A Wrap-Up of Our Great Divide Mountain Bike Route
We had several people along the way ask us interesting questions about our trip. We decided a fun way to wrap up our blog posts about the Great Divide was to answer these questions and more. We hope this will be informative for anyone thinking of getting into bikepacking or considering the Divide! If you think of other fun questions, feel free to send them our way and we’ll add them.
Favorite State
Irena: Southern Colorado — Indiana Pass was stunning.
Sarah: Montana
Favorite Camping Spot
Irena: Wild camp just past Beaverhead Work Center, NM
Sarah: Wild camp on BLM land outside of Hartsel, CO
Favorite Moment(s)/Memory(ies)
Irena: Sarah’s fight with an inanimate object (mud) at the Teton Reservoir, outside of Rawlins will go down as my most told Great Divide story. It was really hard not to laugh at how mad she got at the mud. Day 19.
Sarah: The views from the top of Fleecer Ridge, getting the first glimpse of the Tetons from Idaho, laughing for like 15 minutes when our server at Tomichi Creek brought out one piece of pie with two forks, seeing the badger and wild horses in the basin, getting up to witness the jaw-dropping night sky from the basin, laughing hysterically about all the off-the-charts farting, fun times with Art and Evan, reminiscing and reflecting on the whole experience with Irena as we rode the last 45 miles on the pseudo-closed highway to the finish line.
Sarah’s mud fight happened on the shore of this beautiful reservoir.
Lowest Moment:
Irena: Day 22, mid-day biking into Radium after some big climbing and descending. It was so hot and there was no shade. People were floating on river rafts and we were baking on our bikes. Biking out of Radium into Kremmling including another massive climb on a road with no shoulder and just the sun and heat. I had to dig deep. There were several days like this but this one stands out
Sarah: Climbing up Togwotee Pass in Wyoming. In retrospect I was bonking but didn’t realize it in the moment. The climb was on a highway and just seemed to go on forever. Around every bend was another incline. I was hot, tired, and doubting myself. I pulled over to take a quick rest break and all my demons about being 49 and wondering if my best athletic years are behind me came surging out along with tears. Once my little pity-party was over, I collected myself, ate another bar, and resumed pedaling and that was that. Nothing lasts forever in an endurance event - not the climb, the weather, or an emotional meltdown.
Moment I Was Most Afraid
Irena: Not sure about afraid but biking into Cuba when it was starting to get dark and it was uncertain whether we were going to have a place to stay. The town was basically shut down except for the gas station and looked very sketchy at night. We would have had to bike at 20+ miles out of town for me to feel comfortable stealth camping somewhere.
Sarah: The very close-by lightning strike when we were riding through the storm on the prairie, just before finding Sunday School.
Favorite Piece of Gear
Irena: Patagonia Sun Hoody
Sarah: It’s a tie between Patagonia Sun Hoody and Wahoo Elemnt Roam.
Luxury Item We Packed
Irena: Rubber gloves for cleaning the chain.
Sarah: Washcloth.
Piece of Gear I’d Leave Behind
Irena: I mailed home bike shorts without a chamois so that’s pretty telling.
Sarah: If I had to choose one, it’d probably be [reluctantly] the mosquito head net.
Item(s) I Won’t Want to Eat Again for Months
Irena: Any kind of bars, Swedish fish and gummy bears. Oatmeal. I have eaten a burrito since the trip and it tasted surprisingly great!
Sarah: Ramen
Non-Living Thing from Home I Missed Most
Irena: Electric toothbrush
Sarah: Shower back scrubber
Biggest Thing I Learned About Myself
Irena: I am an introvert and takes me a while to open up and warm up to someone I meet. But showing up somewhere in bike clothes with a bike fully loaded with gear is like an open door for conversation, engagement, to ask for help…..to be an extrovert. It was fun to tap into this other side of me and enjoy it.
Sarah: I learned that my body will adapt physically in ways I wouldn’t have imagined before and that I can check out of real life and be present in the moment really easily.
What Surprised Me Most About the Experience
Irena: I can be strong and supportive when necessary. During any big trip like this, there are moments when either I or Sarah may have reached a low and it’s important that the other partner is supportive and helping to get the other person through the low point.
Sarah: I thought Irena and I would have free time for good conversations and friendship bonding moments on this trip but in reality, it’s hard to hear anything the other person is saying while on gravel and we almost never rode side by side on pavement for safety so there was hardly any chatting while riding. Our mornings and evenings were always busy with breaking down or setting up camp, shoveling in food, writing blog posts, or planning logistics/water/camping/resupply for the next day(s). I felt busy a lot. Our friendship deepened in other ways instead though such as collaboration, decision making under pressure, joint planning, communication in stressful moments, and new levels of trust that don’t normally arise in everyday life and friendships.
Published August 11, 2021