A whirlwind of excitement blew threw my house last night. Dave Kirk was the first to arrive. His race actually started the day prior: get off work 5pm, get in car and drive to St George *all night*. That’s from Washington, kids.
The Flagstaff duo of Troy and Blair rolled in around dinnertime. They were so full of crack and excitement there was no waiting, it was time for the final packing and ride! They all left together sometime after 7pm Friday evening.
Dave continues to amaze with his apparent resistance to sleep deprivation. After being up for ~40 hours he was amazingly upbeat and positive. Maybe that was because his shuttle stars all aligned? He was sporting a new, handmade, behomoth seatpack, custom lights, and in general a much more refined kit than his rack setup of the ’07 Grand Loop Race.
Troy was all smiles. “We’re riding the Honeymoon trail to the Virgin river, what could be better than that?” That quote about sums it all up.
Troy’s bike choice was a rigid 29er Coconino, smartly loaded, particularly with the 50 oz nalgene on the bottom of the downtube. A true desert rat.
It was the first time to meet Blair and he basically charmed us all right from the start. Troy has done well in his choice of riding partner methinks, there will be no shortage of trailside laughter.
Track their progress on the whizbang Trans Utah tracker. Click here for the version with status points. At this time it looks like only Dave’s transmissions are coming through.