April 2, 2014
As reported in my March 17 blog post, in 2000, about two years after all of the maps for the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route had been printed, we published a guide to the route with possibly the longest book title ever. Cycling the Great Divide: From Canada to Mexico on America's Premier Long-Distance Mountain Bike Route divided the route, which went from Port of Roosville, Montana/British Columbia, to Antelope Wells, New Mexico, a distance of 2,490 miles, into 61 suggested riding days.
In the years since the original book was published, we added a stretch of more than 200 miles to the route in Canada, beginning in Banff, Alberta, and ending up in Roosville. We have now prepared an all-new edition of the guidebook that includes that Canadian stretch. The Great Divide route's mileage now looks like this: 2,774 miles total, with 257 of the miles in Canada and 2,517 in the U.S. The route is broken down into 70 suggested riding days in the new edition.
Later this month, I'll be appearing at a trio of REI stores in the great state of Oregon to celebrate this new edition of the book. I'll show slides of a couple of recent trips I've made on the Great Divide, and talk a bit about the original inspiration for the route's creation, which included a five-day off-pavement ride with my wife Nancy back in the black-and-white ages, from the Tri-Basin Divide of southwest Wyoming to Jackson Hole. This was in 1985, a time when not many people were bikepacking off the paved roads.
I'll also be happy to sell and sign books and to field any questions you may have about the route that some say is largely responsible for the bikepacking and dirt-road touring movements that have exploded onto the cycling scene in recent years. I hope to see you in Eugene on April 15, Portland on April 16, or Clackamas on April 17.
Here are details for the events; you may register by clicking on the appropriate store's link:
Tuesday, April 15, 7–8:00 pm
Where: Eugene REI, 306 Lawrence Street
Wednesday, April 16, 6:30–8:00 pm
Where: Portland REI, 1405 NW Johnson Street
Thursday, April 17, 6:30–7:30 pm
Where: Clackamas REI, southeast side of Clackamas Town Center Mall
These are free events and space is limited, so please register soon.
Purchase Cycling the Great Divide: From Canada to Mexico on North America's Premier Long-Distance Mountain Bike Route or the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route book and map set from Cyclosource, Adventure Cycling's online store.
Bottom photo by Ramon Bolivar
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NEWS, NETWORKING, AND NEW MEDIA highlights cool media (articles, videos, photos, etc.) and meet-ups related to Adventure Cycling and bicycle travel. This column is usually written by Media Director Winona Bateman, although Media Specialist Michael McCoy is filling in for a few weeks during early 2014. Writing a story about bicycle travel or Adventure Cycling Association? Send an email to pressATadventurecyclingDOTorg. Visit our media room, view our news releases, or follow us on Twitter.
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