The End

I am sitting in an air conditioned library in El Paso and bike is in my motel room packed inside a box. My legs are stiff and my back is sore, a familiar feeling that is usually relieved after 15 minutes of riding. My last two fingers on each hand are still numb (due to compression of which nerve, med students?) I reached the border two days ago, at Palomas, although I might as well be in Mexico now as everyone is speaking spanish. The ride to the border was quite a push, not something I would have expected to be able to do 2 months ago.

The day started in Silver City when I woke up at 3:30. I packed up with my headlamp, inhaled a bagel, a cinnamon bun, and some pop tarts, and was on the road by 4:15. I rode in the dark for a couple hours, then just as I turned onto gravel the sun was rising and I could appreciate my surroundings. South of Silver City and into Mexico is the Chihuahuan Desert, mostly cacti and grass, enough grass that people still attempted to raise cattle (although in a much lower density) At about 50 miles I crossed the interstate and stopped at a gas station for some cold gatorade. At 80 miles I stopped at an abandoned gas station in Hachita to eat lunch and repair a flat. Although I'm not sure which one was responsible, I pulled 3 cactus thorns from my rear tire. The last 45 miles paralleled the border to Columbus; I rode against a constant headwind stopping only if there was a big enough bush that might offer shade. It is more comfortable riding in the sun then it is stopping in the sun, as I require a constant breeze to keep the sweat from running into my eyes. The border patrol guards were very helpful, offering water and reminding me to be safe. Apparently this section was a popular entry point for illegal aliens and drug traffickers. By mile 115 I was riding mostly out of the saddle, not so much because I was racing to the finish, it just hurt too much to sit down. At 6:00 I arrived in Columbus, 125 miles from Silver City and 3 miles from the border. I found a burger then continued to Palomas. I took a picture of the "Welcome to Mexico" sign, turned around and returned to Columbus to camp. I fell asleep before the sun could set.

The ride to El Paso yesterday was probably the most boring of the entire trip. The road ran flat along the border, and I was riding at just a high enough intensity that I could not kill time singing, instead I alternated between watching the miles go by on the odometer, or watching the minutes go by on the clock.

But I'm done now. It has really been an amazing trip, it may take me a while to get back to real life. There really is nothing more freeing than having everything you need to live for 4 days, riding all day, then pointing to patch of land and calling it home for the night. Every morning I awoke with a clear goal for a day and a passion to get started on it as soon as possible. I ended each day so exhausted that I could sleep anywhere, satisfied that I was that much closer to Mexico, and looking forward to next day, when I knew my legs would be fresher.

I'm glad I did this.

I'm not ready to leave

I am loving it here. I am especially happy after just realizing it was Saturday and not Sunday. I walked around town early this morning thinking nothing was going to be open.

The road from Grants to Silver City has been very diverse, with lots of short, steep uphills and equally steep downhills. I can go from subalpine, to prairie, to desert and back in a day. It stopped monsooning down here so it is HOT.

Pie town was everything I dreamed it would be and more. They have no gas stations, payphones, groceries, but they have 2 pie cafes. I ate my pie before noon, and, feeling quite satisfied, was ready to continue south. But this pickup truck stopped my and told me I had to stay at the "Toaster House", a hostel for bikers and hikers. They showed me to this old house with toasters decorating the front entrance, and told me to be at home. The owner was actually in Sweden at the time, having a grandchild, but I helped myself to a bed, shower, laundry. There was a guest book which I read all evening; every hiker and cyclist that has travelled the continental divide had stopped there. Later that evening "cowboy Jim" stopped by to welcome me, as did a few other characters. As I was falling asleep upstairs Jim and company returned to the house and played guitar on the porch. Coolest place ever.

I'm hanging out in Silver City, taking my first 0 day. I need to kill some time before my flight leaves.

New Mexico: The Land of Enchantment

That is what the welcome sign said when I first entered the state.

New Mexico is certainly the strangest state I have visited. In one day I had 40+ dry heat, followed by rain, followed by snow. I've was warned that New Mexico would be much hotter than I'm used to, which is true, when it's not raining. It has rained every day since I've been here, which can be scary when there are no trees in sight. I'm not quite sure if my tires protect me against lightning; I was discussing that with a kind stranger who waved me into his warehouse when the lightning got close.

I've met some other interesting people over the past few days. On Thursday I took a side trip to the Christ in the Desert Monastery. They are located at the end of a 13 mile gravel road through a stunning canyon. When I got there one of the brothers invited me for lunch. He was a benedictine monk, an extremely disciplined calling. Most of their day is spent in silence and solitude, so he had ALOT to say over lunch. I hadn't talked to anyone in a while, neither had he, so it was quite a long lunch. After the visit he gave me a benedictine cross and a St. Benedict's rules for monasteries. (73 reasons not to become a monk). But if anyone has some prayer requests that are too heavy to be handled by the average christian, I have his email. First prayers start at 04:00 every morning so you know he's dedicated.

While biking through the forest between Abiquiu and Cuba (a town of ~1500) a ran across a hippie party. Real authentic new mexican hippies with buses and volkswagon vans and barefoot hippie kids all camped in the forest. From what I could gather they had been cleaning up the forest for the past couple weeks and someone had a birthday so they were camping and celebrating. I tried to figure out more but a rainbow appeared and they all got distracted. I camped around the corner from them knowing I would not have to worry about bears that night.

And here I am now, in Grants, right beside the legendary route 66. All the campgrounds in town were flooded and could not accomodate tents so I am in a motel. I haven't slept in a bed since Dillon, MT, almost a month ago.

Road Impassable when Wet

Hello from New Mexico! I first attempted to ride into New Mexico yesterday afternoon. As soon as I hit the border it started raining. Just a light rain, nothing too threatening. But as I approached the summit of this pass it started pouring. The high subalpine country gave me great views of the surrounding area so I was able to see lightning from all four directions. I found a nice patch of trees and took shelter in there. When I could see it was only raining harder I pitched my tent and hid inside.
As the storm progressed streams started to develop through my area of "shelter". There must have been some water under me because puddles were forming all night. I discovered, however, that biking shorts make great sponges, and was able to keep the puddles to a manageable size.

By this morning it had stopped raining and there were few clouds remaining. The dirt roads were absolute muck though. The clay in the soil formed a very thick mud that stuck to my tires until they could no longer turn, even when I tried pushing my bike on the grass. I removed my rear fender on the trailer and found a good stick for routine mud removal, and eventually made it to rideable gravel.
So I decided to turn back and walk to the highway; I returned to Colorado and rode in New Mexico a second time. I can ride the highway to Abiquiu tomorrow and be right on schedule. I am a little disapointed that I'll miss part of the route, as the map mentioned many "stunning views" and "awesome descents" in between notes of "road impassable when wet".

Since last posting from Salida I have climbed the highest pass on the route, Indiana Pass (11 900 feet), rode some sweet singletrack into Del Norte, and not showered. But I will tonite.

End date determined

So I booked a flight this afternoon. I'll be leaving El Paso August 5th. I spent a while with the maps and book last night trying to anticipate when I'll reach the border. I added a couple days to back-track and bike over to El Paso.
I now have 2 defined goals for this trip:
1. Get to El Paso before August 5
2. Eat an entire pie in Pie Town

The last few days of riding have been awesome. Yesterday I biked out of Summit County up Boreas Pass, the highest continental divide crossing on the route (11 400 feet). Then it was down into Hartsel, South Park, which is the complete opposite of the previous town. Only 3 stores, no ski hill, no campground. Their idea of landscaping was scattering old trucks on the lawn. Still, it was a very cool town. I camped behind the church for the night.

Today I had a long descent in Salida. Possibly one of the best descents on the route. I started with a wild view of some of the 14000+ foot peaks and within 10 miles was in a dry valley, full of these funky conifers. All on nice, hard gravel.

urban rural

This part of the tour is very technology dense it seems, as I am finding a computer every day. I am now in Silverthorne, a town built for tourists, so it is full of cookie-cutter vacation homes and outlet malls.
This morning I stayed in Kremmling for breakfast; they had a place that opened at 6. I ate with a couple of guys doing the transamerica route on road bikes. They were nice guys, just finished their engineering degrees and doing one big trip before starting real jobs. It was nice to have a real breakfast (I haven't stopped for breakfast since mcdonalds in Butte) with real conversation with real people. I can only sing to myself so long.
The ride into town started with a long climb and then a descent on highway 9, possibly the busiest highway on the route. I'm relieved to finally be off it, as I can take a dedicated bike path now to my campsite tonite.

A long day

I've been biking since 6:45 this morning. I got lost trying to navigate the bike paths in steamboat springs but eventually made it out. The weather has been amazing though; just as I was beginning the 8 mile climb to the top of Lynx Pass it started raining. Not too much, just enough to cool me off. And it stopped as I reached the top so I could enjoy lunch without a coat. The descent afterwards was unbelievable. After I forded a stream I hit the highway and coasted almost all the way to Kremmling, where I am writing from now. I hit 49 mph, a new record for my bike.
Colorado is a beautiful place. Full of great landscape and great people. Everyone still waves to me on the gravel roads and some campers last night even had me over for a beer. I ran across alot of mountain bikers today, many just going out for a ride before work. This may just be the state for me.

Hello Colorado!

Well I'm done Wyoming already. I crossed into Colorado yesterday afternoon. All of a sudden there were trees again, the wind was gone, and the hills were back. I've been told that in Wyoming you watch the mountains while in Colorado you ride them.
So I picked up a new tire and a new rear skewer (I bent my other one with the trailer) so I can ride these mountains.
I'm in Steamboat Springs right now. It's a very active town with tons of bikes (3 bike shops for a town of <10000) Every second car is a subaru hatchback with a bike rack, no joke. The riding for the next few days should be quite enjoyable as it is along bike paths and hard-pack gravel. I have acquired an appreciation for good gravel, as not all gravel roads are equal. The best is the hard-pack, dry enough that it's hard but moist enough that it's not dusty. The worst are the loose, big pieces of gravel, really dry, and with lots of traffic.
Well my time is up on this computer and I am very hungry

Back to civilization

I just rode in to Rawlins, after 3 days in the middle of nowhere. It was glorious, I would just ride toward the horizon, occasionally getting passed by pronghorn antelope and wild horses. Because there was only water every 50-60 miles there is not alot of human life around. And the water that was available was mostly standing and cloudy, but it still tastes amazing when you are thirsty enough.

I was thinking about how much simpler my challenges are out here. But as simple as they are, they are very real. I was thinking back to my days of undergrad where we were never sure what to study, how well we had to do on a test, and if it would even matter in the end. We would be anxious over tests, knowing that if we failed every single one we would still have food, water, shelter, and our mothers would still love us. How trivial these problems were.

If I don't drink I will die. But I found water. Problem solved

Hello from Pinedale

Since the last post I've crossed the red rock pass into Idaho, then road to Wyoming through Grand Teton National park, just south of Yellowstone. I am now out of the mountains and in the cowboy town of Pinedale. For a town of 1500 they have a really nice library and a 13 million dollar aquatic centre which I experienced this morning.

Things are different with Jason having gone home. I stop less, eat more (I don't think I'm buying less groceries than before), and ride further. As there is no longer any entertainment from Jason during breaks and camp I prefer to stay on my bike as much I can. For that reason, many days I have completed two suggested riding days in one. Today was my rest day. I got up early before the mosquitoes were warm enough to move and rode the highway to this town. I've been hanging out since 10, trying to pound the calories the way only fast food can deliver and drink my 2 litres of orange juice. I discovered today at the pool that, as much as I've been eating, I've still lost 10 lbs. This needs to stop or I will be but a shadow when I reach Mexico. Any suggestions of low volume, calorie-dense foods I can add to my snacks of bagels, licorice, cookies, pop tarts, cheese strings, nutella, and peanut butter?

Tomorrow I head off towards the Great Divide Basin, the area where most settlers, mountain men, and indians crossed the continental divide. I no longer have to worry about bears and motorhomes. I need to instead watch my water sources as it is very dry and unserviced; I packed enough food for 3-4 days. That should last me the 220 miles to Rawlins

Legs have been holding up well and my bike is doing great (I really do baby my chain). I'm starting to run into other divide riders (most coming from the south) and am starting to hear stories about what's stunning, where the water is, and which campsites to avoid. Motorcyclists have also been very supportive, often stopping to see if I have enough supplies. The waves and thumbs up I receive from other riders have gone a long way to push me up some tough hills.

I shall return to my orange juice and ride up the road to find camping.

Bye for now,

Aaron

The last few days

We've been out of touch for a while, here are some highlights since Helena.

-Riding into Butte, 2 days after Helena, to see the Berkley pit, a giant acid pool left from years of mining. They actually charged admission to see it, haha. Mentioned in the press recently for killing a bunch of migrating birds

-Stopping at a ghosttown "Bannack" to learn the ways of mining towns 100 years ago

-a 30 mile gradual downhill down the canyon to Lima, spectacular scenery

-experiencing the american health care system as they tended to Jason's crash. Wait time: 0 minutes! (it was rural though) The nurse even drove us to our motel after

Jason's parents come today to take him home. He will be walking comfortably in a week, but biking will take longer. I will ride today to Lima, where we rode to yesterday, and continue the trip solo. It will be a different experience

See you in Wyoming!

Jason Goes Home

So I took a spill today 15 miles into the ride. The doctor says I tore one of the muscles in my right leg. I won't be 100% for a couple weeks. Its too bad because we were a quarter of the way done. Good luck to Aaron!

Day 10 - Helena

We did two Continental Divide crossings today. The views aren't that great but at least today's elevation gain was ridable. Yesterday's climb to cross the CD was extremely steep but afforded a nice view and held a couple of tiny stream crossings. Additionally, it's been extremely sunny. There are no clouds in the sky and sometimes the trail leads us through long stretches of treeless terrain. Needless to say Aaron and I have developed fierce farmer's tans.

The mileages these past few days and tomorrow are small compared to our 50 and 60 mile days just last week. We're only doing ~30 miles and tomorrow is only 19! Which is a really good thing since my bike won't be fixed until tomorrow morning.

Well I guess its off to the luxuries of Helena and to do some tourist things.

It seems all these libraries are using a stupid Novell solution to secure their computers, which restricts me from uploading pictures.

Follow us on GPS!

http://www.spotadventures.com/user/profile?user_id=43827.

updated every 20 minutes as we move

Motel Experience

So Jason and I are staying in a Motel in Helena tonite. Jason had to drop his bike off at the shop here for a major drivetrain overhaul and there were no campsites or hostels within walking distance.

This motel is so luxury, or is it? We each have our own beds, running water, comfortable temperature, showers, even a microwave. Quite a contrast from our campsite last night which consisted of a stream, a stump, and a fire pit (not even an outhouse). But when we layed our stuff out in our room we found it a little cramped. And we will have go out for supper because we probably shouldn't start our stove on the carpet. We even have to walk all the way to the bathroom if we need to pee...

We may have been living in luxury all along.

writing from lincoln

Things that have failed:

jason's pedal, my chain, my gears, jason's derailler, my gloves, every payphone in seeley lake and numerous others in other towns

Things I am grateful have not failed:

my immune system, our tent (warm and dry every night), our food supply, my legs, the rest of my bike

Not Bad!

Stop in Lincoln, Montana

Its been a wet couple of days.

The most memorable day so far was the one from Holland Lake to Seely Lake (Saturday). The route took us through 3-4 miles of single track wilderness. The view was beautiful and the trail left me wishing I had a full suspension bike like Aaron does.

Our ride today was a short 22 miles and we reached town before 12 just as the rain stopped. Lunch was had at a burger place in town. We set up camp, dried our things, showered, and then did laundry at the local laudromat. It's never felt so good to be clean and dry.

Tomorrow we tackle our first divide crossing.

I can't upload any pictures because of the restrictions on these computers. Hopefully I can upload later.

are you unclipped?

Stop in Columbia Falls

So we continued from Whitefish to Columbia Falls today. It's raining pretty hard right now.

We are camping at a motel that has rooms, cabins, tipis, an RV park, and some meger campsites. The campsites are just metal firepits on grass. There are no trees or anything. Just some bushes separating the RVs from the campsites. Infront of the campsites is a field where there is some guy cutting wood and other industrial things. The motel has full facilities (showers and restrooms).

The rest of the day will just be grocery shopping and maybe some laundry. Below is a picture taken on the way to Tuchuck Campground (Day 1).

hello from whitefish

Our trip started Monday at the border at noon. After the ten miles to Eureka we felt this trip was going to be too easy: paved roads with mild grade. Then at mile twenty-ish it started to climb. Then the pavement ended. Then it climbed some more. In summary, Montana is very hilly. Yesterday we were intending to throw 2 riding days together but we could barely stand up after finishing the 30 miles to the first campsite. Today we left camp early (at 8) and finished day 3 to Whitefish by 11. We ate McDonalds; it is better than Canadian McDonalds. We'll probably continue to Columbia Falls after our internet break

I miss orange juice

In case you are wondering how bikes compare to cars in terms of mileage, we are averaging about 10miles/pop tart. Not bad...

Leaving tomorrow!

Don't really know what to say. Today we played some squash, had Indian food with my family, and tried to fit everything we'll need for 2 months into 2 bags.

It was tight.

We both bought harmonicas, we intend to be very good when this trip is done.

See you in August, we'll try to update when we can. My parents also bought a GPS tracking system so I'll post the map when I determine the link

How to train for a trip like this

The past month has been pretty much dedicated to preparing for this trip. I haven't found much advice on how to physically train for a long distance bikepacking trip so I came up with this plan myself:
1. Prepare for a triathlon (Jason and I are doing a sprint tri this Sunday) because strictly biking can be really boring in the same city
2. Try to average 2 of the 3 triathlon disciplines per day with the occasional rest day
3. Do some weights on pool days so your upper body doesn't atrophy
4. Alternate road biking and mountain biking
5. Play tennis if it's nice outside and call it "cross-training", play squash if it's cold
6. Eat what you want, when you're hungry. Sleep when you're tired. Train whether you feel like it or not

Pretty simple

Some highlights from my training have been:
-Tailwinds while bikepacking with Jason to Cooking lake for the night
-A long Sunday road bike-ride punctuated with multiple flat tires with real triathletes Andy and Jon
-Learning some triathlon swimming drills at Kinsmen
-Trail runs and running photography with Christina
-Riding Jason's motorcycle after completing the "Jason Ma Invitational Bike/Run" (adrenaline + endorphins = best all-endogenous high)
-Visiting Ben after a particularly wet bike ride and watching him squirm in the presence of my tight riding shorts


Photo: Motivation to Run

Jason's Rig

Specialized Hardrock Pro '08 with a suspension seat post, fenders, and handlebar extenders. I have the same Ibex trailer Aaron has. We both have Specialized cyclo-computers - Aaron has a wireless version. I also have a nice cushy BG bikeseat.

Test Run

We went to Cooking Lake for the night. We left between 5 and 6pm on Sunday and took a scenic route along the Whitemud to Cooking Lake. The wind was behind us most of the time and we arrived about 2.5hrs and 60km later. We ate some peanut butter sandwiches and leftover peach-raspberry pie for dinner. Monday morning we woke up at 5am and left around 6am. We were biking against the wind but we took a shorter route home. It took 2hrs and 45km to get back to Aaron's house.

Trip total: 105km (Aaron), 140km (Jason - he lives further west)

Good practice run.

Less than 1 month to go!

It's gettin real...

I think I'm getting in shape; I've had lots of time to train this month. Although there have been plenty of opportunities to eat junk

Aaron's Rig

I ride a 2005 Kona Dawg with a BOB Ibex trailer. I've read mixed opinions about the ideal rig for the great divide trail. While the full suspension system is more comfortable it is one more moving part that could potentially break. Many riders choose hardtails. I guess we'll find out later if I made the right choice.
As for trailers vs. panniers, the BOB trailer adds weight, but it adds little stress to the bike frame as the weight of the pack is distributed over it's own wheel. And the Ibex has suspension, so my gear will experience the same cushy ride as my person

First Post

Welcome everyone!
This blog has been created so that friends and family can follow our summer adventure. In summary:
Who: Jason Ma and Aaron Banmann
What: Great Divide Route by mountain bike
Where: Border to border. Rooseville, Montana to Antelope Wells, New Mexico
When: June 15 to August 1x
Why: Character building? Adventure?