One week from today, on June 27th, I will mount up and attempt to Mountain Bike the Continental Divide from Banff Alberta to Mexico. If you are not familiar with this ride it is the longest off pavement route in the world. The route is approximately 2,773 miles crossing two Canadian provinces and five U.S. states. The route has over 200,000 feet of elevation gain, which is the equivalent of climbing Mt. Everest 6 times. There are numerous challenges along the way from route finding and logistics, to weather and wild animals. No doubt that this is going to be a challenging adventure!
Who
This is a family adventure, so the whole family will be along for the journey. Ben (Dad) Brittney (Mom), Paisley (9), Bryar (7) our dog Sage (5). (our other dog Arrow (old) will be enjoying a lazy summer with his uncle Jordan.)
The plan
Our plan is the load up our van and head north later this week, spend a couple of days in Banff before we set out on the ride Monday June 27th. We have planned to be on route the majority of the summer around 49 days including rest days, travel and providing some flexibility for challenges. I will be riding around 39 of the 49 days. While I am riding Brittney and the kids will be navigating a separate vehicle route exploring the towns and forests along the way in our van. We will meet up at least each evening as a family to share stories, a meal, explore and give pep talks to each other for the next day.
Why
This questions has come up in almost every conversation over the years about attempting this route. Why do you want to do this? I am not quite certain that I have a satisfying answer for you. I first heard about the route in the early 2000’s and it has percolated around in the back of my mind as something that would be an awesome adventure ever since. As I learned more about how challenging and hard the route is to complete in one summer; I became more and more fascinated with attempting it. Like many areas of my life I seem to be drawn to the challenge of doing hard things and testing my abilities. As Brittney and I contemplated taking a sabbatical from work this summer we thought through all the things in life we wanted to do which required time and made a list. We then took that list and said of these items which require health and the list became very short. The Great Divide Mountain Bike ride bubbled up to the top of the list and after discussing it with the kids; Summer 2022 on the Great Divide was born.
Objectives
Each person in our family has different objectives for our Summer on the Divide. To start off I will share mine and we will share perspectives from others in future posts. My objectives are as follows:
1. Create rich memories and experiences with my family.
2. Challenge and test my physical and mental limits as a human.
3. Successfully ride my mountain bike down the continental divide from Canada to Mexico this summer.
Reader expectations
When I signed up for Substack they told me to be a good writer I needed to write every day. So I thought I would be clear with my intent. This summer my intent is to be a good mountain biker, and an active and engaged father. As such I will ride every day, spend quality time with my family every night and only write updates occasionally, at least weekly. When I do write I am likely to be malnourish and exhausted from my time in the saddle so please pardon any typos, unclear ramblings, partial thoughts and grammar / spelling errors.
Grateful
As we get ready to head out on this adventure I want to thank you for your interest and support in following our journey. Preparing for an adventure like this had been quite a process by itself which many people have generously provided us knowledge, ideas, skills and help as we get prepared to depart. However there are several people I want to specifically call out.
· My Spouse Brittney- For being an amazing life partner, her encouragement and support and specifically tolerating my ridiculous training schedule preparing for this ride.
· My daughters Paisley and Bryar – For giving up a summer with their friends and spending 40+ days on the road with their parents in a Van.
· Park City Live Well Center – Dr. Max Testa for training and ride plans to prepare my body for a successful ride. Jessica LaRoche for teaching me how to fuel my body for an undertaking like this. Without both of their guidance I would be far less likely to succeed.
· Adventure Cycling Association – For maintaining the route, providing support, knowledge, information and constant route updates to help riders navigate a constantly changing environment along the ride.
· Bart Scheuller – For a lasting friendship formed on a bike trail and his interest and engagement in helping me prepare for this ride.
· Just 4 Fun Motorsports (Curtis and Charlie) – Help getting our Van ready for the terrain we will encounter on our trip and their offer to provide ongoing roadside assistance (and rescue) if needed for Brittney.
· Bitterroot Builds – Outfitting the van with creature comforts to keep us happy and comfortable.
With less than a week before we begin, I am equal parts nervous and excited. There will be plenty of opportunities for failure and success every day and I am hopeful that our preparations will lead to more success than failure.
Be Awesome,
Ben