A Teacher trying to Divide

I wrote this piece and another seventeen as a blog about my attempt on The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route in 2019

Saturday July 6th 

Not enough room in the big car for all of the family as well as my boxed bike and holdall.  The door of my daughter’s room wasn’t sanded and the grass not cut as promised.  Mixed feelings as I said goodbye to my family and later on at the airport - my wife.  I guess that is the right way to feel though.  At the airport it was a great coincidence to meet Dunc who I had ridden a Scottish coast to coast with four years ago.  To celebrate both turning 50 we had mountain biked 250 miles from Aberdeen, through the Cairngorm mountains to Lochaber and then up the Great Glen to Kirkhill, near Inverness on our first ‘proper’ bikepacking trip.  We agreed to ride a route that was as new to us both as much as possible and with as much offroad riding as we could find.  The journey was a fun challenge but at the end of it I knew that I wanted to try something further and even harder.    That is why I am now flying down to London and then out to Calgary, with finally a shuttle bus to Banff to attempt to ride 2745 miles with over 200,000 feet of ascent through two Canadian provinces and five US states all the way to the Mexican border.  For the last year and a half I have been obsessed with riding my bike, planning how to ride The Great Divide Mountain BIke Route, weighing kit, riding my bike and did I say riding my bike?  

For the last two or three days, maybe more if you ask my family and friends I have been in that limbo between leaving the real world and spending a self indulgent month on my solo ride.  In many respects a similar feelings to the ones I have experienced in the build up to my mountaineering assessments at nearby Glenmore Lodge - there finally comes a point where enough is enough and you just want to get it started.  Throughout there has been no doubt in my mind that I am fortunate to have a family who support and understand why I am attempting this.

Sunday July 7th

The flight from London to Calgary was long but I did get to see Thunder Road and Bohemian Rhapsody, they helped with my strategy of not sleeping until I go to the Samesun hostel in Banff.  This did mean that when I was deposited at Calgary airport that night I was a wee bit slower than normal.  That did not excuse the rude desk staff and driver of the Banff Airporter shuttle from respectively ignoring me, then impatiently grabbing my bike box and slamming it onto a trolley without my help.  By the way, I am still waiting for the promised refund on the repair costs of my damaged rotor before I even turned a wheel.  The driver’s pleasantries to other passengers seemed a little hollow after this.  I got a warm and friendly welcome at Samesun hostel in Banff and finally crashed out in a room called ‘Bear’.  The staff there were mostly all young enough to be my kids but they all greeted me with the same hospitality, interest then amazement at what I hoped to do.  The breakfast of coffee, pancakes, granola and fruit was one of the best I have ever had in a hostel.  

The whole of the next day was devoted to building up my bike on the front porch of the hostel and packing my kit into an assortment of bar roll, frame bag, seat bag and various pods or drybags.  

One of my main worries about the ride was the possibility of encounters with bears, especially Grizzlies in the northern section.  The girl who sold me my bear spray did her best to put me at ease but this was difficult as so far my most exciting wildlife encounters have been mice in bothies or a nose to nose encounter with a fox in The Fisherfields back home!  

Fortunately my nerves started to settle  as I cruised down Banff main street on my fully loaded bike rocking my bear spray in a homemade holster.  Later I joined Paul and his two buddies for dinner in an overpriced bar/diner downtown.  We talked excitedly about what it was going to be like on the trail before having an early night.  These guys had loads of bikepacking and riding experience in the States so it made me a little twitchy to be planning on much longer days than them.  They were talking about staying at a lodge near Spray Lake whilst I was going to ride to Tobermory Cabin.  

No more waiting I set off in the morning.