We finished! As of 5 pm July 18th my father and I finished the Tour Divide. We rode 2735 miles with around 200,000 feet of climbing. It was hard, but very fun. We got to experience a lot of new places and meet a lot of extremely interesting people. Before finishing we spent a week or so riding with two people who met part way through the ride and then decided to ride with one another. They decided to take an easy day leaving Pie Town and we did not, so we ended up separating and they will be finishing sometime today. The last five days leading into the finish were hard. We did just over 500 miles in 5 days which is long. There was more climbing in New Mexico than Canada which was unexpected. We made it through though and now it is time to rest for a few days. Thank you everyone for the support. I will be back in Bethel on Tuesday.
New Mexico
It has been a while since I have been in an area with WiFi, yay McDonalds! I am in a town called Cuba in New Mexico. We just did a 75 mile section of the course that is considered the most difficult section. There was around 6,000 feet of elevation gain over a 30 mile period. Then the down hill after was technical so we never got a break. So far New Mexico has been the hardest state. The roads are slow and the weather is either really hot or raining. When it rains here the roads become impossible to ride due to the fact that they are largely made of clay. We have to start early in the morning to avoid the heat. Today the alarm went off at 4:30am and it will probably continue to do so until the end of the trip. Tomorrow we have a 120 mile section of pavement to ride si that we can get to the town of Grants. Only 5 or 6 days left of riding until Antelope Wells!
Only 1000 miles left!
Day 23? We made it to Silverthorne CO today. We have had a couple of great days in Colorado. We are back to big hills which is great because that means there are tree again. We met up with my Aunt Lizzy and her boyfriend Shane in Silverthorne today. It was great meeting people we knew for the first time this trip. Tomorrow we are going to climb our first hill to bring us above 11,000 feet and the second highest point on the course. It should be interesting.
Out of the Desert
We made it out of the Great Divide Basin. The day after out rest day we made the ride to Atlantic City and then a bit further into the basin. That was a 100 mile day with some climbing, but not to much. Today was a big day. We rode 115 miles in the basin. It was extremely hot and dry. I drank about 7 liters or riding and another 3 after and I am still a bit dehydrated. It was a really hard day, but I am glad we made the push. Tomorrow we head for Colorado.
Rest Day
Day 17. Today we are taking a rest day and only riding to Boulder, Wyoming. It is about 10 miles, but next we have to get through the basin. It is a 150ish miles stretch with no real camping, no water, and no food. It stretches from Atlantic City to Rawlins. Today we slept in, and we plan on going to the library and to the bike shop before heading to Boulder. Yesterday it was finally sunny for a whole day which was nice. According to the maps yesterday was our last day of big hills until Colorado. We made up near 10,000 feet in elevation. We met a few new people doing the Trans-America ride the other day. The Trans-America ride is a ride from Seattle to Boston that is 4600 miles in length. They have a lot further to go then I do. Thank you everyone for your support and I will hopefully post again in Rawlins.
Out of Montana
It is the end of day 13 and we finally made it out of Montana. The last few days have been rather flat which is a nice change. We made it to Idaho. We also hit the 1000 mile marker on course which is exciting. Coming up we have a day or so of riding in Idaho, and then we hit Wyoming and with that comes the Teton mountain range. Those are going to be some big hills. I an getting really tired, so early bed times are now a part of my schedule. My father is still keeping up, although he is starting to have some Achilles tendon problems. Thank you all for the support. It is time to sleep.
Day 9
Day 9. I am in Butte Montana right now and boy have the last few days been fun. I may not have done too much in terms of mileage, but there have been some big hills. As of right now we have done 5 passes over the continental divide, four of which were in the last two days. The weather has been much warmer recently to. Almost too warm. I have some nice tan/burn lines on my arms and legs. Now a big problem is also making sure to stay hydrated. Yesterday I went through all 6 liters of water I was carrying and was still not properly hydrated. Now I know I need to drink more. The uphills have been long, but that means the downhills are also long. An hour long downhill is a great break in a ride and days like the last few have really taught me to appreciate them. Next is a long section of trail with no towns or anything, so it might be a few days before I post again.
Day 7
Day 7 here on the divide. Days 5 and 6 were probably the most mentally and emotionally draining days of my life. Day 5 was a 100 mile day all on pavement. That is not to bad, except for that the average temperature was 38 degrees, and it poured rain non stop. Day 6 was only a 70 mile day, but because of some back tracking I did it was nearly 90. Also on day 6 it was again in the 30’s and raining, except for the short section where it was snowing. Day 6 was really hard because I wanted to wait for my dad, but it was so cold that if I stopped I would have gone into hypothermia. There was not a moment in my head where I was having fin and wanted to continue on, but I could not stop firstly because there was nowhere to stop, and secondly because I just thought about what I would give up if I stopped. My father and I eventually got back together and got a very good dinner at a steak house about a mile off course. Today on day 7 there was an extreme change in weather and attitude. It was the first day I was able to ride in shorts so far this trip. The ride was short and the road where nice. The only hard part about today was the three miles of hiking through snow. It was interesting, bit not bad. Tomorrow is another longer day, we are making the trio from Seeley Lake to Lincoln Montana.
Days 2,3 and 4
It is day 4 here on the Tour Divide. The last three days have been very adventurous. Starting on day two, we got lost and were put off course by around 20 miles. That was unpleasant, but it was bound to happen at some point. We only made it to Sparwood on day two after getting lost which made our goal of getting out of Canada in three days not a reality. On day three we had another good adventure. We did two different passes which were both wet and a bit snowy. One of the roads was literally a river bed. It was impossible to ride but luckily I had gor-tex socks. That day ended up being around 85 miles, so it was not too bad. Today, day 4 we had a relatively easy day back to the USA. We had a slight hiccup though when one of our fellow riders missed a turn and fell fifteen or so feet into a river splitting his helmet and head. We got him out to a road and left him with a rescue team to bring him to a hospital. I am in a hotel now and all my clothing is clean I am tired and tomorrow is a big day. We are going to ride to White Fish.
Day One
Today was the first day of riding in the Tour Divide. We started at 8am at the YMCA in Banff. It was raining when we started which made it interesting, but the about an hour into the ride the rain changed to snow. That made the conditions perfect for hypothermia, but luckily that was avoided. I rode for 11 hours and that sure made mt butt tired. My father and I made it to Elkford which is 115 miles from the start. It rained all day except for when it snowed. I learned how difficult it actually is to stay hydrated and how hard it is to eat enough. 10,000 calories per day might not be enough. The weather is looking a little better for tomorrow, so maybe the riding will be a little bit more enjoyable.
Max Southam's Tour Divide Blog 