2009 TD Final Results

Looks like you don't have Dario on there but his spot finished on Saturday at Antelope Wells - I don't think he ended up being disqualified did he?

Steve,

It was great to see you on the trail!

You really rode a great race. The pace set by you guys was off the hook especially given the conditions!

You called it like you saw and honorer the race by doing it the right way! Pushing it till you can go no further then push on!

You ROCK
Ashley Mckenzie

Congrats to all the riders!
Does anyone know if any of the riders posted a list of the gear they used?
Just curious, thanks.

Excellent. Every starter is surviving. Get some rest. Remember the best. Tell children; they can follow your tracks -- even a little way would be wonderful for them and the world they create. More finishers coming along. What you've done these past weeks is important -- living a dream; think how resourceful and strong you are. Connected parts and (s)paced partners, Spot or Not.

Webmasters virtually rule a final Pedal Power story -- this will keep building and getting even better -- we out here in the ether hope it doesn't end, but that it fuels a bicycle revolution.

Love!
Aunt Candy
(Happy that Jamie is safely home with his chickens)

You guys all rock
Its been great following your journey, makes me and my 12 hr races pale.

Cheers
Old SEAL

Wouldn't have thought 3 records would be made this year with the weather and all... good to run into a few of you guys along the way....

Make that 4 records on this muddy year!

I'd like to talk to Mike Komp for a newspaper article -- I'm a reporter for The Plain Dealer in his hometown of Cleveland.
If you know how to reach Mike, please have him reach out to me ASAP at 216.999.4578.
Thanks!

Jim

Hi Everyone:

An update...

Some of you may know that I used my Tour Divide run to raise money for a local veteran who was terribly injured in Iraq and needs an all terrain wheelchair (he's "locked in", its very tragic). The effort received a fair bit of press and we've received per-mile pledges from all over the country.

So far over $10,000 has been deposited in the account. I really think this race brings out the best in people; in the riders, those who live on the route, family and friends rooting from afar, and certainly everyone who donated to Evan's chair.

If you are interested in learning about Evan Mettie here's a good link. Just be prepared to get a little something in your eye while reading:

http://www.yakimaherald.com/projects/mettie/photos.html

Also, congratulations to Deanna! Wow, what a ride.

Eric
tourdechair@gmail.com

This much I do know. Deanna finished, because I picked her up in Antelope Wells, NM.

Talking to an individual that peddle the race last year, he explained to me that she missed a turn, and peddle parallel for 40 miles. If that being the case, 2705/2745 = 98.5% course completion.

I think it would be fair to say that Deanna is the only fixed gear finisher of the Tour Divided with a course completion of 98.5%. That is still an "A" in my book.

I would like to offer a suggestion for the Tour Divide organization that the Spot Checker is mandatory for route verification and it needs to be on every 20 miles? or every 30 minutes? or on at certain locations? or what ever works to prove the rider indeed did peddle the route correctly.

We would of communicated to Deanna back at Day 7, hay girl your are off course, what do you want to do: Go back and reroute, peddle on or pack it in?

Wow, you have four N/As and we do not have a clue what for?

I hope this answers about one of them!

Dear Ruling Administrators and Webmasters --

Please post specific instances and evidence of allegations made in relegation of riders. Arbitrary decisions made on the basis of conjecture or incomplete data and information are not good precedent for support of the event.

Looking ahead, perhaps there should be categories and handicap points -- based on such variables as: prior experience with the course, commercial sponsorship or donations/discounts of equipment, previous joint injuries or medical conditions, age groupings, solo vs. partner, etc.

Be very clear in definition of "support", and get facts straight on Who had What, When, Where, and How.

Cheers and XX,
Jamie's Aunt Candy

i had to post - i couldn't stop myself.

please, please, PLEASE don't complicate the pure intent and philosophy of the event. this is self supported adventure at its best. ride the official course. do it ALL on your own - and own a mistake.

scoring on a curve for 98% correctness is great for passing 10th grade biology- but not at this event. i applaud every single person that called in to say they disqualify themselves for making a mistake on route. that outlines true sportsmanship - pure spirit and commitment to the intended endeavor.

First, congratulations to ALL TD racers. Here is a little presidential philosophy I like:

//
Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.
Theodore Roosevelt
//

On the subject of Divide racing, rules, handicaps, interpretation, and the like,
this is from the original GDR rulebook, which is the template for all such racing:

//
One last word on the rules:

The original intent of this race was to ride the GDMBR as fast as possible in the simplest/purest style possible. As time has gone on people have begun looking for loopholes within the rules that'll save them time on the course. This is human nature and all of us do it in different ways in our everyday lives. With respect to the GDR, we ask that you please consider the long term ramifications of finding and using loopholes--the race will only get 'easier' and (conversely) require more rules/regulations as time goes on. This goes against all of the principles that the race was founded on. People: PLEASE don't bring The Race down to your level--elevate yourself to the level of The Race. If you find yourself looking for loopholes, consider taking another year to prepare before racing. Most likely you'll go faster and enjoy it more as a result.
//

There is a lot of simple wisdom in the phrase "...don't bring The Race down to your level--elevate yourself to the level of The Race."

Critics of the race organizers should ride a mile in their shoes first. I have, and I have sent my
compliments privately. Here it is publicly: They are to be commended for doing the right thing,
and we should all hope to be able to muster the clarity, the purpose, and the courage to do the
right thing in the face of difficult decisions involving our friends that are not always favorable.

Go put on an event or three and see how you feel about rules and exceptions.
I know it altered my perspective quite a bit.

steve

Where's the proof that Deanna cut or mis-rode the course? Has she admitted any wrongdoing? How can Matthew rightfully "relegate" her weeks after the alleged incident? How can the "race organizer" claim a lack of bias when he was a competitor in the event, too? This event can have no credibility if a competitor in the event gets to quarterback it AFTER it takes place (or even during it, for that matter). What's next, "relegating" somebody who beats him next year? Give me a break. This is as rank amateur as an event organizer can get. And I say that as a full-time professional event promoter, who also has the good sense to not compete in my own events.

The GPS units were not mandatory; it's not right or reasonable to turn around and try to use the data they provide in this manner. As for rewriting the rules based on this year's experience, by all means do so, but don't try to claim that you can retroactively implement them. That's a ridiculous presumption.

Do you really think that somebody with as much stacked against her as Deanna had - fixed gear converted road bike, female, limited financial resources, quit her job to race, epileptic, vegan, to name a few - would either intentionally cut the course, or be lazy about going back to re-do part of the course she'd done wrong??? Of course not.

Deanna is a woman of integrity and a true sportsperson. I know this because she has competed in several of our events, and ridden in our training camps. We stay in touch, I read her blog, I keep tabs on her. I know what kind of person and athlete she is: top notch. I've seen her DNF and I've seen her finish grueling races. I am proud of her as an athlete and a young woman. She's a fine person with absolute integrity. I respect her tremendously. Deanna Adams finished the 2009 Tour Divide, fair and square and as properly and truthfully as any other competitor did who has not been "relegated."

During the Tour Divide this year, she even rode through a forest fire to avoid cutting the course or risk being DQ'd. You think she missed 40 miles of the entire route? I doubt it very much. And if she did, unknowingly, does anyone really think that ALL of the "official finishers" rode 100% of the route legally, completely, and with absolute certainty? I daresay probably not one of them did (which is by no means to suggest that any of them "cheated". I"m just saying that Matthew's "standards" are unrealistic and impossible to claim were met with 100% certainty.)

Deanna doesn't believe that she cut or otherwise modified the course. Her word is all I need, and it's certainly all the word anyone else needs if they know anything about her. Furthermore, she's a role model to innumerable people out there: male, female, epileptic, vegan, fixie rider, or otherwise. That doesn't give her the right to "get away with" anything. In fact, she holds herself to a higher standard because so many watch and care about her. Now, if only the "race director" had as much class and sophistication, not to mention common sense.

Yours in sport,
Chris Kostman
Chief Adventure Officer and Race Director, AdventureCORPS, Inc.
Promoter of Furnace Creek 508, Badwater Ultramarathon, and more:
http://www.adventurecorps.com
http://www.the508.com
http://www.badwater.com
http://www.XO-1.org

Folks, don't let the likes of Kostman and Adams bring this instant classic down. Krissy Kostman is a roadie. Deanna is also a roadie. Why would any of you expect him or her to understand the off-road self-support ethos? From the sound of his post, Deanna has rallied him against her DQ because she (& he) think we might be influenced by his spew and his "emminence" as a "Race director". He knows nothing about self-support. If he wanted street cred here he would have left off all his titles and posted as a normal man. A rider. A doer. Not some idiot with a bull horn. It appears deanna is behaving like the teenager she was only one year ago.

Chris:
I don't hold an exalted place in the bike world, but may I put forth...

1) How does it serve Matthew to DQ Deanna for no good reason? What would be his motivation? This could only hurt him, not help him personally (given all the previous accomplishments of Deanna and her newfound well-deserved notoriety). TD admin, I am only guessing, would prefer warm and fuzzy feedback and press, not venomous language and veiled threats. This was likely a very difficult decision, grueling even, for the admin of TD. I doubt that it is personal unlike your post (BTW, DO you have a personal problem with Matt Lee?) Which brings me to my next observation...
2) Perhaps Matthew isn't making these decisions alone. Is there a steering committee of several....a board of directors? Are there people to whom Matt Lee must answer other than you and Deanna and her family?
3) Even if there were a conflict of interests in Matt Lee participating in a race he (helped create?), does this discredit him as a human being? Is it necessary to dismantle him, his actions, and attempt to throw mud on his achievements bc you and Deanna are feeling hurt?
4) As far as I can tell, no one is saying anything unkind about Deanna or attempting to diminish her accomplishments. She put in an amazing, truly awesome performance, but she screwed up. Hey! Dem's de rules! The integrity of the race is at stake, not Deanna's popularity rating!
5) What has been demonstrated is that these guys behind TD are attempting to protect the spirit of the event, maintain the integrity of the classifications by not straying from the rules (for ANY reasons for ANY persons), and proceed with as much dignity as possible under the baseless attacks of hysterical spectators. What has not been demonstrated and remains to be seen is whether Deanna and others will embody good sportsmanship through gracious acceptance of their own mistakes

To Matt and the others involved behind the scenes,

You are being attacked unfairly though not unexpectedly for making the hard choice to DQ those who didn't follow the rules, intentionally or not. Thank you for doing so and keeping your integrity by making that very hard decision when it would be FAR EASIER to just do nothing.

If a RACER has a problem with their relegation, they should email or post THEMSELVES, otherwise the opinion of family and friends is really moot. The race is put on by the racers, for the racers and there is no reason to suspect Matt would ever have any malicious intent to relegate any rider.

Please, Matt loves this race and route more than any of us, just look at how much heart, soul and effort he has put into making this event accessible to everyone and for the course to grow in a beautiful manner.

Also please keep the race as it is, minimally free of rules and up to the racers to know and understand them 100% before taking the line. This is the very essence of self supported racing, for the participants to take responsibility themselves for their race and their actions.

Thank you to all those racers who I got the chance to ride with this year, to all those businesses and individuals on route who offer of themselves to make it easier for us and to those who had the courage to stand up and DQ themselves.

Chris Plesko

Hey Chris,

I personally find your comments very unprofessional. To read such negative and insulting comments about another race and race organizer, (especially in a similar ultra endurance-type event), is so disappointing. Since it seems necessary you make your opinion known as that of a 'professional' organizer, I will also take your comments as representative of Badwater itself.

I don't believe its actually you, since I know Badwater has been criticized in the past for high entry fees, and a questionable selection process. THus, I wouldn't think you would go so low to criticize another organized ultra race which doesn't cost anything or select which participants they do and don't allow in (although I'm sure you'll still argue you don't do that).

Your comments clearly indicate you are emotionally attached to one of the participants, but I would hope as a "pro" race director, you would have the ability to maintain objectivity, and look at both sides.

All,

I must say I compliment all who went the distance of this arduous trail. It is an accomplishment of noble and notable value. I also compliment all the riders that started but did not finish for their willingness to dare the hard thing to do. It is better to try and fail than to fail to try.

I do not have all the details of the issues of the race and disqualifications that ensued. I am familiar with a couple of riders and have enjoyed the blogs of most of the riders as they left them for all of us to enjoy.

Bitterness towards others is a waste of energy. It does not accomplish anything except shows the frail weakness' of our personalities.

Deanna's heartbreak of disqualification prompted emotions that one could expect after accomplishing such a feat. Being young, she perhaps has expressed some things in emotional distress to try to prove innocence. I believe her words and actions were not intended to be vindictive to other riders, rather, they were trying to make sure all others had followed the rules as closely as she was scrutinized. I do not feel for one moment that she would want to take away the accomplishments and well meaning of any other riders. She was just attempting to apply the justice she received to all the other riders.

Nothing can be taken away from any of you that finished the race.The integrity of the race is soley contained in the simple rules and the application of those rules by the riders. No one can really ascertain 100% complicity unless there were some technology used to do so. The race is over, I hope the owner(s) of the race learn from this years race and are more successful next year and that the racers are excited to race again.

Again, I compliment all others who completed it to its destiny at the border. No one will ever be able to take this away from you. I hope future rides will provide greater rewards of fulfillment and that success will follow in everyones endeavors. Let the sportsmanship return and lets all move on!

Having and applying navigational skills is an integral and important part of the TD challenge. While I have not raced the TDR, I have traveled well over half this wonderful route at a tourist pace.

While I consider myself of excellent ability with map and compass, and the AC GDMBR maps are outstanding, I have nevertheless many times found myself at a spot where, for any number of circumstances, I was initially uncertain of where I was and which way to go. This is a fundamental nature of mountain biking. I consider route finding one of the beautiful and fun challenges of mountain biking, and the GDMBR in particular.

NW of Helena, on Poorman’s Creek, the route change up the south fork is easy to miss. When I got to the top two or three years ago a GDR racer was approaching from Stemple Pass. I remarked to him that the route came up the south fork, not from Stemple Pass. He shrugged and admitted he had missed the turn, but also said he wasn’t going back. To me, no matter how fast he was, he didn’t use sufficient navigational skills to stay on route, and was unwilling to correct, so he didn’t do the route.

Staying on route is difficult, and requires mental discipline and skill, but is part of the race. If one gets off route, for whatever reason, and fails to correct, they simply have not risen to one of the important challenges of the TDR: staying on route. It doesn’t matter if the off-route route was longer or harder, they were off route.

The TDR isn’t just about endurance and aerobic capacity; route finding is an inherent part of the race. One cannot ignore, brush aside, or trivialize this important aspect of the TDR or GDR.

Any racers out there having lingering health effects?

I had terribly numb/weak hands, especially the right, at the end of the race. When I got back to work I found it very hard to type. Even opening my "flip phone" one handed was impossible. Things are much better now but I gather from Billman's Outside article that it can take several months for a full recovery.

I lost 14 pounds off of my 6-6 frame which was something I was told would happen but completely disregarded as impossible before the race. It was shocking to see myself in the Demming hotel mirror. Of course that could just have been the grade-A farmer's tan I was rocking back then.

My cravings for fresh fruit, something hard to find and impossible to take along on the route, is still nearly bottomless. I've also had one or two shamelessly hedonistic nights of beer and pizza since my return.

Thankfully my relationship with my wife and kids (2 years and 4 months) appears unaffected if not stronger. I can't say that for the rest of the world however; I've caught myself being overly annoyed with tough guy t-shirts, bumper stickers and tattoos. They're annoyingly trite all of a sudden. Yeah, I know, it's small, arrogant and petty... I don't expect it'll last.

Work seems banal and I spend too much time staring at a map of the route I pinned to the wall over a year ago. My whole office rooted for me and burned up the Internet between Yakima and the TD/SPOT servers so that was nice to come back to.

I feel really good about the money I raised for Evan Mettie's new off-road wheelchair. The account is north of $10K now which just blows me away since my town is more like Rawlins than Breckenridge if you know what I mean.

All in all my return to "real life" has been pretty easy and I expect the lingering issues to fade away soon enough. I'll always have the 880 pictures I took from the saddle (they're all a bit blurred) and the incredible memories. What a feeling coming into Antelope Wells! My heart was vibrating; I'll never forget that.

Anyone else?

Eric Bruntjen

Hi 2009 TD racers and fans -

Anyone know how many of the 2009 TD finishers and/or starters rode 29ers versus how many rode 26-inch wheels and care to share the information? Seems like from all the rider blogs pics I've seen, mostly 29ers out there this year. I am looking for informatin to help me evaluate and choose whether or not to invest in a new 29er for next year's TD. Thank you.

- Mike

Dear Bob,

Please read a few of the comments below yours. At least 2 riders know this section of the route has difficult routefinding. Another racer mentioned he knew the area and turns that looked like someone's driveway. I also heard a rider got off route last year and didn't realize it until he hit the pavement with sings marked to Helena. I struggled to remember the route in that section but after over 2,700 miles I cannot. Also the Montana section was over 750 miles. All I remember was heading out of the mountains close before dark and high tailing it to Helena in the rain, arriving well after dark. I believe more riders will get off route in the future. Also numerous roads are unmarked along the entire ride and in New Mexico forest service road signs are faded or spray painted over the numbers.

Once again I just want readers to know Deanna Adams dilivered a stellar ride. This young lady is tenancious. I was inspired by watching her perform through difficult situations. It is scary to think of how she would do on a bike with gears. Just watch out if she eats red bull and burritos.

I've had numb fingertips on 4 fingers, a sore left knee, and I messed up a tendon or ligament in my shoulder. I lost 15 pounds. This was no suprise I expected this. I have lost this kind of weight climbing big walls before.

I rode a couple days with the 2 GDR racers, Cullen and Tommy, we had some good times together. Those guys were gunnin strong. The day after riding with Cullen across the reservation I was trashed. We all got attacked by rez dogs, more than once, on a 15 mile section.

This was my 2nd mountain bike race ever and I gave it everything I had. I have no regrets.

The responses by Annonymous people bother me. I think if you feel strongly about a point you should be willing to have your name stand by your position!

Brad Mattingly

I hope it is not part of the racers strategy to keep bike equipment secret. I would love to know what equipment racers used, what worked, what did not, etc. Jay and his wife and a few others gave shout outs to equipment suppliers, though not much on specifics. It is pretty hard to discern from the pictures. Any chance you (Matt?) could get Adventure Cycling to do some sort of recap of this type of info in an article? I'd love to know bike specs, camping equipment, total weight of bike and bike and gear, food, bike pack/rack, etc. My only disappointment in this race (again) is that it seems to get no mention in places like VeloNews. As a long-distance backpacker, frequent mountain biker and one who has riding the Great Divide on my life list (not as a racer!) I think I can appreciate, at least a little, the rigors of this race and the great accomplishment felt by everybody who completes the route. My congratulations to you all, including those who missed some of the route. You are an inspiration to me on a par with Lance and his ride this year. Completing the distance of this route, with this year's conditions on a fixed gear bike is incomprehensible to me. Special congratulations to you, Deanna!

A question for the racers,
Where did you mount your Spot? I have been thinking about getting one and started reading reviews on them and they are not reviewed very well overall. Most people say they don't work, unreliable, and have to be mounted flat. Well I followed all of you and they seemed to be pretty reliable from a tracking standpoint.
And you all did a fantastic job and my hat is off to each and everyone of you.
Woody

I watched the TD as it unfolded, and I have a couple of comments about the issue of relegation in the absence of any intent to not completely follow the rules.

I understand that there was not an emphasis on the importance of exactly following the route before the race began so that the riders would know that this was a "zero-tolerance" race they were being involved with. Yes, the rules were stated once in writing. However, wouldn't it have been fair notice to give the racers notice of the degree to which the rules will be enforced, without exception and without common sense, weeks after someone has made a techical error.

I understand from the posts that one or more racers accepted food that was offered to them. Should they all be relegated?

I understand that several of the signs on the reservation were defaced and/or missing. What if the signs were intentionally changed so that everyone went the wrong way? (I have driven on the Navajo Reservation and have seen deliberate vandalism to harm traveling non-Navajo's.) Would every racer be relegated that year?

What if a racer makes a wrong turn, and then comes back to the race course, but does not backtrack to the precise point where they started to make the wrong turn, but instead come back to the course and continue on his or her way. I mean, hey, they would have only missed a dozen feet of the course if they didn't completely backtrack, but rules are rules, aren't they?

Young children will often walk on a low retaining wall instead of on the sidewalk where the adult is walking with them. However, most children, upon encountering someone sitting on the low retaining wall, will jump off of the retaining wall, pass that person, and then get back on the retaining wall. Would applying the "zero tolerance" rule here mean that that child should crawl over the person who is sitting on the wall, or demand that that person get off of the retaining wall so that the child can have a "perfect" record.

The mania for purity strikes me to be akin to someone who suffers from Obsessive-Complusive Disorder, for example who cannot walk without stepping on a crack, or who loves to play the game of "mother may I."

I know that one of the relegated racers ran out of water while on the course and did not seek water from a third party. It appears that all of the finishers (but one) acted in wholly good faith in their completion of the course. At what point do we accept good faith?

What if a rider goes around a bear, instead of staying 100% on the trail? Should that rider be relegated if they go fifty feet off of the trail? How about 5 feet? How about 5 inches? How far off of the shoulder of the road or trail is acceptable? Or is even the shoulder of the road considered to not be part of the road?

What happens when a rider stops to go to the bathroom. Assuming that the rider does not relieve himself of herself on the road or trail itself, the rider would pull off of the road or trail to do their business and then would rejoin the road or trail. But wouldn't the rider have to backtrack to where he or she started to make their turn to leave the road or trail? And wouldn't the rider have to do that each and every time he or she went to the bathroom? And if the rider failed ONCE, shouldn't the rider be relegated?

I appreciate that this is a competition that stresses adherence to a set of inflexible rules. My point is that the competitors should be given fair notice of the nth degree to which these rules will be enforced without question.

There is a rule in the NFL that players must keep their shirts tucked in on the field and so forth. I doubt that after a game has been played, a team would need to forfeit their victory since it had been discovered on tape that one of the players had not had his shirt tucked in.

I wasn't there. However, it is likely that either only Brad or Deanna made the wrong turn, and that the other rider can be blamed because the second person believed the first person. Should both be punished for the error of one of them? Should both riders be relegated, when only one of them made the mistake? Or is the second rider's error that he or she trusted the first rider?

It appears that the problem is that Brad kept his SPOT recorder on after he failed to make the driveway turn. Deanna honestly stated that she was with Brad on the approach to Helena, and that they shared a room in Helena. She was "caught" fair and square. Or was she? Should Deanna have been first told of her right to not incriminate herself? Should she have been told: "Deanna, you are suspected of having gone off of the course. Anything that you say to me can be used against you in relegating you from this race. If you admit that you were with Brad as you entered Helena, you will also be relegated as he failed to make the turn up into what appeared to be a driveway."

Of course, neither Deanna nor Brad had any idea that they had committed a violation until after completing the course. Therefore, in the future, the smart thing to do is for riders to turn off their SPOT recorders during the day and to turn them on only when they are at an obvious landmark that is precisely on the course. Is this the rational consequence that the race directors want to create?

One last question. If Deanna goes back and does the few miles that she missed when she and Brad missed the turn into what appeared to be a driveway, would she then have an official time, albeit being on the order of 60+ days for her completion, instead of 31 days, 7 hours and 30 minutes? (Does anyone seriously think that if Deanna had realized, say, two days late, that she and Brad had missed the driveway turn, that she would not have doggedly gotten back on her bike, backtracked the entire distance to the missed driveway turn, and then then taken the driveway turn?)

There needs to be some balance. I am suggesting that playing gotcha if someone has not been 100% pure is not emotionally healthy.

Brad and Deanna did the course. They should not be relegated. And Deanna should have established the new record of 31 days, 7 hours and 30 minutes to ride on a fixie.

Gary Robbins