Hey enduro freaks! One of the most epic; if not the most epic, long rides is about to set off from Banff, Canada. It's the "prologue" portion of the Great Divide Race, otherwise known as the "GDR". This event is fully self supported, back road mountain bike touring/racing/ time trialing down the Great Divide Route as laid out by Adventure Cycling and utilized as the race course. Although "officially" the event doesn't start until the junction with the U.S. - Canadian border, the intrepid Matthew Lee, a veteran of the event, utilizes the Canadian section as a "prologue" to the event proper in hopes that one day the entire Great Divide Route will be utilized as the race course.
If you care to follow Matthews adventure, you can do so at his own blog for the event, which features audio blog entries for each day he is out. He sets off at around noon today, so he can join the others at the border on Friday for the "official launch".
Another good place to follow the goings on would be the "official" blog for the race. Check it out for other viewpoints gathered from event participants and past veterans of this grueling grind over the Rocky Mountains spine.
Matthew is riding on a specially built Cannondale 29"er for this attempt and he is hoping to keep a pace that will see him to the U.S. - Mexico border in record time. I'm excited to see how things will pan out over the next two to three weeks for all the folks involved. Good luck and Good Journey to all who are brave and bold enough to accept this awesome challenge! I salute all of you!
This long and winding road that these guys are on makes Trans Iowa or GTDRI look like a cruise around the block! ..............sheesh!
I'll be watching as things unfold, will you?
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