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International Continental Divide G310GS
Goal: Take a team of 8 riders all on the BMW G310GS on the International Continental Divide
Section 1: Mexico International Continental Divide, Proposed August 2018
About the International Continental Divide Adventure Route
This all new route for 2018 was designed for adventure minded explorers seeking to discover the best and most remote areas of North America. The route is custom designed for both adventure motorcycles and overland style 4x4s. The route objective is to follow the Continental Divide as closely as possible and to cross the DIvide as many times as reasonable. The route is split into 3 sections, one for each of the three countries that it traverses: Mexico, USA and Canada. You will find that each country has a very rich and different adventure and personality, sometimes very scenic, sometimes very remote, sometimes challenging and always spectacular.
This adventure qualifies for the "ride of your life" bucket list.
About the Continental Divide (You should understand this, it's fun)
The Continental Divide of the Americas, also called the Great Divide, separates the watersheds of the Pacific Ocean from those of the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. It runs from the Seward Peninsula in Alaska, through western Canada along the crest of the Rocky Mountains, including through Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and Rocky Mountain National Park, to New Mexico. From there, it follows the crest of Mexico's Sierra Madre Occidental and extends to the tip of South America. It is crossed by the Panama Canal
The Arctic Divide, in conjunction with other continental divides of North America, demarcates two watersheds of the Arctic Ocean: the Arctic Ocean watershed and the Hudson Bay watershed. This divide was a barrier to transportation until the Methye Portage was discovered in 1778, which opened up the Arctic rivers to the fur traders and became part of a transcontinental trade route from Atlantic to Pacific. It was of significance in Canadian history because it marked the northern boundary of Rupert's Land, the trading monopoly area of the Hudson's Bay Company.[1]
*Thanks to Wikipedia for this great information, please donate to them using this link: Ways to Give
Section 2: USA International Continental Divide, TBD
Section 3: Canada International Continental Divide, TBD
Mexico, USA, Canada, 8,875 miles (14,282 km)
We wonder what it will be like to take this smaller adventure bike through the mountains and across the country. Our dreams tell us that this small adventure bike can be very capable and more fun then we would have imagined. These are the adventures we all dream about. We hope to find out.
Sidebar FAQ: So why is this route great?
A: Well, really, the International CDR is really the line down the top of the mountains that defines the split in the nations. That's great!
Original Continental Divide Route or International Continental Divide Adventure Route
The Original Continental Divide is also a great adventure route. It is based loosely on the mountain bike route for the Divide. The route sections for bicycles only were modified to accommodate motorized vehicles. The route has become quite popular with adventure motorcyclists. This route however minimized the number of times it crossed the mountain peaks and sought to be efficient so that bicycle riders could ride it in one season. If you are interested in this Original or Classic route you can find information here: Original Continental Divide Route
The route length is 3,010 miles
Recommended as a 16 day adventure
Best done in spring, fall or winter
Route ends at the Guatemala border
Mexico Section
The route length is 3,082 miles
Recommended as a 15 day adventure
Best done in summer or fall
Crosses the Divide 67 times
USA Section
The route length is 2,783 miles
Recommended as a 15 day adventure
Best done in summer or early fall
Route ends in Tuktoyaktuk on the Arctic Ocean
Canada Section
View and study the ride maps
OK since many of you like to study more detail about the ride, below are the ride maps.
I put these ride maps on the web page because I know a few of you love looking at the ride detail and dreaming about the ride. At first glance these maps do not look so impressive, but they are way cool. If you start zooming in, you can see the ride in incredible detail. I have spent a ton of hours sorting through the details of the ride for each day, so for those of you that enjoy this sort of thing, well enjoy!
Legend:
Yellow Line is the Continental Divide Watershed Line
The Blue lines are Main ICDR routes
The Red lines are Harder option routes
The Green lines are Easy options and the best route for support vehicles
The Black lines are the out and back viewpoints
Who is on the ride team for this adventure:
Yoda gpsKevin:
Yoda Roberto:
Rider TBD:
Rider TBD:
Rider TBD:
Rider TBD:
Rider TBD:
Rider TBD:
How does the ride navigation work?
This is a self-led GPS ride; all riding is on your own. You are responsible for your own riding. You are given a GPS map file and instructions on how to use your Garmin GPS unit. You are responsible for your own adventure and yourself.
(see my ride Navigation Video)
How do we make the GPS stuff so easy?
We develop very high quality ride maps custom for our ride. They come from much of what I and others have ridden. I take the best from all the rides and make new ones.
(See my Custom Ride Maps Video)
Caution in Mexico:
Mexico has some of the best riding and spectacular sections of this adventure. However the political situation can change and some sections can become unsafe. It is advised that you study the local conditions before proceeding.
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