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Shrinking teams

PostPosted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 6:32 am
by mamamia
As we wrap up the first third of the race there are some teams that are notably down on dogs. Leaving Tanana Richie Diehl is down to 13. The rookie Sebastien Vergnaud is down to 12. He has been runing up front for most of the race but this could drop him way back. Katherine Kieth is down to 14 but she is a light weight so I don't think it is a big deal at this point. Joar is also down to 14. In 6th position he is now competing with the top 12 teams that still have 15 or 16 including the Seaveys with their traveling dog kennels. Fortunately he is slight of build but it bears watching going forward. Ray Reddington and Ryan Reddington both came into Tanana with 14 dogs. Ray is a big man. We will have to see what he leaves with.

Re: Shrinking teams

PostPosted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 6:49 am
by flowerpower
Haven't run across any reasons, but Dallas was talking about going fast and then having the dogs punch through soft snow and getting an injury. He had said that was why he wasn't going as fast as some of the teams. I wonder if some have fallen victim to that?

Re: Shrinking teams

PostPosted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 6:57 am
by mira
Sebastian started with 12 dogs and stated he didn't think as it as a problem since he know his team.

I think Jeff advocated for just starting with 14 dogs, not 16, meaning that they really did not need that many dogs, and I also thinks he said he should drop two dogs quite soon, he just took them along for the experience.

Re: Shrinking teams

PostPosted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 7:05 am
by fladogfan
This is from elsie's video transcription service.

Jeff: "Only has two young dogs on his team. He only wanted to take 14 dogs.

Thinks that it would be more efficient if the race only allowed 14 dogs - it would save mushers money, save the race money, the race times would increase... it happened when they went from 20 dogs to 16 dogs. Before there were any rules about it, Swenson and Butcher used to choose to only take 14 dogs.

Expects to be down to 14 dogs fairly early on. Has two youngsters he only put in the team because they're starting on the river and he doesn't expect a lot of challenges that he would have expected from going over the AK Range. "

Has a basic innovation in his equipment that should have people dropping their jaws at Tanana, but wouldn't elaborate further.

He did say he was tempted to cut up an old extension cord and pretend he had electricity. :))
( This last comment made me laugh.)

Re: Shrinking teams

PostPosted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 7:14 am
by mamamia
mira wrote:Sebastian started with 12 dogs and stated he didn't think as it as a problem since he know his team.

I didn't see that. Thanks for clarifying.

Re: Shrinking teams

PostPosted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 7:18 am
by mamamia
fladogfan wrote:This is from elsie's video transcription service.

Jeff: "Only has two young dogs on his team. He only wanted to take 14 dogs.

Thinks that it would be more efficient if the race only allowed 14 dogs - it would save mushers money, save the race money, the race times would increase... it happened when they went from 20 dogs to 16 dogs. Before there were any rules about it, Swenson and Butcher used to choose to only take 14 dogs.

Expects to be down to 14 dogs fairly early on. Has two youngsters he only put in the team because they're starting on the river and he doesn't expect a lot of challenges that he would have expected from going over the AK Range. "

I missed this interview. Thanks for bringing it up. I agree that 14 dogs is plenty of power. That is what they start with in the Quest. The only thing I wonder about is how competitive it is against 16 dogs. Especially with 700 miles to go. 16 means you have a margin against possible injury. 14 makes that margin a lot slimmer. Especially if you are a big guy. But then again, I'm only an armchair musher.

Re: Shrinking teams

PostPosted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 7:33 am
by fladogfan
Can you tell if Jeff is resting dogs also?

Re: Shrinking teams

PostPosted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 7:55 am
by mamamia
There hasn't been video of Jeff or interviews to indicate that he is resting dogs. I looked at the analytical view of the tracker and compared his graph to that of Dallas. On Dallas' graph you can see these downward spikes every two hours indicating a complete (but brief) stop. this is when he is rotating his resting dogs. On Jeff's graph you see occasional downward spikes but they are more random and a little longer which to me indicates more of a snack break. If he is hauling dogs it is not in the organized fashion that is being done by the Seaveys.

Re: Shrinking teams

PostPosted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 8:00 am
by fladogfan
Thanks mamamia.

Re: Shrinking teams

PostPosted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 2:46 pm
by flowerpower
I sure appreciate everyone who has an analytical mind! :D :D