GREAT DIVIDE MOUNTAIN BIKE ROUTE
The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route is a bicycle route especially designed for mountain
biking. It traverses a portion of the Rocky Mountains of North America, stretching from
Banff, Alberta, Canada to Antelope Wells, New Mexico on the border with Mexico.
The Continental Divide Trail is a nationally recognized hiking trail, although not yet
complete. The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route is a mountain bike route that parallels
the Continental Divide Trail. Occasionally they will intersect and share sections.
In Canada, the Great Divide refers to the Continental Divide of North America, which is the
divide between water that flows towards the East Coast and the West Coast. Though this
term is sometimes used in the United States, it is more commonly referred to as simply
the Continental Divide.
ROUTE
The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (aka GDMBR) was created by the Adventure
Cycling Association and is the longest mapped and published off-pavement bike route in
the world. The route is generally ridden north to south, crossing the Continental Divide a
total of 30 times. Originally its total length was 2,490 miles (4,007 km). In 2003, Adventure
Cycling extended the route into Canada. The Canadian segment stretches from Banff,
Alberta, to the U.S. segment's starting point at Port of Roosville, Montana; this adds
another 221 miles to the route.
The route begins in glacial-carved valleys of Banff National Park in the Southern
Canadian Rockies. It passes through the heavily forested mountains of Montana and
Idaho, meanders down into the barren high desert lands of Wyoming's Great Basin,
ascends again up and over several 10,000 to 12,000 foot passes in Colorado, and switch
backs through rugged mountainous sections of New Mexico before finally dropping into
the Chihuahuan Desert. The majority of New Mexico is forested, not desert. The route's
highest altitude is around 11,910 feet (3,600 m) above sea level at Indiana Pass in
Colorado. The first half of the CA segment, Montana and New Mexico are generally
considered to be the most rugged, challenging sections but pockets of difficulty exist
throughout. Violent thunderstorms can happen at any time on route and are the biggest
impediment to progress as they often render the riding surface impassable.
The 2,711 mile trip generally takes around three months for the leisurely rider who stops
frequently along the way. Many also choose to complete the route in shorter segments of
1-2 weeks each over several years. For all but the most gonzo cyclists, taking time to
absorb the route's human and natural resources is the preferred style of touring the
GDMBR. Most through-riders complete the route in about 75 riding days. The fastest time
to complete the route is Matthew Lee's 17 day 22 hour 40 minute finish in conjunction with
the 2007 Great Divide Race (a race on the US segment). In that same 2007 edition of the
Great Divide Race, Jason Petervary recorded the fastest ever US-only time split
(Roosville, MT to Antelope Wells, NM). He completed it in 15 days 4 hours 18 minutes.
There are two competitive events mountain bike racing the route each year. Tour Divide
races Southward from the Northern terminus of Banff on all 2,711 miles of the GDMBR.
The Great Divide Race is a US border-to-border challenge, also racing southward from
Roosville (CA/MT border). It covers the 2,490 miles of the US portion of the route. Both
events are held annually and begin a week apart from each other in mid-June. The times
to finish in these competitions are particularly impressive as they were completed under
a self-supported rule format that prohibits outside assistance on route.
Terrain
Most of the route is on unpaved Forest Service and BLM roads. These roads vary in quality
from smooth high quality dirt or gravel to a very few unrideable sections of steep cobble.
Washboard can be a nuisance and will vary depending on when the last time the road
was graded. Several sections in New Mexico can become impassable mud after
moderate to heavy rain.
Overall the route is moderate to difficult. The most strenuous portions can actually be the
relatively flat basins because head winds are sometimes significant. Down hill sections
can be as much work to ride as going up hill when riding into the wind or because of poor
road quality. Montana is the most technically challenging and New Mexico is the roughest.
