CDTBike Photos – Lima to Wisdom

We pedaled out of Lima, a day too early, as it turned out. When fatigue sets in two hours out of town, you know you might be in trouble. Luckily the first 30 or so miles are on the GDMBR, so it’s a gentle warmup.

These are beautiful GDMBR miles. Though I know …. [Continue reading]

CDTBike photos – West Yellowstone to Lima

Though I managed to keep up on daily blog posts, I fell woefully behind on photos in Montana. No matter, I’m loving going back through them now. These start at West Yellowstone, where we waited out a couple days of rain, then finally hit our first section of Montanan CDT.

I loved the giant …. [Continue reading]

CDTBike – Statistics and report card

CDTBike 2014

May 12th to September 12th – 124 days Total mileage cycled/hiked: 3737 miles Mileage without day rides: 3623 miles Mileage without resupply runs and day rides: 3260 miles Moving time: 26 days, 14.5 hours Elevation Gain: 453,000 feet

Zero days: 26 Average overall travel speed (including zero days): 30.1 miles per …. [Continue reading]

Day 112 — CDT done!

We are done! Finished with the CDT!

Starting out in New Mexico, exactly four months ago, this moment was anything but certain. We didn’t even have a plan to make it the final miles to the northern terminus (you can’t ride bikes there), and some of the ideas to reach it were pretty …. [Continue reading]

Day 111 – Canada!

We made it to Canada!

And it’s not just like a different country, it feels like a completely different world. These are the Rockies as I’ve never seen them. Huge, towering, majestic… and covered in snow! It feels a storybook-esque, like a fantasy land. It feels a little unreal to be finishing this thing, …. [Continue reading]

Day 109 and Day 110 — Flexibility. Waiting for sun in Babb, MT.

If there is one thing the CDT teaches you, it’s flexibility. The divide decides your pace and whether it makes sense to proceed or not. Sometimes we’ve busted out 70 mile days, others we struggle to hit 20. You can’t be in a hurry or have rigid plans.

It’s funny that of all the …. [Continue reading]

Day 108 — Glacier!

Well that was fairly to moderately epic! We made it through Glacier… barely. It’s snowing outside, but we found ourselves a roof and a warm bed for the night.

We woke up in Whitefish earlier than we needed to. We hit breakfast and were primed and ready for a big day. Post office 15 minutes …. [Continue reading]

Day 107 — When winter calls, run to the border!

Neither of us slept very well, though the night was not overly cold. Failing and turning back never tastes good. But it was absolutely the correct choice for us. Some mental demons needed a night to be worked out.

When the sun finally lit the horizon I looked up, through fuzzy eyes. Are those …. [Continue reading]

Day 106 — Misunderstood

“If I seem superhuman…… I have been misunderstood.” — Dream Theater.

The CDT is long, and hard, and full of hike-a-bike. But it is not a superhuman feat. We’re just regular riders, and we get tired. We run out of patience with unrideable trail and difficult conditions. We get frustrated, we crater. We …. [Continue reading]

Day 105 – Great Divide Richmond Goodness

It was another lovely day on the Great Divide. These really are some of the best miles. If only the divide had more like them…

The highlight of the day is the closed road below Richmond Peak. It’s double track that rides like singletrack, or has deteriorated into singletrack. Apparently it’s called the Swan …. [Continue reading]

Day 104 – Lovely spin on the GDMBR

Tonight we sleep in a Jail. It costs $5, on the honor system, and has two rope strung beds. The little town of Ovando has really taken to setting up touring cyclists well. It’s really cool to see.

Besides the divide route, the Lewis and Clark road touring route comes through here. There’s …. [Continue reading]

Day 103 – Out with a bang

The heavens were tearing themselves apart. East to west, the skies were angry. Transition and dischord, the merging of calm and chaos. And on the boundary, the divide, were two bikepackers, two weary and inspired CDT travelers.

To our east the sky was quiet, the sun even shining bright at times. On the west, toward …. [Continue reading]

Day 102 – Last full day on the CDT proper

Tires sliding on rock, heads continually scanning the horizon. Hoping, hoping that the next false summit will be true. Feet sliding, too. Incredulous. This is an unholy climb. It’s late in the day, and we wish it was later so it would be camp time.

Yet another ATVish rubble fall-line climb, right along the …. [Continue reading]

Day 101 — First day of Fall

It’s official — Fall starts on September 1st in Montana. It was just over freezing when we woke up. The sun struggled to poke its head out all morning, and we spent more time riding in jackets than not, for the first time the entire trip.

There’s a crispness in the air, one that …. [Continue reading]

Day 100 – Champion trail, Champion hike-a-bike

It was a slow morning. We woke up to drizzles on the tarp. I fetched the food and stove from our hanging tree in a lull, then we cooked from within the tarp. More drizzles. We went back to bed. These fools don’t start rides in the rain… if at all possible.

After a …. [Continue reading]