“The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR) is Adventure Cycling’s premier off-pavement cycling route, crisscrossing the Continental Divide in southern Canada and the U.S. This route is defined by the word “remote”. Its remoteness equates with spectacular terrain and scenery. The entire route is basically dirt road and mountain-pass riding every day. In total, it has over 200,000 feet of elevation gain. Nearly 2,100 miles of the route is composed of County, Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and Canadian provincial unpaved roads.”, according to the Adventure Cycling Association.
Totals: This route took us 12 days, 21 hours, 39 minutes, and 29 seconds of cycling time to cover 4540 km (2820 miles), including 52253 m (171442 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 15 km/h (9 mph), reaching a maximum speed of 71 km/h (43 mph) on Wednesday, August 24, 2022. During cycling, there was a minimum temperature of 1 °C (34 °F) on Tuesday, August 16, 2022, and a maximum temperature of 58 °C (136 °F) on Tuesday, August 23, 2022.
Today we rode from Elkford, British Columbia, Canada to Sparwood, British Columbia, Canada. Again we could enjoy a nice sunny day, not as warm as the days and that is all OK. Highlights of the day include seeing hot springs, saw a whole lot of cows and calves, nice single track.
Riding statistics: on Wednesday, August 3, 2022, day 3 on the route, it took 04:56h (03:45h moving time), between 8:00 and 12:57, to cover 47 km (29 miles), including 434 m (1424 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 12.0 km/h (7.5 mph), while reaching a maximum speed of 45 km/h (28.0 mph). During this ride the average temperature was 22 °C (72 °F) with a minimum of 6 °C (43 °F) and a maximum of 35 °C (95 °F).
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Day 02: The first long climb
Today we rode from Boulton Campground, Alberta, Canada to Elkford, British Columbia, Canada. Again sunny weather with little clouds. Fortunately not as warm as yesterday. Mostly gravel roads, but some challenging (including hike-a-bike) single/jeep tracks. Highlights of the day Elk Pass and meeting other persons on the Divide.
Riding statistics: on Tuesday, August 2, 2022, day 2 on the route, it took 10:10h (07:25h moving time), between 9:07 and 7:17, to cover 85 km (53 miles), including 981 m (3219 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 14.0 km/h (8.7 mph), while reaching a maximum speed of 51 km/h (31.7 mph). During this ride the average temperature was 26 °C (79 °F) with a minimum of 11 °C (52 °F) and a maximum of 45 °C (113 °F).
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Day 01: Leaving Banff
Today we rode from Bannf, Alberta, Canada to Boulton Campground, Alberta, Canada. Sunny / hot weather. Highlights of the day include the scenery. Lowlights was the distance, it was more than planned for a first day.
Riding statistics: on Monday, August 1, 2022, day 1 on the route, it took 10:10h (07:25h moving time), between 9:07 and 7:17, to cover 95 km (58 miles), including 1326 m (4351 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 13.0 km/h (8.1 mph), while reaching a maximum speed of 52 km/h (32.3 mph). During this ride the average temperature was 28 °C (82 °F) with a minimum of 19 °C (66 °F) and a maximum of 38 °C (100 °F).
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Preparation day in banff
The map below is zoomed into Banff, Alberta, Canada, and it includes two markers. The one in the top right corner is my camping spot (Tunnel Mountain Village I campground – E4) for the two nights in Banff National Park. The marker at the bottom is the Fairmont Banff Springs motel where I will start the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route on Monday, August 1st.
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Traveling to Banff, Alberta, Canada
Today is the start of my adventure, finally. After many preparations and looking forward for a long time, the time has come to leave home and head towards Banff in Alberta, Canada. In two days I will start riding the Great Divide Mountain Bike Ride, starting in front of the Fairmont Banff Springs hotel. But before that, I first needed to get there.
Going to Schiphol It was 6am when our alarm clock woke us up. We had decided that Karin and the kids will bring me to Schiphol. There was construction work being done at the railtracks somewhere between Eindhoven and Schiphol. We thought that was too much of a hassle and risk with all the long queues in Schiphol at the moment. Yesterday, on Friday evening we already put the bike box on top of the car. Now that we’re with the four of us it does not find inside the car anymore. Since I needed to be at Schiphol at 8:30am the family decide to make it a day at the beach once they have dropped me of at Schiphol.
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Bike and Gear list
For riding the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route you definitively need a bike and gear. These are available for any budget. As often, the budget will mainly decide upon quality, weight, and size. I have tried to re-use as much as possible but definitely had to buy quite some stuff. The items listed on this page are based on my criteria and decisions. Other persons might come to other conclusions.
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Bike transport
When riding the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, you’ll definitely need a bike ;). Renting is not an option, and neither is buying one local. You’ll want to have the bike upfront so that you can get used to it, make it comfortable, and get the correct bags, tools, and spare parts. So, the bike has to come along. In my case along on the plane (Amsterdam > Calgary) and shuttle (Calgary > Banff).
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Maps, maps, maps, ...
Today (May 9, 2022) I received the Canada + US map sets of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. It was a bit of a wait because they have been out-of-stock for a while over here in the Netherlands. But after several weeks, they arrived at the shop which sells them here in the Netherlands, which is FietsVakantieWinkel.
Although I have read a lot about the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, and bought quite some gear in the past couple of months, receiving these maps makes things (again) more real. It is less than three months from departure and I am getting more each and every day.
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Route alternates
When you are exploring the route for the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route then you will see that for certain sections there are alternate routes defined. I explored these alternates now so that I am well aware of my options during the ride so that I am better able to make decisions on which alternates to take and which to skip. Since I am riding the route SOBO (South-Bound; from North to South) I will list the alternates below in this order as well.
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Safety and Security
Riding the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route is quite an undertaking. Along the route, you will pass different types of road, mostly gravel, but also some tougher sections and (very) remote areas. You will also experience all kinds of different weather from heat, to (very) cold, (heavy rain), and possibly snow and hail. On top of that, you are traveling through nature, where (black and grizzly) bears, mountain lions, snakes, scorpions, spiders, and other friendly animals live.
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