On June 11, 2021, I will line up on the Tour Divide's unofficial start line for, according to the race’s website, is the “longest – arguably most challenging – self-supported mountain bike time trial on the planet”. The race follows Adventure Cycling's Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, which stretches 2,745-miles of dirt roads and single-track from Banff, Alberta, to Antelope Wells, New Mexico, over 200,000 ft of elevation gain through the Rocky Mountains. This endeavor will be by far the most challenging I have ever embarked on, and I do not take it lightly.
📍The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route travels through the unceded ancestral territory of the following Indigenous nations: Blackfoot, Stoney, Tsuut’tina, Ktunaxa, Salish Kootenai (Flathead), Sashone-Bannock, Eastern Shoshone, Cheyenne, Apsáalooke (Crow), Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute), Jicarilla Apache, Pueblos, Diné Bikéyah, Shiwinna (Zuni), Chiricahua Apache, and Janos.
As a young person, I grew up with a limited view of what I could do in life. I thought I had two choices: get married, have kids, or get married, have kids, and have an office job. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with going these routes, it wasn't a direction that excited me at a young age. As a result of this mindset, I struggled with motivation during my youth. I was a hard worker, but I was not satisfied, and I was frustrated by it. It wasn't until I found an activity that I loved to do outdoors that I started feeling more confident and passionate. Since then, I have learned to trust myself and forge my destiny by creating a life where I can do what I love to do.
For this challenge, I am teaming up with The Cairn Project to fundraise $5,000 to provide outdoor opportunities for more young women and girls. I have had the incredible privilege and opportunity to make my passion for adventure cycling as my work. I want to help create accessible pathways for more young women and girls to pursue a similar lifestyle, adventure goal, or profession. I never knew this life of mine was possible or even an option. If young women and girls could feel inspired by what I do and see that they could do it too, or to get exposed to what they love to do outdoors at an early age, I think it could make a positive impact on their lives, and the lives of others around them.
Over the next few months, I'll be fundraising for The Cairn Project by sharing my story as a young girl and how I found purpose in life through riding my bicycle as I prep my mind, body, and equipment for one of the most significant endeavors of my life.
In the meantime, you may be curious to know how someone who has sworn off bikepacking races for the past six years has landed on this ambitious goal. Numerous factors have influenced my decision.
Like so many others, riding the entirety of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route has always been on my bucket list since I watched the Ride The Divide film in a movie theater in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2010. At the time, I recall thinking that I could never do something like that. Then, five years later, I rode my bicycle 5,000 miles in three months from East to West across the U.S. following the dirt roads of the Trans America Trail (TAT), a dual-sport motorcycle route. The TAT was my fourth bike-tour.
"So why race it? Why not just tour it?" asked Jon, a fellow bikepacker camping at the Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch during his ride on the Sky Islands East Loop. I always imagined doing a slow tour on the GDMBR with my parents or a sibling who wanted to make a cross-country trip; because of all of the support and infrastructure, it seems like the most accessible off-pavement route to tour on. Until one or all of them are ready for such an endeavor, my interest in touring and moving slowly through a landscape for over a month lies in places that are new-to-me in every sense; terrain, culture, and food. I love that type of stimulation and challenge from bike tours.
I am approaching the Tour Divide as a solo challenge for myself. Adam, my number one adventure partner, will be tied up in grad school for the next year, which means I’ll be doing a lot more of the bike tours that fuel my soul on my own for a little while. My friend, Arya, planted the seed by committing to do the Tour Divide this year. I haven't seen her in over a year. While we both intend to travel at our own paces, just knowing she is out there gives me a tremendous sense of comfort and motivation.
After six years of touring and experience, I want to see if I still have a challenge like this in me. I think I do. The challenge is to finish in under 32 days which is all the time I have to spare before I fly to Iceland for the Rift Gravel Race. My goal is to have fun and to stay healthy while doing it. 2,745 miles in 32 days still requires averaging 86 miles per day of riding. Part of me hopes to do this a bit faster than that, but I'm keeping expectations low because I have no idea how my mind and body will react when faced with such a highly rigid daily expectation. I could see myself losing motivation, needing to slow down to enjoy my surroundings a bit, and possibly not finish the whole route. Or, I could settle into a good rhythm, find that sweet blissful spot of pedaling all-day every-day and end up riding more miles than I think I can do right now. Of course, I hope for the latter situation and am doing everything I can to prepare myself to be in the best possible shape before I start.
I'm not going to lie. Telling people I am doing this has been terrifying, but it is also holding me accountable to this goal. It's nothing new for me to feel questioned, doubted, overly ambitious, or "crazy" for believing I can do something like the Tour Divide. I realize that these feelings are more my internal saboteur and that learning how to work through those voices is one of the first challenges of this entire endeavor.
I am excited to share my experience preparing for the Tour Divide over the next couple of months. Please help me kick off this daunting journey to the start line by donating any amount to my GoFundMe campaign through The Cairn Project. Thank you so much!
COVID plan: I will be getting my jab in Durango on Friday, 4/9. I hope that due to the improved COVID situation in the United States, the border with Canada will open before the event starts (it is currently closed through April 21, 2021). If the border does not open, and the Tour Divide's grand departure does not happen, I intend to do the ride, at the same time, with the same goals, starting from Eureka, Montana.