Some final thoughts

Submitted by wagonwheel on July 9, 2010 - 3:43am

A brief round up of some of the reactions of the five amigos who finished yesterday, and also of Nicolas Senie, who called in from Lordsburg and couldn’t quite remember if he’d finished that night or the night before. That’s probably justified by the fact he concluded his ride by setting what for him was a new daily record of distance covered, around 185 miles; good going, especially when it includes the last section of the Gila. He also said it was a wonderful experience, though he wouldn’t be back next year (that’s what you think now – it eats away at you…).
Dave Tremblay said he felt like he’d squeezed a small lifetime into 26 and a half days, though doing so clearly hadn’t worn him down too much as he said he could still manage a quick spin, in spite of his chapped lips. Jon Billman was back in Silver City enjoying the wonderful, unique charms of Jamie Thomson’s bike house (hello Jamie – we’ve got chickens now too, but still not as many bikes…), while Cricket Butler admitted to feeling overwhelmed – and looking forward to buying some new clothes. You can take the girl out of the Tour Divide, however, but clearly not the Tour Divide out of the girl – she wasn’t off to a boutique, but to the thrift store. That’s the spirit.
Patrick Tsai, after covering good ground, is with them in Silver City, though hopefully not joining too whole-heartedly in the celebrations in order to embark on the concluding leg to the border tomorrow. It will, I guess, be a lonely highway again by then, but I don’t imagine he’ll be too worried about that. Besides, there are still the legions of fans watching his every move, and he’ll have the Yucca plants for company – their spiky fronds conjure up images of a punk convention, at least to a slightly addled Tour Divide racer.

Paul Howard

PS: There’s another reason to think Patrick will not be phased by his final stint of solitude. He’s just left a message on the race forum asking for the MTB cast call-in number – he threw it away on the first day so that he wouldn’t be tempted to call in and pull out. That’s commitment. In case you didn’t pick up Chris Plesko’s message, he thinks it’s 888-866-4491.

Two Wheels on My Wagon

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Thanks, Paul!!

Submitted by Bob on July 9, 2010 - 6:21am.

Thanks for the great commentary, Paul. You're a fantastic writer.

P.S. I saw a couple in a tandem recumbent around town the other day. Add a couple of trailers and I think you could establish both a recumbent and family record next year.

Great Job Paul

Submitted by "Old Man" Rick from 2009 on July 9, 2010 - 8:36am.

It was really good to get commentary on the sections of the course from a finisher that knows all the sections from your experience last year. You helped make the following of this race from the comfort of our homes more enjoyable.

Congrats to all the finishers

Submitted by Blaine Nester on July 9, 2010 - 9:20am.

Congrats to all the finishers and all who unforetunately had to drop out for whatever reasons. What a journey. I hope everyone enjoyed it enough to take home some positive memories that will last a lifetime. Paul says it perfectly that you can say you will not be back but I can attest it does eat away at you.
Enjoy some down time, R&R, re-connect with your families and relish in the satisfaction of having accomplished something really big.
Job well done.

Blaine