[HAMR] Tarzan (Kurt Searvogel)

[jsabine]

... I'm afraid Steve's pride in spending 6 hours riding 50 miles in a 30mph headwind has come back to haunt him. ...

Feeling smug now? 

With respect, that was posted yesterday.

Well, no, it wasn't: "Quote from: LMT on Today at 02:17:26 PM" suggests otherwise.

LMT was talking about Steve's (at the time unexplained) short ride and early finish, and was challenged about it looking a bit snide - phrasing like 'pride' and 'haunt him' does look a bit premature now. His comments about the wisdom of flogging into a headwind for little gain are another matter.

It's terrible what has happened to Steve today. I'm sure we all wish him the best.

Quite.

[andrew531]

Well out of the 3 challengers there's one left. No pressure then Kurt!  ; )
I suspect that this ain't over yet.......
Good luck to anyone who is dedicated enough to spend a year of their life riding the OYTT.

[Canardly]

Lets just hope that Kurt (and any other riders) stay accident free out there.

[LMT]

Lets just hope that Kurt (and any other riders) stay accident free out there.

Indeed, I wish Kurt a trouble free year and the same for Miles when he starts on the 11th? of April.

[runsoncake]

This from Kurts' FB page:-

"A sad day for our British rider in the HAM'R attempt. Our thoughts and prayers go out to you Steven Abraham for a speedy recovery."

What a nice bloke!

[Pale Rider]

I wonder if Steve's likely absence for several weeks will cause Kurt to alter his riding.

He could afford to ease up a touch, although he is still below the required average.

If I was him, I would be looking to press home the advantage to make myself totally out of reach by the time Steve might return.

[hillbilly]

If I was him, I would be looking to press home the advantage to make myself totally out of reach by the time Steve might return.

I would expect that Kurt, being a competitive sort by all accounts, will try to set a benchmark that Miles will struggle to overtake.  It must be a strange situation for him, given his racing background.  Or not.  Time will tell.

[michaelo]

The follower becomes the followed...

[mzjo]

If I was him, I would be looking to press home the advantage to make myself totally out of reach by the time Steve might return.

I would expect that Kurt, being a competitive sort by all accounts, will try to set a benchmark that Miles will struggle to overtake.  It must be a strange situation for him, given his racing background.  Or not.  Time will tell.

The part of this that gets interesting was always there before Steve's RTA, how Kurt would react to having another rider in his age category and who was chasing his figures. If the two go at this seriously we might see a benchmark placed very high indeed. Just hope that there are no more idiots (motorised or otherwise) on the road keeping a rdv with the HAM'R

[Pale Rider]

I know nothing about Miles, but I reckon Kurt won't exactly ignore him, but will wait to see if his bid proves to be the real deal.

The only guy who Kurt knows to be a proper handful is Steve.

It's harsh, but when such a capable opponent is down, you have to make sure he's out as well.

[Wowbagger]

... a donkey-felching baboon...

I may have to borrow that...

But under no circumstances change it to Gibbon!   

I think it's far to early to think about what's going to happen with any resumption of Steve's challenge. I hope he can resume some time, but even if the rules are amended to allow time out for injury (I can't see how that's reasonable, tbh, given that "injury" could be a wear-and-tear injury), I suspect that Steve, being the purist he is, would want to emulate Tommy Godwin and keep it to a calendar year.

This is almost certainly the wrong thread for this but, given the value of wild speculation on this (or any other) forum for that matter, it might be worth starting one for dealing with such things.

FWIW there are also cretins over on Strava making completely unwarranted digs against Steve. I have, for the first time, clicked beneath Kurt's most recent ride record and commented, wishing him well and signing off "a pal of Steve's".

[Psychler]

... a donkey-felching baboon...

I may have to borrow that...

But under no circumstances change it to Gibbon!   

Of course not! 

[Pale Rider]

there are also cretins over on Strava making completely unwarranted digs against Steve.

Do they do green script on Strava?

[Deano]

This from Kurts' FB page:-

"A sad day for our British rider in the HAM'R attempt. Our thoughts and prayers go out to you Steven Abraham for a speedy recovery."

What a nice bloke!

It does seem entirely typical  - Kurt comes across as a very tough competitor, and a lovely bloke.

[La Tortue]

My heart goes out to Steve , his team, and avid followers.   This news really sucks.

[LMT]

211 miles from Tarzan yesterday, awesome riding.

[Jaded]

211 miles from Tarzan yesterday, awesome riding.

Looking back at his last fortnight, it looks par rather than awesome.

The 234 and 245 days were awesome.

[danridesbikes]

Par  crack on eh

Should surpass Bruce Berkleys record from January

[hillbilly]

Kurt had indicated he was going to do the Texas RAAM Challenge (at least, it was in his "events").  That took place on 28 March without a certain blonde haired junglist in the starting line up. 

I wonder if this suggests that he is now planning on dropping RAAM from his schedule of events to avoid it distracting from the task at hand.

The next event in his list is Bessies Creek 24 (in Texas) on 9 April, with another Texas based event on the 24th.  There is another listed in California, but I am going to guess that he won't trek up there for that (but what do I know).

[mattc]

Classy new photo on Kurt's FB homepage 

[Wobbly]

Link?

[marcusjb]

Say what you want about him and his attempt, he comes across as a decent chap and that's more than good enough for me.

[hillbilly]

It's not just a photo, it's his Facebook page banner (i.e. the photo that goes along the top).  Really nice gesture.

[Wobbly]

Heart of England. I look forward to it.

[Polar Bear]

I'm warmed by just now much of a gentleman Kurt has shown himself to be.  A class act indeed.

Good luck Kurt.

GWS Steve.