BLAME DAVE


Our new neighbour Dave Rutledge rides up to our place this past fall. He stops to introduce himself from the other side of our grape vines bordering the road. Tim and I are working in the garden. Sometimes first impressions can be everything, but especially coming from a seasoned athlete like Dave Rutledge with his big smile and warm heart that he wears on his face and his joyful laugh. 

We learn we have people and places in common, but what really did it for both of us was the fact he was on a bike. Say no more!

We organize a neighbours dinner party for Dave and his lovely wife Linda to meet some of the gang. As I was prepping fresh prawns for appetizers for everyone, I hear trouble from my left ear behind me. Dave says the words to Tim "would you", to me it sounded like......"wooooould yoooou" in slow motion, I feel my body start to cringe and my eyes squint. Sure enough before Dave had finished Tim yells out "YES" with that look like of dog waiting for his treat after his trick. 

I know for a fact that Tim didn't even know what the Tour Divide was. Didn't care. Didn't need to know. All that was important in that moment was that he wanted to play with this guy. 

Since then Dave has taken on all the tech work, reading and research everything about this ride from Banff to Mexico in race form. He's been getting things dialled and grooming Tim to be his side-kick.  I know Tim hadn't even dreamed of doing this till Dave put it on the dinner table that night. Potlucks are like a box of chocolates.... go ahead.. finish that sentence.  

TRACKING

I was a bit pre-occupied with other stuff while these two were getting things going and neglected to pay more attention to tools for updating everyone, Tim had purchased a Tracki for anyone wanting to follow him. The Trackleader website for racers is setup using Spot or Garmin GPS so you won't see Tim's dot but you can follow Dave's. Just scroll down on the riders list to Dave Rutledge's name and that's where Tim will be for now. The event is an independent singles race so they may well split at anytime. If that happens I will come up with a way to match Tim on a map to see where he is in the big picture location and relative speed. Hopefully! 

TRACKLEADER

Find Dave Rutledge in alphabetical order to follow their route and location. 

http://trackleaders.com/tourdivide23


PARKINSON'S FUND RAISING UPDATE

We are overwhelmed by the response, thank you! 

We have surpassed the first milestone set at Montana for $4,000 before they even left Banff this morning. We are forever grateful. Please spread the word. It's a big deal these days and it's getting bigger fast. Tim said the other day that just about everyone in our demographics knows someone who has Parkinson's. There is currently no cure. Another type of race is on to find one as we all age. 

https://donate.parkinson.ca/site/SPageServer?pagename=FYW_log_in











Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2025 Tour Divide Get Glued

Image
Nelsonite Svein Tuft is one of the leading riders to watch this year. As I type this evening he is in 1st position. Meanwhile a bunch of riders are grabbing a hot dog in Fernie. It’s critical to sleep but some don’t for a couple of nights pushing the limits. Veteran rider Joe Nation from New Zealand is back. Check this link out to learn about the route, the weather, the racers and more. https://bikepacking.com/plog/2025-tour-divide-preview/
Read more

Tracking Svein Tuft from Nelson BC.

Image
It’s 6:45pm here in BC. Svein Tuft is in a great position, and strong. He’s in 2nd place on the tail of Robin Gemperle from Switzerland. Robin appears to have rode all night with no sleep getting a jump on everyone, but he is slowing down. This strategy is never a given that it will work. Maintaining without sleep is the biggest test of endurance. Records are being broken by last years winner Justinas Leveika from Lithuania who broke the men’s record in 2023. Svein is currently about 10klm ahead of Justinas record, and Robin is 45klm ahead of that. The question is—when will he fall asleep? Hopefully not in the saddle. Newbies following DOT tracker, take note there are riders that are touring riders, some from the north and some south, so it can look confusing. You can click on the dots to get beta on each rider. Svein is ST, it’s their initials. If they have a projected time of more than say 25, they are likely not in it to win it. If they get to a point where their chance of winning i...
Read more

GOT GRANDPA!

Image
 I’ve got grandpa! He proudly says he actually got called that at one point on the trail.  He’s on the mend now after 2 days off the saddle  He’s eating a lot  Yesterday he had his ritual cheerios and yogurt. Followed by fruit salad, 2 egg and cheese buns, 2 avocado and cheese buns, 2 donuts, popcorn, 5 Bavarian sausages, 3 baked potatoes and the whole bowl of Greek salad. Dave is moving along at a good pace according to his track and beta from the track leaders site. He’s now cycled 962 miles. Yesterday the track dots changed colour for some. Those who have fallen too far back from finishing in the running time are now white dots and categorized as touring instead of racing. I'm not sure on the percentage of drops out yet, but there appears to be a few.  I also see a larger separation between those in the upper times, more resting time as they are getting tired and starting to have more fun. There is also more paring up in groups of two. The three leaders are t...
Read more