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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 06: An oasis in the middle of nowhere

EvE May 14, 2024

Today we rode from a dispersed campsite 12km after Oracle to another dispersed campsite in the Pina Mountains on our way to Globe. We, again, had a hot day, I think even hotter than the previous days, and with less wind because of the mountains. The road surface varied between excellent gravel, paved, bad gravel, and riverbed. Riding statistics: on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, day 14 on the route, it took 11:29h (08:16h moving time), between 6:27 and 5:57, to cover 109.8604 km (68 miles), including 1335 m (4380 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 14.0 km/h (8.7 mph), while reaching a maximum speed of 49 km/h (30.4 mph). During this ride the average temperature was 36 °C (97 °F) with a minimum of 16 °C (61 °F) and a maximum of 46 °C (115 °F).

Day 05: Mount Lemon up and down again

EvE May 13, 2024

Today we rode from the Molino Campground on Mount Mellon to a dispersed campsite 12km after Oracle. The weather started as previous days, all blue skies with later some scatteres clouds. The road surface started with a paved road to the top of Mount Mellon and from there changes into off-road, varying from easy and comfortable to very rough. Riding statistics: on Monday, May 13, 2024, day 13 on the route, it took 11:29h (08:16h moving time), between 6:27 and 5:57, to cover 94.35344 km (58 miles), including 1871 m (6139 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 11.0 km/h (6.8 mph), while reaching a maximum speed of 49 km/h (30.4 mph). During this ride the average temperature was 28 °C (82 °F) with a minimum of 13 °C (55 °F) and a maximum of 44 °C (111 °F).

Day 04: Tuscon again

EvE May 12, 2024

Today we rode from our dispersed campsite north of the Cascabel Community Center to the first campground (at 1400m). Weather same as previous days. The road surface not so much. This difficult and challenging conditions. Riding statistics: on Sunday, May 12, 2024, day 12 on the route, it took 10:53h (07:53h moving time), between 6:19 and 5:13, to cover 79.70318 km (49 miles), including 1454 m (4771 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 11.0 km/h (6.8 mph), while reaching a maximum speed of 44 km/h (27.3 mph). During this ride the average temperature was 30 °C (86 °F) with a minimum of 11 °C (52 °F) and a maximum of 42 °C (108 °F).

Day 03: Gates, gates, and more gates

EvE May 11, 2024

Today we rode from Thombstone to a dispersed campsite 8km north of the Cascabel Community Center. The weather was similar to previous days, blue skies all over and a bit of wind. The road surfaces included paved (but not as much as previous days), gravel, loose gravel and sand, double track with pinned bushes at the sides and in the middle. Riding statistics: on Saturday, May 11, 2024, day 11 on the route, it took 10:53h (07:53h moving time), between 6:19 and 5:13, to cover 121.31688 km (75 miles), including 650 m (2133 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 15.0 km/h (9.3 mph), while reaching a maximum speed of 46 km/h (28.6 mph). During this ride the average temperature was 31 °C (88 °F) with a minimum of 12 °C (54 °F) and a maximum of 41 °C (106 °F).

Day 02: The official route

EvE May 10, 2024

Today we rode from Sierra Vista to Thombstone. The weather was similar to yesterday, blue skies and winds from the south. Road surfaces were plenty today, a mixture of paved roads, good and bad gravel roads, single track, loose sand, and rolling hills. Riding statistics: on Friday, May 10, 2024, day 10 on the route, it took 08:15h (05:30h moving time), between 7:50 and 4:05, to cover 89.20321 km (55 miles), including 622 m (2041 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 16.0 km/h (9.9 mph), while reaching a maximum speed of 56 km/h (34.8 mph). During this ride the average temperature was 32 °C (90 °F) with a minimum of 19 °C (66 °F) and a maximum of 40 °C (104 °F).

Day 01: We are on our way

EvE May 9, 2024

Today we rode from Tuscon to Sierra Vista. The weather was beautiful, a blue sky throughout the day. All roads were paved roads, some with busy traffic some quit. Riding statistics: on Thursday, May 9, 2024, day 9 on the route, it took 11:27h (07:52h moving time), between 7:33 and 7:24, to cover 131.3488 km (81 miles), including 1209 m (3967 ft) elevation gain, with an average speed of 17.0 km/h (10.6 mph), while reaching a maximum speed of 50 km/h (31.1 mph). During this ride the average temperature was 29 °C (84 °F) with a minimum of 22 °C (72 °F) and a maximum of 37 °C (99 °F).

Traveling to Tucson, Arizona, United States

EvE May 8, 2024

Today is the first day of the entire trip. Traveling from home all the way to Tuscon, Arizona. A long day so that we can start our cycling trip tomorrow! This morning I’ve set my alarm clock at 7am. Of course I was already awake, as I usually already am. I had all the time to get up and prepare. For our convenience, we already put the bike box on the car’s roof yesterday evening. Around 8.15 we (Karin, Stijn, and myself) were all ready to leave.

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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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