Hit the Road

The Great Divide

2768 miles from Banff, Canada to the Mexican border in New Mexico. This is the longest off-road cycle trail in the world.

Riding through Montana, the Big Sky state

Strava heatmap of my Great divide GPS tracks

Check out my Strava map of my GPS tracks

Side trip to Glacier National Park

We took a slight detour in to Glacier National Park. Took a rest from the bikes for a day and hiked the terrific Highline trail which clings to the side of the mountain. Five hours of hiking made this rest day seem like quite hard work!

Video: Descending Elk Pass

Not only does Elk Pass mark the boundary between the states of Alberta and British Columbia, it is also the first and only time in Canada that we cross the Continental Divide. We will cross the divide a further 10 times during the ride south through the US.

Our Tour Divide begins

After months of planning our tour down the Great Divide has finally begun. We spent four days in Banff testing out our kit and making last minute adjustments, then on Saturday morning we made our way to the start of the trail which begins at the back of the grand Banff Springs hotel.

Gear list for the Great Divide

Here are some of our kit highlights. We’ve been trying to pack a bit more lightweight this time, but packing for all weather still requires a fair bit of gear. Tent: MSR Hubba Hubba Sleeping bags: Alpkit Sleeping mat: Thermarest neo air Down jacket: Haglof LIM Rear panniers: Ortlieb Fork bags: Alpkit / Salsa Anything…

Cycling the Great Divide – Recommended reading

The Adventure Cycling Association maintain and map the route. They produce a terrific detailed set of maps for this route which are a must-have for anyone attempting this trip. Michael McCoy has written a nice guide book too which can be used as a companion to the maps, but isn’t detailed enough to be used…

Next up: The Great Divide

Our next adventure will be the Great Divide cycle route from Banff, Canada to New Mexico. It’s the world’s longest off road bike route, covering 2700 miles and over 200,000 feet of elevation gain! The route is mapped and maintained by the Adventure Cycling Association (ACA). We’re due to depart in late June and we’ll…

New bikes for a new adventure

The next adventure is on the horizon and this time we’re going off road! We’ve recently taken delivery of our new bikes. Ian’s gone for the Surly Ogre and I’ve got the Salsa Fargo. Both 29″ steel frame bikes with mountain-bike geometry.