Great Divide Mountain Bike Ride (GDMBR)

Last fall (2022) I was fortunate to capture the time and health required to begin an adventure that has topped my list for 22 years. Hailed as the world’s longest off pavement bike route, the GDMBR traverses the spine of the Rocky Mountains, crisscrossing the Continental Divide roughly 30 times, with 200K ft of elevation gain (equal to biking over MT Everest 6-7 times) along its meandering path from my start in Banff, Canada to Mexico. It cuts through some of the most remote and wild places in North America as well as some of its most iconic mountain towns. This ride is self-supported by filtering water from lakes, streams and puddles, carrying food, shelter, painstakingly prepared gear, first aid, repair equipment and a broad but minimal variety of clothing to endure through the Montana mountains in 105-degree heat while also keeping me alive during freezing rain, snow and nights camping at high elevation. I spent nearly a year planning, training, and building out my gear while educating myself on my many fears of staying alive and navigating through backcountry mountains and wilderness including how to think about my travels and rest in Grizzly country.

My goal was to travel as far down the line as possible in a 40 day window. Thinking in bite sized chunks, the target was roughly 70 miles and 5-7k ft of climbing each day; known as an ultra-endurance event, my 50# bike combined with the climbing, distance and daily 5-8 hours of saddle time are roughly equivalent to running a marathon each day. My wife and kids were amazing to support my time away so that I could tackle this epic tour which stood at the top of my adventure list since it was first mapped. Along this journey I learned many things about myself, my fears, my capabilities, what can be accomplished when we set goals and structure execution plans, dealing with adversity, and the dialogue of my mind coupled with exhaustion in the tranquility of nature as I worked through ideas and aspirations for the second half of my life. I have been fortunate that the big checklist items of my youth, now with this trip, have generally been realized: amazing wife, kids, family, friends, career, big adventures, travel on 6 continents, and evolving perspective on success. This time away from career was a deliberate time to compete with myself, my known physical and mental limits while capturing every ounce from this life and my dreams. This continued to prove to me that leaning into daunting and scary goals is where many of life’s most amazing and rewarding moments are built.

I also learned how I react when I’m days deep into remote, heavily wooded wilderness and meet a grizzly and her cub.