Lael Tour Divide FKT

[johnnystorm]

Most spots tender to wander miles of track on occasion. It's maybe fallen off her bike...

I remember watching Paul Errington's spot with his other half in Rovaniemi. He was quite some way out to sea in the Baltic at one point...

[BobCatMax]

Probably waiting for the film crew….

miaow!

[redefined_cycles]

[faustus]

Her Instagram showed a pretty amazing/unnerving video of an encounter with a mountain lion!!

[NewRetroTom]

She seems to be behind her own record pace now and quite a way off Mike's pace. Will she keep going once it's clear any chance of a record is gone?

[TheBrownDog]

Pretty sure she will press on as hard as she can irrespective of her time.

[Jurassic]

She's quit due to the smoke from wildfires affecting her breathing.

[NewRetroTom]

Interesting - Mike Hall had major breathing issues in 2013 when he finished in 14 days 12 hours. There is definitely something going on with ultra racing affecting the body's ability to repair the lungs. Josh Kato has also complained of this.

From a 2016 interview with Mike Hall:

In the past, you have lost your voice. According to your call-ins this year, you haven’t had that issue. What have you done differently to avoid that this year?

I think the moisture in the north certainly helped, and I brought along antihistamines to combat the breathing issues I had last time. Also, there wasn’t any smoke in the air, so I think all that helped. I did get some acute breathing issues, however, on the section just after Lincoln. This was where I had the worst of the problems in 2013 and very nearly scratched. I think the anti-allergens helped but they were only fighting it, not preventing it. There appears to be something going on around there that really affects me, but thankfully it appears to be very localised, so when I got past Helena I was fine and wasn’t taking the meds.

[ssnowman]

IIRC, I think Jay Petervary has also had breathing problems.

[ScotRoutes]

I regularly get breathing problems. Usually when going up a big bloody hill. Nice to see I'm in elite company.

[lune ranger]

And from the ‘meds’ they take regularly so do quite a lot of the pro peloton. Go figure

[jameso]

Seemed to me to be very dry air in the Wyoming-Colorado area and I had a bad hacking cough around Indiana Pass. Some fire smoke around at that time but I don't think it was the main cause. Waking up at night with a mouth so dry your tongue is cracking and roof of your mouth is ruined, or riding with nosebleeds are aspects of the race I'd not like to repeat. I rode with a DIY rag face mask that I tried to keep damp as an attempted fix.

[ScotRoutes]

And from the ‘meds’ they take regularly so do quite a lot of the pro peloton. Go figure

I was going to suggest "how much medical intervention is allowable" as today's moral dilemma.

[fatbikephil]

As it happens, I find I get a very croaky voice when I've been out on the bike all day. I put it down to lots of air passing over your larynx which drys it out and leaves it a little inflamed. I guess its not quite as bad in the rain but I still get it.

Breathing in smoke would be very bad news under such circumstances. I've also come across a few accounts of significant air pollution in rural parts of America dating back to various mining operations...

[Dave Barter]

I developed a cough specific to TD that I reckon was down to a combination of altitude (dry air) and the dust. I wasn't the only one this happened to and it got worse as the route progressed.Tough ask going for the record this time of year as fire threat is higher and also the extra heat in New Mexico.

[lune ranger]

TBF anyone working so hard over such a prolonged period is going to be slowly dismantling their immune system.
I’m sure the people pushing these long FKT attempts are always on the edge of illnesses like pneumonia during an attempt.