Great Divide Route Basics
(Note from the author,
trek4fun: I contributed some information to Wikipedia.
So if it looks familiar, this might be why.)
Difference between the
"Continental Divide Trail", the "Great Dived Trail",
and the "Great Divide Mountain Bike Route"
The Continental Divide Trail is a
nationally recognized hiking trail, although not yet
complete. The Great Divide Trail is an unofficial
name for the officially named Great Divide Mountain
Bike Route, GDMBR. The Continental Divide Trail and
the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route are two distinct and different paths,
that on occasion, will intersect and share
sections.
"The
great Divide Mountain Bike Route, GDMBR" can also be
called the "The Great Divide Route, GDR" for
short, as approved by Adventure Cycling. However, the acronym
GDR can also be referred to mean the Great Divide
Race in other websites. In this website, GDR, will
refer to the The Great Divide Route. However, most
of the world, especially internationally, refer to
this route as the Great Divide Trail. I have chosen
to use both names in my website. In the past when I
changed my verbiage from Great Divide Trail to Great
Divide Route as request by Adventure Cycling, I saw
a drop of 80% in International web hits.
The misinformed public mistakenly
calls this route the "Great Divide Trail" which is
incorrect and it even confused me at first.
Adventure Cycling created the route and they do not
want to confuse "The Great Divide Route" with
the "Continental Divide Trail," so they emphasized
the word Route instead of Trail and the word Great
is the real name of the divide as described in the
geographic definition below.
Geographic Definition
"The notion that there is a
single, unique continental divide in North America
is untenable. This notion is based on a poor
understanding of the geography of North America and
on the unfortunate propagation of misinformation in
introductory geography texts. The continental
divide, which is commonly referred to as "The
Continental Divide," is perhaps more appropriately
called the Great Divide, reflecting the great
elevations along much of its trace and its great
length from Seward Peninsula, Alaska, to Tierra del
Fuego near the southern tip of South America.
Furthermore, it is a myth that
continental divides must coincide with mountainous
areas. Even some reaches of the Great Divide are
devoid of mountains."
(* Gonzalez,
Mark A., Summer 2003, Continental Divides in
North Dakota and North America: North Dakota
Geological Survey Newsletter, v. 30, no. 1.)
The Route Specs
The Great Divide Mountain Bike
Route (aka GDMBR) was put together by Adventure
Cycling and is the longest off-pavement bike route
in the world. The route is generally ridden North to
South crossing the continental divide a total of 27+1
times. Its total length is 2,490 miles (4,007 km)
plus and extra 221 miles if started in Banff Canada.
Highest altitude is 11,900 feet (3,600 m) above sea
level.
The route is the longest and
most challenging off road bicycle tour in the world.
It is the “Holy Grail” of the mountain bike world.
Time to Finish The
Entire Route
The trip generally takes around
three months for the leisurely rider who stops
frequently along the way. Most riders complete the
route in about 75 riding days.
In contrast it took me 10 weeks to finish
with 10 days of rest.
Section Riders
Partial Route
For those who want to do sections only,
I recommend they look at Northern Montana down to Butte,
all of Colorado, or Northern New Mexico down to Silver
City. There is a ton of great riding in each. However, I
do not advise planning a New Mexico trip during the
monsoon season. If it rains in Montana or Colorado the
chances are very high that it will enhance the riding
experience instead of terminating it as it may in New
Mexico. When it rains in New Mexico some trails and
roads become totally impassable and may flood out for
days at a time.
Section Difficulty:
-
Canada has some fairly steep
hills, but with a low gear ratio 22/34 a rider should
have little problem ridding up the hills with an
occasional walk. I originally started with 26/28,
before going with a 22/34, and
found myself walking more than I was riding.
-
Montana had steep sections
and is very rough. Rain should have little to no
effect on trail conditions. It is the most
adventurous and wild section.
-
Colorado has some big, high
altitude, climbs but they are very enjoyable and the
grade of the climbs are gentle, formerly railroad
grades. The route conditions
are mostly very smooth.
-
New Mexico can be very
difficult with steep and rough terrain. Rain can be
very bad in some sections making the route
impassable with gumbo like shoe sucking mud or
flooding. It would be best to plan a trip to New
Mexico around September, after the rainy season.
Physical and Mental
Condition
The Great Divide Route will
test a rider’s physical stamina and mental capacity
to endure.
Physically, the route poses
many challenges. Cardiovascular fitness is key. Most
of the route is in the high desert above 7,000 feet
and ascends up to 11,900 feet. Approximately 85 to
90% of the route is on dirt. A rider may loose up to
15 or 20 pounds of body weight by the end of the
ride. Carbohydrate, protein, hydration, and salt
intake is critical for stamina and health. A rider
will pass through free range cattle lands and be
exposed to water born parasites and viruses, (much
like traveling to a third world county).
Endurance is more important
than speed. Some sections it is impossible to go
fast and the downhill sections can be just as hard
to ride as some of the long uphill portions. Wind
currents blow from south to north and a rider will
experience strong head winds, especial in the
exposed basin regions. A rider may also be exposed
to rain, thunderstorms, and even a mid summer snow.
A rider should be prepared at all times for extreme
temperatures that may range from 0 degrees to 120
degrees F.
The route is mentally
demanding. A positive attitude is key to success on
this ride. Having a riding partner can make the ride
much more enjoyable and safer. Some days a rider may
feel like giving up. Don’t, the rewards are worth
it. A rider will have to experience the bad to
appreciate the good and there is much more good than
bad. The route will push every rider outside of
their comfort zone and challenge them in ways road
tours cannot. A rider must be confident in their
abilities and react to pressure with a level head.
Common sense is also key.
Note: This was my first
bicycle tour and I was in fair athletic condition
with a really high endurance threshold . I did
not have time to condition myself for the ride and
that is part of why my first two weeks were really
tough. I did find that my backpacking experience
helped immensely.
Terrain Difficulty and
Distance Planning
A rider will navigate through
thousands of miles of backcountry dirt roads with
some nearly non-existent single track and a little
pavement. The
route begins in the Northern Canadian Rockies,
meanders down into the barren desert lands of
Montana and Wyoming, ascends up 10,000 and 12,000
foot peaks in Colorado, and switch backs through
mountainous sections of New Mexico. (The majority of
New Mexico is forested, not desert.)
Overall the route is moderate
to difficult but there are portions that are
strenuous. I found the most strenuous portions to be
the windy basins. Downhill sections can be as much
work to ride as going up hill when riding into the
wind. Montana is the most technically challenging,
Wyoming is the windiest,
and New Mexico is the roughest.
If you use the elevation
profiles provided by Adventure Cycling be aware
that the profiles are averages over extended miles
and do not show the small and sometimes steep
rolling hills. Just because the profile section may
appear to average downhill, it may involve going up
and down steep rolling hills that are geographically too
small to show up on their profiles. But added
together can make what looks like a downhill run very laborious.
Example: The ride between mile marker 90
and mile marker 110 appears to be mostly downhill.
But in actuality there are a lot of small uphill
battles to be conquered. I mention this so you
will not be frustrated when you encounter these
situations on the route.
Setting Distance Goals
on the Ride
Do not be disappointed if you
do not make your intended distance goals for the
day. Some days you will fall short and on other days
you will double or triple them.
Food and Hydration
In most designated
camp sites, that I encountered, had well water. Three
designated campsites did not, one was closed for
contamination, one was closed because it was at the
end of the season, and one camp site didn't have one. However almost no designated campsites in New
Mexico had water.
Most small towns have tiny
grocery stores, more like convenience stores. So
stock up when you find what you need. I found that I
ate more than I ever thought I could, so I was buying
a ton of food to keep me going. Bagels are great
source of carbohydrates on the trail because they
don't squish and you can easily eat them while
riding. I also found that meat was difficult to
digest while riding so I skipped out on meat almost
completely.
I also used Cytomax as a sports
drink supplement and there
was only two places that sold it along the route so
I shipped it to my mail drops.
Supplies
Most towns along the route are
very tiny with a poor selection of
goods. There are few bike stores and most only carry
lower end department store bicycle gear. Research
local bike shops before going on the route. The best
bike stores were in Whitefish, MT, Helena, MT,
Butte, MT, Steamboat Springs, CO, and Salida, CO.
(for a list of helpful links please visit
"Other GDMBR Links" A great
way to ensure you will have the parts and supplies
you need is to mail them to the local post office
USPS General Delivery, Attention “Your Name”. There
are time limits on how long the post office will
hold mail, so contact each one for specific
information. Some post offices will make exceptions
and hold mail for longer periods.
Essential equipment
A water filter or chemical means of sanitizing
river or creek water is needed. A cellular phone
should be taken, although it won't work in most
areas. Insect repellent will be needed in some areas
at certain times of the year. Horse flies are more
of a problem than mosquitoes and they will bit
through clothing. A thoroughly waterproof tent
should be taken. Use maps sold by Adventure Cycling
Association, they are a must. A good cycling odometer
with an extra battery will help
coordinate with the maps. (A wireless speed odometer
is strongly discourage). Take bear spray just in
case and install a bicycle bell to alert animals of
your presence. Some sections navigate through dense grizzly
bear populations, and yes I saw several on the
trail, in fact I almost ran over one and chased it
down the path.
A mapping GPS device is
highly recommended and can give additional peace of mind.
Making GPS updates takes creative planning and some
luck.
Generally, a sturdy mountain or
all-terrain bicycle is recommended for riding this
route. A front suspension is recommended but riders
have experienced problems with air shocks and rear suspensions. A
seat post shock absorber could take the place of a
rear suspension. Riders use either trailers or
on-bike saddlebags, or panniers, both front and
rear. See my review on
BOB Trailer vs Panniers.
Shocks with air are NOT
recommended. Rear shocks will undergo extreme abuse.
The mileage and rough terrain of this ride may
exceed the MTBF of most shocks and they may require
servicing several times. Mechanical disc
brakes are the best to use. Rim brakes will make the
rims very hot and may cause rim failures or flats and
hydraulic disc brakes will fail with brake fade.
Hard rubber knobby tires are best, softer high performance
tires will wear out very fast. The wider the tire
the better.
Weight is everything. "The real
luxury is enjoying the ride, not carrying luxuries
around." (Trek4fun.com)
Animals Likely to be
Encountered
Animals seen along the route
are likely to be bears, moose, deer, elk, antelope,
and much more. Using a bicycle bell is important to
alert animals of your presence so they have time to
escape. The presence of bears makes the
storage of food an important issue. Suspend food
packs from tree branches where bears can't get at it overnight. Only spray a bear as a last resort,
and realize that the spray can easily be blown back
into your own eyes for an unpleasant experience.
Rattle snakes, field mice, and other small animals
can also pose a problem for safety and food storage.
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