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Route
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Start :
Canmore, Alberta, Canada
Finish :
Antelope Wells, New Mexico, USA
Dates :
August 16th - Oct. 6th, 2022
Riding days :
45 + 7 rest days
Distance :
2,808 miles
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The Adventure Cyclist Association developed in 1998
world's longest off-pavement cycling route and named it
“Great Divide Mountain Bike Route”. The original route starts in
Banff, Canada and finishes in Antelope Wells at the
Mexican Border. The route of 2.808 miles follows the
Continental Divide as closely as practicable and
crossing it in total 30 times. Out of organisation
reasons we have chosen to start in Canmore which is 17
miles south east of Banff.
The Adventure Cycling Association has never envisioned
The Great Divide to be a hard-core mountain bike trail
full of single tracks. The route has been designed to
provide a riding experience primarily on very low
trafficked roads through mostly undeveloped areas of the
Rocky Mountains.
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Roughly
70 per cent of the
route is composed of county, Forest Service, and Bureau
of Land Management (BLM)
dirt and gravel roads. The
remainder is made of unpaved four-wheel drive tracks and
single tracks (5%), and paved roads (25%).
The full route has over 200.000 feet of elevation gain
and loss for the rider. While most of the route is
unpaved, the route does not require highly technical
mountain bike riding skills. However you can expect
every now and then a section that will challenge you or
where walking is necessary.
We have split the total distance into
45 stages and
7 rest days, which results in an average stage length of
63 miles. A handful of stages end up into longer stages
due to the distance between suitable and officially
authorized accommodations. You can expect 9 stages
between 80-95. These long
stages on off road trails make The Great Divide to an
extremely tough expedition with some days many hours on
the bike.
The cycling days have mostly the same schedule : after
an early start, you cycle the distance at own speed to
the next place. The rest days give the possibility to
recover or to do site trips to one of the National Parks
along the route.
You receive a full set of highly detailed maps of the
Adventure Cycling Association at the start in Banff.
A GPS which has the option to upload tracks is essential
and will be your most important route finder in the
remoteness of the American wilderness.
Read more in the BROCHURE..
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