The rain in Montana falls mainly on the racers

Wow. So the weather and general wear and tear are beginning to really have an impact. You’ll be able to hear from the MTBcast that we’re now down to 35 racers, and several of those are beginning to sound a little glum.

And, sorry to say, the forecast offers little sign of immediate respite. Wise River and Lima are predicted to have a 70% chance of precipitation today, with the possibility of it falling as snow on higher ground, by which they mean around 7,500 feet. Looking at the ACA maps, this includes Mount Fleecer, Crystal Park and the Medicine Lodge-Sheep Creek Divide. So it’s likely to be wet and cold. Perfect cycling conditions then.

Or not. Consider Matthew Lee. He looks to have arrived late into Lima having set off from near Polaris quite early. In fact, he took longer for a shorter distance than I did last year. Obviously, I’d like to say that was due to me being superfit, but the reality is he finished the race ten days ahead of me, so it must be the conditions that have slowed him down (and they were far from enjoyable when I was there). They can be summed up in one word, of course: MUD.

Similarly, Erik Lobeck seems to have been forced to stop two or three hours outside town, in spite of having apparently caught up with Matthew at one point yesterday. It must be gruelling.

Then again, Eric Bruntjen had a blinder, riding from Helena through to Wise River to move into the group of riders now tied in fourth place. His last call in said he was feeling rough with a chest cold – the other racers better hope he doesn’t start to feel fully fit.

Derek Richert also made an early start yesterday – often a sign morale is holding up well (either that or you’ve bivvied in a bad spot and are too cold and miserable to stay there any longer) – and rode from Lincoln to Basin, as did Mike Prochasaka. Their place in the group of thirteen (yes, 13) that had formed in Lincoln and has now made it to Helena was taken by Nicolas Senie (who rode from Ovando – allez Nico! - you could become the first French finisher) and Mike Gibney, who rode all the way from Seeley Lake. Kent Peterson is also camped a couple of hours outside town. ‘Softly softly catchy monkey’ might be the right strategy after all.

Speaking of which, and by way of reassurance to those riders who are beginning to feel the strain, I was in Ovando at this stage last year (go Tom and Tony). OK, a 27 day finish hardly sets the world alight, but I got to AW in the end. My wife suggests people should just find a way to keep going – even if that means resting or taking it easy for a day or two when conditions are rough. ‘If you could do it, I’m sure they can too,’ she added. Thanks for the vote of confidence.

Anyway, Matthew and Erik will now be battling even more mud east of Lima, though no doubt fuelled by the excellent pies at Jan’s café, which should help a bit; the Wise River crew will benefit from Tom’s excellent hospitality at the Wise River Club, and those in Butte have the Outdoorsman to help refresh body and bike. The fact they know your name when you arrive because they’ve been following your blue dots is a timely fillip.

Paul Howard

Two Wheels on My Wagon

PS: Thanks to those who’ve posted to say they’ve enjoyed the Blog. I’m as new to race commentary as I was to Tour Divide racing last year, but hopefully I’ll make it to the end again, at least vicariously.