Showdown at Big Sky

'Showdown at Big Sky, that day may be soon' - Robbie Robertson

The last fews days in Montana have produced our hardest riding yet. From leaving Eureka at the border after our first giant American burger we've had a few stops and are now in Bigfork on the Flathead Lake. 

The border run was easy but the ride soon got us into the mountains and onto the hardest climb up into the Montana woods. Many choice words were thrown out and the panniers were threatened with their lives. Everyone, including the panniers survived and we pushed on to Tuchuck campsite stuck in the middle of the woods. Our South Africa intiative produced the most ingenius fire and food stache that no bear would ever try mess with, although when Cam took the food stache down we were lucky to get out unscathed. Camping in Tuchuck also introduced us to Yakinikak river (pronounced: yak-in-a-kak), which wins the the 'ridiculous names in America game' hands down.

We decided that night that we'd try push to Whitefish in the morning, a recommended town on the map, but this meant a 100 km burn through the woods and backcountry. The challenge was excepted and the troops, armed with a kg of oats each, took to the battlefield. Flying rubble and beads of sweat greeted us with slaps to the face, but after 9 hours we staggered into Whitefish bruised and battered but far from defeated. Only a few words were muttered as we checked into our motel and crashed onto our beds.

The reward for 260 kms in 3 days was a rest day and we took full advantage. Our next stop was in Bigfork, a small lakeside town only 60 kms. It's scary that we now think of 60 kms as a short day. We cycled through iconic farm lands with wheat fields and homesteads - que a country song. Bigfork fits the stereotype of a small country town exactly, and its great. A day off here is recommended so we pitched tents by the lake and as only South Africans can we plan on getting a braai going with a couple polite g&t's. Perhaps the next big trip idea will be hatched tonight. 

The cycling is on hold for a bit as we take a few days off. Raine is leaving us tomorrow for San Fran and a flight back home and a few of us might take our chances at Burning Man. We'll see you back on the road soon.

Born in the USA

'I'm a cool rocking daddy in the USA' - Bruce Springsteen

Kms riden - 341.6
Racks broken - 1
Flys swallowed - at least 5
Noodle packs eaten - 20

We've been at a week now and have just crossed the border into the US! Get in!

The last week has seen us washing in glacier melt rivers, riding in 30 degrees, riding in buckets of rain and taking refuge in an old tiny log cabin, realising that tuna, mayo and noodles are a great combo, cycling on some extreme offroad sections and unfortunately cycling on some serious stretches of highway.

Highlights from day 3 to day 7

The first crossing of the divide was up on Day 3 and it was at the top of a 13 km climb up Elk Pass. Hearing this over a cuppa in the morning didn't do much for morale. Nevertheless we saddled up. We were not looking forward to it but we knew it would be a short day, providing we got to the top. After a bit of heaving, pushing and panting we got there in the drizzle under heavy clouds. I think our quiet celebration of our first divide crossing sparked the heavens to open and with thunder in the distance we legged it to Tobermory cabin. With mud spraying and breaks squeaking we dodged puddles and streams for at least 5 kms.

My bike rack broke about 5 kms from Tobermory cabin and so my walk began to what i had wished was a villa with hot showers and soft linen. From the photo below you can see that that is not what we got, although after our ordeal in the freezing rain it soon became our home. Keith soon had us sweltering in the cabin after he got the log fire going. I don't think he wore more than a pair of jocks all night. I thought I'd won the lottery when I got the top bunk and Keith got the floor, but I soon knew why he didn't complain. Without anywhere for the heat from the fire to go but up I was in a sauna in the Canadian Rockies. My sighs of heat stroke were only answered by giggles below me, which woke the mice up.

With one rack down our only option was for the boys to carry an extra load and get to Elkford asap, but Meg and Luke came to our rescue in the morning of Day 4. They're Jeep was packed with all our panniers and kit and we were able to ride sans gear for the next two days from Tobermory to Elkford then to the small ski town of Fernie.

The scenery changed from mountains to valleys as we touched down in Fernie. My rack was replaced at the first bike shop spotted and all systems were go for the next leg. This was definitely a good reason to celebrate.

With the pins well oiled and the turbo diesel engines chugging Keith and Andy were left to play catch up to Raine and Cam who had pushed ahead on Day 6. Luckily for Keith and I, Hansel and Gretal had left bread crumbs along the way in the form of rock arrows. We eventually caught up and pushed another 60 kms to Loon Lake outside of Grasmere.

Quick update of Day 1 and 2

After a slow first day we've put the hammer down and are now about 100 kms from Banff town in the middle of the wilderness. We had an 11 hour day in the saddle yesterday, so to say we were knackered is an understatement. We were ready to give up 60 kms in and camp beside the road, but a friendly Canadian informed us there was a grizzly bear on the road about a kilometre away. We quickly scrapped the camping by the road idea and legged it 30 more kilometres to the Canyon campsite. Cam's speciality of baked beans and cous cous hit the spot and sent all of us into a food coma that lasted until the morning.

Below are a few pics from the first two days on the trail.

Ride Like the Wind

'And I've got such a long day to go, to make it to the border of Mexico' -  Christopher Cross

Who would have thought that the idea for this trip would have come up over a couple g&t's in Walvis Bay? I guess g&t's are the secret to great ideas.

I met up with Cam last year after a work trip in Walvis Bay and with the influence of a few drinks a plan was hatched to do some serious travelling, although i never thought the travelling would involve 2 wheels and tights. Definitely Cam's idea.

Slowly but surely our wolf pack grew and at the start line of the Great Divide there will be 4 of us taking the first smooth pedals into the Canadian Rockies. Raine is leaving us on around the 26th of August then it'll be just the three of us against the grizzlies.

The last week in Calgary and Banff has given us enough time to get everything sorted, even though Cam only picked up his bike today. I think I see a trend here. With 2 hours to go it looks like we're in the clear....famous last words.

So, the team, the chinas.

Cameron Adams 'Captein' - As the most experienced cyclist, by a very long way, Cam gets first mention. With a couple of Cape Epics under belt and numerous other cross country races he'll most likely be pulling us all the way. Thanks Cam

Raine Naude - Coming in with a cameo appearance is the lovely, talented, cycling enthusiast Miss Raine Naude. She'll be the only girl in the group for the first two weeks, making it highly likely she'll learn a thing or two about us males. We apologose in advance.

Keith Counihan - With g&t's as his preferred fuel Mr Counihan will be a blur going through the Rockies. After battling the demons of malaria and the aftermath of a wedding, both equally as painful, he joined us yesterday and filled up the tank properly.

Andy Russell - As the reporter in the field I will bring you up to speed with the ongoings of our little cycle. With a whole Argus under my belt, back in 2007, my legs feel more than ready for what lies ahead, although my bum may not be. 

We've found this neat app called Instagram, it's a helluva thing. Follow us for picture updates
Ap_russell, rainenaude, keithcoun85

We've also got a tracker with us. Check out the link below and see our progress over the next 2 months
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0RzAQmdFyfTCYOgLhOoBgeW8JgkDAehQq

The song for the day is 'Ride like the Wind' by Christopher Cross. CHRISTOPHER CROSS -  Ride Like the Wind (with lyr…: http://youtu.be/Q7hjml8c5Tw. One for the boets back home.

We plan to be in Elkford on Thursday. A cheeky 100 miles away boet. Here we go!

Ghost Riders in the Sky

"An old cowboy went riding out one dark and windy day" - Johnny Cash

There we were, 3 against 4500 km's of Rocky mountain wilderness. I must admit, i'm not actually 100% sure how we got here. A casual whatsapp group and a couple of emails, which saw more banter than organisation, helped confirm and plan an adventure of a lifetime through the Rocky mountains of Canada and the US of A.

There she is, the route of the Great Divide. Banff to Antelope Wells.

As this is the first installment in the blog, I thought I'd briefly give you a low down on what we are actually going to be up to for the next 2 or so months. Basically we'll be cycling from Banff, Alberta, to Antelope Wells, New Mexico....whilst battling grizzlies, lumberjacks and moonshine hangovers. The route sees us cross the Rockies multiple times and ride through national parks such as Yellowstone and Glacier National Park. The plan, and I use the word plan very loosely, is to start cycling on the 13th of August once we have recovered from the jet lag and have our bikes and kit sorted. Of course we're going from North to South so its downhill all the way, easy right? That's what I keep telling myself.

With a couple of hours until i start the long haul 35 hour journey to Calgary the butterflies have truly began to flutter. We have the small matter of picking out our bikes, but it seems like there could be no better place than Calgary to saddle up.

 I'll hopefully be able to update the blog regularly with details of our run ins with grizzlies and cowboys, so stay tuned in for our next installment. In the next post I'll introduce the china's on the trip.

Below are a couple of links to articles about the route and a link to the song in the post title.

Also, the Blog title is a song by John Denver. I listened to it this morning for the first time and the lyrics seem to be pretty appropriate. Have a listen!

http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/trips/americas-best-adventures/bike-continental-divide-trail/
http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes-and-maps/adventure-cycling-route-network/great-divide-mountain-bike-route/
Johnny Cash - Ghost riders in the sky https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mynzbmrtp9I

John Denver - Rocky mountain high https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOB4VdlkzO4