Photo by Aaron Teasdale
Adventure Cycling Association
June must be the month for extreme ultra-endurance bicycling events.
Cyclists took off June 8 for the 3,000-mile Race Across America. Last Saturday, 17 mountain bikers set off from Banff, Alberta, on the inaugural 2,711-mile Tour Divide mountain bike race.
This coming Saturday, more mountain bikers will start the 5th annual Great Divide Race, that rolls out from the Canadian border for the Mexican border, 2,490 miles away.
They call RAAM “the world's toughest bike race.” What can you call these two north-south races? How about, “The world's most drop-dead insanely challenging bike races.” Naw, not tough enough.
Both of these mountain bike rides use Adventure Cycling Association's Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. What makes them so tough?
— The remote route is 85% dirt, gravel, two-track or fire road, 14% paved and 1% singetrack. There's also lots of mud and washouts in the rain (See Mike Gibley crossing a washout in 2007, above.)
— The cyclists don't cross the Continental Divide, they're riding it. The route is a continuous up and down effort. The shorter Great Divide Race features 200,000 feet of elevation gain.
— There is no motorcoach following the mountain bikers. They are on their own. They have to buy and carry their own food along the way, as well as sleeping bag, camp stove, what have you. The less they carry, the faster they go.
— There's no entry fee. There's also no prize.
The record for the Great Divide Race was set last year by Jay Petervary, who completed the 2,490-mile mountain bike course in 15 days. He was one of 10 finishers. In 2006, one guy finished, Matt Lee.
The Tour Divide is rolling along now, and you check out the frequent blog updates at the Tour Divide Race blog. Also, the Leaderboard shows everyone's relative position.
The Great Divide Race website also will carry updates, as will MTBCast.com.
This is the 10th anniversary of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. If you're a member, you can read more about the route in the July Adventure Cyclist magazine.
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