June 20, 2007

Great Divide Race Tackles World’s Longest Mountain Bike Route

World’s most challenging bike race follows Adventure Cycling’s Great Divide Mountain Bike Route from Canada to Mexico

Mountain biking’s greatest race — and one of the toughest competitions in all of sport — has begun. The fourth-annual Great Divide Race rolled off the Montana/Canada border at the Port of Roosville on June 15th with a record 24 contestants. In the weeks ahead, riders will pedal Adventure Cycling’s Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, the longest mountain bike route in the world, as it follows the spine of the Rockies for 2,490 miles of backcountry roads and trails to the Mexican border at Antelope Wells, New Mexico. Climbing a total of over 200,000 feet, the route crisscrosses the Continental Divide 28 times. Recent winners of the race have finished in an astounding 20 days or less.

To view Adventure Cycling’s photo gallery from the first day of the race in the grizzly-bear-infested mountains of northern Montana, go here: http://www.adventurecycling.org/gdrgallery2007.

In classic touring tradition, riders in the race are entirely self-supported, carrying everything they need — food, water, shelter, tools — on their bikes and backs, making the Great Divide Race not only the world's longest mountain bike race, but the most challenging cycling race in existence.

“People who ride the Divide Race have no interest in a pit crew, in having pacers, in having support, or anything like that,” says race organizer Mike Curiak. “They want the all-encompassing race, where not only do they have to ride, they have to make their own meals, fix their bike, navigate, all that stuff. They want the ultimate challenge.”

Curiak, the current godfather of endurance mountain biking, predicts his inhuman course record of 16 days, 57 minutes will fall this year. Several riders are eager to prove him right, including Alaska’s Pete Basinger, who came in second to Curiak in the race’s inaugural year by a scant 24 minutes and who admits that, like Curiak before him, he’s “obsessed” with setting the course record. Basinger is setting a blistering pace in the race’s first days, with several riders, including two-time winner and Cannondale-sponsored Matthew Lee, in hot pursuit. Lee, back for his third race, is making another attempt to break the record after coming agonizing close in 2006. Surprisingly, high-energy newcomer Jay Petervary of Jackson, Wyoming, is leading the pack in the race’s early going — on a pace that, if sustained, would decimate the course record — but it remains to be seen if his high-revving internal motor can hold up over the entire GDR.

The rest of the field is encountering the kind of adventures the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route is famed for; many have encountered grizzly bears, one was chased by a bull moose, and a pack of riders faced a bone-chilling June snowstorm in the mountains above Seeley, Montana, that left many near hypothermia. According to racer Kevin Montgomery, eight racers descended on Seeley seeking cold-weather supplies and are now riding with heavy-duty, hunter-orange gloves purchased at the local hardware store.

Cyclists looking to experience the Great Divide Route and mountain-bike travel at a more relaxed pace can simply pick a scenic stretch and go ride – Adventure Cycling’s detailed maps for the route make finding your way easy. For those who would rather pedal the route with an experienced guide and a group of like-minded riders, Adventure Cycling leads small groups on the Great Divide every summer. This year there’s the Great Divide, Colorado, the fully supported Cycle the Divide Montana, and a ride along the spectacular 221-mile Canadian extension of the route led by a fresh-off-the-race Matthew Lee.

For those new to mountain biking or bike travel, Adventure Cycling offers a six-day Intro to Dirt Touring course every summer. Adventure Cycling has devoted a section of its website to the emerging practice of ultralight cycling — a multi-day riding style pioneered by Great Divide racers but applicable to backyard adventurers everywhere — here: www.adventurecycling.org/ultralight. For a list of the best long-distance dirt rides in North America, check out our top ten list.

To learn more about the Great Divide Race go to www.greatdividerace.com. To follow the riders in this year’s race, check out the official blog here: http://www.greatdividerace.blogspot.com. MTBCast carries daily podcasts with commentary and phoned-in reports from the racers themselves at www.mtbcast.com.

Adventure Cycling Association is the premier bicycle travel organization in North America with more than 43,000 members. A nonprofit organization, our mission is to inspire people of all ages to travel by bicycle. We produce routes and maps for cycling in North America, organize more than 30 tours annually, and publish the best bicycle travel information anywhere, including Adventure Cyclist magazine and The Cyclists' Yellow Pages. For more information, please visit www.adventurecycling.org. To request an Adventure Cycling press kit or learn more about the Great Divide Route, contact Aaron Teasdale, media liaison, at 800-755-2453 x237 or ateasdale@adventurecycling.org.

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