sean_iow wrote: ↑Wed Jun 19, 2019 9:09 am There were also some pics of Togwotee but no idea where that is?

Yellowstone. It's about 100 miles from where Sofiane is now.

Bearbonesnorm wrote: ↑Wed Jun 19, 2019 9:18 am I do find the talk and excitement of a film a little bit sad .... every year, the firsthand experiences of racers are published in The Cordillera. They're the actual stories from the people on the ground and have depth and insight. In instances like this, film is the lazy mans media. It's the difference between a lovingly prepared meal and some sh1te burger.

However, I suppose any film couldn't be as bad as Ride the Divide ... that was a truly awful depiction of self-pity / importance.*

*other views are available.

Reveal the Path was much much worse, couldn’t finish that one...!

Bearbonesnorm wrote: ↑Wed Jun 19, 2019 9:18 am However, I suppose any film couldn't be as bad as Ride the Divide ... that was a truly awful depiction of self-pity / importance.*

*other views are available.

You are funny. I'm going to wear my "Ride the Divide" T shirt next time in your neck of the woods.

Watching the film was one of the things that made me get out there and ride it. That and the blokes that did the brewery tour.

I like Ride the Divide for showing the route and *some* of the people in it, and some of the things Mathew Lee says. I guess i've just got used to chuckling at the bits where Mike Dion is talking

As voodoo simon says, Reveal the Path was risible!

This was Togwotee yesterday, pics from FB

Oh wow, that's not going to clear that quickly! Definitely going to slow people down. I know the NM section is renowned for peanut butter mud when it rains, but that it can dry out pretty quickly in the heat....

Bearbonesnorm wrote: ↑Wed Jun 19, 2019 9:18 am I do find the talk and excitement of a film a little bit sad .... every year, the firsthand experiences of racers are published in The Cordillera. They're the actual stories from the people on the ground and have depth and insight. In instances like this, film is the lazy mans media. It's the difference between a lovingly prepared meal and some sh1te burger.

However, I suppose any film couldn't be as bad as Ride the Divide ... that was a truly awful depiction of self-pity / importance.*

*other views are available.

Im not excited about the film, I just think its a shame the focus is on one person not the event and all the different people doing it to add a bit of depth to the Cordillera. There is also obvious commercial interest behind it from Specialized and Wahoo etc. I am also not a big fan of the Radavist after they refused to join the block on Giro / Camelback etc, because they didnt want to upset their sponsors when NRA supporting parent company consumer boycotts were happening. I stopped following the Radavist at that point.

Sean, if you look at the route profile on TL, there's a sort of double peak ahead of the leaders getting to almost 10,000ft (on desktop you can zoom in on the profile to get a better idea). The first of those is Togwotee, the second is in the Wind River range and the trail looks like it actually runs along the line of the continental divide for a few miles. (I selected USGS aerial from the maps and zoomed in).

I occasionally read Mike Curiak's blog and he reported very heavy snowfall in the Rockies this winter, I think he lives in Colorado, and he's still out riding spring snow.

jameso wrote: ↑Wed Jun 19, 2019 6:39 am
Wait til all the gravellers decide that it's the ultimate gravel race and Education First send a rider in full R6pha etc... I mean, Lael's on a 42mm back tyre this year so send in the gravel bikes, right?

LOLS The gram will be melted by all the pictures of moody stubbly types staring into the distance no more than a mile from Banff

Reveal the Path was much much worse, couldn’t finish that one...!

You tw@ts, I'd forgotten about that - thanks for reminding me. I wonder if anyone did manage to watch it until the end?

any film couldn't be as bad as Ride the Divide ... that was a truly awful depiction of self-pity / importance

I've been wondering if I was missing out having never watched it. It would seem that I am not.

Watching the film was one of the things that made me get out there and ride it.

I suppose I'm the opposite. If I had watched it and saw it was full of self-pitying / self-important people I might not have bothered.

I think i'll have to watch it again. I don't remember much if any self-pitying. maybe the glasses I was wearing were a bit rose tinted..?

Like Pirahna, I found it got my off my backside and onto the bike

I don't remember much if any self-pitying.

Just watch for the people crying. They weren't crying because of war, famine, poverty or social injustice ... they were crying because they'd decided to have a go at riding their bike a long way and they found it hard.

However, I do appreciate that I often view things somewhat differently to others.

Not really stu crying because you find a hobby or sport hard is pathetic,crying at dealing with illness or disability that's hard is totally different ,bit then I presume most of us on here have had a harder upbringing than people who cry at nonsense

Bearbonesnorm wrote: ↑Wed Jun 19, 2019 10:54 am

I don't remember much if any self-pitying.

Just watch for the people crying. They weren't crying because of war, famine, poverty or social injustice ... they were crying because they'd decided to have a go at riding their bike a long way and they found it hard.

However, I do appreciate that I often view things somewhat differently to others.

I feel a new sticker coming on.....

Had a little cheer when I saw Mike Halls record pass Josh

middleagedmadness wrote: ↑Wed Jun 19, 2019 11:12 am Not really stu crying because you find a hobby or sport hard is pathetic,crying at dealing with illness or disability that's hard is totally different ,bit then I presume most of us on here have had a harder upbringing than people who cry at nonsense

I guess it depends on how much you have invested in it emotionally and your current physical state. it is just a bike ride for some, but a lot more for others. *shrug* each to their own and I embrace the all the differences :)

Bearbonesnorm wrote: ↑Wed Jun 19, 2019 10:54 am

I don't remember much if any self-pitying.

Just watch for the people crying. They weren't crying because of war, famine, poverty or social injustice ... they were crying because they'd decided to have a go at riding their bike a long way and they found it hard.

However, I do appreciate that I often view things somewhat differently to others.

that's a very matter of fact way of putting it it, and I can see where you're coming from. You've definitely made me want to watch it again, and perhaps with slightly more jaded eyes

Very true we are all different , but depending if you've been sheltered from life's knocks and bumps defines your ability to prioritise what's"hard" and what's not ,going into any sporting events like this you know it's not gonna come easy unless you have that self entitlement that's seems to be very common in society these days,just my opinion from what I see

I just think its a shame the focus is on one person not the event and all the different people doing it

I've said why I think it's good that they don't do that :) But it's OK to not be into the idea of the film, kind of with you on that. I am interested in her take on it all though, same for any other rider, particularly with that level of experience.

RE Cried on the Divide. I might have said the same but I know how I reacted to my first call home after finishing. Had that been a call in NM it would have been the same. You don't break down necessarily because it's hard, it's because you're so strung out mentally by what you can do to yourself in a situation like that? and who you talk to.. as Max says. Long time since I watched RTD though and I do remember thinking 'here we go..' .. but think differently of it now. Just me/ some of us maybe, I can't imagine Don Whillans tearing up after a tough trip : )

I like Ride the Divide for showing the route and *some* of the people in it, and some of the things Mathew Lee says.

Yeah, Matt Lee may be the most actually-inspiring rider I can think of - not from that film as much as what I subsequently read from him. I might not have thought of him as anything more than a racer unless I'd seen the film. Stu's right in that it'd be better in a book but as far as I know he's not written much formally. He should. So +1 for RTD film for that, it wasn't why I had a go but it lead to what did spark something.

Yeah, Matt Lee may be the most actually-inspiring rider I can think of - not from that film as much as what I subsequently read from him.

Without doubt. I reckon there's a group of pre Ride the Divide folk for whom Matt Lee was a great inspiration, possibly more so than anyone since.

They weren't crying because of war, famine, poverty or social injustice ... they were crying because they'd decided to have a go at riding their bike a long way and they found it hard.

Harsh but I get your drift
FWIW i tend to agree that its terible that men only publicly cry over their sporting triumphs or failures - are we not meant to be emmotional about anything other than achieveing or failing in sporting goals?
that sais i have felt elated when finishing and pissed off when failing - even more so when its a mechanical rather than lack of will

Borderer wrote: ↑Wed Jun 19, 2019 11:12 am

Bearbonesnorm wrote: ↑Wed Jun 19, 2019 10:54 am

I don't remember much if any self-pitying.

Just watch for the people crying. They weren't crying because of war, famine, poverty or social injustice ... they were crying because they'd decided to have a go at riding their bike a long way and they found it hard.

However, I do appreciate that I often view things somewhat differently to others.

I feel a new sticker coming on.....

In honor of Dave riding it this year, what about:

"Stop F%#$ing Crying"

jameso wrote: ↑Wed Jun 19, 2019 1:29 pm I can't imagine Don Whillans tearing up after a tough trip : )

I've seen quite a few mountaineers of great(est) format cry when returning to safety after some absolutely mind and body wrecking moments in Bads winter storms high up steep grounds. Tense hours/days where you feel immediate threat to your life that bounce off very suddenly, leaving you psyche like cracked glass. One can traumatise him-/herself fairly well, no matter how resilient - the threshold just may be on a different level.

I've done multiweek trips and visioned myself crying if I make it through. Once I realised I've actually made it, the tears didn't come - despite feeling deeply moved. On other times, I cried like a child, because for 30 h I was very close to killing myself.

Tough or not, we all crack at some point.

Harsh but I get your drift

I do probably come across as somewhat harsh so feel that I should just clarify my standpoint by saying that, I've not shed a tear in over 38 years and am generally considered by those close to be devoid of most normal emotions. Probably not the best way to be but we are just products of our enviroment

The mileage these guys are riding is just wow!
I see that Mr Barter is in Butte scoffing on burgers in a Dairy Queen restaurant. Google maps is great for seeing where the riders exactly are...

For info here's the menu:
https://www.dairyqueen.com/us-en/Menu/Food/