Hey, y’all, A few photos from the Great Divide, June through August. We decided to not bring a dedicated camera; just snapped the occasional phone pic. I really like to cover part of the lens with my hand, too... We rode the US portion from Rooseville MT to Antelope Wells NM in 61 days (including five rest days) – around 2500 miles at a touring pace. It all went pretty much as we planned/hoped. We shot for a 40-mile/day average so we could finish in ten weeks. We circumvented a few sections that were snowed in or otherwise not so loaded-tandem friendly. We dealt with rain about half of the days. We were on the move 7-12 hours a day, and we initially rode 31 days straight without a rest day (a mistake I would pay for). We probably pushed the bike over a hundred miles. We got two flats, broke one spoke, replaced chain and rear sprockets once, did one hub oil change, a few adjustments…otherwise enjoyed a very trouble-free MTB Tandems Fandango Tourista. Getting the Divorce Horse to The Canadian border took some special equipment that served double duty. Valley of Fire campground: Whitefish Bike Retreat is an hour drive from the Canadian border. If you lodge there, you can get a ride. The place has a discernible gravity…who would want to leave? At the start of the ride I felt like the hard part was over. All that was left to do was ride and camp. As Californians, we were envious of all the water we saw in Montana. We didn’t avoid all the snow. Avalanche debris over Whitefish Pass, the warmup. About ten spots were impassable by any means but foot. This one took some work and was hundreds of yards wide. You could only guess where the road would reappear. Obligatory shot with Glacier NP backdrop. Top contender for Mosquito Hell on Earth: The otherwise idyllic Holland Lake MT. No phone, no pool, no pets. All day and only this to do. I know how to make Boreas Pass more fun. Da bear…where? Didn’t see a single one. Just moose, elk, antelope, badger, fisher cat, mountain lion, turtle, bald eagle, golden eagle, hawks, trout, bobcat, fox, coyote, wolf, deer, horned toad, snakes, mustang, marmot... Basin, Montana was a welcome stop. Pizza joint, quick bivy, cafe…in that order. With a gorgeous view of the highway. These two guys were each going their own way. We all wondered how the guy on the right got his rig to weigh 150 pounds. Nice, shady rest spot. Rainfall/snowpack had been above average, leading to green everywhere. The bull moose wasn’t too happy about our presence, so we were happy to move on. The Big Nothing, Montana style. Near Medicine Lodge NF. The Big Nothing, Wyoming style. Great Divide Basin. No trees for over a hundred miles. Lots of great riding through Colorado, on par with the good Montana sections, but higher elevation. Laid over in Steamboat Springs for some bike maintenance and a day off. Met some friends for dinner in Frisco. Rode around a couple passes due to nasty weather. Spent hours working through muddy road above Salida, arrived at 2am. We started to get "summit fever" sometime in NM. Probably at the northern border! We jettisoned some items in Cuba NM, and hit the remaining backcountry sections with fervor. Next thing we knew, our trailhead hand, Jeff, was snapping our pic at the border station. Info on the GDMBR from Adventure Cycling Association: http://www.adventurecycling.org/rou...ute-network/great-divide-mountain-bike-route/
Love this... Thanks for sharing. My interest was peaked when watching "Ride the Divide" and have since been doing research on if/how I can do this myself. Great inspiration.
Thank you guys for the nice words! "Wow" is how we are feeling...like "did we just do that? Or was it a video we saw, or a dream?" I can't compare it to anything I've done, and I have spent literally years in the b/c doing one thing or another. To anyone aspiring to ride something like this, consider just doing part of it. Being a glutton is not necessary for an awesome experience. Probably half the divide riders we talked to were doing just a section. I rode a small chunk solo as a shakedown and had a blast. The hard part there would be choosing what part to do. I'm happy to spew particulars if it helps someone; hit me up. There is a ton of writing out there on the route also. A general suggestion is to allow plenty of time. I'd rather do less with more time than feel pressed to make mileage. Cheers, riders!
