An Epic Ride - Banff to Yellowstone

Yellowstone will be the end of my adventure on the Great Divide Route. Unfortunately my left knee was injured (probable meniscal tear) during a fall on some technical single track a few days prior and it has progressively been getting worse. The 1000 miles of trail between here and Banff have been nothing short of amazing. I'm planning to finish the GDR with a south to north trip from the Mexican border up to where I left off in Yellowstone
next summer. Super excited to get down to Sante Fe to see Kari and Skylar and explore the area a bit before I start my new hospitalist gig. I will be posting some post trip thoughts on gear for anyone interested. This was the first time I have ever done a blog and it was really just a lot of fun. I wanted to thank everyone that followed along. It was great reading the blogger posts and TMT comments along the way.

A sea of wheat - 800 miles from Banff

The past several days have taken me through countless seemingly endless seas of wheat with a contrasting backdrop of jagged granite peaks both to the east and west. Yesterday I pitched camp within minutes of a huge thunderstorm that left a small river flowing through the campground and enough thunder and lightning to keep me on edge for the duration. Spending the rest of the day today kicking back, reading, and giving my left knee a bit of attention. Then the plan is to ride to West Yellowstone tomorrow.

Yesterday I passed the 800 mile mark since leaving Banff and I crunched the numbers and realized I only have 600 miles until I cross into Colorado! Plan to ride the Grand Loop through Yellowstone Park and then connect back up with the GDR further to the south. Will be coming up to the infamous stretch through the dry desolate Great Basin in only a few days.

This will certainly be a time when I will appreciate the virtual limitless storage capacity of the BOB trailer (I plan on carrying 5 gallons of water through this section). The BOB has certainly lived up to it's name (Beast Of Burden) thus far with the relentless beatings from the trail and not even a squeak from him. It's amazing how attached I've gotten to all my gear. The many hours of research prior to the trip really has paid off.

The past several days I've been riding solo. I split up with my buddy Liron in Helena as I needed to spend a day in Helena to get a few things done for my upcoming hospitalist gig in Santa Fe. A few thoughts on riding solo... I really enjoy the quiet solitude in the evenings after the ride. I also have noticed that I am more focused during the ride. At times I feel more vulnerable, for instance when I am crossing over an exposed pass with dark threatening thunderheads quickly descending overhead, although at the same time it is empowering and just an entirely different experience. I enjoy the introspective aspect to riding solo. The prolonged unbroken rhythm that riding provides is such an ideal venue for soul searching, letting your mind wander in any direction it wants, a rarity in the fast paced chaotic environment of everyday life. I do however miss the camaraderie and shared excitement as well as suffering of riding with someone else.

A quick video of the BOB negotiating a downed tree (just have to copy and paste this into your browser address bar)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF8epu4iwCk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Huckleberry Pass - 558 miles from Banff

Climbed up huckleberry pass today and before descending I took a few minutes to inhale handfuls of the unbelievably tasty Montana huckleberry, handpicked trail side. Never had a huckleberry before and I'd have to say I'm impressed. Those bears know what's up.

Great day of riding. All the gear is holding up well considering what I put it through yesterday. A lot of time to think and yet again some amazing views. Tomorrow is a full day of climbing with two divide crossings, another 5K+ day.

Quick clip from huckleberry pass...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udjkWpdUunY

Tough couple of days

Yesterday was a long hot haul from big fork with lots of climbing via a very
remote patchwork of densely wooded rough fire roads. Ended up putting in the longest daily mileage yet at 74 miles before stumbling into camp at Holland lake.

Today we climbed from the lake up over a pass on some technical trails. I ended up going off route and spent 2 hours attempting to haul my bike and trailer up the side of a mountain on an insanely rough trail. Actually had to disconnect the trailer and haul it over more than a dozen downed trees. Eventually found the correct trail but then on my descent on an amazing stretch of single track I went for a ride over my handlebars while going at a decent clip of about 20-25 mph. I got lucky and ended up getting by with just some minor scrapes and bruises. Feeling strong but a bit beat up right now. Will be camping out in Seeley to wait out a line of storm cells that are passing through.

A quick video from yesterday...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phGECSDiCrc

Video Logs - Batch One

A series of videos taken from Banff, Alberta to Whitefish, MT. Not sure why these aren't active links. This is the first time I've tried to post videos online. For the time being you'll probably have to copy and paste this into your browser's address bar. Anyone have any idea how to make these active links?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c31TY8BqPSs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL0Fn_2bHSY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJecW3mLlGM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ybXjhGTa5U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qPKDNVQ0YU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA1t_ZBk88I

Whitefish MT - 322 miles from Banff

Descended into Whitefish this afternoon after a long day of climbing (5k+) yesterday. Camped out at Red Meadows last night and spent the evening hanging with an eclectic varied group, a guy through-hiking the little known pacific northwest trail from Glacier to the Pacific, a very gregarious and generous local Montana fisherman, a writer displaced since hurricane Katrina who was more or less living on the lake, and three other cyclists from Jersey. The company was great but we were eaten alive by literal swarms of the largest most aggressive mosquitos I've ever seen.

Had a beautiful descent into the trendy hopping little town of Whitefish today. The huckleberries are just starting to ripen and I am certainly "bear aware" on the descent but don't have much to worry about as my Israeli comrade (Liron) turns on a electronic ear deafening "rape alarm" that he picked up in Israel, attaching it his bike prior to the steep descents in known bear country flying at speeds of about 35 mph down these winding forrest roads scaring any wildlife and all grizzlies within a mile of the trail. I took a funny video of this and will post it as soon as I figure out how to do that on the blog (anybody have any ideas?).

We are averaging about 65-70 miles per day. A pace that allows us to certainly push ourselves physically yet also enjoy the ride. Actually surprised that we've only come across one guy riding the GDR since leaving Banff.

Crossed the US border today

Finished the Canadian section of the GDR today. The terrain has really changed here in Montana, grassy rolling plains and mountains blanketed with pines in the distance, a stark contrast from the jagged foreboding peaks of Alberta and British Columbia.

Tomorrow I head up and over the continental divide (2nd crossing) via whitefish pass then south along the western border of Glacier to Whitefish MT. It sounds like there's quite a few grizzlies up there and I know my nerves will be a bit on edge. I'm looking forward to getting south out of grizzly territory so I can just ride and enjoy the mountains. Gear is holding up well. Starting to get into a rhythm of packing, riding, and unpacking.

A few hours of sun before sunset helped dry the gear from the heavy downpour most of the day. Actually, really enjoyed riding in the rain today and luckily avoided the lightening and thunder in the distant.

Just wanted to thank everyone for their support. It's been great reading your posts.

Elkford - 110 miles from Banff

The riding has been unreal. Put in a solid 12 hours of riding yesterday, about 60 miles to Elk Pass. That section was more technical than expected and I definitely felt beat up by the end of the day, but the body is feeling strong and the bike and trailer have been running well with no issues.

Unbelievably beautiful and wild country. Only two days in and I've already passed a small cub and and a big grizzly. Encountered the grizzly early this afternoon. He was just strolling down the trail ahead of me, took a quick look back at me and just slowly strutted down the trail for quite a ways. My heart was pounding and a hundred different scenarios were running through my head. He eventually headed off trail and I ended up using my air horn from a distance, then clenching my bear spray tightly I peddled as fast as my legs would carry me.

I felt like I found my rhythm today. Just spinning, listening to some good tunes, and taking everything in. Today was a lot of dirt and gravel roads with some long descents. I can't believe how well the BOB trailer handles on steep rough downhills. Although, the climbs and hike-a-bikes are rough, with all that weight. It seems like every time I stop I'm thinking... what can I get rid off to drop even a few ounces.

The plan is to head to Fernie tomorrow, taking the Fernie alternative to bypass the "grizzly highway". Then I cross the border and head down to Eureka.

The big day!!!

Super excited and a bit nervous. Just left the campground and am heading to the GDR trailhead.

Cruising around Banff

A few pics near the Banff Springs Hotel near the GDR trailhead. Headed down the trail a bit just to let my tread get a feel of the GDR and couldn't believe how wild and remote it felt. The only thing holding me back is my little ibex trailer to haul all my gear (thanks United Airlines).

Here's the weight breakdown at this point (seems a little on the heavy side, thinking I may have to donate a couple of books before I hit the trail)...

Salsa El Mariachi bike: 32 lbs
BOB Trailer: 22 lbs
BOB dry bag loaded with gear: 42lbs
Additional dry bag: (food, water, books, electronics) 23 lbs

Total weight: 119 lbs Ouch! The legs are gonna feel that on those long climbs over the passes.

Just landed in Banff!

After delayed flights and delayed/lost baggage I finally made it to Banff. It looks like I'll be hanging out in Banff for the next day or two before I hit the trail waiting for my BOB trailer that missed the flight to Calgary and is somehow sitting in Chicago right now. The plan is to build up my bike up, tweak things a bit, sort through my gear, and go explore the area. Banff is just unreal. The mountains out here look so massive and untamed. Can't wait to get on my bike and head into the wild.

Also wanted to give a shout out to Matt at Art Doyle's Spokes and Pedals in Hudson Wisconsin for the last minute work on my bike. The bike made it here without a scratch and is working great!