Two Mates, Two Bikes, & 2800 Miles to Mexico : Day 1

Trip Overview

This blog will follow two totally inexperienced bikepackers, Geoff and Cam, and their journey from Banff to Mexico via the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. The route follows the Continental Divide, exposing riders to high altitude, diverse wildlife, and solitude. To learn more about the route, check this out. Randy will be the official bookie so get in touch with him if you'd like to place a wager on how far we will actually make it.

In the mean time, you can track our progress here thanks to our SPOT device.

This will be a site where we will try our best to post some pictures and stories along the way. Happy reading!

Thursday, 3 July 2014

Day 1

Hi All,

Finally found a public library in which we can post some photos...

The trip had an interesting start as it saw Cam's rear rack get destroyed (and took a part of the bike frame with it)... As a result, the team had to spend a couple extra days in Banff (not complaining). We finally started pedaling Friday, June 30 after having received a new Thule rack shipped in from Calgary. Had we not been in Banff, and had the help from the folks at Soul Cycle & Ski, it would have been a pretty stressful 3 days.

Here are some more snippets of day 1...

The lads at the starting line. Banff Springs Hotel in the background.

G trekking through the first river crossing of the route. Cold glacier waters and cold nuts.

Cam crossing the crick.

G approaching a neat looking mountain in Banff.

Quick snack and #instagram style photo

irony

The view from our spot for the night. We had high hopes of pedaling ~100km the first day but soon realized our legs had other ideas. The combination of gradients and coarsely graveled roads provided some nice leg cramps. As a result, we were offered a nice yurt to crash in courtesy of some very nice people at Mount Engadine Lodge.