NEWS RELEASE, March 19
Great Divide Mountain Bike Route
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GREAT DIVIDE ROUTE MAPS UPDATED
MISSOULA, Mont. -- Adventure Cycling Association, the nation's largest recreational cycling association, has updated the six map sections
of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. Believed to be the longest off-pavement bike route in the world, the 2,490-mile Great Divide Route
runs from the Canadian border to the Mexican border, mostly within 50 miles of the Continental Divide. The updated map sections have been
reprinted and are now available for purchase.
Map updates have incorporated corrections supplied by cyclists riding the route relating to route conditions and services. The updates also
include revised elevation profiles, a route revision and addition of an alternate route in Wyoming, and a route revision in New Mexico. The
route revisions added 20 miles to the total, bringing the entire route to 2,490 miles. The revisions also added two Continental Divide
crossings, which now total 29. Total elevation gain on the route is estimated at more than 200,000 feet.
"We're particularly excited about the route change in New Mexico," said Carla Majernik, director of the association's Routes and Mapping
Department. "It takes cyclists through the heart ofElMalpais National Monument, a fantastic area of lava flows, cinder cones, and lava
tubes."
The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route is Adventure Cycling's premier off-pavement route, crisscrossing the Continental Divide north to south
from Roosville, Mont., to Antelope Wells, N.M. This route is defined by the word remote. Its remoteness equates with spectacular
terrain and scenery. The route is primarily dirt-road and mountain-pass riding every day. All of this climbing gets the rider into visually
spectacular places and incredibly fit shape.
The Great Divide Route maps were first published in 1996, and more than 18,000 map sections have been purchased since then.
Adventure Cycling Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit headquartered in Missoula, Mont. Its mission is to inspire people of all ages to
travel by bicycle and to help cyclists explore the landscapes and history of America for fitness, fun, and self-discovery. With more than
43,500 members, it is the nation's largest recreational cycling association. Its strategic campaigns are Creating Bike Routes for the
Nation, Getting Americans Bicycling, and Supporting Bicycling Communities. Major services and products include bicycle-route development
and mapping; periodical publishing (Adventure Cyclist magazine and The Cyclists' Yellow Pages resource directory); a guided bike-touring
program; and a Cyclosource sales catalog.
Each year, thousands of cyclists travel along segments of the association's 38,158-mile National Bicycle Route
Network, which includes three major transcontinental routes and three major north-south routes (from border to border). For information,
call (800) 755-BIKE (2453), send email to info@adventurecycling.org, or visit www.adventurecycling.org.
To see the details on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. More.
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