Day 1

With perfect conditions and no wind the pack got off to a flying start. Lead riders starting fast were Josh Kato, Josh Ibbett, Nate Ginzton and Steve Halligan. JK's Spot is playing up a little, so data is a little sketchy but once it pings it's accurate.

These pics were posted on bikepacking.net of riders on Smith Dorrien Road (first pic shows Josh Kato in orange):

The first time check is at Round Prairie (mile 101) - the turn to the steep hike-a-bike of Koko Claims. Lewis Ciddor hit it in 2018 in 8:07 ... this year 12 riders were through by then. Leading the pack was Nate in 7:21, with Josh Ibbett, Kai, Sofi, Steve, Jason Keifer, Kim, Dylan Morton, Lael, Aaron Denberg, and Stefano Roumaldi rounding out the top riders in that Spot ping order. (Josh Kato went through too but Spot didn't show).

Pic from Spencer Harding of Lael on the suspension bridge:

Koko Claims is a tough 2-5 hours Hike-a-bike section added to the TD Route in 2017 due to the removal of the Pollock Creek Bridge over the Flathead. Even though the bridge has now been replaced and also a new Elkford - Fernie trail created, this new route has remained in the race for better or for worse.

Pic from Rugile Kaladyte of a racer hiking up Koko Claims:

The front pack were fast over Koko Claims, which was clear of 2018's avalanche debris, and quickly hit the descent into the Bow Valley. That's where disastor struck for Kim Raeymakers, who going quickly through a rocky creek crossing when he hit the rear of his seat hard .... and ...

... snapped his seatpost! Kim extracted the seatpost from the frame and reinserted the remaining portion and rode to Fernie where he'll get a new seatpost in the morning.

A lot of the front riders missed a turn near the bottom of Koko Claims and Sofi was the most unlucky and had to reclimb 100m to get back to the route and lost about 30 mins. Also, someone lost a set of maps which Tony Lesueur picked up and carried to the bike shop in Fernie.

The first resupply point is Fernie, BC (mile 160). It is new since 2017 and is at the perfect location for both the front runners and tail enders. The lead pack of Josh Ibbett, Steve and Nate rolled into town around 20:45, with Josh Kato 20 mins back. Josh Ibbett was gone in 30 mins, with Steve rolling out 10 mins later together with Josh Kato who had erased the 20 min gap with a fast resupply. Nate was stopped 60 mins in Fernie before leaving.

Jason Kiefer, Dylan Morton, Luke Ratcliff, Bear Stillwagon, Kai and Lael all came in to Fernie about 45 mins back at around 21:30, with Kim, Evan, Sofi and David Langley coming in 1:15 behind. For this group it is a tough call whether to sleep in Fernie and start early, or push on into the Flathead and try to reach Buttes cabin at mile 207. On top of the sleep comfort issue, the Flathead has one of the densest populations of Grizzly bears in the US. The route through there is known locally as the Grizzly Bear Superhighway!!

Dylan leaving Fernie with milkshake in hand (Pic Rugile Kaladyte):

Dylan, Nate and Lael leave in quick succession around 22:00, and Sofi and Kai follow around 22:45. Four more riders head out of town late to camp on the outskirts of Fernie: Tony Lesuer, Aaron Denberg, Scott Robinson and Alexandera Houchin.

So with 8 riders heading towards Butt's Cabin into the night (sunset is 21:50, light until 22:30), the race up front is begginning. The second group will be hoping that the leaders don't lock the door to Butt's Cabin as happened in 2013 when Mike Hall and Craig Stappler locked the door on the chase group and didn't open it when they arrived! (They even had the audacity to wait until the chasers set up their sleep systems, and then rolled their bikes out of the cabin and took off).

Nate stopped on trailside at midnight and Josh Kato's Spot stopped moving at 23:00 (maybe a Spot issue). Steve hit Butt's Cabin at 01:00, with Josh Ibbett 30 mins back. Lael, Dylan and Sofi arrive around 02:30 with Kai shortly behind. Sofi decides to keep riding and at this time is still riding up Cabin Pass at 04:44am.

Current race order at 04:45 15th June is Sofi (230, no sleep), Lael (210 riding), Josh Ibbett (209 riding), Steven (207, stopped), Dylan (207, stopped), Kai (207, stopped) Josh Kato (202 riding), Tony (192, riding), Nate (184, stopped), Evan (178, riding) , Alexandera (177 riding), Aaron (176, riding), Kyle Lagerman (173, riding), Stefano Roumaldi (171, riding), Chris Siestrup (167, riding) Peter Puenner (165, riding) and Janie Hayes (161, riding). It is early in the race and in 2018 one of the racers who slept in Elkford finished in the top 10, so plenty of movement up front to come.

Some big passes coming for the front pack on Day 2: Cabin Pass, "The Wall", Galton Pass, Whitefish Divide, Red Meadow Pass (with a likley snowy hike-a-bike couple of miles).

Day 1 has some logical stopping points and the number of riders who used them are as follows:

Round Prairie (mile 101): 24

Elkford (off route): 9

Koko Claims Cabin (mile 107, summit): 12

Bow Valley (mile 110): 6

Norboe Creek (mile 126): 7

Fernie (mile 160): 28

Butt's Cabin (mile 207): 5

For the NOBO riders, Graham Suffield rode over the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) Alternative in the dark stopped at the entry to the Gila around midnight at mile 155. With a big gap on Daniel Thrush and Mike Jolly, the next TD rider he'll see will likely be the SOBO leader somewhere in Colorado for the Golden Spike.