The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route is the Adventure Cycling Association’s dirt and gravel route from Banff, Alberta, south to the U.S.–Mexico border. This site is my journal of attempting it, finishing it, and photographing along the way.
The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, or GDMBR, is one of the best-known long-distance off-pavement cycling routes in the world. It follows the Continental Divide from Banff, Alberta, Canada, to Antelope Wells, New Mexico, at the U.S.–Mexico border. The route covers roughly 2,700 miles of gravel roads, dirt tracks, trails, and occasional pavement, with mile after mile of climbing through the Rocky Mountains. Most riders travel self-supported, carrying their own camping gear, clothing, food, water, tools, and everything else they need between resupply stops. Along the way, they face high elevations, steep climbs, deep mud, bad weather, relentless wind, mechanical problems—and, yes, bears.
Why I Had to Cross the Divide?
I have always had an adventurous spirit. I grew up in Boy Scouts, spent a lot of time camping with my family, went backpacking with my troop, and took several memorable canoe trips with my dad. Those experiences gave me a love for being outside, traveling, and finding out what might be waiting around the next bend.
I spent 20 years in the Army and had the opportunity to do a lot of interesting things in different parts of the world, but that desire for adventure never left me. As I was preparing to retire from the Army in 2017, I discovered Warrior Expeditions, a veterans outdoor and expedition nonprofit that helps veterans transition from military service through long-distance hiking, bicycling, and paddling programs. Their motto is “Walk Off the War.” That connection is part of why the Divide kept calling me back, first on foot and later by bicycle on the GDMBR. Learn more at warriorexpeditions.org.
That year, Warrior Expeditions sponsored me to hike the Continental Divide Trail, commonly called the CDT. The trail runs roughly 3,100 miles from the Mexican border in New Mexico to the Canadian border in Montana. A complete thru-hike generally takes between five and seven months. Continental Divide Trail Coalition.
I spent about a month on the trail and hiked across New Mexico. I eventually made the decision to come home because my wife was pregnant and we were expecting our son. It was the right decision, but leaving the trail unfinished stayed with me.
I always wanted to return and complete what I had started. The problem was finding another five or six months when I could step away from everything else in my life.
A few years later, I returned to New Mexico to hike and stay with friends at the Bike Ranch. While we were there, a few young riders came through on bicycles and told us they were bikepacking. At the time, I did not even know bikepacking was a thing.
Bikepacking
Bikepacking is essentially backpacking on a bicycle. Instead of carrying everything on your back, you attach your camping gear, clothing, food, water, and other supplies to the bike. The riders told us they had covered about 50 miles that day. Compared with the 15 to 20 miles I could reasonably hike in a day, that number immediately caught my attention.
If you are interested in getting into bikepacking, I recommend starting with Bikepacking.com. It is one of the best resources available for bikepacking routes, gear, advice, and inspiration.
I began to wonder whether I could travel the length of the Continental Divide by bicycle in a fraction of the time it would take me to hike it. That conversation introduced me to bikepacking and eventually led me to the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route.
I began assembling my bike and equipment for my first attempt in 2023. That journey ended after 12 days when I was injured in an accident, but it did not end my determination to complete the route. In 2025, I returned to the Great Divide and finally finished the ride.
Over 44 days and approximately 2,300 miles, I rode the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route from Banff, Alberta, to the U.S.–Mexico border. Along the way, I shared unforgettable experiences with great friends and finally completed the journey I had started two years earlier.
Art of the Divide is the photography collection that came out of this ride. The shop is curated — finished works you can hang on a wall. The journey pages on this site hold the documentary photographs and the day’s story. Browse the collection at Art of the Divide.
