrow. On Friday. Hope to grab a burger and some beer on F Street, after dark some time if anyone's around. Noah, sorry to hear you're out man. I'll grab a beer for you here at the brewery. I'm out, see ya.

2007-06-29 02:05:53 GMT

Hi there, it's Matt Kemp and Steve Wilkinson. We're in Breckenridge, it's Thursday evening just before 8. We're getting something to eat then we'll hopefully drop into Como this evening, and hopefully on to Sargent(s) after that. Um, everything going well, everyone chipper here, and hopefully these storms that seem to be buzzing around will avoid us. OK, love to everybody at home. Cheers, bye.

2007-06-29 01:25:21 GMT

Hello, Josh Ficke calling. Since my last update--as I was leaving the laundromat, and I feel really bad about this, I managed to lose all my lunch in the parking lot. It just uh... yeah I threw it up. I wasn't feeling really good. It was kind of a rough next five-six hours and I kinda took a few breaks and tried to drink a bunch of water and I was really just blowing up, it was not good. But, kept on riding. There was a section where you need to... the map says you are supposed to ford the river, and I saw tire tracks, and I was like "oh man, here we go". And I just kinda took it, and well, it got kinda deep, and I got kinda wet, and it was dark, and I got kinda cold. But it all worked out. I rode another maybe 10 miles after that and threw down in the middle of the forest. Good times. Went to Kremling this morning. Nobody is very friendly there, but the Mexican joint was super good. And now I'm in Breckenridge, trying to get some food. About 7 o'clock, and push off for a little bit tonight. The light I got yesterday from the boys at Orange Peel it rocks! So night riding will be fun. Anyways, peace.

2007-06-29 00:28:00 GMT

Hey there, Matt McFee. It's about 6:30 PM Thursday and I'm here in Kremling, and we've put in about 80 miles today, or just short of that. Took a little detour to get some dinner, and then we're going to push back out and try to get a hundred in. A lot more climbing today that I had thought, and um... but we have had some somewhat fortunate cloud cover so it hasn't been blazing blazing hot, that's about the most positive thing I can come up with about the climbing. But overall, not a bad day.

Nathan Bay here, Kremling, 6:30. And uh, wow, holy beans, that's some climbing to get into this hole. Alls well. Looking forward to getting into Silverthorne

2007-06-28 22:33:20 GMT

Hey Tom, Matthew Lee here. I'm in Cuba, New Mexico. Normally in past GDRs I've referred to Cuba as Barbe-Cuba, but with the passage of this crazy summertime cold front, it's more like ice-Cuba. Anyway I just came out of the mountains and I've been hampered by rain and soft road conditions again today. I wanted to be heading across the desert to Grants by 2, it's now 4:30 so I'm a little behind schedule. Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well, and I'm not complaining about the temperatures. OK, best.

2007-06-28 20:06:09 GMT

Hey, it's Rick Hunter calling from Del Norte. Bad news, I'm going to pull the plug on this one. My knee--left knee's swollen... swelled up, can hardly stand on it, stand on the pedals. So, it's just too much pain for me, hurtin' for certain. One of my major goals for this ride was just to stay healthy and not cause any permanent damage. So that's something I'm going to stick to. So, I'm dropping out. Um, wish everyone else luck. I appreciate everyone's encouragement. And, I did have a good time, I saw some awesome country. I want to commend the two guys in front of me. I call them manimals, half man, half animal. Their pace and tenacity is pretty incredible. Um, so that's about it for me, I'm pulling the plug, dropping out. Wish everyone else good luck, and... I'm going to try to find a way to get out of here without riding my bike any more. So, OK, peace and love to everyone, and I'll see some people soon. OK, adios.

2007-06-28 18:38:47 GMT

Good afternoon everybody. It's 12:24 Thursday, that'd be PM. 12:24 after noon. I'm in Grants. This is JP. And uh, let's see here. On my way into the mountains just south of Cuba, instead of having the sun beat down on me I had hailstorm beat down on me. Made for a pretty cool afternoon versus this crazy sun we've had. So, I rolled into Cuba last night, evening whatever, got myself a little shack room, cleaned up my chamois and my self, and uh, hit the road early. So I'm down hear in Grants, and it's a hot day, sun's shining. But, I'm moving on to Pie Town people. So, we'll talk to you later. Have fun all. Seeya, bye.

2007-06-28 17:20:41 GMT

Hi, it's Steve Wilkinson calling in from Kremling. It's about 11 o'clock on Thursday. Just calling to let everyone know that I'm clear of Steamboat Springs and heading out for Breckenridge this evening. Then we'll push on and camp out somewhere further south. Bye.

2007-06-28 17:14:23 GMT

Good morning, it's Bruce Dinsmore here. It's Thursday morning. Just had a fantastic breakfast in the Moose Cafe in Kremling. Heading off to Hartsel, hoping to get to Hartsel today. Um, yeah, good luck to the leaders, don't worry about looking over your shoulder because we're several hundred miles behind you. Well done to everyone that's got through the 13 day rule, and good luck to those racers chasing the 13 day cut-off. I trust that the racers aren't going to tarnish the reputation and integrity of the race by short-cutting or fabricating their location because the truth holds tremendous power, respect and dignity. Um, so good luck to everybody. Thanks everybody back in England for all your positive messages which I picked up yesterday. It's great that so many people are looking in and supporting the event and supporting myself. I really appreciate that. I love you all. Bye-bye now.

2007-06-28 16:49:53 GMT

Hey, this is Dave. I heard I got cut off with my final words. This is a lot harder than I thought, um, you know, thought I was trained and prepared to you know face it all, but my body had other plans for me. Yeah, this is quite a doozy. And I've got a year to think about, you know... maybe even a couple years before thinking about doing this again. And, yeah, maybe even re-think the whole fixed gear deal. Yeah, it was good, I really enjoyed the eight hundred and twenty some odd miles I did, and, classy bunch of guys to race with. Thanks Tom for doing the transcribing, and thanks Joe for doing the podcasts, and that was really cool. Yeah, looking forward to riding with a bunch of you guys again. Thanks again, bye.

2007-06-28 13:34:46 GMT

Hey Tom, Matthew Lee here. I'm in Abique, New Mexico at 7 AM. First let me say that New Mexico is beautiful this year. It had a lot of water apparently, so everything is very green. But, it's also made the roads a little rough. I had a rough go of it yesterday in the winds and rain. But at least it's not terribly hot. So, anyway I'm headed over the Polvadera Mesa on my way to Cuba, and then maybe Grants tonight, we'll see. So, anyway, hope everyone else is doing well, and it looks like JP may be out of sight, he's flyin'! OK, take care, bye.

2007-06-28 05:23:54 GMT

Uh, this is Nathan Bay, I'm in Steamboat Springs. Got here about 9:30, 10 o'clock something like that this evening. Had a couple of mexican entries. And uh, I'm going to get some shut-eye, get some groceries in the morning, and get back on the trail. Bye-bye.

2007-06-28 04:48:09 GMT

Hey there, Matt McFee. It's about 10 to 11 on Wednesday night. And I'm in Steamboat Springs. Just got done with a little dinner. Rode from Rawlins to Steamboat today, about 134 miles. And uh, pretty good day. And the climb up Slater Creek was just lovely, in the blazing heat and uh, horseflies and other things, high winds. But uh, we got it hammered out and uh, we checked in to a hotel here. And personally, after mangling my bike and burning a day and a half in Lima, Montana if feels pretty good to make the cut-off. And, worked pretty hard to scramble and make up miles over here the last four or five days. And um, also hit my home state of Colorado. So, it's all good. And um, I'm here with Nathan Bay, and I'm sure he'll call in as well. Thanks.

2007-06-28 03:42:29 GMT

Hey Ashley McKinzie here, I made it to Steamboat Springs at about 7:30 this evening, and I guess it's Wednesday. Ears got so burned by the sun, they are blistered. At least on the sun side one is all blistered. I didn't even realize it until I looked in the mirror. Pretty crazy. Anyway I guess I'll head out tomorrow, see how far I make it. I'll definitely be out of here before noon. So, I'll talk to you when I get to the next phone. Later.

2007-06-28 02:32:40 GMT

Yeah, it's uh, Alex Field. Wednesday, 8:30 at night. I'm in Silverthorne. Not that bad of a day. Managed to, um, do 3,000 vertical. Meters that is. And uh, got caught in a storm, in the afternoon coming over Ute Pass. And uh, yeah, had a little stomach trouble after that. Took me a while to get down the road to Silverthorne. But yeah, so if I can find a place to stay in Breckenridge over the phone right now I'll ride on, otherwise I'll stay here tonight. Alright, thanks, bye.

2007-06-28 02:31:59 GMT

Hey Tom, John Billman here checking in from, uh, Steamboat Springs at 8:30 on Wednesday, so ... (call ends)

2007-06-27 22:35:18 GMT

Hey, Hurly here. Just got done with some business in Steamboat, at the post office. And, I'm going to go grab a burger and a beer and then head out of town toward Kremling. Other than that, what the hell was that? If you're ever looking for a leisurely ride between Rawlins and Steamboat, do not take what we just took, that's all I'm saying. Who the hell put that there? That's some steep stuff. I'm out, peace.

2007-06-27 21:31:31 GMT

This is Jeff Kerby, got into Rawlins yesterday, uh, at noon. And I'm in Steamboat at 3:20. I feel bad for anybody who tried to make that trek in one day. My grips melted, my tires are pretty much gone, the bottoms of my shoes melted almost completely off as well. It was very hot, very disgusting trip. The mile and a half hike-a-bike wasn't appreciated either, but hey, made it through. The only thing I've got to say is, uh, there's this re-occurring conversation I keep having with people. I mean I don't mind the travelers coming up from the south, they're cool and some of the bike people are cool. But this whole thing about where they walk up to you and they go;

"Is that a bike?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm, it's got only one gear."
"Yeah."
"I used to have a bike like that too."
"Really."
"Yeah, I used to take it to Willow Creek every summer. Have you ever been to Willow Creek?"

I'm like, do I look like I've ever been to Willow Creek? I reek of cat piss, I haven't slept in a motel in like 11 days, I don't know Willow Creek. I just... I don't know. I think I need a nap, maybe a meal, get some perspective. Anyway, take care. I'll be out of here tomorrow. Bye.

2007-06-27 20:25:45 GMT

Hi, it's Matt Kemp, it's 2 o'clock on Tuesday. I'm in Steamboat Springs, rolled in, what? ... an hour or so ago. Got the bike fixed just going through the laundry mat, going to get some clean clothes sorted out. Quick word to the girls... the Ride Beyond Girls of the Mountain Mayhem. Anyway, I'm hanging together and hoping to be rolling out of here in an hour or so. Cheers, bye now.

2007-06-27 20:28:39 GMT

Hello, Josh Ficke calling in from Steamboat Springs. Doing a little laundry. And, uh, stopped in with some of the boys over at Orange Peel. Can't say enough good things about them. Essan over there really really is helping me out, and hooking me up with an awesome light. So, thanks to him, this trip will be a whole lot better. Good luck in your race tonight. Last couple days have pretty hard on me. I didn't eat nearly enough food. I guess just bad planning on my part, and not paying attention--thinking I ate enough, and it normally would have been, but seems that meals need to consist of about 3000 calories these days. So, 6 eggs and two orders of hash browns and bacon is not cutting it any more. Interesting. Had some coffee that wrecked me yesterday, if you know what I mean. And that was an interesting start to another hot day. Out of Rawlins, kind of a rough one. Steve and I were struggling--well Steve did pretty good. But I was struggling with the heat, which I was not expecting. But, I think my body is turning around and we're going to try to push out here when the laundry is done, and try to get down to Kremling, maybe a little past that. We'll see. There's clouds in the sky, that's helping my spirits out, and I'm looking forward to spending more time in Colorado. It's nice to be back to where there's trees. Uh, really, Steamboat is a cool town. I've never been here. I could see spending quite a bit of time here if I had the opportunity in the future. Alright, thanks.

2007-06-27 19:57:49 GMT

Hi, this is Steve Wilkinson calling in from Steamboat Springs, it's about 2 o'clock. I got here about 11:00. I've been to the bike shop, Orange Peel Bikes. The guys there were outstanding. They did everything they could to help me out. Just got a few things fixed, and now my hands will be a little comfier. Got some new gloves and bar tape. I'm having a few problems with my feet, but nothing I'm going to complain about. Yeah, and the bike's running smoothly now. I'm at a launderette now, and I'll be heading for Kremling as soon as I can get out of here. Bye.

2007-06-27 18:25:23 GMT

Hi, this is, uh, Bruce Dinsmore. Calling in from Steamboat Springs. It's Wednesday the 27th of June, a hot and sunny day. Rolled in here about an hour ago. I've just had an hour in Orange Peel bicycle shop getting my bike looked at and getting some new kit, so big up to the boys in the shop. Yeah, just going to be rolling out of town probably in about an hour's time, well ahead of the 13-day shedule (brit pronunciation). Stunning day yesterday riding out of Rawlins and back into the green country of Colorado. Um, went through Aspen Alley, not quite as beautiful as the totally stunning (some half-paragraph name of a ride in the british isles that only brits have ever heard of ;) but still really stunning. Everything is going really well after week 1. Having to use Dunkin Asky (sp?) sized portions of Assos Cream and I'm rapidly running out, so looking forward to getting some more of that soon. Body's feeling really good, and looking forward to the 2nd half of the race. Love to everybody, bye-bye now.

Then Bruce fails to properly hang up the Orange Peel shop phone, so there's about 5 minutes of patter between Bruce and the shop wrenches.

2007-06-27 17:00:24 GMT

Hey everybody, this is Dave. Just kind of my final words... (call ends).

I hope Dave calls back. I know Dave, and I consider him to be a good friend. I heard through a mutual friend that he was completely spent, that his body was giving out, and that it was a tremendous relief to be stopped.

Give another call Dave. I think everyone wants to hear from you. Rest up man. -Tom P.

2007-06-27 16:01:10 GMT

(Matthew Lee): Hey Tom, I'm in Horca, H-O-R-C-A, just outside the New Mexico border. I'm watering up and headed into no man's land. You probably won't hear from me until El Rito. Alright, cheers... Oh, it's um, 9:50. Alright, bye.

Rick did not bother calling in, but for the record, I met him and saw him leaving Absolute Bikes in Salida between 10 and 11 AM today. He was sporting a brand-new pair of WTB Nanoraptors (29") on his bike. Guess what? He was riding a Rick Hunter. (drop bars) -Tom P

2007-06-27 12:24:07 GMT

Good morning to everybody out there in Internet Land. It's uh, 6:2o AM on uh, Wednesday, and it's JP, and I'm in Abiquiu. And uh, I'm just waiting for this restaurant to open. I haven't eaten any real food in almost two days. Yesterday was quite a bender, getting through them New Mexico mountains. No easy task. Probably some of the rougher mountains I think as far as uh, just uh, gravel's rougher, more washboard, terrain just a bit rougher and more intense. And uh, that heat and dryness up at 10,000 feet the whole day. Just in all, taking a toll with all the other heat. So, I pushed on, and I had a really good night's rest last night. And uh, so, I just need to now re-fuel myself, stock up, get through this next section of mountains. Um, let's see here. There's a bit of new blacktop on 64 and the men are working there. But, it was no big deal for me, they just told me to go on, it was sometime in the afternoon. But that black shiny blacktop is probably twice as hot as the old stuff. So, that wasn't the best times either. I think I went through 300 ounces of water yesterday. Yep. OK, well I'll probably talk to you when I'm in Cuba. OK, thanks, have a great day everyone. See you soon. Bye.

Questions about the details of the enforcement of the long-standing 13-days-to-Steamboat policy have come up. Here's the interpretation that stands:

Thirteen days will have concluded at noon on Thursday, June 28. Racers must be leaving Steamboat Springs bound for Silverthorne on the GDR course by noon on the 28th. All others will be encouraged to continue riding, but their progress will not be recorded on the GDR site.

If a rider who has not made the 13 day cut-off keeps riding the course, always abiding by all the rules of the race, and manages to finish in less than 25 days, that rider will be recognized as a finisher.

2007-06-27 03:19:10 GMT
(garbled)... Rawlins, I'm a little frazzled. I don't even know who I am. Anyway, kind of had a long day, desert beat the hell out of me. (garbled)... I'm just going to try to get up in the morning and press on. Yeah, I got nothin'

I'm assuming this is Nathan Bay, probably calling in his report from the same bad phone line that McFee was using. Same kind of garbling and distortion.

2007-06-27 03:11:51 GMT

Hey there, Matt McFee. Let's see, it's probably around 10 o'clock here in Rawlins. And, uh, got in around 7:45, had dinner and grabbed some groceries. Now we're checked into a hotel. Crossed the Basin today. It was... (garbled) The only saving grace was that most of the way across the basin there wasn't alot of wind. Which made it hotter, but at least we could kind of move through there. Caught up to Nathan Bay, and he and I rode together today. He's going to call in separate. But uh, I think we both... (garbled) Tomorrow's another day. Thanks, bye.

2007-06-27 00:02:29 GMT

Hey Tom, It's John Billman checking in at Rawlins. It's Tuesday afternoon. Getting ready to head out and make some time on Steamboat here this evening. Camped in the Basin last night--man I woke up with 6 wild horses in my camp. One little colt was pretty cool. Ran into Ashley here at the grocery store. We look like vagabonds, but uh, people in Rawlins are really cool and don't seem to mind. Alright, onward. Thanks.

2007-06-26 22:27:51 GMT

Hey Tom. Matthew Lee here. Just finished feasting in Del Norte. Probably be the last good meal I get until I get to, who knows where, somewhere deep in New Mexico. Anyway, everything is going well, and uh, I'll be headed out soon.

2007-06-26 20:10:48 GMT

Ashley McKinzie here in Rawlins, just about 1 o'clock. I made it through the Basin with some good tailwinds yesterday. And then this morning pushed on through, so I'm hoping to make it to Steamboat tomorrow. But looks like I wouldn't have to until day after tomorrow due to the new rules, whatever that is. But, I'll probably still try to make it there, get a good night's sleep in a hotel, which will be probably just about enough for me. Anyway, later.

2007-06-26 20:02:01 GMT

Yeah, it's Alex Field. I'm in, uh, Clark. And uh, it's 1:30 on Tuesday, I'm at Links Pass Campground... (The rest of the message is too quiet to be heard)

2007-06-26 19:46:50 GMT

Hi, this is John Nobile, checking in. I decided to, uh, terminate in Steamboat again this year. I don't really have the energy to catch up and make up for those days I lost because of the incidents, so anyway, I'm going to end it here. And uh, thanks. Bye.

2007-06-26 18:59:25 GMT

Hey, it's a Rick Hunter calling around noon I think, on Tuesday. I'm in Breckenridge. Uh, about to head up on the pass. Looks like we might get some weather. Clouding over, windy, pretty dark. Sorry to hear about Pete. I can still see his tracks, but maybe not on the pass. Anyways, uh, got a lot of work ahead of me. Hope things are working out--that's a short time cut-off for alot of those other guys I think. Um, just glad to be out of Wyoming, that's all. Anyways, I'm going to try to make it to Salida tonight. And take it from there. OK, take it easy. Seeya.

2007-06-26 17:36:52 GMT

Hey, Hurly here. It's, uh, Tuesday, sometime after 11 AM. Migraine held off, held at bay, didn't come crashing down. So I pushed on through the Basin last night. Probably covered about 170 total for the day. Came in early this morning, into Rawlins. Grabbed a few hours at KOA. Met a couple who was going from south to north and they offered their campsite as they were rolling out. That was about 5 or 6. Since I couldn't find anyplace that had any vacancies. Um, so, soon as I finish up breakfast I'll be heading out, shooting for Steamboat Springs. That's all. Seeya.

2007-06-26 16:58:07 GMT

Um, hey guys, uh, I'm out. Flagg Ranch is it for me. Yeah, too much taken out of me. Got barely anything left. I'll talk to you guys later. Bye.


Dave, sorry to see you drop out. You can be proud of your effort. I hope you'll start healing and resting up. You sound really tired. Way to go my friend. -Tom P.

2007-06-26 17:04:25 GMT

Hi, it's Dave, I'm in Flagg Ranch. Yeah, out of gas. We'll see, well, try pushing another day. Anyway, talk to you later. Bye.

2007-06-26 16:51:07 GMT

Hey, this is Pete. I am in Silverthorne, it's Tuesday. I've decided to bag it. Just, uh, ever since I got sick I haven't been able to shake this bug. And um, just having kind of a miserable time, working my way down the trail, sick every day. I think I need a couple days to hang out and let it pass. And, I think at that point, I'm not really racing, and kind of losing my motivation to do this. So, anyway, I've decided to bag it, and that's it. Bye.

2007-06-26 03:48:33 GMT

Hi, this is Steve Wilkinson, I'm calling in from Rawlins. Got here about 6 o'clock tonight. Just had some dinner, now I'm looking for somewhere to stay. Might have to head out of town. Everywhere looks really seedy. I'm here with Josh Ficke too. Yeah, Rawlins is halfway point on my trip out of Banff. So, that's quite good. 1400 miles under my belt in 14 days. I'm feeling good for that. Been thinking about trainers all day. I'd love to walk somewhere. Put on some nice shoes, have a few home comforts. But apart from that, all's good. Feeling strong. Bye.

2007-06-26 03:48:58 GMT

Hello, Josh Ficke calling in. Just spent two days in hell. Made it to Rawlins today. And uh, interesting place. We uh... I'm kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. I sent a drop here, and we missed the post office by 40 minutes. Boy I was mad. But that's what you get when you take a nap in the middle of the desert. We had some awesome thai food. The panang was the greatest, anybody that's coming through should stop there. Good prices, awesome, awesome food. And, we're going to find something to drink and think about sleeping arrangments. It's kind of a sketchy place to sleep in the ditch, and I've done that a few times on this trip. So keep that in mind when I report in. Alright, Josh Ficke out.

2007-06-26 02:57:24 GMT

Hi, this is John Nobile. It's, uh, Monday evening in Steamboat Springs. A long, hard day--I'm still not really properly hydrated since my little food poisoning incident. But anyway, I'm pushing the best I can. It's a slow ride, but anyway I made it here. And I'll decide tomorrow whether I'm going to go on or not. Bye.

2007-06-26 02:29:16 GMT

Hey, this is Pete. It is Monday about 8:15 in the evening. I'm in Silverthorne. The weather has been pretty good. Unfortunately I'm still pretty darned sick. I'll probably be calling back with another update later. Bye.

2007-06-26 02:17:27 GMT

Hi, this is Bruce Dinsmore calling in from uh, Rawlins. It's Monday the 25th of June. We got across the Great Desert Basin today. That makes our half-way point from the Canadian Prologue. And um, yeah, we got across into Rawlins about 6 o'clock and just had a nice smoothie and a bagel and we're going to go out and have some more food later. I'm with Matt Kemp at the moment. Just booked into a motel. And, uh, yeah Tom, just one query about the 13-day rule. We're not 100% sure if that's Steamboat Springs, and exactly what time and date that cut-off point... you know the new rule that was introduced at the breakfast meeting at the start of the race. So, if you could let us know on your message about the exact time and date for calling in from Steamboat Springs. Alright... which we are heading to tomorrow. Cheers now. Oh, great riding today, tough, but good fun. Cheers bye-bye now.


The cut-off will be Thursday, June 28, noon. Racers should be leaving Steamboat by that time, headed for Silverthorne. The racers' message will be updated to make that policy clear, and I will put a new post at the top describing it.

2007-06-26 01:41:26 GMT

It's uh, Alex Field, it's Monday night. I'm in uh, Savory. And there's nothing here. No restaurant. (unintelligable) ... no grocery store. I'm sort of, uh f****d right now pretty much. Because I can't get over the mountains to anywhere. Um, yeah, I got no... can't get any further, so I guess I'll try to get a lift somewhere. Alright, bye.

2007-06-26 00:01:47 GMT

Yeah, this is Nathan Bay. It's 5:50. I am in Atlantic City. Had a nice tailwind today. The road surface was good. Got my achilles taped up nice, so knock on wood. Going to push on another 30 miles after dinner here. And uh, that's what I've got for you. Bye.

2007-06-25 22:27:35 GMT

JP here. And I'm in Del Norte. And it's 4:20 on Monday. PM. And uh, I just got done feasting out. Feeling a bit dizzy, from this heat. There is no giving up on this sun. My watch was looking at me and saying 1:06 today as I was crossing the high elevation open desert roads. It's quite a nice ride, but this sun is just non-stop. Wind and heat. So I'm just trying to get myself put back together to head on over Indiana Pass tonight, which maybe it'll be a little cooler. So yeah, other than that things are going OK. Like I said, the heat's taking a toll. Alright. I'll talk at you next time. Hope everyone's enjoying the show. Seeya bye.

2007-06-25 19:20:35 GMT

Uh, this is Jeff Kerby. Just made Atlantic City, I believe it's 1 o'clock. About to eat with John and Ashley before pushing off into the Basin. So, extremely windy and dry, and there's no water where we're going so that should be fun. Anyway, here's hoping to make it out alive. Bye.

2007-06-25 19:17:27 GMT

Hey, John Hurly calling from uh, Atlantic City. Last night didn't go quite as well as I planned. Got lost again, there seems to be a discrepancy on the map with the directions. So, camped out on the way up to the 9th crossing. Got up this morning, got a good night's sleep, got up this morning, everything was going great, feeling really good. Crossed the 9th divide and got hit with the inevitable, a migraine. Um, so, did a couple more crossings, fortunately they were low ones. And uh, I'm in Atlantic City right now. Feel like I've got a tidal wave over me so, waiting to crash down, if it really hits. The vision is back at least, so I can read the map. Hands are numb anyway so it doesn't matter. Looks like it's going to get that much more challenging to get to Steamboat by the cut-off date. But, just means that uh, it begins. Oh yes, there will be pain. So, I may have to sleep this one through if the migraine crashes down. So, talk to you later.

2007-06-25 19:04:07 GMT

Hey, this is Ashley McKinzie, it's a little after noon, just got into Atlantic City. Having some killer chili here and some fish and chips for our first course, and then go on for some more. Wait for it too cool down, then head off into the Basin towards Rawlins. Talk to you guys later, bye.

2007-06-25 17:11:27 GMT

Hey it's uh, Rick Hunter calling from Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Please disregard my last phone message. There's uh... wasn't feeling so hot. Wyoming cracked me pretty good. But uh, it's nice to get into Colorado. It's really beautiful here. I had a great rest of the day after that whiny message I left. Put away my quitin' cap. I'm going to keep on riding. Can't quit now, I'm right in the heart of the beast. So, talk to you sometime tomorrow. Alright. Heading south. See-ya. Bye.

2007-06-25 15:29:20 GMT

Howdy. Matt McFee here in lovely Pinedale, Wyoming about 9:15 AM on Monday morning. Had a pretty crappy day yesterday, but managed to fight through it. Had some major quad problem in my right leg and basically had to pedal one-legged for 8 hours or so. But uh, after a little walking and so forth I was able to kind of put it back together. And uh, managed 120 miles and a nice cruise here into Pinedale. Picked up a drop box at the post office. Feeling good, and it looks like, you know barring any major problems I can probably still hit Steamboat despite my major bike catastrophe. Bike seems to be holding together nicely and I'm starting to get back into rhythm after my rest there in Lima, and uh, all is well. Later.

2007-06-25 15:17:05 GMT

Yeah, it's Alex Field--Monday morning. I'm in Rawlins, I got here last night after having to ride through that wonderful Great Basin of high temperatures, 20-knot headwinds, no water. Fun stuff like that. Oh, that's another thing; there is... you may want to let people know, contrary to what the maps say, there is no water between I think it's Sweetwater River and A & M Reservoir. There's absolutely nothing, even though the maps say there should be. But um, yeah, knees are a bit sore after riding a lot of pavement yesterday, and uh, saddle sores are sort of OK, but yeah. I'm just uh, taking it easy for the next couple of days and just ride. OK, check you guys later.

The first two GDR racers came through my home shop, Absolute Bikes in Salida, CO Sunday night and Monday noon. Here are some relevant photos and information.

2007-06-25 13:11:21 GMT

Hey Tom, Matthew Lee here. I'm in Hartsel, waiting for the cafe to open, and then I'm headed to Salida. I got nailed by a storm in South Park last night that stopped me cold at about 9:30. But, all is good. See Absolute in Salida soon. Bye.

2007-06-25 04:13:06 GMT

Uh, this is Nathan Bay. Calling to let you know that I am in Pinedale. Going to try to get a nights sleep in a hotel and hit the road in the morning. Heading for the desert. All's well. Bye-bye.

2007-06-25 03:34:25 GMT

Hey Tom, John Billman here. Let's see, it's a little after 9, I'm in Pinedale, Wyoming. Got Union Pass out of the way. Looking forward to some flatter desert riding in the heat. Alright, thanks, talk to you later. Bye.

2007-06-25 03:33:22 GMT

Hi, this is John Nobile checking in. It's about 9-something Sunday evening and I am in Rawlins. Had a really hot, windy, dry ride from Atlantic City last night. Everything went fairly smoothly, and I plan to leave for Steamboat in the morning. Thanks, bye.

2007-06-25 02:31:36 GMT

Uh, it's Dave, I'm a little bit north of, uh, uh, oh crap, which--where am I? Let me see, here's my map. I'm a little bit north of Macks Inn at an RV campground. Just had a nice shower after being blown around a lot today. Probably had some 50-60 mile an hour gusts today. Standing on the pedals going downhill is never fun. Going to be shooting for, I don't know... probably Moran Junction for tomorrow. Anyway, bye.

2007-06-25 02:05:47 GMT

Hey, this is Pete, it is Sunday. It's about quarter to eight. I'm in Steamboat Springs. Probably take off out of here in few minutes. Still feeling pretty crumby. Not really able to eat much, just because of this bug that I've had. But otherwise things have been really nice. Weather's amazing, starry nights, blue skies, big puffy clouds. Pretty incredible. But still feeling pretty awful, so, anyway just trying to make the best of it, and that's it. Good-bye.

2007-06-25 00:52:13 GMT

Good evening. 6:37 PM Sunday. JP here. Yeah, just got treated pretty well over there at Absolute Bikes, cheer them on. Helping me out a bit, and to the cafe next door. Just fueled up, got some food, things to go. Yeah, the ride on over here today, was a bit challenging with the hair dryer in the face all day effect. And the sun was quite intense up at elevation. A bit challenging mentally at times. But, it's all over now. Just going to go and climb through the mountains tonight. And uh, the next stop will be Del Norte. Yeah, other than that I guess, it's just moving along. I'll talk to you I guess next time. Alright. Night-night world.

2007-06-25 00:18:25 GMT

Hey, it's Rick Hunter. Calling from Savery, Wyoming I think it is. Went a couple miles off course to get a pepsi. Just been fighting a head wind all day, kind of hurting. Been putting my quitting cap on. I don't know. We'll see. I'm going to try to make it to Steamboat tonight or tomorrow morning, and then play it by ear from there. But uh, losing a little interest, and thinking of all the things I could be doing but going 8 miles an hour on a gravel road, for 15 hours a day. But that's about it, I'll try and stay positive. And I hope everyone else is going good. And it was good running into Pete. And wish him luck. And that's about it. So I'll talk to everybody soon. Thank you, bye.

2007-06-25 00:16:45 GMT

Hey, John Hurly calling in again. Just lmade a costly mistake. Left Pinedale, went to Boulder. Caught the bold print about all the mileage after that, needing to subtract 4.0 miles, but then I missed the regular print about turnings on 12 miles of long, climbing rollers. Probably went 14 miles out and coming back past, I think, Ashley. I think he made the same mistake, I tried to motion to him to get him to turn around and he was in a zone and he kept going. I wasn't going to chase him down, I couldn't. So, see how long it takes him to turn around. One more thing that happens when you're exhausted in this race, you miss directions. Alright, I'm heading back out, see ya.

2007-06-24 23:11:53 GMT

Hey, this is Ashley McKinzie reporting in, here in Boulder. It's about 5 o'clock. So, uh, supposedly was 98 degrees down here today, but with a little crosswind it didn't feel quite that bad. Quite a bit of road, miles went by easy. Camped up on Union Pass last night. I was a little disappointed to find that I had misread the map and there is no food up there. And I dumped all my water out before going up, but there was a nice spring up there, so, no sweat. Feeling pretty good, going to roll on and get a few miles and go to sleep. Hope everybody's doing well. Later.

2007-06-24 21:51:02 GMT

Hey, this is Jeff Kerby, just wanted let you to know I'm at The Cafe, which is I believe about 30-35 miles the other side of Union Pass which was a whole lot of fun. I do want to say thank you to the two blonde girls who offered to give me a ride at the bottom of Union Pass last night about 11. It was a very tempting offer, but hey, guys for future reference, don't pick up anyone that looks like I do right now. I think my hair is starting to dred, I'm dirty, I haven't changed my shirt in 7 days, I don't even remember the last time I was in a hotel. Trying to pick up a guy on a bike, that late to drive to a remote area is never a good idea. On the lighter side, at least there hasn't been any resorts or anything today, so that was good. I had about enough of that yesterday. But, in any case I'm going to press on and try to get somewhere in between uh... well, I won't make Atlantic City but I'll give it a shot. Oh, and sorry Nick, your bags are somewhere in the Tetons. Rack broke two days ago, and obviously I couldn't carry them, so I owe you two bags, and chances are you aren't going to get them until I get paid again, probably in September. So, sorry, but you know, at least it was for a good cause. Take care, bye.

2007-06-24 19:31:08 GMT

Hey, John Hurly calling in here from Pinedale, Wyoming. Got in this morning, put in about a 190-mile day yesterday, but at the cost of no sleep and some pretty sore knees. It was a little sketchy coming through some posted grizzly country all by my lonesome--a little freaky. Be pushing out, hung up here, grab some food, reconfigure some camping gear and stuff, and should be heading out to try to get as close to Atlantic City as I can tonight. And then, push on from there. Alright, that's all, bye.

2007-06-24 15:37:18 GMT

Hi, it's Bruce Dinsmore from Harruget Mover (sp?) Cycle Club on the Great Divide Race. Calling in from Boulder, just got a bit of a late start this morning after getting in to Pinedale last night at about 10:30. It's Sunday so everything is shut in Boulder, but it's going to be a warm one. We're fully stocked for our trip across to South Pass City and into the Great Desert Basin. Hopfully make Rawlins tomorrow evening. Lots of love to everybody back home. Bye.

2007-06-24 14:48:06 GMT

Hey, Tom, Matthew Lee here. It's early. 8:30 Sunday, and I'm in Radium. Just finished buying some coffee off of the river running outfit here in the bottom of the gorge. Climbing out into Silverthorne. OK, bye.

2007-06-24 15:04:11 GMT

Good morning, this is Tracy, it is Sunday, June 24. And I just wanted to wish Jay Petervary a happy birthday. And, hope you have an extra special ride today, and you get to enjoy a piece off cake. Love ya.

2007-06-24 14:18:16 GMT

Good morning. It is JP, and I got into Silverthorne last night, got me a little cheap room, cleaned my act up, shaved up, woke up this morning, cruised on into Breck, had some breakfast, getting ready to head up and on over the pass. Which should be pretty fun I guess, sort of done it once before. And uh, I've just been having some good rides really. Just one little section at a time. And I'm enjoying it at this point, and I hope everyone else is as well. And uh, yeah, thanks. And oh yeah, I'm going to have a pretty good day I think because, Happy Birthday to JP. Alright, have a good one. See ya, bye.

2007-06-24 05:25:24 GMT

Hello. Josh Ficke calling from Pinedale. It's got to be around 11:30. I'm kind of pooped. We uh, I started out with the old Redcoats this morning, and they're kind of hard to keep up with because I have a big fat booty. But, got dropped over the first pass. We met up and had lunch. And uh, over Union Pass I really suffered, it was really miserable. I was not a happy camper. I really needed an attitude adjustment. Thankfully I got some downhill stretch and things picked up. Had dinner over at The Place. They are fairly nice over there. But never had a prime rib and got bit by mosquitoes at the same time at a restaurant. Interesting interesting interesting. Um getting kind of late, so about time to find a place to crash. Figure out what's going down tomorrow. Lots of pedaling I suppose. Alright, bye.

2007-06-24 02:40:54 GMT

Hi, this is Steve Wilkinson calling from The Place Cafe on the road to Pinedale, about 25 miles outside. It's about 8 o'clock, we're just getting some food. I'm with Bruce Dinsmore and Matt Kemp as usual. Team GB I think we're called now. We left Josh Ficke somewhere back down the road a little earlier this morning, he can't quite keep the pace. We seem to be in mosquito-infested Wyoming now which is driving me nuts. Yeah, I'll check in next time I find a phone. Bye.

2007-06-24 01:55:46 GMT

Hey there, Matt McFee just before 8 PM on Saturday. I'm at Culture Bay Village here in Grand Teton National Park. Got about 130 miles in today over some pretty heinous road. Quads sort of gave out on me for the last 30 miles, but I was able to cobble together a finish. So, I'm going to get up early and keep plugging away. Thanks.

2007-06-24 00:52:03 GMT

Hey, this is Pete. It is 6:30 PM on Saturday the 23rd. I'm in Rawlins, I'm also here with Rick Hunter. I met up with him about 55 miles out of town and we kind of hopped back and forth riding into town together. And uh, boy the weather's been really terrific it's been just really nice, except today was super hot and windy and just a pretty brutal relentless headwind. I think we both suffered a lot from it. So anyway, I'm going to hole up here for a little bit and get re-hydrated and hopefully be out in not too long. I think Rick might be hanging out in Rawlins for a few more hours than that. And, uh, that's it. Bye.

2007-06-23 23:47:29 GMT

Good afternoon. 5:30 Saturday, and it's JP. And, I left Steamboat after some fixins and stuff. And it was quite a hot route. It's very very very hot out on them open roads in these dry country hills. And uh, sort of just ran out of some water and just pulled on over into Kremling here, and found the oasis of Shake and Burger. I hope everybody makes this little score, to hit this little place soon as you pull into town. And that should fill me up to keep going into the evening to my next destination. And then, uh, I'll talk to you then, but other than that things are going good, definitely hot, and just uh, yeah, going through with it. Alright, sounds good, thanks, hope everyone's doing well. Bye.

2007-06-23 23:42:31 GMT

Hey, Tom Purvis. Matthew Lee here. It's 5:20 and I'm getting ready to leave Steamboat Springs. So, that's my update.

2007-06-23 23:03:37 GMT

Hi, this is Noah Dimmit. It's Saturday about 4 o'clock. I'm in Flagg Ranch. I'm going to have to drop out of the race due to a knee injury. I wish all the remaining racers the best of luck, and hopefully we'll see everyone next year. Bye.

2007-06-23 21:52:48 GMT

This is Dave it's about 3:30-ish in the afternoon. I'm in Lima. Long hard day. Probably some heat stroke. Really really dehydrated, really windy. Yeah, staying the night here. Talk to you later. Bye.

2007-06-23 21:51:08 GMT

Hi, this is John Nobile. It's Saturday afternoon I'm in Pinedale, hoping to go for Atlantic City tonight. I finally got all my stuff together, the bike wheel came in Friday afternoon. I stay at the Lava Mountain Lodge, the wheel came in there. Unfortunately I couldn't leave that day because I had food poisoning Thursday night and I was pretty ill for about 24 hours. But anyway I'm partially recovered now so I'm riding again and my bike's working so hopefully I'll go through the basin on Sunday. Thanks, bye.

2007-06-23 18:21:50 GMT

Hey Tom, this is John Billman checking in from Flagg Ranch, Wyoming. Also checking in for John Hurly, who just blew in and out of here like something out of a Cormac McCarthy novel, but that's... Anyway uh, camped with the skeeters last night, going to try to get to... try to get across Union Pass today, and the weather's great, and uh, tired but feeling good. Bye.

2007-06-23 18:05:15 GMT

This is Nathan Bay, I'm in Flagg Ranch. Just about to have a meal. Just ran into John Hurly, he wanted me to mention that he was here. And uh, other than that, doing just fine.

2007-06-23 16:12:16 GMT

This is Jeff Kerby, just got into Flagg Ranch this morning. I guess it's like about 9 o'clock on Saturday morning. Tried to get in last night to give you guys a call, got about 5 miles out and just couldn't make it. So, anyway, we'll be pushing out today. Miss everybody, bye.

2007-06-23 14:12:58 GMT

Good morning to everybody. It's JP, I'm here in Steamboat. It's like 8 o'clock on Saturday morning. I got in here last night, ate down, camped out. And I'm actually needing a bike shop just for some tubes and such. Minor stuff. Just waiting around for 9 o'clock. Yeah, make it to Silverthorne tonight for sure. Everything's going pretty fair considering. It was welcoming coming in here to Colorado. Quite beautiful, and things have been treating me pretty well. And uh, just knock on wood and keep the luck on my side. Alright, thanks, and everybody enjoy. Alright. Seeya, bye.

2007-06-23 03:38:32 GMT

Hey this is Ashley McKinzie reporting in. I'm at Flagg Ranch. Got here at about 8 o'clock. That trip over from Macks Inn was, uh, sort of flat but pretty brutal none the less. Uh, let's just say they shouldn't have rails to trails. That was a pretty rude awakening this morning. Anyway, still going. Hot today, supposed to be hot tomorrow. Talk to you then.

2007-06-23 03:23:03 GMT

It's Dave, I'm checking in from the Grasshopper Inn, about 3 miles north of Polaris. It's, probably close to 9 o'clock. I'm going to try to get to the state campground tonight, crash out, and probablty Lima tomorrow if not a little further. Talk to you tomorrow evening. Bye.

2007-06-23 01:58:42 GMT

Hello everybody this is Josh Ficke calling. I'm at Leek's Pizzaria in... uh, it's by a lake in Teton National Park. Last night I slept with the Brits in mosquito alley. It was rather ridiculous as I didn't have a tent. But, managed to get through the night. Headed up to Togwotee Pass, or however you say that, should be nice and chilly, I'll get a good night's sleep. And, see what happens tomorrow. Alright. Be safe.

2007-06-22 23:50:49 GMT

Hi, it's the great british Great Divide boot camp. We've arrived in Flagg Ranch. It's Friday the 22nd, we got here about 4:30. It's a pretty warm day, up into the high 30's which is over 100 degrees. Tough riding as well. We've just had something to eat and we're going to head off down toward Togwatee Lodge. And, hopefully make Pinedale tomorrow evening. We're all really well. That's Matt Kemp, Steve Wilkinson, Bruce Dinsmore and we've been reunited with Josh. So, uh, having a ball. Cheers, bye-bye.

2007-06-22 23:09:44 GMT

Hey Tom, Matthew Lee here. I'm in Rawlins, getting ready to leave for Steamboat. I'm sure I won't make it there tonight, but I'll be there tomorrow. It's about 5 o'clock. Had a hot, tough ride across the basin. Special thanks go to the Miner's Delight Inn and B&B in Atlantic City for accommodating me last minute. Thanks guys, and good luck with the new ownership. OK, thanks, bye.

2007-06-22 23:07:45 GMT

Hey there, Matt McFee here. 4:55 on Friday, and I am back online. New frame, new fork, new front wheel. And I am out of here.

2007-06-22 21:54:23 GMT

Yeah, this is Nathan Bay. I'm in Island Park, riding around in circles. Seems to have been... seems to be what I'm doing today. Chain issues, getting lost issues. So, I'm going to give this a shot. So much for 140+ yesterday. Making up for it today. Bye-bye.

2007-06-22 21:12:36 GMT

Hey this is Pete. It's uh, Friday, the 22nd about 3:15. I'm in uh, Boulder. I woke up this morning and felt good enough to go. Still trying to get hydrated again after that little episode. So, anyway, yeah, things are good to go. That's it, bye.

2007-06-22 20:35:39 GMT

(Dave Nice): I'm in Wind, uh, Wind River, place, (I'm sure he's talking about Wise River, and he's forgotten the name) crazy little descent down into this area. Yeah, feel like I'm catching a little bit of rhythm back, but everything's just real nice and sore. And, uh, you know, just keep rolling. Bye


Dave calls back in a few minutes to say:

It's Dave. It's Wise River that I'm in, and it's really windy. It's not Wind River, it's Wise River. Anyway, brain's a little baked today. Anyway, talk to you later. Bye.

2007-06-22 16:52:55 GMT

Uh, first question: what's a pilot car? Does that mean that I can get a lift in a car through the construction zone or what? I don't really understand.


Photo by Aaron Teasdale, Adventure Cycling

But anyway, this is Alex Field. I'm in Flagg Ranch, Friday morning. Had a pretty bad day yesterday. Woke up two hours late somehow, my alarm didn't go off. Lost an hour coming through that really sandy trail, and then rode up the wrong mountain for 10 miles, lost two hours there. I was just absolutely (couldn't hear the word) last night, really angry at myself. But um, yeah this morning I'm really really flat. And uh, my knees are causing a bit of problem. They've been sore since the start. I've sort of been massaging them to, just to be able to start. For the past couple of mornings I've had to ride at half speed for the first 3 or so hours, can't even stand out of the saddle until the fifth hour or so. So yeah, it's uh, my knees are playing a big part in this race. But um, apart from that, I'm feeling pretty good, my body is fine. I could do more mileage each day, it's just that my knees are giving out and I've had some poor time management over the past couple of days. But other than that, I'll see how things go.

2007-06-22 14:48:04 GMT

Good morning, 8:27 AM, Rawlins. JP here. Quite a stretch from Pinedale to here. No phone in Atlantic City, it's been ripped out. It was quite hot through there. A bit of washboard, not what I was imagining, but still tough on yah. And the heat and the wind of course. It was fun to come through Wyoming, but I'll tell ya, it's nice to leave. Alright. Congratulations and cheers to the Fitzgerald wedding. Have fun everybody, talk at you soon. And uh, Steamboat, here I come. See ya.

Hey everyone, Aaron Teasdale of Adventure Cycling has put together a photo gallery of his shots from this year's Great Divide Race:

http://www.adventurecycling.org/gdrgallery2007/

We should not forget, the Great Divide Route was created by Adventure Cycling. This race would not exist in the form it does without the efforts of that fine organization. Support them with donations if you can, buy their maps (which are really wonderful), and maybe let them know that you appreciate what they do.

2007-06-22 03:13:44 GMT

Hey this is Ashley McKinzie reporting in, I'm uh... it's about 9 o'clock. And I am in Macks Inn. Just going to stay here for the night. I guess about 700 miles in, so, it was a little hot today, but just pushing on through. I hope... wish everyone the best. Later.

2007-06-22 03:12:03 GMT

Hey, John Hurly checking in from Lima. Got here earlier today. Just stopping to do some laundry and that kind of thing. Should be heading back out. There was about 5 of us here today. It was scorcher of a day. When I was shipping some stuff out it looked like it was about 90 degrees in the shade. It made for a rough time coming over one of the passes. That's about it. I'll be pressing on in a little bit.


Photo by Aaron Teasdale, Adventure Cycling

2007-06-22 02:32:32 GMT

Hey hey, it's Rick Hunter calling from uh, where am I? Pinedale, Wyoming. And uh, helluva ride again today. It's pretty hot, getting pretty hammered today, sunburned. But uh, covering the miles, just not going very fast. Did about 130 today. There are some pretty cool hot rods in this town. And uh, I caught a ride in the pilot car. Three miles and it's just going downhill, so it's not going to really give you an advantage. Just going to slow you down a little bit. Made it over the pass, and ordering a pizza right now. So, hope things are good. Wanted to say hi to all my family and friends, and all my inlaws in Calgary. Shout out to the racing team, DFL of San Francisco. You guys are the worst bike club ever. This man rides for you (that's what I think he said. Could be "wipes"? Hmm). All right, take it easy. I'll see you in Colorado, hopefully. Later, bye.

2007-06-22 01:23:45 GMT

Hi guys it's Bruce Dinsmore, Matt Kemp, Steve Wilkinson. We just rolled in just after 5 pm on Tuesday the 21st of June into Sawtell Resort. We've just had a massive pizza and some food, and we're heading off south now, probably down to Ashton. We're not sure we'll get there tonight though. OK, all going really well and, stunning weather, stunning riding.

2007-06-22 01:18:59 GMT

Hi, it's 7 o'clock on Thursday. This is John Nobile, I'm at Togwatee. Just about to head into that construction zone, so I was glad I got the message. Still riding a bike with a broken freewheel, hoping to get that fixed tomorrow, and I will check in then. Bye.

2007-06-22 00:50:58 GMT

This is Noah Dimmit in Lima. It's about 6:30 (PM). Anyways, pushing on, and feeling good. Talk to you later. Bye.

Photo by Aaron Teasdale, Adventure Cycling

2007-06-21 22:21:18 GMT

Hey, this is Pete. It is Thursday, 4:22. So, after yesterday I ran into another little problem. Last night I pulled over to take a quick nap. I was feeling great. I was on my way up into Union Pass. And uh, I woke up about an hour later and started vomiting, and continued that over the course of the night, laying in my sleeping bag. I don't know what I got. Maybe it's food poisoning, maybe it's uh, maybe I'm just dehydrated or something. But it came on really really quick, and it was pretty awful. Anyway, this morning as I was laying there I did see Matt Lee going by me at about 6 o'clock in the morning, starting up the pass. So we talked a little bit. And uh, from there, after laying there for a few more hours, I did manage to walk about 2 miles down the trail and get a lodge. Um, I'm going to go try to eat some solid food, right about now. I'm feeling significantly better, but uh, you know little bug like that will kind of knock you on your butt. So, I'll probably be here for at least a day I think. Not dropping out of course, just need some time to recover. So that's the update from me, bye.

2007-06-21 22:18:41 GMT

Holy smokes. This is Nathan Bay. I'm in... oh where am I. I'm in Lima. It's about 4 o'clock. I'm going to have a home-cooked meal over here at Jan's cafe. Sure to be savory. It's hotter than the hinges of hell. And uh, doing pretty OK. Some slight muscle issues, and, pain, and all that normal stuff. But, doing just fine. Going to get back on the road. Bye-bye.

2007-06-21 21:54:49 GMT

Hey, this is Jeff Kerby, um, it's about a quarter to four. Just got into Lima. Sorry for not checking in for those back home. Just hasn't been very much in between. Be glad to be out of Montana tomorrow. However, I did want to say thank you to the cook yesterday who hooked us with a couple of pretty large burgers. Anyway, for her, hi. And everybody back home, miss you.

2007-06-21 19:45:50 GMT

Hey Tom, John Billman here calling from Lima, Montana. Looks like I'm heading out into Slim Jim country, so stocking up. We'll check with you in Idaho or Wyoming. Thanks. Bye.

2007-06-21 19:30:53 GMT

Hey, it's Dave, uh, Nice. Still in Butte. Taking another night, just trying to get my legs back into shape. Another night of rest. Going to get an early start in the morning, and keep her going. Thanks again Tom for doing all this, that rocks. Talk to you later. Bye.

Rest up Dave. Rollin' that fixed gear has to take its toll. I know it's your goal to be the first to finish the route on a fixie. Hope it happens for you! -Tom P.

2007-06-21 17:10:14 GMT

Hey Tom, Matthew Lee here. I am in Green River, Wyoming. Having a big, fat breakfast. Or Cora, I'm being corrected here, Cora, Wyoming. And uh, I'm moving on to Pinedale shortly. Yeah, I know about all of the debacle from yesterday. I talked to Pete this morning. He was lying sleeping on the side of the trail on Union Pass. He's not feeling well. I'll let him explain but it sounds like he's come down with some bacteria or something. So anyway, he's back on Union Pass, and I hope that he gets better soon. I gave him some probiotics, maybe that'll help. At any rate, I'm heading to Atlantic City tonight, and will probably sally out onto the Great Basin in the middle of the night. OK, cheers.

2007-06-21 16:02:48 GMT

Hi, this is Matt McFee. It's about 9:42 on, uh Thursday morning. I just checked into a hotel here in Lima, Montana. And uh, just suffered a major catastrophe. I was on my way into Lima here this morning, and I was stretching on the bike, and I swerved, and just went into the grass a little bit. Unfortunately there was a gigantic boulder in the grass that I hit as square as you can hit a boulder. Tossed me about 15 or 10 feet or so, and has buckled my frame. The down tube and top tube are both buckled, and the bike is in horrific shape. That said, I am not quitting. Luckily I have the same bike, in single speed that is being broken down and going to be over-nighted here to the hotel. And, hopefully I can get this thing taken apart and have plenty of time to rest and eat. And try to get it put together back quickly, and get on the road and try to make up some time. Hopefully Mr. Curiak will waive the cutoff to Steamboat, but regardless I'm going to do this baby. Sorry for the long message, but this is a big one. Anyway, thanks bye.

Photo by Aaron Teasdale, Adventure Cycling

2007-06-21 15:39:14 GMT

Hello, Josh Ficke here calling from Lima. Left yesterday from Fleecer Pass. Stopped in at Elkhorn Hot Springs, that was sweet, it cured my aches. From there Ashley and I rode to Grant, and that was a bust. Nothing there. And we got there fairly early, 4:30. There was nothing open, nothing's ever open. Nobody's friendly. Anyways, rode over the pass through the dark, got to Lima. Lima was a bust. Everything was closed, I was starving. No rooms at the motel, even though I didn't want to spend money on that. So I crashed, and met up with the Brits this morning. It was nice to see them. Had some breakfast and Ashley just rolled in. We're about to get cruisin'. But, talk to you laters.

Mike Curiak became aware of the conundrum that Pete Basinger faced with the construction site yesterday, and in his role as rules referee has granted permission for all riders that follow the two leaders through that gauntlet that it is OK to ride in the pilot car. It is not going to be judged as s rules violation. Any racer who sees this message, please know that. You don't have to spend any time arguing with flaggers, being tempted to run through without their blessing, or waiting until after the crew goes home. Ride in the pilot car.

2007-06-21 04:33:24 GMT

Hi, this is Steve Wilkinson calling in from Lima. Well, basic on the great divide (not sure I heard that right. Played it half a dozen times.). We came over from Wise River where we stayed last night. I'm with Bruce Dinsmore and Matt Kemp. Um yeah, put a good 140 miles in today and we're all feeling strong. Bye.

2007-06-21 04:00:20 GMT

Hi, this is John Nobile checking in. I had to take a little detour to Ashton. As soon as I crossed into Idaho my freewheel seized up, so I can still ride the bike but it's pretty frustrating with no coasting or resting. So anyway I'm trying to get that fixed up, I may not be able to fix that until Pinedale. But um, which will be in a couple days. So, anyway, I just also would like to point out that I went through an area leading up to Sawtell Resort there's a dirt area, and there was three tracks and I've been following those three tracks for a long time, and they are very clear. When I went onto the old railroad bed there was only one track for the first 22 miles of it. I'm guessing that some people took the detour that's listed on the map. Anyway, towards the lower half of the railroad bed there was a whole bunch of tracks. Anyway, I will check in tomorrow. Bye.

2007-06-21 03:54:59 GMT

Ah, JP here. It's 9:48 on Wednesday. That's PM. I'm here in Pinedale. I had a pretty good day out there. Had the Wyoming vibes going so, felt pretty good throughout the day, not too many low times, but it was hot, and of course windy in Wyoming. It will be funny to hear what happens with that little traffic stuff on the other side of Togwatee as I just blew by the lady as she's yelling at me. She wanted me to wait for a pace car, but forget it. Just kept on going. They even tried pulling in behind me to make me go, but I was fine doing 25 with traffic so whatever. And uh, so it went good for me. And ah, yeah, I guess I don't have much more to say. Except that, uh, Jackson was trying to pull me in so I can get down and have a beer, but I just kept on going. So. Alright, everything's well. Keep on moving on. Talk to you next time. I have a feeling those guys are breathing down my back, so, seeya.

Oh my God. I don't know whether to laugh or, well, I did laugh. I feel for Pete though. Jay set him up for a really crappy day.

2007-06-21 04:04:10 GMT

It's Dave, it's 9:50 or so. Just got it into Butte. Uh, yeah, tired, mosquitoes attacked me, ran around in circles up around some of the mining roads and such, got a little confused. But, doing well. Going to sleep in and see how it goes tomorrow. Talk to you later, bye.

2007-06-21 01:49:00 GMT

Hey Tom, this is Pete. I'm not going to tell you where I am right now. I had a long day, and this is going to be a long message, so I apologize. Um, started out with a wrong turn, that netted me an extra ten miles, largely uphill. When I realized I had made the wrong turn I of course had to turn around and do, uh go the proper way. It's kind of hard to explain what I did, but if anybody has a map it's the Brook Lake Road. I basically entered where you are supposed to exit, and went the wrong way on it. So, I didn't realize it until I had done the whole road, popped out, hit the highway, and started a long descent. And then, realized what I had done. Turned around went back and did the whole road again. Popped back out. Next problem; there's a three mile, actually maybe even a little less section of road right after the Brooks Lake Road, section of highway where they have a pilot car. And as people know, the rules don't allow you to use a pilot car, and uh, this might be a problem. Anyway, when I got there it was a couple hours after Jay had gone through, and he had just blasted through the stop sign which is great, which is awesome, totally within the rules. Way to go Jay. Well it's a lot harder when you are the 2nd person to arrive because that flagger was pretty mad. Um, I went in circles with her, talked with her forever. I told her I'm just going to go and she threatened to hit me with the sign. Um, I talked to her some more, it was just, it was... I was just completely conflicted because obviously there could be 20 more racers coming back through here and if it's during the times they are out there and they're not letting people go through this section. I mean, it's three miles downhill, what are you supposed to do? OK, I'm going to call back and give you the second part of this message.

Part II

This is Pete again. Second part of the message. I'm being stopped by the pilot car, and this lady is... is livid. You know, Jay had gone through an hour, maybe an hour and a half earlier, and uh, she was just really pissed about the whole thing and telling me about how she'd called all these different highway departments and they have the troopers looking for him, of course they're looking like in Dubois or something like that so he's fine. But uh, anyhow, I sat there for about a half hour looking down the road, you can practically see where the pilot part ends. I decided I was going to get in the pilot car, got in the pilot car, took the pilot car. Um, all in all, talking to the lady and everything else it was probably a good 30-45 minutes, like I said it's less than three miles of downhill so clearly there was no advantage. Well, anyway, like a ding-dong I had to ride about 30 miles from that point on, thinking over and over in my head about what I had just done, whether it was legal, how people were going to look at this, am I changing rules in the middle of the race, um, we told people to get around by all means necessary, even if they have to wait until the time when the worker goes home, which is doable, in this scenario. And, after I had got to the top of Union Pass, like I said about 30 miles away, I just couldn't live with myself knowing that what I had done was cheating, and I think someone could easily call me on it. I think it's a rules problem, I think it needs to be changed anyway. So, I turned around, rode 30 miles back, and yeah, I covered the construction section after the pilot cars have gone and all the construction was gone. Um, but ah, I don't know, maybe this is a problem, or a rule error or some logistical thing that needs to be addressed. Because this could be kind of an issue for a lot of people if you show up early in the morning and you have to wait, you know, 12 hours before you can go across. Or, I guess you could always bushwack through the woods, which is not the place to do that. Um, yeah, so I don't know what to think about this whole thing. Except I guess I feel like I made my wrong right, and I don't know what the rest of the people are going to do. And I feel like I'm kind of, so far behind Jay that I'm probably not going to make up that time, but at least I can finish knowing that I'm not going to have a question mark or an asterisk by my time or anything like that. Anyway, been a long day, bye

Photo by Aaron Teasdale, Adventure Cycling

2007-06-21 00:48:46 GMT

Hey Tom, Steve McGuire. I'm done with the race. I want to thank you for all your work. I had a terrific time. Learned a lot about the race. The riders have been terrific. And uh, all the best to those people that are still in it. Nathan and Matt and John were terrific. Good luck Noah, and all the best. Thanks, bye-bye.

Sorry to see Steve go. He sounds like he's completely at peace with his decision. Like all the other racers who have abandoned, he's a good sport, wishing success to all who stay in the game. For that, and for his courage at attempting this, he deserves to be admired.

2007-06-20 23:51:23 GMT

This is Alex Field, I'm in Lima... (call ends)

This message was extremely poor in quality. It was 5 seconds long and I had to hook up external speakers and max the volume to hear it at all. But he clearly said "I'm in Lima"

Sadly, we've had another racer abandon. Congratulations to Mike Gibney. He didn't leave anything out there. He gave it a danged good shot.

Check out the leader board being maintained by Scott Morris from TopoFusion for helping to make sense of the current state of the race.

2007-06-20 20:17:21 GMT

This is Nathan Bay, I'm in Wise River. It's about 2:18, I'm here with Jeff--"Jeff what's your last name?"--Jeff Kerby is here with me. Singlespeeders unite. We're going to sit down here to a meal and then head on to Polaris. Alrighty, bye-bye.

2007-06-20 18:57:29 GMT

Hey Tom, Matthew Lee here, it's 12:45 and I'm just leaving Flagg Ranch. I had to take about an hour off to do some bike maintenance. But things are rollin' and body feels good. OK, bye.

2007-06-20 18:29:06 GMT

Hey, it's uh Rick Hunter--spud boy in Idaho. Ended up covering some distance last night after Lima. And, not feeling so hot today. Legs say "go go", ass says "no no". That's about it. I'm going to try to make it to Flagg Ranch, I guess I'm about a day behind now. Alrighty, over and out. Thanks alot. Bye.

2007-06-20 17:47:01 GMT

Hi, this is Mike Gibney. Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm done with the race. I guess that I'm just not cut out to keep a pace like that, and it just takes it's toll on you. I want to thank everybody involved. Thank you Tom for all your effort. Good luck to everybody that's continuing. And those guys that are out in front, at the pace they're going, they are incredible, super-human people. So, anyway I gave it another shot, and you know, hopefully, didn't let anybody down. And I want to thank everybody, so thanks alot. Take care everyone. Bye.

Photo courtesy of Aaron Teasdale,
Adventure Cycling

2007-06-20 16:55:13 GMT

Hey, Hurly here. Calling in from Butte. Just fixed a flat, heading out. Rode with Noah a little bit yesterday. I tell you, the 2nd climb coming out of Helena, serious kick to the crotch on that one. When they say "steep and rough" they mean it. Um, otherwise, grabbed a room in Butte, needed to make up some sleep from the night before. Heading out. Hopefully put in a couple long days--keep playing catchup. Alright, I'm out. ... Not of the race, I'm out of Butte, heading on. See you.

2007-06-20 15:11:54 GMT

Mike Curiak called in today at around 9:15 to comment on the race so far. As he says about Jay Petervary, Pete Basinger, and Matthew Lee: "those guys are smoking it." All three are well ahead of record pace, and Rick Hunter is "knocking on the door." Definitely an impressive field.

Even behind those four who are contenders for the record, there are quite a few of the large starting field who are riding quite well, and who have done a great job of withstanding the wicked weather that characterized the first several days of the race.

Check out the leader board being maintained by Scott Morris from TopoFusion for helping to make sense of the current state of the race.

Scott Hodge, Andreas Vogel, Andy Buchanan, and Kevin Montgomery have been forced to abandon. Two from injury, two from equipment failure. Congratulations to them for the effort they put in, and the grit that it took just to line up.

The whole field is well through the Montana portion of the route, which is tough. As they pass through Idaho and northwest Wyoming, they are facing a new weather challenge. Heat. This could be a real trial as they enter the Great Divide Basin; hot, dry, and with long stretches of exposed, washboarded road.

2007-06-20 14:11:35 GMT

Hey, this is Ashley McKinzie reporting in. We stayed just the other side of Fleecer Ridge last night. Then came across to Wise River, it's about 8 o'clock now. We're getting breakfast then going to hit this long road section which we're really looking forward to. Talk to you later.

2007-06-20 14:04:01 GMT

Hey there, Matt McFee. It's about 10 'til 8 on Wednesday morning. I'm at Wise River. And uh, that's about it. I got about 105 miles in last night, and uh, feel pretty good today already. And it's all pretty good. It's not snowing.

2007-06-20 13:54:04 GMT

Uh, Kevin Montgomery reporting in. I guess this is the end of my race. I rode my bike to Helena and uh, the shock got worse. I broke the lockout and I went to the bike shop and investigated my options yesterday morning, and basically it either looked like ordering a new shock, which would basically mean that I wouldn't make it to Steamboat in 13 days, or buying a new bike which wasn't exactly feasible either. So, I kind of regret it, but you know, it's you know, not a big deal. I feel fresh so I'm going to go home and explore other projects. I'm going to try to section hike some of the Appalachian Trail.

I would like to give a quick thanks to Jeff Boatman from Carousel Design Works. His bags are awesome and any GDR racer in the future should definitely use them because they made it... he didn't say they were definitely rain-proof or anything, but they made it through all the snow storms and what-not and kept my gear dry.

Yeah, had a great time this year, and hopefully some other time in the future I can try to tackle this race again.

2007-06-20 13:37:20 GMT

Hey this is Pete, I'm just a little ways outside of Flagg Ranch. It is 7:30 in the morning. Sounds like Jay's about 45 minutes-an hour ahead at this point. Yeah, that's about it, nothing really to report. Just a long, kinda hard day. The weather has been fairly good except for a few headwinds. Um, there's something called a rail trail just out where you go through Idaho. It was just incredibly soft and bumpy, and just real slow-going for about 20 miles yesterday. So, that kinda zapped me. But um, anyway, off to a good start this morning. Bye.

2007-06-20 10:51:01 GMT

Yeah, it's Alex Field. It's Tuesday night, Polaris... (garbled--call ends).

Another very poor phone connection, but Alex did leave a very short message (I heard him hang up perhaps four garbled words after the word "Polaris"). He sounded very tired.

2007-06-20 05:58:19 GMT

Hi, this is John Nobile checking in. It's uh, Tuesday night, and I just got to Lima. I was only able to make it to Butte yesterday because I had to do the bike shop stuff in Helena and get some parts for my bike. Anyway I got a late start and I didn't get too far. But anyway I did 190 today, and um, hopefully I'll have another good day tomorrow and be at Flagg Ranch. Thanks, bye.

2007-06-20 04:28:00 GMT

Hey, this is Pete, calling in from Flagg Ranch (garbled... call ends)

This message was extremely low in volume, as if he were calling from a defective phone or over a very poor line. The time was just before 10:30 PM, Tuesday evening, July 19.