Great Continental Divide 18

About the Continental Divide

The Great Continental Divide ride is the premier Rocky Mountain Discovery Route. This route started as a mountain bike route to follow as closely as possible to the continental drainage divide running along the Rocky Mountains. To the west of the divide, all the water flows into the Pacific Ocean and on the eastern side, all the water flows to the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. The route consists largely of dirt roads have been refined over the years to accommodate motorcyclists. This scenic trail runs from the USA/Mexico border into Canada and covers 2,767 miles of spectacular remote wilderness. The Route covers 5 states: New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana and is a mostly a mix of smaller dirt roads and backcountry roads. This is considered a scenic adventure route and most riders take two weeks to travel the entire length.

Bucket List Ride

For many riders this is the adventure they have dreamed about, bought new bikes for and bought new gear for. Maybe the time to fill your bucket is now as opportunities don't come around too often.

Quote from gpsKevin "Everytime we say no to a ride that is one less ride in life"

About this Ride

Join us for this great American motorcycle adventure as we take 13 days to ride from Mexico to Canada. During the ride we will have one break day near Yellowstone. Riders will have the option of a day's adventure in Yellowstone. The ride includes motels and we will be eating at restaurants so riders will not need to bring camping or cooking gear. Each day our route will take us to the next motel and many days we will have an option of lunch on the trail. Each morning riders will grab breakfast and team up with their riding buddies, grab their daily snacks and begin their adventure. The day's adventures are long with many rich options along the way. After the day's ride, riders perform bike maintenance and join up for happy hour and dinner. Then it is often to bed early as the next day comes quickly.

This ride includes a support truck. Riders can place one small overnight bag in the truck but should carry much of their gear on their bikes as the conditions and weather can change greatly during the day. The support truck can help in the event of bike or rider failure.

Riders should also carry any supplies for bike repairs and maintenance on the trail (like flat tires).

Motel arrangements are double occupancy and riders will be assigned a different roommate every night. This allows everyone to get to know each other during the ride and prevents tension from building during a long ride. And if your roommate snores, you only have to put up with it for one night!

Surprises

The western USA is an amazing place, some say the best riding on earth. The geography can go from flat and arid in the vastness of the deserts to stunning mountain passes and deep, thick forests. The wide open spaces, the remoteness and lack of people will restore your sense of earth.

Ride Details

I know many of you also enjoy dreaming about the ride and making your plans, so here is the detail, enjoy!

Ride Yodas

Yoda TBD

If you have question about this ride or just want to chat, send me an email:

Anyone interested in driving a support truck?

Looking for a support Truck Volunteer for this ride

Motorcycle Shipping Options

Notes: Rider's bike shipping options:

Ship bikes to: Albuquerque NM

Fly into Albuquerque International Airport

Drive time on a bike to the starting hotel is 5 hours.

Ship bike home from: Missoula MT.

Fly home from Missoula Airport

Drive time on a bike from the ride finish to Missoula is 4 hours

Try Federal Companies Transports: 888-483-7117

View the ride on the Satellite 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:

The Blue lines are MAIN Routes

The Red lines are Hard Alternate Routes

The Green lines are Easy Alternate Routes

Black lines are Out and Backs to Gas and Towns

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 will be given a GPS map file and instructions on how to use your Garmin GPS unit. People will hook up in small groups of less than 6 riders and tend to ride together. You are not encouraged to ride alone. You are responsible for your own riding and yourself.

(see my ride Navigation Video)

Are you right for this ride?

When something goes wrong on a ride, would your riding friends say that you are more likely to need help or more likely to give help? You should be in the more likely to offer help camp. This ride is filled with riders that are more likely to give help, so most of the time the riders never need help. Additionally there is all the normal stuff, come prepared to maintain your bike, fix your bike on the trail, repair flat tires, deal with bad weather and rain and make a joke or two.

How do I make the GPS stuff so easy?

I 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 my rides and make new ones.

(See my Custom Ride Maps Video)

Note from me, gpsKevin

My goal for this ride is simple, great riding, so you can count on great routes and places to ride.

But in addition: the ride is about discovering new places, meeting new friends, seeing new parts of the world.

Thanks

gpsKevin

FAQ's

Q:What will the weather be like this time of year?

A: In July, the weather is most often nice, could be a little hot in the lower areas and it can be cold in the morning and in the high mountains. But there will be rain. Wet and muddy routes can force us to change our routes. Come prepared with extra gear for cold and wet.

Q: Would this be a good ride for new riders?

A: No, this ride is for intermediate and experienced riders only. The riding has easy route choices and tough route options. Each evening we will study the following day's choices. You will find lots of supportive people at the ride.

Q: What are Motel room arrangements?

A: Rooms are double occupancy, meaning each rider shares a two queen bed room with another rider.

Q: What bikes are right for this ride?

A: Adventure Bikes and Dual Sport bikes can work well all can do well by choosing the easy or hard route options.

Q; What do I do if I don't have a garmin gps?

A: Buy one, you need it, we will show you how to use it. You can get a great one for under $200 bucks. ( See gpsKevin's gps recommendations)

Q: Is the riding really on my own?

A: Yes, but almost everyone hooks up and rides with a friend, or a new friend or me.

Q: What gas mileage range should I have for this ride?

A: I recommend a range of 200 miles that is enough even when normal obstacles are encountered.