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I started in Butte, but decided to call it a day when I got to Salida. Mixed emotions as I write this post whilst sitting in a bar in Denver before flying home tomorrow. Don't get me wrong, the scenery was amazing but thevast expanses of nothingness and washboarded roads did me in mentally. I love bikepacking, but the divide wasn't for me.
I averaged around 60-70 miles a day and it made me realise just how awesome the td riders are with their +100 miles a day averages.
I am glad I tried it, but looking forward to a European trip next summer with a little more civilization during the day.
If it's on your to do list then all I can say is go try it. I am glad I did!
good honesty.
Much as Id love to experience the geography of the rockies, I still believe that the variety in culture/language/food/geography you can pass in 1,000 miles across Europe is still far more appealing.
Hey at least you had the balls to get over there and attempt it by yourself, that's to your credit. Another tick off the bucket list.
I did a 7000 mile trip across the US and up and down and Jesus there is some seriously boring terrain even in a car Kansas and Idaho and the Dakotas come to mind, and in a car you can clock 100's of miles a day I can quite understand the mind numbing tedium of doing it on a bike.
It does look great, but echo the European thoughts.
Any pics?
I recall Salida being grim when I did the Colorado trail in 92.
Which is a really nice varied trail (I used a fair bit of road too - many sections shut to bikes in wilderness areas).
Kudos for trying it.
I think you have to be in a particular mindset to cope with long sections of wilderness, if you aren't in that zone then nothing will really help.
Maybe that's why it got it's name. (Salida = exit in Spanish)
Do you not fancy starting there again sometime in the future and finishing it? I bet it'll gnaw away at you that you havent.
Fair dues for starting out, it feels like a long road ahead of you. The wide open spaces do have a certain effect compared to the variety of Europe, not a place for doubts to creep into mind. Places like the great basin are quite exposed, it's not total desolation but it's close, Big Sky Country for sure. It's a certain kind of beauty.
I don't think anyone needs to finish routes like the GDMTBR unless they want to, like any tour the experience of the ride is more important than where the finish point ends up.
.. and post up some pics : )
I enjoy that part of touring on my own, the time to think about what your traveling through , about time, space and the meaning of life.
But appreciate its not for everyone,
Fair enough OP. I don't imagine many of us could guess at how we'd cope with that sort of thing before attempting it. I've a very idealised view of extended travelling in solitude, but when it come down to it I reckon my 5-minute attention span would lead me to struggle.
What are the big routes in Europe then? Or is it more of a make it up as you go along kind of thing?
A friend of mine is currently doing the divide.
The vast expanses of nothingness I think I could cope with. Endless miles of washboarded gravel I'd struggle with.
On the Idaho Hot Springs Loop the washboarded sections were tortuous. Just how bad is it on the Divide?
Vast expanses of nothingness! I love it but each to their own I guess. I even liked Kansas enough to cross it twice. I thought of Kansas as being a bit like crossing an ocean. Flat horizons in every direction. Any towns showed up first as the tops of grain towers 15 or 20 miles out. Then over the next hour or two the rest of the town slowly getting closer until you arrive. Free camping with outdoor pools in the small town parks. The first sight of the Rockies from 40 or 50 miles out on the plain.
In some ways crossing the USA E-W or W-E though has more variety than the Divide which by definition is hills all the way and more remote than other routes. A good cross USA route has a few hundred miles of railtrail, quiet roads through small town USA, red rock Utah scenery, basin and range desert scenery, and mountains and forests. Almost all on low traffic roads ( a dozen cars during a 10 hours day in Nevada). Any route will have a mix of remote days and other days where there's a chance to buy a beer or a coffee every 20 miles or so.
My USA riding has all been mostly tarmac with a few short gravel road sections and longer rail trains. I think washboard tracks day after day would soon get boring. Maybe the nothingness works better on a comfortable bike on decent roads?
I wrote a blog. Nothing too detailed, but with pics.
The last 2 days still need to be posted.
As jameso stated. Cycling across the great divide basin was something rlse. 30mph head / side wind and then heavy rain for the last 20 miles.
The Camino de Santiago trail is the next one 🙂
Wasboarded roads. There were plenty of them 🙁
We're currently saving for the Camino de Santiago.. We had planned to do it last April but life events conspired against us