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Trip

Western Wildlands Route

Admin Jun 17, 2024

“The 2,700-mile Western Wildlands Route (WWR, formerly known as the Wild West Route) offers bikepackers a non-technical riding experience through the vast expanses of wild and public lands in the Intermountain West. Nearly 70% of the route is on public lands - 18 National Forests, 6 National Parks and Monuments, and 4 areas with Bureau of Land Management National Conservation Lands designation.”, according to Bikepacking Roots. This route took us 12 days, 8 hours, 40 minutes, and 9 seconds of cycling time to cover 4312 km (2679 miles), including 47660 m (156372.46000000002 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 15 km/h (9 mph), reaching a maximum speed of 63 km/h (39 mph) on Saturday, June 1, 2024. During cycling, there was a minimum temperature of 0 °C (32 °F) on Thursday, May 30, 2024, and a maximum temperature of 50 °C (122 °F) on Friday, June 7, 2024.

Trip

Great Divide Mountain Bike Route

Admin Sep 12, 2022

“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.

Latest posts

Day 05: Entering the US of A

EvE Aug 5, 2022

Today we rode from Harvey Campground in the Flathead Valley, British Columbia, Canada to Eureka, Montana, United States. Again sunny weather with little clouds. Road conditions included mainly gravel roads and some paved roads. Highlights of the day include a 12+ mile downhill in one go, and reaching the US border. Riding statistics: on Friday, August 5, 2022, day 5 on the route, it took 08:33h (06:41h moving time), between 7:22 and 3:56, to cover 131.91483 km (81 miles), including 1093 m (3586 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 17.0 km/h (10.6 mph), while reaching a maximum speed of 64 km/h (39.8 mph). During this ride the average temperature was 25 °C (77 °F) with a minimum of 2 °C (36 °F) and a maximum of 48 °C (118 °F).

Day 04: The Grizzley highway

EvE Aug 4, 2022

Wait, did day four not end happy at Butts Cabin? Unfortunately not. The wildfire, of which we saw the smoke, would mess up our planned stay at Butts Cabin and force us to use an alternative road out of the Flathead area. Riding statistics: on Thursday, August 4, 2022, day 4 on the route, it took 08:33h (06:41h moving time), between 7:22 and 3:56, to cover 91.12108 km (57 miles), including 979 m (3212 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 14.0 km/h (8.7 mph), while reaching a maximum speed of 39 km/h (24.2 mph). During this ride the average temperature was 22 °C (72 °F) with a minimum of 13 °C (55 °F) and a maximum of 30 °C (86 °F).

Day 03: A short day to Sparwood

EvE Aug 3, 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 46.66458 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).

Day 02: The first long climb

EvE Aug 2, 2022

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 85.37697 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).

Day 01: Leaving Banff

EvE Aug 1, 2022

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 94.53778 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).

Preparation day in banff

EvE Jul 31, 2022

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.

Traveling to Banff, Alberta, Canada

EvE Jul 30, 2022

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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This is my personal blog on which I keep family and friends updated about my bikepacking adventures.

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