Welcome to Day #2 of the Iron Dog 2008!
Hold on to your mouse, and crank up the heat! Lead Pro-class Teams are on declared layover in McGrath, and head farther north through frigid temperatures this morning.
posted by Tesoro Iron Dog Blog at 2/11/2008 06:32:00 AM
652 Comments:
Boogity Boogity Boogity, Let's go racing boyz!
Day 2...ya'll stay warm out there!
Go Evan and Shane! All the best to you both!!
has anyone left mgrath yet?
would be nice if those GPS's would work right.alot of action yesterday and i hope the guys that are behind catch up. the guys in puntilla will have to make it to galena or ruby today. the guys in mcgrath will push for kaltag. olstad & minnick keep up the pace.
Go Team #3 - Shane & Evan
Be Safe
Your Family in Arizona
Does any know if they have left McGrath?
gps ping shows team 36 heading into mcgrath as if 636 am this morning....teams on layover in mcgrath will probably leave sometime this morning....they have to do a minimum of 6 hour layover and must do three layovers on the way to nome.....i think mcgrath is where the teams times will be adjusted to accomodate the staggered start.....
The boys are headed to warmer weather. It will feel like summer time in a few hours when they get to Galena.
McGrath now = -21f Almost no wind
Galena now = -5f Winds 12 to 15mph.
The weather on the coast seems mild considering this is The Iron Dog.
Unalakleet = -5 slight wind Partly Sunny
Shaktoolik = -6 slight wind Partly Sunny
It will be interesting to see how far the teams push today. I know several will stop in Galena to see family and rest. I bet many will push right to the coast while the temps are mild, the sun is out and the trail is fast.
Here is where the strategy of the old guys comes into play.
Looks like we have a team out of McGrath
Team 11 seems to have left @ 7:56 this morning.
That would give them about 8 hours of L/O. Guess its possible.
Any word on Team #34? Have they made it out of Puntilla Lk yet?
monday weather in big lake
6 degrees
snowed overnight...about 3 inches
go teams
puntilla 700 am -4 scattered clouds
skwentna 700 am -2 light snow
team 11 1/2 to ophir....827 gps ping
Go team #17 Dick/Vanmeter. Ride hard, Ride fast, stay warm, be SAFE. You have lots of cheerleaders rootin for ya. WHOO HOO SKI DOO!! YOU GO!!!
there could be other teams on the go as well...but teams 3, 16, 22 gps trackers are not working or are not on
Team 11 is still fired up about that late night battle they had from Nikolai to McGrath with Team 23. For those of you who missed it, those two teams swapped the lead several times in 62 miles. It was exciting.
There's no holding those guys back now.
Go Team 11....and 23.
-17 mcgrath overcast wnw winds at 4 mph
-13 nikolai,farewell burn overcast
2 mph wind
-6 clear ruby
team 11 did a 6 hour layover in mcgrath
tean 11 through takotna on way to ophir
Seems Team 11 did almost 2 hours of work on the sleds. Not positive but they spent quite a bit of time On The Clock this morning.
team 5 ....good job......they are some new blood...they have been fun to watch this race....keep up the good work......
team 5 is out of mcgrath
gps ping
team 8
855 am
on trail to ophir
Has there been any word on team 9, any injuries?
team 9
pulled into mcgrath last night about 400 am
i am sure they are fast asleep
Team 14 out on trail at 9:04
Morning from Nome!
Safe racing, all...
Anyone know if McKenna/Quam team is running the old Firecats Marc loves so well, or did he finally go with the new F-chassis?
Reich and Bahnke out of McGrath, the first ones. Who can tell me how long the layovers are and how many?
Team 10 also on gps at 9:02
team 14
gps ping
909 am
on trail to ophir
Seems several Polaris teams are either down waiting for parts or have scratched, including Brassard/Lee Trail class team in McGrath.
What's breaking on the IQ's?
How's the Doo's look? Cats?
C'mon, McGrath, fill us in!
team 23
pinged on
in mcgrath 912 a.m.
Thanks fir update on team 9.
I just found the rules and have the seriously complicated layover info.
happy birthday to you
happy birthday to you
happy birthday dear sarah
happy birthday to you
Go Team 20.
Love from your family in Niagara Falls NY!
i heard layovers got changed again....so the rules that are posted on the web now aren't really where the layovers can be taken, there were rules changes that the racers got at the racers mneeting on sunday morning
team 23
gps ping
916 am
out of mcgrath
team 27 on gps at 9:14
team 2
gps ping
916 am
out of puntilla on trail
team 20
gps ping
915 am
on trail out of puntilla
out of puntilla
teas
29
32
30
27
2
20
gps ping 915 am
on trail to rohn
Good luck!! Team 22
gps ping
team 17
mcgrath
920 am
any word on team 4?
team 14
gps ping
at takotna
team 8 outside of ophir
Good morning all,
Thank you for the updates...
How exciting for teams 11 & 23's lead battle last night...would love to hear more.
Thankyou,
Not concentrating at work
out of mcgrath on trail
teams
11
8
5
14
10
23
pinged on in mcgrath hasn't moved team 17
Props to Johnny and Brad for leaving McGrath first and laying down trail for fellow Doo riders Johnson and Akelstad.
GPS as of now shows team 11 out front breaking trail and team 8 following.
I know first team does not have the layover time second team does, but no question they are double-teaming for the sake of getting the quickest Doo team to the front!
Team work!
Team 34...where are you?
Where is team 16? Getting left!
WhoooHooo! Giddyup! LOL
Go Aklestad and Johnson!!!!!!
team 16 and team 34 not on the gps page
times are dependent on checkpoints calling the info
hard to watch those teams
the teams that pulled into mcgrath last night in the top 5 that don't have gps ping action
teams 3
16
22
I heard Ken Lees problem was a blown engine, maybe a crank, on his 2006 Fusion which has ran part of the race in pro class in '06 and trail class last year.
team 34
there was a whole bunch of teams in puntilla on layover last night
looks like all of them left in mass this morning.....and they are about to drop down on the southfork of the kuskokwim....heading into rohn
Go team #11. Cheering for you all the way from Pt. Hope....
What's the deal with 16 and 22's course time??
thanks
does anyone know how Team #9 is doing after their crash?
I think maybe the Iron Dog is adjusting something right now.....??
Yikes, didn't know there were already crashes....
course times at hq have an error in data dates at inout times i am sure that they are trying to get it fixed.....
team 22 took a 12 hour layover which means they were on the clock sometime around 730 to 800 am this morn
team 16 i don't know but my guess is they also took a 12 and are on the clock at mcgrath or on trail already
the checkpoint has a bunch of teams that want to move daylight is burning......
hq will get it fixed
team 11
gps ping
1001 am
1/2 way to poorman
WoooooHOOOOOOOO
rolling rolling rolling......
anyone keeping up with team 8 and 11 on gps?? they are neck and neck. wow!!!!
12 hours layover in mcgrath
team
22
16
8
14
They might be neck and neck, but 11 has only a 6 hour lay over so it's all in fun I'm sure.....
Team 8 is much much faster than 11. They will pass 11 within the next 15 minutes if not sooner.
Team 8 is pulling away from 14. Already made up about 3 minutes this morning, some of that may have been maintenance in McGrath for 14???
These guys are flying right now. 8 is fastest team we can see on the trail.
I'd bet Team 16 is just as fast if not faster though.
ahh you know what I mean about being neck and neck. i know about the layover status. its just awesome that irondog made available the gps tracking..... woohooo!
how about team 37 Carlo/Kriska climbing the ranks pretty fast
Look at 14, 22 and 10!
go Brad and Johnny!
Something may be up with Team 17. And it's not just the dead ping.
They made up 8 minutes on Team 23 and almost caught them by half way to Tokatna. Then did not gain any more for the next 15 miles.
Their GPS hasn't updated for 20 minutes. I suspect an issue, they were flying right out of McGrath then slowed drastically 15 miles down the trail......??????
Go Kotz and Nome racers..... wonder if any of them are thinking ome-glv, or afwg yet??? haha
yay team 34.. get back in there!!!
Good Morning.
It is Adam from Ontec (We provide the tracking application). We just did a minor update.
1) On the "Course" option in the listing, the location and distinction (if it is check point) is now listed.
3) When you click on a checkpoint/key location on Google Earth the pop up now displays the location's name.
4) On the main "Latest Results" page we added team # to the list of data being displayed as a convenience.
As always, we continue to watch and do all that we can to help.
Oh Yeah, I saw Carlo and Kriska's time into McGrath!
Smoke'n
Team 10 Has problems. There is no way 23 should have caught them, and now 23 is ahead.
another Poo bites the dust.
Thank you Ontec : )
Kriska/Carlo had the best split time into McGrath
Ok...Maybe Team 10 is fine...
Get em 34...glad to see you boys back on the trail. Get to familiar grounds - Ruby/G-town!
Another gorgeous day in Alaska! May your guardian angel keep up with you today! :-)
Have a safe fast ride!
GO TEAM 23!
So why would the race leaders leave their GPS off? 16 and 22 have no GPS from the start. Makes it hard to root for them.
Just trying to pysc every one else I guess
team 5 push it baby!!!!!!!! W F O
Somethings up with McKenna.....They had passed Team 5 a little while back, now 5 is in front and both GPS's are working fine....
Some of these youngsters need to slow down or the old guys will win this thing again.
They are running together they might have had to piss
The youngsters are doing fine. Keep it up.
anything on #17 yet
Rock on Doggers! Waitin and listenin in Kotzebue! Thank you for the comments, we'll be in and out of this blog today for updates.
watching from out of state how is team 8 doing any updates?
on my 4th cup of coffee at 11 am having fun reading all the new blogs now i know why this wonderful race made a crazy woman out of southpaw all these years! She sure was fun to watch her at the start yesterday gettin all that lovin from all her boyz,frozen tears were lots of fun. power on racers, enjoy today's Ride!!!!
Starting line pictures are on Iron Dog web site now
I want be getting much work done this week. Go Team #11
come on team 14! pulling for ya!
team 8 @ 11:13 ping 4 mile north of Cripple or halfway to Poorman
so does anyone know why they had to send a rescue team after team 35??
Looks like Team 14 had to Piss again.
And Team 10 might have had to go #2.
Uh-OH! What's goin on with Demoski/Huntington? Watching the GPS and they're beginning to lag...hopefully no problems. C'mon boys...hold them sleds together!
Heard team 3 had electrical issues possibly related to headlights yesterday. GPS went off at Rohn and then fired once today near Takotna.
Please iron dog web people please update conditions on trail where the top 10 teams are it's killing me
I expected more up to date info on tracking including speed.. what gives
Go Team 5 spence and wold
I wish they had live radio coverage. I have listened to races down states that has live radio coverage (USCC racing series).
Seems the Cats like to mark their territory. Team 18 is taking a Piss in the same place as 14 did earlier. Now Team 23 has passed 18 and pulling away.
Hmm....Not good when the Cats can't leave the Nytro's in the kitty dust.
Both Team 5 and 23 are puttin a woopin on the Cat teams chasing them.
Looks like #35 is going again. Go team #35, always support those that keep pushing forward!!!!!
I think it's great that team 5 and 14 are running together northern asphalt and mckenna bros.. get her done boys!! w t o
The cats teams started after the yahama teams and are an hour a head of 5 in time
I got news for ya........
Team 14 and Team 5 aren't "running together".
Team 14 is having issues.
Team 14 expects to win this race and they do not care how far back anyone else finishes
team 8
gps ping
pulled ahead about 10 miles from team 11
long trip for those two and pushing snow maybe?
Can someone tell us about the red area on the map? Is it some natural mineral?
Come on.....please update
Yes, the 2 Cat teams started behind the 2 Yamaha's and immediately caught and passed them by Ophir.
At the rate they caught the Nytro's they should be 20 minutes ahead of each of them by now but they are not. The Cats are now loosing ground to the Yamaha's.
Something is wrong.....
minnick/olstad will prob do it this year!
1137 post
the point of the blog is to get the chatter going and make sure as many fans get the info that is available
i think they were just talking about that fact they are so close together....
i think....there might be some snow out there that the teams in fact do work together so that they all conserve fuel
this is a long stretch from ophir to poorman
if one machine breaks trail it can consume a lot more fuel than a team that just hangs back....
these guys are competitors but they are also comrades......they havea recess attitude.....rememberwhen we were young and school was all about recess.l..what fun that was...that's what these are doing!!! RECESS the bell is ringin
they are running together
Team 8 has their Doo's flying.
They made up 7 minutes on Team 16 on the trail to Ophir.
I suspect they are physically in the lead by now, and will pull into Poorman ahead of every other team.
Responses to earlier comments:
1. Minnick and Davis GPS never worked, not even during shakedown runs. My guess is the units were defective at the start.
2. Re: Colors on the map - remember Google Earth is pasted together from Sat photos that may have been taken at different times. If one area is red and another green, it could be that one pic was taken during fall. The pic of my house shows a car in the driveway that I no longer have - these pics are years old.
3. Re: updates - if the GPS isn't working, you are not going to see anything until a team gets to a checkpoint with a sat phone. That means nobody knows where Davis and Olstad teams are until they reach Poorman which might be another hour.
4. Yes, it is damn frustrating. The ID committee spent a lot of time and money on GPS trackers so you folks could follow your favorites and if the units are failing, well, nobody is going to be very happy. Most of the non-working GPS issues can't/won't be sorted out until Nome.
5. The good news is once the teams hit Poorman and then Ruby, phone reports should be much more frequent.
team 5 and 14 are friends, as are many of these teams, and the possibility of running together is not probable. Although they all care for one another, the only person running together would be the guys with the same number, friends or not if someone is stopped to take a piss or working on their own sled, the only thing they will do is wave if no one is hurt, guaranteed! best of luck to all the racers in this grueling race, your heart and determination is admirable no matter what place you are in, lets be postive fans.
Go Mark Go we're proud and watching
Sounds like those Nytros Team 23
has are great machines! Right?
sounds like ak said must know team 14 pretty well to make that judgement call. i don't think they expect anything more than a safe and fun ride. this is not race where you can go into it EXPECTING anything.
Looking at the times, team 8 of Johnson/Aklestad they are pushing it, we'll see how those Doo's hold up at that pace, we know they have issues and are not the most reliable. But in a game like this, its all about luck, when you have bad luck, stupid things break that no amount of preparation & preservation can prevent. We make our own luck.
The old folks are preserving there sleds for the push south, and leading the first day or two is not something anyone should brag about, we'll see how the turn out is in a day or two.
I think it's about time for the smack talk to start? Last year was great....was hoping we could get it going once again!!!!!
1151 post
i think team 22 did ping up on the shake down runs.....the system was cleared on saturday afternoon but team 3 has some training runs still on their sheet
Ontec....adam
thank you for all you do this race is fast, furious and changes minute to minute....anything you do to improve the infor we fans get is helpful and more than we would be getting if it was 5 years ago.....that is priceless......thanks again ontec
If you look at the webcam in Ruby you can see blue sky, so don't think it is snowing. GO TEAM 8 Right smart!!!! Neither one of us are getting any work done and I haven't even gotten dressed yet. Tyson's mom
I'm glad to see that team 37 and 26 are racing neck and neck. It's a good 'friendly' competition. Of course both teams would rather watch their snowmachines burn then let the other team beat them.
I been saying it all along......team 8 is going to be riding a bucket of bolts if they don't slow down.
The Doo's have serious reliability issues. You pound them hard and they fall apart.
Team 23's Nytros are likely the slowest sleds out there. These things w