Great Divide

Billed as the longest off-pavement route in the world, the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route stretches along the spine of the Rocky Mountains for 4,456 km from Banff, Alta., to Antelope Wells, N.M. It’s also the route used in the annual Tour Divide, which takes the honour as the world’s hardest mountain bike race. The current record stands at a little more than 14 days. Coburn Brown and I weren’t aiming for a true race pace, but we wanted to challenge ourselves with a 30-day maximum.

By Day 12, we were well ahead of schedule. It was only 180 km from Togwotee to Pinedale, Wyo., which marked the approximate halfway point of our journey. It started with what the Adventure Cycling Association trail cues described as a “tremendous grunt to get to altitude.” It was the first time a climb on the route had been described in such difficult terms; we soon found ourselves pushing our way to the top. The reward was a series of beautiful alpine meadows that led to Union Pass. Antelope ran through the nearby fields, while the Wind River Range hung dramatically along the eastern horizon.

For the first time since we left Banff, we had another riding partner. Owen Hughes, a Kiwi tackling the route on his own, decided to join us for a few days. He was shocked at our pace. We were so eager to reach the halfway point that we kept turning up the speed. When the day’s route hit pavement, we used the mile-by-mile U.S. highway markers to alternate 1,600 m pulls at the front of the group. Despite a brutal headwind, we held three loaded mountain bikes at more than 30 km/h.