Today as I was riding it dawned on me that I never really explained this tour very well. The route that I am riding is the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, developed by the Adventure Cycling Association (ACA) in 1997. The whole route starts in Jasper, Alberta, Canada and goes down the Rockies all the way to the US/Mexican border ending in Antelope Wells, New Mexico, some 3000 miles. The tour I am doing started at the US/Canadian border and will be approximately 2500 miles. We will ride through 5 states- Montana, a tiny corner of Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. We will cross the Continental Divide numerous times. We are taking 65 days to do the trip with a rest day every 9-10 days.
There are 14 people on this tour including the two guides, Jon and Steve. We carry what we need for the day on our bikes (clothes, food, water and bike tools) and the van and trailer carry our camping gear, etc.. Jon and Steve take turns driving the van or acting as sweep riding behind all the riders.
Our daily schedule is kind of regimented. We wake up between 4:30-5:00 to get breakfast ready, eat and make our lunches. Most days we are riding by 7 a.m.. We ride in small groups self selected by us and our pace. There are two people on a rotating schedule who are responsible for cooking the dinner each day. Whichever guide is driving the van for that day does the grocery shopping. Dinner is usually ready by 5:00, then we have a map meeting to discuss the following days route. After that is free time. Most of us are in our tents by 8 p.m. and probably asleep soon after.
The temperatures during the day have so far been between the mid 80’s to the low 90’s. It cools off significantly at night and sometimes the mornings are downright chilly. By 8 a.m. the sun has risen and it starts to warm.
Some days our camping accommodations have showers and some days they don’t. There is often a lake or river to cool off in. Very occasionally we stay in a motel.
We see lots of other riders riding this route, some southbound, like we are doing and some who are riding it northbound.
This is a journey that I’ve wanted to do for awhile now. Thanks for following along😊
Annie Bikes 
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