What is the GDMBR?
I have mentioned that this will be a long trip (40 days, plus or minus a few) but haven't described the route.
The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR) is a bikeable route that attempts to follow the Continental Divide as closely as possible. This is the geographic line that separates land that drains to the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean. It does this by connecting existing trails and dirt roads and is estimated to be about 95% unpaved.
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When first created it ran from Banff to Antelope Wells (the border between New Mexico and Mexico). The section from Jasper to Banff was added later but most people still use Banff as their start, or end if they are riding it northbound. That was our plan from the beginning, fortunately for us, especially given the disastrous recent wildfire in Jasper.
From Banff to Antelope Wells is about 4400km, passing through Alberta, British Columbia, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. We estimate taking somewhere around 40 to 45 days, but could be a little faster (unlikely) or slower depending on many factors.
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There is a race run along the same route, with a few variations, called the Tour Divide. The record is about 12 days, or almost 400km per day. While we do intend to ride a lot for us, we want to be able to enjoy some of the sights, take pictures, eat somewhat healthy, etc.
Given that it's the "geographic apex" of the continent, it's higher-altitude and often mountainous terrain. It also has a surprising number of very long, fairly flat sections through incredibly desolate terrain. We expect to experience intense heat, some below freezing temperatures, rain, mud, headwinds, bugs, etc. Plus, we expect to have to adjust the route as we go to avoid road closures and especially forest fires.
A few thousand people ride this route every year so it's fairly well travelled and documented, and we expect to run into quite a few people either heading north or south like us. We are starting relatively late in the season (mid-August) which has some advantages (perhaps slightly lower peak temperatures all along the route) but also puts us deeper into wildfire season and closer to the first snows in some of the sections in Colorado (on average they are several weeks later than we would be passing through, but it's possible).
We plan to camp most nights, but an occasional motel for a break, laundry, bike maintenance, etc. is certainly in the cards. There are resupply options most days, but there are three or four sections where we'll have to plan for two or three days of food at a time, and two sections where even water resupply will be limited so we'll be adding extra bottles with tape or straps for those sections.
Once at the Mexican border we will take a shuttle to either El Paso or Tucson and fly home.
It's certainly one of the biggest and most daunting adventures either of us have contemplated.
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This is a bit lengthy, but I believe it will be worthwhile reading for future reference.
On your entire trip, as you are no doubt aware, you will be in tick country. One thing you might want to consider as a take-along in your first aid kit is a one-ounce bottle of Samento.
On a short (400 mile) self-supported bicycle tour the summer of 2008, I got bitten by a tick while camping at Kurt Gowdy State Park (Wyoming). As near as I could tell, the tick got into the pads of my bike helmet and it dug into my scalp on the back of my head while I was wearing the helmet. It was a while later that I was scratching the bite area during a shower that dislodged the tick. Within 2 days, I experienced swollen lymph nodes (that were in different locations every day), fatigue, brain fog and, after I got home (two weeks later), bulls-eye whelps (red, circular bumps about the size of a dime on my skin in various locations with a white dot in the middle) and asymmetrical aches and pains that were different every morning when I got up. Also, I had extreme difficulty climbing or descending stairs, but not inclines, and got to where I could not even pedal my bicycle around the block without pain in my legs.
When I contacted my doctor by phone (a D.O.), he told me based on my symptoms I had Lyme disease. He told me I could do the blood screen to get that confirmed, or he could order me a bottle of Samento and have it sent by expedited shipping for considerably less money that the blood screen alone. I went with option number 2.
When the Samento arrived, I drove over to his office and picked up the bottle. At the same time, he provided me a sheet with the use protocols.
The protocols are simple. First, shake the bottle of Samento very well. Put one drop of Samento in a glass, and then add about 4 ounces of distilled water (I used reverse osmosis purified water). After mixing the Samento into the water, let stand for at least one minute. Then drink. Follow this protocol three times a day 30 minutes prior to meals. (the directions on the bottle say to take this two times a day, but I followed the directions on the sheet my doctor provided)
After three days, add 2 drops and follow the same routine.
Three days later, increase the dosage to 3 drops.
And so on, adding one extra drop every three days until you are up to 25 or 30 drops.
At that point, reverse the order and reduce by one less drop every three days until you are back down to one or two.
A one-ounce bottle is more than enough to complete that protocol.
Full disclosure:
I started out using 2 drops in 4 ounces of water three time a day. My routine was to put a splash of water in the glass (I did not like the idea of putting the drops in a dry glass and pouring water on top, but that is just me), add the Samento drops, then fill up the glass to about 4 ounces. Adding the additional water did a very nice job of mixing things.
The very first day I took the Samento, I was able to climb stairs without the severe difficulty I had experienced previously. A very big tell the Samento was working and one I did not expect so quickly!
The next morning when I got out of bed, my asymmetrical aches had diminished considerably and the swollen, ever on the move, aching lymph nodes improved. The brain fog was mostly gone as was the fatigue.
At the end of 7 days, I felt like I was getting back to normal, could climb up and down stairs with no trouble at all and could ride my bike for short distances with no complaints from my legs.
(I have since been on one short [400 miles] and a couple of long [1,200 and 2,400 mile bicycle tours] with no complaints. I do carry Samento along with my “first aid” kit, but keep the kit packed in among my clothes so it does not get really hot during the day.)
I ended up reaching the point where I was putting 33 drops in the mix, but that was too much, because it left me feeling irritable. So, after consulting with the doctor, I backed off to 30 drops 3 times a day and began backing down the count by one drop every three days.
There was a little less than ½ of the bottle remaining after I completed the protocols.
Samento is pricy, but, considering how many M.D.s are not able to properly diagnose Lyme disease, it is worth having along. Antibiotics do not work for treating Lyme, so, keep that in mind. Samento is available on-line at various sources. You could order a bottle and have it shipped to a location you will be visiting somewhere along the way.
Additionally, Samento is preserved with some kind of alcohol, so, it has a very long shelf life.
4 months ago