[pbasinger]

Found this interesting.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/mtb.php?id=news/2008/jun08/jun13mtbnews

Setting the record straight, Jay Petervary has the Great Divide Race record at 15:04:18

Also, Matt Lee was 4th place the inaugural year, but nearly 15 days behind the winner.

 

[mikesee]

The fact that ML continues to spin 'facts' to his liking is hardly surprising.

But that CN would publish that without a modicum of fact checking is...

..strangely common these days.

Meh. Much ado about nothing. It's just bikes.

MC

 

[nathan bay]

......... no mention of lack of cut-offs or mandatory call ins? I don't think the mileage is the major difference between the races.

 

[nathan bay]

*disclaimer*

Oh, and I didn't fact check that last stuff. But I'm pretty sure....correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[longman]

that's probably the fifth 'professionally written' article I've read recently that says Matt Lee holds the record...wtf?

 

[The_Boy]

Also they got Mary Collier's name wrong by calling her Mary Paulier.

 

[Jay P]

Found this interesting.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/mtb.php?id=news/2008/jun08/jun13mtbnews

Setting the record straight, Jay Petervary has the Great Divide Race record at 15:04:18

Also, Matt Lee was 4th place the inaugural year, but nearly 15 days behind the winner.

Just some more disappointing misprinted facts from a so called respected news publication.

Have you ever read Jan U. get credit for winning the tour when Lance did? The GDR is only longer, more elevatin gain, self-supported and done in less days. Hah! You would think that its a fact you would want to get right.

Oh well, I'm going riding, because it is actually sunny here.

Thanks Pete for filling me in, now everybody fill in "cycling news".

JayP

 

[Jjwoot]

Civility has exploded into civil war. pbassinger, allegedly setting the record straight, makes a purely spiteful comment about Matt Lee's GDR record. Mikesee accuses Matt Lee of spinning the truth. He professes to see a conspiracy with all these inaccuracies popping up everywhere. Meanwhile, Matt Lee himself is out on the trail; on his way, once again, to Antelope Wells. But now Jay P himself steps in. He has been stirred up by these other two. He should ask who owns the copright to GDR? Matthew Lee is a fierce and noble competitor. He has won the GDR twice. And dispite pbassinger's crack, he has never dropped out. There are no DNF's by his name. I have read the sentence being disputed and it is misleading and untruthful. But it was clearly just a mistake. The author was talking about ML and meant to say that ML's record for the GDR course was 15 days, 22 hours, etc. and it just came out wrong. To suggest in any way that ML set out to lay claim to JP's record is scurrilous and unbecoming. Jjwoot

 

[The_Boy]

I don't have a horse in this race and I don't personally know any of the horses in this race, but I would like to respond to this last post.

Civility has exploded into civil war. pbassinger, allegedly setting the record straight, makes a purely spiteful comment about Matt Lee's GDR record. Mikesee accuses Matt Lee of spinning the truth. He professes to see a conspiracy with all these inaccuracies popping up everywhere.

First off, you use words like you are writing for a tabloid. I don't see how you can claim an implication of a conspiracy. He even says "Its just bikes."

Meanwhile, Matt Lee himself is out on the trail; on his way, once again, to Antelope Wells.

I feel like I should be playing the national anthem when I read this. I heard he has already wrestled a grizzly.

But now Jay P himself steps in. He has been stirred up by these other two. He should ask who owns the copright to GDR? Matthew Lee is a fierce and noble competitor. He has won the GDR twice. And dispite pbassinger's crack, he has never dropped out. There are no DNF's by his name. I have read the sentence being disputed and it is misleading and untruthful. But it was clearly just a mistake. The author was talking about ML and meant to say that ML's record for the GDR course was 15 days, 22 hours, etc. and it just came out wrong. To suggest in any way that ML set out to lay claim to JP's record is scurrilous and unbecoming. Jjwoot

Really, did you talk to the reporter and ask her what she meant? And I would imagine that if I held a record and someone claimed that I didn't I too would speak up.

In the same way that you claim pbasinger and mikesee are reading into this article too much, it can be argued that you are reading into their responses too much. If you are going to suggest the article be read objectively, then you must read these responses objectively as well. Great first post by the way.

 

[teamdicky]

Also they got Mary Collier's name wrong by calling her Mary Paulier.

They did get eight letters right...

 

[Mike Brown]

Seeing such a small field of competitors essentially pissing in each others pools does nothing except discourage people like me from trying something like this as a "race."
That's all I have to say about that.

 

[alizbee]

Seeing such a small field of competitors essentially pissing in each others pools does nothing except discourage people like me from trying something like this as a "race."
That's all I have to say about that.

I think the 2400+ miles, the unsupported thing, the bears, the 4 weeks on the trail and the extreme weather possibilities probably discourage more people from trying it than a little forum drama.

 

[jimbo]

I love experiencing these events vicariously. I hate that the organizers are at each others throats. I do tend to agree with Mike Brown though. I may never get to participate in TD or GDR, but I think that the conflicts involved make it more likely that I would do a solo time trial if I ever attempted such an event.

I also don't have a horse in the race, but I do have opinions (I have an a$$hole too, good for me), most of which I'll keep to myself at the moment. I do wonder, however, if the gdr site will recognize a Banff to Antelope Wells record. I was looking at the Freedom Challenge, which has places to sleep and eat, and cost ~$1200. The records for this events are included on the GDR site. Hopefully, despite the animosity between the founders, the TD record will be recognized as well, despite the lack of mandatory call-ins and the allowance of cell phones.

In the end the spirt of the events are the same, and I hope they can peacefully coexist.

Jimbo (Smart, in case anyone accuse me of hiding my mild mannered day personality's real name)

 

[longman]

The author was talking about ML and meant to say that ML's record for the GDR course was 15 days, 22 hours, etc. and it just came out wrong. To suggest in any way that ML set out to lay claim to JP's record is scurrilous and unbecoming. Jjwoot

The author was talking about ML and clearly states that Matt holds the record for the fastest GDR.

Noboby has suggested that Matt set out to lay claim to JP's record.

The author effed up and it's a pretty stupid mistake to make if you ask me. They get paid to write that stuff, probably got it from one of the other incorrect reports out there

I don't care who wins as long as it's Dave Nice and he takes 2 days off Matt's sorry JP's record

 

[Jilleo]

Mind if I throw in a reporter's opinion?

I agree with Pete. The article is misleading. It reads like it was written directly from a press release by a reporter who used no other sources. Lazy reporting, for sure, but we're all in a big hurry these days. A simple Google search could easily reveal other sources for the GDMBR racing history, but if said "press release" did not offer other contacts, the reporter probably got all of her information from the one source that contacted her with a story idea, presumably Matt Lee.

The sentence "He also holds the fastest Great Divide race record of 15 days, 22 hours and 20 minutes," seems pretty cut and dry to me. Whether this was a misunderstanding on the reporter's part or a misleading on the promoter's part, nobody here can say. But the race record seems to me an extremely important part of the whole GDMBR racing concept, so it's strange she got this wrong. And, again, a pretty easy Google search would help confirm the actual race record, so ...

I feel journalism is important, so I don't have the same "meh" attitude that some of those who have actually raced in this event have taken. I'm kinda irked. If I were JayP, I'd call Cycling News and ask for a correction. But that's just me.

Speaking of horses in the race, go Geoff!

 

[mikesee]

When I originally read the link that Pete posted I scanned it on my way out the door for a ride. Honestly didn't notice the record being attributed to Matt--just wasn't reading closely enough. I really, really doubt that Matt gave that info to the reporter directly--he wouldn't stoop remotely that low. I think that was just a mistake on the part of the reporter and it never got fact checked.

The real bummer here is that even if a correction is published it's usually an addendum that gets buried and few ever notice it. At least in true 'print media'. Since this is on the 'net the reporter/editor have a chance to correct it by simply rewriting the story and re-publishing it with *actual* facts.

That detail aside, what *did* irk me is that the rest of the story is filled with half-truths, misrepresentations, and spin. 'Spin' meaning simply that someone took the facts and twisted them around to their liking and to suit their objectives. The reporter couldn't possibly know that these things were being foisted upon her unless she was intimately tied to or had participated in the race.

Matt has legitimate reasons for starting TD and he's passionate about making a splash with the inaugural race. I respect that very much. But the non-stop spin is unnecessary and bordering on ridiculous. TD has enough merit to stand on it's own two feet independent of the GDR. Wish that those that are pouring so much time, energy, and passion into TD promotion could get a grip and realize just that.

Denigrating the actions of others and misattributing facts in order to make themselves and their event look better (as was done in the CN article) is just plain despicable. Short-sighted and self-serving acts of that nature don't even escape the sensibilities of children.

Shameful.

MC

 

[afie]

Mike or Pete, can you identify which sections of the article are spin or erroneous (apart from the obvious race record and Mary's last name errors)?

If Matt, Kevin et al are willing to put in more time to organise the race, then that is probably the way this route going to go. The dangerous thing is when these events become too big to control. Its almost as if you guys should combine all that energy and compromise on something...

 

[pbasinger]

There’s no doubt in my mind that it was Sue George that screwed up on the part about the record. I have a ton of respect for Matt as an athlete. Finishing the GDR 4 times is incredible, but the article is just full of bs. For those of us who know the full story it’s mostly funny, but also a little sad to see crap like this.

To jimbo's comment on the records, I think you have a good point.

 

[Crash07]

Life is Short, let's get along.

 

[jav1231]

I'd agree, Pete. Knowing what I know of Matthew, he would never try to misrepresent the record. There may be quibble over smaller details and I understand that with any matters of contention but that he would try to take credit where it's not due isn't Matthew.