Greg's still doing well. He's currently holed up in a Best Western in Pinedale with 3 others, with Tom Rowntree at another hotel half a mile further on. So all 4 are in 13th place (as it's 1.12am) until they start out. So... do you wait and ride out together to have some company for the day or do you shaft them and set out at 4am to get the better race position?
. So... do you wait and ride out together to have some company for the day or do you shaft them and set out at 4am to get the better race position?
I'd creep out early and superglue the door shut 😉
qwerty - Member
I'd creep out early and superglue the door shut
Amateur! Leave your Picolax laced tasty cake behind as if you have forgotten it.
If they are worthy, they'll return it untouched. Otherwise an unsavoury behind will be their fate.
Less than 1,000 miles left for MH!
We know Tom is a pretty handy rider from watching him in the HT550, yet Mike Hall has 500 miles on him. Just incredible.
It's Guy but no picture of his bike..... apparently seen in Sargents Colorado at mile 1,825.
And that suggests he is Terry Smith.
I'm getting sucked in by the curiousity now. Dammit!
It suggests it, but there's no backdrop or bike in that picture. I suppose we'll find out for sure before much longer...
Agreed. Regardless there's been "confirmation" of at least 3 conflicting stories:
- he's not riding
- he's riding as Terry Smith
- he's riding as himself but with no tracker
The person who runs Como Depot confirmed that TS wasGuy too, when TS and Mime Hall passed through
Easily done jee20
http://trackleaders.com/tourdivide16i.php?name=Terry_Smith
[b]Rob Colliver[/b] is making good progress. http://trackleaders.com/tourdivide16i.php?name=Rob_Colliver, with the time difference they usually start moving about 2pm GMT, unless they ride through the night of course.
Looks like Mike Hall is on the move again at about quarter to four in the morning and has just ticked over the 1900 mile mark.
Can someone explain how this is humanly possible?
Terry Smith is on the go again too, about 50 miles behind Mike.
"Terry Smith is on the go again too, about 50 miles behind Mike."
other than a relative space in time it has no bearing on anything where he is in relation to mike.... he started early - rode a different course etc etc.
Do you practice being grumpy trail rat or are you a natural?
😈
Does Mike Hall have a day job or is he pretty much a professional endurance cyclist?
Until very recently he was an engineering contractor. He now organises the Trans Continental full time AFAIK.
Definite pictures of Guy Martin
[url= http://bikepackersmagazine.com/tour-divide-updates/ ]http://bikepackersmagazine.com/tour-divide-updates/[/url]
Just think, in "only" another 100 miles, Mike Hall will "only" have the distance of the HT550 left to ride.
Puts it in perspective...
It looks from those pictures that Guy is using a Garmin Touring...that could explain his "interesting" route.
Mike Hall passed 2000 miles overnight and is 250 miles ahead of the current second place!
I don't think guy is all too fussed tbh, it's about the sense of freedom and self achievement for him, being part of something without the pressures associated with having to be someone he isn't! At the end of the day he's just one of us, he's handy on a motorbike and not a celebrity by any stretch of the imagination!
I thought it was guy from when mikes dot stayed with him, they are such similar characters they will have had loads to chat about
Can someone explain how this is humanly possible?
I guess the classic 'explanation' is that the human mind and body is capable of far more than we think, that physiologically we're well suited to being endurance machines and that mostly we're not conditioned or used to pushing beyond a certain comfort envelope.
And then there's Mike's ability to focus, the fact that he has a very logical, analytical brain that still works when most of us would be delirious through lack of sleep and a certain level of competitiveness.
On the latter, I remember SITS five or six years back, when he was soloing and sat in a comfortable second place with four or so hours to go then blew himself to pieces trying to make up the gap on first and DNFed in the process. Most people would have settled for a podium finish, he didn't really see the point and would rather have a go and not finish than come second. That sounds a bit dour and serious, but in reality he was quite playful about it.
Plus he has the benefit of having ridden the route twice before now and knowing where and when to re-supply, which helps a lot, or so he says. He was sat in my kitchen just after the first time he did the TD and already analysing the logistical nuances, where he's gone wrong and specifically where he could make up time by knowing where to find, say, food stores that would be open, rather than having to scrabble about randomly.
I guess the bottom line is that he's physically well conditioned, which goes without saying, but has a level of mental focus that goes quite a long way beyond most people's.
And he used to be such a nice, apparently normal young man... 🙂
Well MH is now in the final State. Trackleaders is giving him a predicted finish time of 14days1hr.
Greg May's predicted time is now 19days8hrs.
And once again, Mike still seems to be on the go, after 2.30am.
Impressive. Really I'm impress
After a couple of hours break, Mike is once again on the move. Just awesome.
I reckon he wants to be the first to break 14hrs
14 hours would be seriously impressive
Crikey, Mike is now in Abiquiu, 2135.5 miles done.
If anyone can do it mike can
.....
I mean 14days 🙂
Just an HT550 to do then... 🙂
Downhill all the way from here! 2 hrs sleep should se mike good!
Mike Hall - 157 miles to Pie Town
If thats not motivational - i don't know what is!
😉
I think Tom Rowntree deserves some serious credit, the guys been flying since the start, hovering between 10-13 place overall and currently 5th place Rookie
To think last time I saw him I had to help him into his tent, due to "overindulgence" 😉
Go Tom!
[url= http://trackleaders.com/tourdivide16i.php?name=Tom_Rowntree ]Going Like a Train...[/url]
Agreed on wee Tam Rowntree, cracking effort!! Posting all his days on Strava too and judging by his previous exploits will probably provide a detailed account on his blog.
Mike Hall is around 5 hours from Pie Town. Do they sell meat pies there or is it only the American fruit variety? I checked the link for pie-oneer and saw chilli mentioned, but not meaty goodness. Are they missing a trick and is there a niche market within a niche market to be explored in the middle of the New Mexico desert?
At York Cycle Rally last weekend there was a talk by this couple who had ridden the Divide route as part of a longer tour (!!). I asked them about Pietown. They were very enthusiastic about the place but all the pies they mentioned were fruit ones. This seemed a terrible shame to me. Maybe there's a business opportunity for somebody.
Less than 300 miles left for Mike.
Tom is 11th at the moment.
So it's 0130 and Mike Hall is on the move. He's got 296 miles remaining, if he wants to break the 14day barrier then he's got 30hrs (approx) to get to Antelope Wells.
The Trackleaders projection is for 14d6hrs
That was a long sleep, by Mike's, standard. Hopefully that means he's on it now. I'm going to be glued to the dots.
Then he has to average about 10mph for those 30 hours...hope he manages it!
