Introduction

I’ve been captivated by the Great Divide Mountain Biking Route since 2018, after I completed the TransAm, the cross-country gateway tour that changed my life for better or worse. I had originally planned to cycle the divide the summer of 2020 but was thwarted by COVID. My friends Andy, Asa, Jeff, and Chris have all cycled the divide, but none have gone the full distance. The Canadian border was closed during the pandemic. This will be my boldest and riskiest cycling adventure to date. The Great Divide is the world’s longest off-road cycling route, spanning over three thousand miles from the Mexican border post at Antelope Wells, NM to Jasper, AB running along the spine of the Rocky Mountains. I will be riding through five American states and two Canadian provinces. I will climb more than a combined 200,000 feet  elevation, mostly on gravel and dirt. I purchased a new bike and equipment for this tour. My training consisted of rigorous January and April tours. My route direction was inspired by Jeff’s 2021 Great Divide From The Bottom. Jeff is also an educator and our summer breaks begin in late May. My plan was to start early, and beat the extreme heat and wildfires. Most GDMBR riders, including the racers, travel north to south. I’ve ridden against the grain on almost every ACA route. 

Currently New Mexico is on fire and I’m having to readjust sections of my route. Colorado and Montana just received massive amounts of snow. It’s strongly recommended to travel in groups. Much of the route coincides with the Continental Divide Trail, and I have a hunch that I’ll connect with others. Hopefully I’ll make life-long friends like I did on the TransAm and Northern Tier. I can see from the GDMBR Facebook support group that there's a strong community teeming with trail angels. The Great Divide links all of my ACA cross-country routes and I’m looking forward to reconnecting with the enchanting places the Rocky Mountains offer. This effort could be described as heroic. The route is primarily off-road and away from motor traffic. I won’t have the luxury of regularly spaced services. I’ll need to pack food, filter water, and will be wild camping. The northern half of the route is populated by brown and grizzly bears. It’s an ultimate challenge and adventure. Jeff mentioned that it’s  life changing. The TransAm changed my life. What more could I expect from this one? 


⥢ prev -home- next ⥤

Location: Antelope Wells, NM 88040, USA

Comments

  1. StoutaboutMay 29, 2022 at 6:44 AM

    Epic! Excited to follow along and will share with others. Would love to go back and ride Rooseville to Banff and Horcha to Antelope Wells! Stoked for you bro! Out there livin'!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Great Divide (NOBO) - Day #2 Hachita, NM to Silver City, NM

Image
Great Divide (NOBO) - Day #2 May 28, 2022 Hachita, NM to Silver City, NM- 84 Miles Start 6:08 AM Finish 3:30 PM Total Duration 9:21 Moving Time 7:27 Stopped Time 1:52 Ascent 4015 Feet Descent 2617 Feet Tour Total 131 Miles Details at: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/91540419 I slept well in an actual bed last night at the Hachita Bike Ranch. I was exhausted last night. I showered and was too tired to edit yesterday‘s report. I got the basics up. I had weird dreams during the night and woke up several times. It was still dark out when my alarm went off at 5:30 AM. I stuffed strawberries and donuts into my face and was on the road by 6AM. I bid farewell to Jeffery and we took a few more photos. The sun was just coming up over the hills to the east. I rode back towards the route on State Highway 9 and then I took a left on State Highway 146 heading north. I passed two pairs of northbound cyclists, whom had all stayed at the Hachita Community Center last night. Patrick and Rachel hailed from
Read more

Great Divide (NOBO) - Day #36 Eureka, MT to Fernie, BC

Image
Great Divide (NOBO) - Day #36 July 4 2022 Eureka, MT to Fernie, BC - 78 Miles Start 7:52 AM Finish 6:57 PM Total Duration 11:05 Moving Time 8:21 Stopped Time 2:43 Ascent 4,628 Feet Descent 3,999 Feet Tour Total 2,664 Miles Details at: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/95498863 I slept incredibly well last night in room number 202 at the Silverado Motel in Eureka. My body was completely trashed from yesterday’s ride in the cold rain and I slept hard. I woke up with the light and tried to keep sleeping. I was sore and tired. Friends had shared this story from the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/04/sports/tour-divide-race-bikepackers.html . This race is epic and seriously deserves the media attention. I packed up my dry clothing and shaved. All of my devices were charged. The toilet in my room had overflowed, I was a day late on the reports, and I was burning the candle at both ends. I grabbed two blueberry muffins from the hotel reception area and then went across the street
Read more

Great Divide (NOBO) - Day #41 Red Deer River Campground North, AB to Ram Falls Campground, AB

Image
Great Divide (NOBO) - Day #41 July 10, 2022 Red Deer River Campground North, AB to Ram Falls Campground, AB - 77 Miles Start 8:14 AM Finish 6:29 PM Total Duration 10:15 Moving Time 8:50 Stopped Time 1:24 Ascent 6,267 Feet Descent 5,676 Feet Tour Total 2,984 Miles Details at: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/96212913 I slept well in in campsite number seven at Red Deer River Campground North. The sun has been setting really late and rising early. The days have been long. There was still plenty of light when I went to bed last night around nine. I was tired but the light effected me and I couldn’t fall asleep. I was a couple hundred feet from the Red Deer River and could hear the murmur of people and music from somewhere. Every once in a while I would hear the rumble of a car on the gravel highway. I eventually drifted asleep. It was warm and I didn’t need to zip my sleeping bag. It got cold in the middle of the night, and I got up a couple of times. I woke up at 5:30 AM. There was plenty o
Read more