As with any bikepacking adventure, every participant will go home with innumerable stories. The trackleaders.com leaderboard could never do justice to the breadth of experiences acquired over 800km. Our dotwatchers have attempted to dig into as many shared stories as we could. As the sun sets on the 2023 Grand Depart, these are the main takeaways or key moments from this year (in no particular order):

1. There is more than one way to find success in a bikepacking grand depart. For instance, look at our two top finishers: __Christina Vietinghoff__ and __Eric Moisan__. Christina is fast. She finished with the fastest moving average speed and picked up 16h 31m of rest in doing so. On the other hand, Eric was steady and persistent, having a moving average speed closer to those riders that finished a full 24hrs behind him, but he kept his stop time to a minimum, a scant 2hrs 20mins. Evidently, the non-stop strategy worked for Eric (and FKT-holder Meaghan Hackinen), but much more punishing on one’s body. 
2. __Daniel Jordan__ completed the route on a deteriorating singlespeed cog with only 4 teeth. The fact that he was able to maintain his composure and figure out how to keep pushing despite this mechanical setback is evidence of the depth of experience he has. 
3. __Eric Betteridge__ setting a PR on his 5th LDW. Yeah that’s right, 5 times around!
4. __Ben Hamilton__ discovering a mechanical issue at the start line, finding a mobile bike service from  Carleton Place to have it repaired, starting a few hours later and still setting a PR and rolling in with the fastest 10 riders.
5. __Benoit Simard and Jonathan B. Roy__ appeared to have the most fun of any riders on the route. Their comedic social posts gave us a glimpse into their zany adventure style. The fact that they consumed the most coffee probably helped. These guys demonstrated that Grand Depart rides aren’t just for the serious goal-setters. No tracker, no problem when you have a good friend.
6. Grand Departs can serve to raise awareness for important issues. __Andrew Durand__ leveraged his participation in this event to raise awareness and funds for the EI Cure Project which supports individuals with a rare skin disease. He blew away his fundraising goals.
7. What’s more fun than doing one Grand Depart? Doing three! __The St. Lawrence Bikepacking Triple Crown__ is a series amalgamating three great routes in the region. A few LDW finishers have either completed the Triple Crown or are well on their way. If you liked the LDW go check out the BT700 and The Adirondack Trail Ride.
8. The story of the Lanterne Rouge, or last rider, is a glowing highlight we can all learn a great deal from. All smiles, 71 year old __Michael Roe__ rolled into Almonte in 8 days 11 hours with LDW buddy __Ben Glossop__. Michael  completed his St. Lawrence Bikepacking Triple Crown Lifetime Achievement and is well positioned to complete the Challenge Award in September. 
9. __Singlespeeding__ is alive and well, and extra kudos goes to these brave folks. We had 4 riders tackle the LDW aboard singlespeed bikes and they all laid down super fast times. Mind blown.
10. In the world of FKTs and bikepacking “racing”, fitness and grit are important indicators of performance, but __navigation should not be underestimated__. A rural loop route with farm tracks, trails and unmaintained roads, nailing 100% of the Log Driver’s Waltz turns can be a challenge. Even with GPS navigation at the ready, many riders will make errors and need to backtrack to correct them. The sporting integrity of these challenges relies on riders following the route, turn by turn as precisely as possible as the impacts, positive or negative, of not following the route are impossible to quantify with unlimited what-ifs.
11.  Growing participation by 100% is a reason for any organizer to celebrate. That said, there were only 7 female participants in this year’s Grand Depart, making the proportion of female riders about 10%, down from 2022. The creators of the __LDW  remain committed to making bikepacking a sport that everyone can envision themselves doing__ and they will continue to strive for parity in participation.
12.  For many LDW riders the Grand Depart marked their very first bikepacking adventure and a first night camped out on the trail, completing the Half, or just getting to the start of the route in Almonte was a significant achievement.  

Chris Rennie’s father, watching his very fast son reflected on his Dotwatching experience “It’s a race or an adventure or the best experience of your life. Or whatever you want to do with it.” This year’s LDW Grand Depart was a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Seeing the bikepacking community grow through shared experience and story telling both on the trail and in the virtual world of Dotwatching, social media, blogging etc was a huge highlight of the summer of 2023.

Key moments and takeaways from the 2023 Log Driver's Waltz

An update regarding our finishers and further FKT reviews by the Log driver's Waltz Official Race Ratification Panel (LDWORRP)* is available.  

__Sarah Caylor__ is officially awarded Female Singlespeed FKT (2d21d50m). Despite having a startline malfunction of our GPS tracker, Sarah was able to capture her entire route using a GPS enabled bike computer and the GPX file has been revied to confirm compliance with the official route. 
__Daniel Jordan__ - awarded Male Singlespeed FKT (3d04h44m)
__Christina Vietinghoff__ - 1st place Female finisher and new Female Grand Depart FKT (2d11h40m)

*Note that LDWORRP was this commentator's tongue and cheek identifier for those reviewing rider's navigation tracks. While the naming may have been a bit of a joke, the organizers do take compliance with the official route seriously due to its impact on sporting integrity. There is in-fact a couple of 3rd party, unanmed individuals who are responsible for reviewing rider's GPX files. Looks like the LDWORRP name might stick after all!

### Final Finisher

Last but not least, our lantern rouges, Michael Roe and Ben Glossop (ghostrider) arrived in Almonte at 7pm for a finish time of 8d11hrs.
![image0 (6)](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7GimhwGsLBvl8fFBEHZ2JV/49021031d777843d38368a92c742a4d5/image0__6_.jpeg)

## St. Lawrence Bikepack Triple Crown titles 

__Michael Feldman__ has earned an SLBTC Lifetime Acheivement after his LDW finish. 

__Michael Roe__ earned the St Lawrence Bikepacking Triple Crown Lifetime Achievement award following his LDW finish. He is also aiming to complete the "Challenge" his September by completing all three routes grand departs in the same year


Final Finishers and Ratified FKTs

## Finishers in the past 12 hours.

__Michael Feldman__ rolled into Almonte in the wee hours of the morning for a finish time of 4d16h50m.
![Screen Shot 2023-08-03 at 1.33.20 PM](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2VliQc36blVTzHDBs7HHRn/54b01ef3b74ac91e76b6f018bff99568/Screen_Shot_2023-08-03_at_1.33.20_PM.png)

__Andrew Durrand__, who was riding to support EI Cure Project also finished. He unfortunately ran into issues with his tracker device which undoubtedly caused alot of stress. Nonetheless, he continued on and finished in 4d22h57m (to be confirmed by LDWORRP)
![Screen Shot 2023-08-03 at 1.32.38 PM](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1SvzSgrYDWSuxUPvUEwSo7/3f7e4251acb8981f8bdff0d2588b658b/Screen_Shot_2023-08-03_at_1.32.38_PM.png)

__David Tuttle__ beat his previous time by nearly a day. He rolled in thursday afternoon in a time of 5d05h49m.
![Screen Shot 2023-08-03 at 1.31.57 PM](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/548blG2tbcLl6rCJiGr9yd/3529f3e1a83ae7435a6b223e64ffe39b/Screen_Shot_2023-08-03_at_1.31.57_PM.png)
![WhatsApp Image 2023-08-03 at 6.15.36 AM](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1wsxaRN3sJzALBGfl3lJKy/99259a40008cc0903504ff9944045b4d/WhatsApp_Image_2023-08-03_at_6.15.36_AM.jpeg)

Congrats all!

## St. Lawrence Bikepacking  Triple Crown

The St. Lawrence Bikepacking Triple Crown is a three route series created through the  amalgamation of routes located in the drainage basin of the St. Lawrence River. They include the [BT700](http://www.bt700.ca/), The [Adirondack Trail Ride](https://theadirondacktrailride.com/) and the Log Driver’s Waltz located in Ontario, New York state, and Ontario/Quebec respectively.

The SLTC can be tackled in two ways, as a lifetime achievement; completing each route in a riders lifetime, or as a challenge; the ultimate test of endurance and consistency, whereby riders complete all three routes in one year. 

Until now, there have been two lifetime finishers, Norman Cowan (2020) and Mike Lepcevic (2022). 

With consideration for this year’s LDW finishers, we are happy to announce that __Jeff Mullen__ is also among the SLBTC lifetime achievers. 

We also have a number of riders who intend on completing the triple crown upon finishing The Adirondack Trail Ride later this year (or the current LDW), either through participation in the Grand Depart or as an ITT. These include:

__Chris Rennie__ (SLBTC Challenge), TATR required
__Michael Roe__ (SLBTC Lifetime Achievement), LDW required, currently on route.
__Mike Feldman__ (SLBTC Challenge), TATR required

Honourable mention goes to Jody Dixon who continues to be riding the LDW route. She intends on riding the TATR in September and also started the BT700 however didn’t quite complete the full distance. 

More updates to come including coverage of our battle for the lantern rouge as well as a top 10 key moments/takeaways from the 2023 Log Driver’s Waltz. Stay tuned! 


Day 6 in Review

Good evening dotwatchers! It’s with great excitement and anticipation that I pass on this good word from the Log Driver’s Waltz Offical Race Ratification Panel (LDWORRP):

> Eric Moisan’s time and adherence to the plotted route has been verified by an independent third party.

Eric’s result as the first place male finisher is now official. Congrats Eric. __NOW__ you can go to sleep.

A reminder to other category leaders and FKT prospects to please submit your GPX files to the LDWORRP for review.

Now let’s get on to the meat and potatoes of today’s coverage!

## Today’s finishers 

As mentioned in my post yesterday, __Dylan Forrest__ was oh so close to finishing at the time of writing. He arrived in Almonte in the wee hours of the morning for a finish time of 3d17h31m.
![PXL 20230802 052534418.MP](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/Y4UsyD6lAF8IhZDhIyzSN/c5b3900bdeed712638c4689adb159118/PXL_20230802_052534418.MP.jpg)

__Joe Moore__ arrive in 4d12h55m and __Vincent Kelly__ in 4d13h11m.
![Joe Moore](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2jg3uXsW57pZ9dvxefT27x/ba8a02d2ebbdc2e0caa64887133f6d40/Joe_Moore.jpeg)
![Screen Shot 2023-08-02 at 8.25.36 PM](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6PUh2ufM6DtGwh1AKsOtXP/9431a2b9b540933127c5fa54fb509664/Screen_Shot_2023-08-02_at_8.25.36_PM.png)

__John Swarbrick__ (ghost rider) also rolled in for his second straight Grand Depart finish in two years with a finishing time of 4 days, 5 hours and 54minutes. A new PR for John. Congrats John. Give [@swrbrj](https://www.instagram.com/swarbrj/) a follow for some nice photos of the route and other gravel cycling adventures. 
![Screen Shot 2023-08-02 at 8.17.10 PM](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2s12vZ8yY0j7ls94D8Qp6R/718805a2f3ad3aac8a46e7f3c05609d3/Screen_Shot_2023-08-02_at_8.17.10_PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2023-08-02 at 8.42.12 PM](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1dcgoY9UtqFbelhoxrRO2t/e3d0d11553af989a4066e5f77e7e9753/Screen_Shot_2023-08-02_at_8.42.12_PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2023-08-02 at 8.42.21 PM](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1F1rMXx4NiR0dm8ov2Idnk/2877be5533ab1a41a7be4a7c5d4977ca/Screen_Shot_2023-08-02_at_8.42.21_PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2023-08-02 at 8.42.36 PM](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/39yA0kWsqay5a1YCy8ZOXA/f050601dee8a780a75564da8a99be2bb/Screen_Shot_2023-08-02_at_8.42.36_PM.png)

We await the imminent finish of Michael Feldman later tonight.
![Mfieldman](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/vOvXrK9o7PBWIj8UZjZre/725b2a33c1388a53b7bb038f4a834e79/Mfieldman.jpeg)

Also on course is David Tuttle ([@texastutt](https://www.instagram.com/texastutt/)) who appears to be spending the night at the Museumm of History in Gatineau. Legend.

I’m going to end tonight’s coverage with this great quote from John Swarbrick. John completed his second LDW Grand Depart today, but before he did I personally reached out to him to check to see if he was OK as his last social post mentioned something about back pain and we hadn't received any intel about his whereabouts. His response perfectly summarizes what stripped-down bikepacking is all about for many of us:

> Ha ha - no scratching - a little itchy from last night. Not all of us mortals do this as a race Brotha. Had a great time. I like to stop and take pics! It’s all about the ride brother. I finished at 1:54 today - got a nice lady to take a pic - spread the good LDW word - posted up on Insta. Now off to the cottage. Tailwinds Brotha!

Tailwinds to you too John, and same to  all the riders still on route! 
![Screen Shot 2023-08-02 at 8.51.51 PM](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4EPX5D5nMJ3dHotaebmpme/2e5586a68be745db6fb91df223054ec6/Screen_Shot_2023-08-02_at_8.51.51_PM.png)


Day 5 in Review

A quick update from me tonight. It’s been a long day.

First off, a correction from yesterday’s report. I had indicated that Christina Vietinghoff had finished 5th ahead of Chris Rennie. This was incorrect. Chris actually finished ahead of Christina. Chris was our extended podium finisher in 5th position and Christina continues to be the first female finisher. 

A reminder that all finish results are unofficial until a 3rd party has an opportunity to review GPS files and validate the results. 

In addition to the riders being tracked online through trackleaders, we do have a number of ghost riders who have finished without GPS transponders therefore exact finish times and order are not available to me. 

## Half/Demi route finishers

On the Half/Demi route, __Jen Adams__, one of our route-masters finished last night around 6:30pm, in time to join the festivities in Almonte.

The comedic duo of __Jonathan B. Roy__ and __Benoit Simard__ somehow managed to make it to Almonte despite all of their shenanigans. 
![JB and BS](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7eBBiVdc5ciUcNqD9JWk7Y/ed3f8018ea00ed4cd8d972c7c32f2077/JB_and_BS.jpeg)

__Emily Laflèche__ reached Shawville,QC on th full route and opted to pivot back towards Renfrew to join up with Half/Demi route, finishing around 8:14pm for a ride time of 3d12h14m
![EmilyLaflèche](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5y8BdDmhR7ThhSYqO82RNA/01a3711e29f8a8d101f73d61f9205e1c/EmilyLafle__che.jpeg)

## Full route finsihers

__Sarah Caylor__ arrived in Almonte at 5:51am today, after a 26 hour final push, making her both the 3rd place female finisher 3rd place singlespeed as well as taking the title of first ever female singlespeed finisher. We’ll wait on the organizers to validate her race files to see if this counts towards an official FKT. 
![Screen Shot 2023-08-01 at 10.11.37 PM](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5bG47ME2gl9n8PYYAb97h9/a7f45723f4fc2db15d8a3f65113a563f/Screen_Shot_2023-08-01_at_10.11.37_PM.png)

__Daniel Jordan__ of Vermont limped his 5 tooth cog to the line in 3d04h44m meaning all of our singlespeed starters successfully completed.
![DanJ and Mikey](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1XCJ5QqKoh5o6aZXl2GwTZ/c93c2f1d02a94d64d3c7b6f1f6f09ef6/DanJ_and_Mikey.jpeg)

__Mikey Intrabartola__ of The Adirondak Trail Race completed at 11:47am.

__Eric Betteridge__ our other LDW route master finished in 3d08h39m setting a new PR on his 5th time riding the route!
![Eric Betteridge](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/256f3Fxz2RfJV0MAPeF3mm/f6c5319379c72b3c7e8b5763cbaa54e8/Eric_Betteridge.jpeg)

__John Keiffer__ finished in 3d09h35m.
![J keiffer](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7rVX6EDbMjMxbTVVej6X90/deee19fc33bbfd1c2237be7c2db8a5f9/J_keiffer.jpeg)

__Will Grierson__ in 3d09h52m
![WillGrierson](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/CNHgjnrgtA72oA4pu5qI8/c1c2b959fcdb8c475e5674a5a9c5620f/WillGrierson.jpeg)

__Jeff Mullen__ (Richmond, VT) in 3d10h24m
![JeffMullen](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2M678UwXAtKv7MdpJCUGHJ/74c6353bc241c5dcbd667374fd9b7d7c/JeffMullen.jpeg)

__Wesley Bartlett__ in 3d12h34m
![WesleyBartlett](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7f1oGK3IbrPjlBERWEf1QR/b1f40f4fd7e4d4247de9f2bbf875e2a0/WesleyBartlett.jpeg)

__Bastien Jean__ has also finished as a ghost rider. Finish time unknown. 
![BastienJean](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1DzpufxHc6K11AE4mcZ83A/b551d9b31c50b4fd6fee6bb3d43f0668/BastienJean.jpeg)

A number of rider remain on the route. As I write this, __Dylan Forrest__ in about 10km away from Almonte. __Jody Dixon__ and __Michael Roe__ continue to share the title of Lantern Rouge.


Day 4 in Review

## Champagne in Almonte

Wow what a day! I swear I barely managed  to get any work done.

Not only did we see our first Log Driver’s Waltz Full Course finisher, but we saw a whopping 11 riders (likely more including ghost riders unaccounted for on trackleaders)  cozy up with James Naismith at the finish line in Almonte. That’s more riders finishing in under 72hrs than finishers in total during the 2022 grand depart. The strength and depth of field in the 2nd running of the LDW Grand Depart is evidence of the amazing quality of the route as well as the hard work that Jen and Eric have put into growing the attractiveness, accessibility and community around the route. Kudos to them. 

I going to highlight the achievements of the riders who have finished so far, but while I have your attention, I wanted to take a moment to highlight the story of how the Log Driver’s Waltz came to be, and the contribution of it’s first finisher, Michel Collette (exerpt from logdriverswaltz.ca).

> In June 2020 Michel Collette, the first person to complete the LDW, approached the route in race mode.  He came across an early version of the route that had been inadvertently set to “Public” on Ride With GPS. Given that we thought we had been keeping it private we were a bit shocked to see his Facebook post describing his experience. The feeling of surprise quickly gave way to one of happiness when we realized he had actually liked the route that we had developed!
> After finishing he shared a few thoughts with us; it was great to get his perspective.
> “The Log Driver’s Waltz (LDW) is a nice but tough course where you soon find out that the short asphalt sections are just there to get to more gravel!”
> “It delivered on the bikepacking adventure feel, especially on the roads I had not done before.“ 
> He went on to say  he that he bikepacks for two very different reasons:  “I like being outside and bike touring, and I like long bikepacking races. I was using the LDW as training for next  year's Tour Divide so I did long days as opposed to admiring the scenery.” Unfortunately, as we now know, the 2021 Tour Divide was cancelled due to Covid 19 pandemic.
> Michel  went on to say, “People from outside this area looking for a challenge and/or an adventure on a well documented route should consider the LDW. Not only will the scenery be nice, the route will be fun.”
> In 2021 he completed the LDW for a second time setting an  FKT of 4 days. 
> Thanks, Michel, for testing the Beta Version of the Log Driver’s Waltz and then coming back to ride the finished version.  We are so glad that you found it challenging and scenic enough to return.
> We were very fortunate to draw on his experience as we prepared for the Tour Divide in 2022, a race/ride that Michel always wanted to do. Unfortunately it was not to be. By the time the 2022 edition came along he was ill with cancer. He continues to be a great role model for us in terms of his humanity, humour and zest for life. In 2023 we are dedicating the Grand Depart to Michel Collette, friend, father, husband, bikepacker.

On behalf of all the athletes, adventurers and velophiles that line up in Almonte on Saturday, I say THANK YOU to Michel for his uninted, but significant contribution to the route we all share.

### Finishers

__Eric Moisan__ rode practically nonestop to finish first in 2d05h38m. He managed to have a ride/rest ratio of 95.6%
![Screen Shot 2023-07-31 at 11.11.44 PM](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5elh3A5NbdRtxwLPzQ7YEU/6fa360c5fd4c9d3e5c5dd409ae9c70fc/Screen_Shot_2023-07-31_at_11.11.44_PM.png)

In his second attempt at the LDW, __Spencer Gough__ finished second in 2d06h44m aboard his singlespeed. Riding this route with one gear in general is still mind-boggling to me, nevermind this quickly.
![Screen Shot 2023-07-31 at 11.10.07 PM](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7sz13NCYFp2b2HTxpdGMcJ/99dd6a7682dafb0552d27aa8f0af272f/Screen_Shot_2023-07-31_at_11.10.07_PM.png)

Another singlespeeder from Massachusettes, __Adin Maynard__ finished 3rd in 2d09h32m.

__Felix Laberge__ finished fourth in 2d10h07m.

A massive congratulations to __Christina Vietinghoff__ who finished 5th overall, and first female in 2d11h40m. Christina is evidently in a league of her own, following a different ride strategy than any other pointy end rider. She managed to clock an impressive 16.5 hours of rest/sleep time and had the highest moving average speed of any rider at 18.6 kph. She’s so well rested she could probably turnaround and ride the course again in the opposite direction! Hint hint.
![Screen Shot 2023-07-31 at 11.04.09 PM](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2KFxemrbVtd6a6kQDfnYSG/28d54630da2b2739ab808ed1c805302d/Screen_Shot_2023-07-31_at_11.04.09_PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2023-07-31 at 11.05.22 PM](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2t0rLo9kMU1W3kbDNo6UxD/d06f051864b2abc0b143ea00fad0105e/Screen_Shot_2023-07-31_at_11.05.22_PM.png)
__
Chris Rennie__ and __Tiago Varella-Cid__ (ghost rider) finished minutes after for 6th overall in 2d11h48m.
![Screen Shot 2023-07-31 at 11.02.54 PM](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7BOVE6eznZDXXyiNAkRGW/a70b3f76992ae593fe0154b60150339a/Screen_Shot_2023-07-31_at_11.02.54_PM.png)

__Ben Hamilton__, also on his second attempt face a major setback on day one with a startline technical mishap. He ended up starting a couple hours behind everyone and still managed to finish 7th overall in 2d12h25m, beating his previous time by a significant margin.

__Roland Fletcher__ finished 8th in 2d13h19m.
![Screen Shot 2023-07-31 at 11.05.52 PM](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/QeljMon8ChH0BRZcbCroI/c434e142ddc021e7d9e8acb05f44d434/Screen_Shot_2023-07-31_at_11.05.52_PM.png)

__Dominque Laliberté__ finished 9th overall and second in the female classification with a time of 2d14h53m. Her and Christina made for some exciting dotwatching in the final kilometres, however I hear from other dotwatchers that Dominique was battling some knee pain and had to take some extra rest. Probably something some more Snickers and Redbull could solve :) 

__Pierre Sureau__ finished in 2d14h58m and __Conrentin Sainmont__ in 2d15h10m.

*Note that his does not take into account a number of ghost riders, including __Sarah Caylor__ who i understand likely finished today as well. Unfortunately I have no insight into these riders’ position. If anyone has any info, please message me.

![Screen Shot 2023-07-31 at 11.06.33 PM](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1K1QuPpXhwWCh7WpWZY6M8/79e05bce213d0a7f6228ea670103860f/Screen_Shot_2023-07-31_at_11.06.33_PM.png)

### Riders on course

While it seems that we had quite a few riders caught up in the excitement of racing at the pointy end, we also have many riders who are either racing themselves or simply enjoying the beauty and challenge of the route at their desired pace. We have a half dozen or so riders which I project will finish on day 4, therefore I’ll be continuing to watch and will provide updates until the last riders finish.

A couple notable riders to watch:
Jody Dixon and Michael Roe appear to be in a close battle for the lantern rouge position, both currently laying their head down in Calabogie.

One of our pre-ride “riders to watch” Emily Laflèche has entered quebec. This is Emily’s first solo bikepacking event and she appears to be having a blast based on her updates. That said, regardless of how high the highs are, I know spending so much time on your own can be challenging, so i’m sending major positive vibes her way. Keep it going!

![Screen Shot 2023-07-31 at 10.31.00 PM](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6bWHPtUkQaFAPvHXEKUkxf/cb542b227cd870f606d4c78b5299e3aa/Screen_Shot_2023-07-31_at_10.31.00_PM.png)

As I mentioned in my pre-ride preview, if you see Eric Betteridge’s dot stalled somewhere, there is probably something worth checking out. Well, he seems to have taken a lengthy rest in Wakefield, probably trying all the menu items at the bakery. He is now slightly off route. I can only imagine he is tracking down the next up and coming culinary hotspot in the area. Or maybe he’s sleeping. Stay tuned.

Daniel Jordan is making his way through the steepest of pitches in Gatineau Park in the middle of the night. He previously reported that he was loosing teeth on his singlespeed cog. He’s probably down to 3 at this point. Dude likes to make things difficult for himself!

See y'all again tomorrow. 


Day 3 in Review

We have our first full course finisher! 

Eric Moisan of Gatineau, QC has arrived in Almonte at 1:38pm after a non-stop effort. Final finish time of 53 hours, 38 minutes. Congrats Eric. Note that results are unofficial pending 3rd party review of rider GPS data.

Time to get some sleep. Well done Eric.  
![Eric Moisan](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6zDVYp6ihrEvtDN3omPH6F/d369334e65d028ca5efd80018fb8dfc8/Eric_Moisan.jpeg)

2023 Log Driver's Waltz - First Place finisher

Good morning dotwatchers! A quick day 3 update for your Monday morning. My intel tells me that riders faced lightning, thunder and some heavy rain overnight. We saw quite a few folks slow or come to a stop as a result as they sought shelter for the night.

I must call out a major omission on my part. Sarah Caylor’s tracker remaind on “pre-start” status since the beginning of the Grand Départ. Typically this means that the rider never actually started the event and no GPS pings are being attributed to them. As such, I incorrectly assumed that Sarah hadn’t started for whatever reason. Fortunately she reached to me last night with this update:

> Hey Cory! Sarah Caylor here just checking in from Lac St Marie - breakfast and Im on my way again - slower than I though but Im getting there! Singlespeed on this route is tough - kudos to the guys up front!! My tracker is broken and not picking up a trace, so, here I am... cheers!

So great to hear that she’s out there riding the route. Not only that but she’s crushing it. It’s impossible to say exactly where she is, but I would guess somewhere between Low and Wakefield now, and that would put her in 3rd position among women. (Update, she just sent another message that she is at KM569

Speaking of women, we had a serious shake up overnight. It seems that our super fast leader Christina Vietinghoff took another extended rest, getting a ~9 hour sleep (!!) just outside of Denholm. This allowed Dominique Laliberté to overtake her around low after only sleeping for a few hours near Mt. Ste. Marie. They are now neck and neck coming into Gatineau Park. It will be very interesting to see how each of their sleep strategies impact their final day of riding as this race unfolds. Definitely one to watch!!!

One of our dotwatchers on the ground, Nathalie Peters has been out with her camera capturing a few riders as they pass Wakefield. Here's some shots of Christina and Dominique. Who appears more fresh? 

![IMG 0140](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6aV4yyXJjGuiYr9nM8xFHC/4fb27db953d9e92ba5a25b85ede030e7/IMG_0140.jpg)
![IMG 0143](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/65Bdj7HT51kRup7t4pnyTp/b3de9f52c7cd42e276629583264c0ebe/IMG_0143.jpg)

In the meantime, our fearless leader Eric Moisan is still out front and doesn’t appear to have taken any significant rest. That said, it took him a whopping 9 hours to clear Gatineau Park through the night therefore it is evident that his non-stop strategy is impacting him. His moving speed is significantly slower than most of the other riders in the top 10 but doesn’t matter too much when you just keep moving forward constantly. We can expect Eric to reach Almonte in the next hour or so, for a finish time of approx 52 hours.

Spencer Gough is not far behind as he is just passing through the nation’s capital along the Rideau Canal. Mitchel Sinclair, who has previously scratched is meeting riders as they pass through Ottawa and he sent me this video of Spencer pounding the pedals. 

![069dc9beb6f2473a870b65aab673d988](//videos.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/zsQFbtrsKi6CiZFErnMWn/6f3d0cf7375c0adfe57815cc3c2f5ef0/069dc9beb6f2473a870b65aab673d988.MOV)

After Spencer, we have a three-way battle for 3rd between Adin Maynard, Felix Laberge, and Chris Rennie. Also photographed by Nathalie Peters:

![IMG 0131](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3IC7bXf4goOt4JHk5EqYtl/5d82f0fd1600a1b4630ba7837b8a09af/IMG_0131.jpg)
![IMG 0134](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5etZwTY9LxDkXcka3JsszU/3e314db434c8ded83eb396cdbb90035b/IMG_0134.jpg)
![IMG 0137](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4E0ntMGfKv2ZBw3Jx38VhK/2b277971f162de783f7bff925efaae8c/IMG_0137.jpg)

Finally, the award for the most hilarious comedic duo goes to Jonathan B. Roy (@jonathanbroy) and Benoit Simard (@espressosports). These two  humbly agreed to “withdraw” from contention for the FKT (they were never in the running) but appear to making light of every mishap and obstacle along the way. Let’s hope they are still friends by the time they reach Almonte. Definitely worth a follow. 


Day 3 morning update

Welcome back to day 2 of Log Drivers Waltz coverage. 

I can synthesize the insights into today’s ride in 3 main themes:

- a surging leader in Eric Moisan;
- a impressively quick and steady mid-pack, and;
- a fair number scratches

### Half/Demi Route

But first, let’s cover what happened in the Demi event. Viewing through the trackleaders lens, it looks like a chasing Siggi Casson caught Norman Cowan just before the finish in Almonte, however some social media sleuthing suggests that Siggi is claiming a 2nd place therefore we can only assume that Norman took 1st place and the skewed finish order is a result of gps tracker delays. Regardless, both riders finished around 4am on Sunday for an outstanding ride time of 20 hours for the 380km route. Boom Salvador and François Darveau-Bernier also finished later in the day placing 3rd and 4th respectfully. 

![Screen Shot 2023-07-30 at 8.34.13 PM](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4Ie2UZ7xfXD3J4x6OvWwU4/e29f3f054d24d86b19dbaa80b23aa377/Screen_Shot_2023-07-30_at_8.34.13_PM.png)
![Screen Shot 2023-07-30 at 8.34.21 PM](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5yRxXVpPi27jCw53nJmN5s/d2c28ed27e48c2c541759f429e9d39c3/Screen_Shot_2023-07-30_at_8.34.21_PM.png)
And by the way, Siggi indicated that he opted to take his shoes off for the K&P water walk. I probably would have too. 

### Leaders

Flipping over to the full LDW route, we have Eric Moisan setting a wicked pace in the lead without stopping for any significant rest. When I stopped watching dots last night he had just left renfrew as a large number of riders were arriving. Evidently many of those chasers spent a little more time resupplying and freshening up allow him to open up a sizeable gap. He is currently on track for a ~48 hour finish depending on how he handles his second sleepless night. For context, in 2022 I entered Gatineau Park around 7:30pm, about an hour before sunset. Navigating the rugged trails around Harrington and Meech Lake was extremely challenging under the cloak of darkness especially when sleep deprived. I opted to play it conservative and catch 2 hours of sleep on the shores of Meech Lake. While I’m excited to see Eric push himself for the male FKT, I also hope that he plays it safe tonight. Considering Eric is from Gatineau, I'm sure he knows the park well.

Behind Eric, Spencer Gough is trailing by about 20km, or ~1 hour of riding. Depending on each riders’ sleep strategy and level of fatigue, there is still very much an opportunity to see a swap at the front overnight. It is important to note that Spencer has accumulated much more rest with a 84.4% ride/rest ratio vs. Eric’s 96.6% ride/rest ratio. That means Spencer is actually the fastest person in terms of moving speed. In fact, most of the top 5 are consistently moving faster than Eric, but resting more. About 20km behind Spencer we have Chris Rennie and Adin Maynard in a close battle for 3rd.
![Screen Shot 2023-07-30 at 9.11.17 PM](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3eR5TKAvw9yguU3337wcm5/09fa7283d02e9d4681347cfc11933e1e/Screen_Shot_2023-07-30_at_9.11.17_PM.png)

Christina Vietinghoff is maintaining her lead among women and is sitting fifth overall. Interestingly, it looks like Christina grabbed a solid 5 hours of sleep last night therefore her rest time is considerably higher than most leaders but she is moving at an incredibly fast 19.3km/hr average moving speed, second only to Spencer (19.4km/hr). 

Christina is being chased by Dominique Laliberté about 70km behind. In 3rd, after having a restful sleep indoors, Emily Laflèche appears to be down for night two somewhere near the beginning of Arcol road. 
![Screen Shot 2023-07-30 at 9.08.04 PM](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6cfzFBxnEbqxvechIuPFZ1/ba75b06ba30c72d11f026cd0ff2486d5/Screen_Shot_2023-07-30_at_9.08.04_PM.png)

### The Mid-pack
![Screen Shot 2023-07-30 at 9.09.06 PM 1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/8P7nAtl76JWE79YtAqyAX/fe0649c16d413a83bd58d684097d793e/Screen_Shot_2023-07-30_at_9.09.06_PM_1.png)

It is fantastic to see so many people putting in a spirited ride. Our LDW field is so strong this year with the majority of riders already in Quebec and past the halfway marker. That means we can see 20 odd riders finishing within the 3-5 day range. 

### Rider specific updates

As previously mentioned Andrew Durand is dedicating his ride to raise money for a rare skin disease. Good news, it looks like he met his fundraising goal and the money raised is being matched. Congrats Andrew!

![Screen Shot 2023-07-30 at 8.43.31 PM](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5Y5jKVxtV7dIZPgyw7Ifjd/43e4b036d5dad18585bc98cb5c19bb88/Screen_Shot_2023-07-30_at_8.43.31_PM.png)

One of our single speeders, Daniel Jordan (Burlighton, VT) seems to be making an effort to shed some weight. Unfortunately he is doing so by losing teeth on his cog. Not a good plan Daniel! But seriously, I know Daniel is one of, if not these most experience bikepack racers in the LDW, having ridden the Trans North Georgia, Adirondack Trail Ride (FKT-holder), Vermont Super 8 and many others, so I’m confident he’ll be able to overcome this hurdle and keep moving.
![Screen Shot 2023-07-30 at 8.47.18 PM](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5BwWXbRj3AD54HuldY4RCP/8cc937ffd48be179a2dfd9742621d3da/Screen_Shot_2023-07-30_at_8.47.18_PM.png)

### Scratches

From where I sit it is always unfortunate to report those scratching from the ride, however in most cases I’m hearing from riders who have had to face insurmountable obstacles yet are still quite satisfied with the portion of the route they managed to complete. 

Reed Jorgensen left us worried when he travelled 20km one way off route to go to Perth yesterday. I asked him to reach out to let us know what was going on and he replied:

> I broke a spoke and needed a new one asap, rode to Perth to get a new one, when I got back to Lanark I got a message saying we had an offer accepted on a new house. I decided to head home right away to help with all the details around that. Yes, they could likely wait 4 days, but that seemed too stressful lol

Congrats on the new house Reed! Hopefully more room to store bikes!

RJ Sauer messaged me to let me know that he was riding out of Calabogie with the leaders when his eTap electronic shifting suddenly failed. 

> “had already burned through 5 batteries which was clearly unprecedented for my bike, even during the worst conditions on tour divide wit same set up. Anyway, even fresh battery swap wouldn’t resolve so limped back to calabogie”

Antoine Stundner scratched due to knee pain. He is registered to ride in the legendary Paris-Brest-Paris brevet in a few weeks which only occurs once every 4 years, so likely a good call not risking injury.

Carl Presseault was aiming to go straight through to complete a non-stop ride on the Half/Demi route. However, after opting for the comfort of an inn on night one, he realized that he hadn’t left himself sufficient time and needed to get back to return to work as a bikeshop staffer. On behalf of riders everywhere, we thank you for you hard work and service. Bike shops are essential services after all. 
![Screen Shot 2023-07-30 at 8.36.20 PM](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4LqQTphNmVuonO7mXDrTRv/2f2f80f86f976f4971156c774cd562ca/Screen_Shot_2023-07-30_at_8.36.20_PM.png)

Sean Swarts has not officially reported as scratched, although he messaged me to let me know that he experienced a catastrophic blowout on his tires. He just returned last week from racing the 3 Peaks race in Europe and decided to join the LDW Grand Depart last minute. In doing so he didn’t have enough time to really study the terrain and showed up with 35c tires. That all said, it looks like he was able to ride himself from Calabogie to join up with the Half/Demi route to make it back to Almonte, so hopefully he still got a good ~300km ride out of the ordeal.

Dan Hallman and Thierry Gervais-Desrochers have also scratched but no insight to provide.

Going into night two i’m keenly interested to see who will be pushing towards 48hours of sleeplessness. I’m always impressed with how far we can push our bodies and minds to keep moving in this state. That said, safety is always a concern when riders are pushing the sleep deprivation boundaries.


Day 2 in review

It’s nearly 1am and incredibly we have 10 active dots making progress in the dark. Eric Moisan continues to hold a slim lead over the chasers. He appears to have made no stop, or a very quick one in Renfrew. Considering the lack of resupply in the Lanark Highlands and none looking forward for the next few hours, this is a gutsy move. Then again, the body’s natural tendency is to consume less at night even when racers are burning calories to move forward (and stay warm). 

About 1km behind Eric is Adin Maynard. An impressive ride aboard a singlespeed in what has likely been less than ideal conditions. I overstated Adin’s goals in my “riders to watch” preview, by suggesting he may be going for an FKT. He reached out to say that he was looking to ride the best he possibly could, but an FKT wasn’t likely. Based on his ride so far, I think he’s holding his cards close to his chess.

As lead riders roll into Renfrew close to 1am, I will point out for context that i arrived in Renfrew at 11pm in 2022. At 1am I was somewhere around Portage du Fort.

Adin isn’t the only rider Eric needs to be mindful of. Christina Vietinghoff has moved in 3rd place overall. Spencer Gough is not far behind, as is Felix Laberge.

About 80km behind, Ben Hamilton continues to make up for lost time from his startline mechanical. He is approaching Calabogie.

Normon Cowan continues to lead in the Demi distance. 

Unfortunately we have our first scratched rider. Andrew Woodside (Montreal, QC) left the route around KM160 and has since reported as scratched. No insight available at present. 

Goodnight. 


Night 1 - peering into the dark

Cory Ostertag

Log Driver’s Waltz 2023 Tracking + Commentary: The Log Driver's Waltz is a long-distance, multi-day route through the Ottawa Valley including the beautiful Rideau Canal and Ottawa itself. Join along as the riders take on this gravel-grinding tour of eastern Ontario and Western Quebec.

Log Driver’s Waltz 2023 Tracking

The Log Driver's Waltz is a long-distance, multi-day route through the Ottawa Valley including the beautiful Rideau Canal and Ottawa itself. Join along as the riders take on this gravel-grinding tour of Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec.

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