[Pluto Pilot]

What: Race Entire Great Divide Route unsupported
When: December 22, 2007, 9 am
Where: Port Roosville, Montana
Rules: Same as Great Divide Race

More details soon.

 

[mikesee]

What: Race Entire Great Divide Route unsupported
When: December 22, 2007, 9 am
Where: Port Roosville, Montana
Rules: Same as Great Divide Race

More details soon.

Errr....

Huh?

If you're serious (?!!) I envision a setup like the one below: Bike with sled behind. Ride as much as you can, then switch to skis (notice the ski boots on his feet, and the skis stashed in the sled) and toss the bike in the sled.

But what about pavement stretches?

Not sure what you're thinkering up, but please 'splain (at least a little bit of your idea) when you can.

MC

 

[SlowerThenSnot]

UUUUmmmmmmmm

Prob the hardest way to do the gdr?

Pro's

None of that starting with 25 other people....

no tourists in any of the other towns

no pesky heatstroke

nobody on texas wheelchairs buzzing by you

Con's

Pavement

cold really cold

cuts into ski season

route finding would be way tricky have to use GPS?

Dan,I think you just figured out how to make the gdr harder then riding it fixed or on a unicycle:madman:

If you do it... I'll be in denver staying warm thinking about you =)

 

[Jilleo]

Isn't there also that pesky problem of long stretches with no packed trail? Or is the whole route used by snowmobiles in the winter? Or maybe that's what the skis are for.

Either way, that's about the most ambitious undertaking on a mountain bike I've ever heard of. Have fun with that.

 

[Pivvay]

Hehe ya. No packed trail with feet of snow is still going to make a Pugsley cry. What did you have in mind?

 

[alizbee]

My wife would love for me to spend Christmas out on some remote road in Montana.

 

[richpips]

How deep does the snow get in the mountains ?

 

[MarkoInTheBoat]

How deep does the snow get in the mountains ?

It's snowy at all elevations in northern CO by the end of December. You can count on 3-6 feet of snow climbing up out of California park on the way to Steamboat lake. But the snowmobile roads could easily be packed in by Christmas, making for some relatively easy riding.

 

[Hezz]

I think you would have to use a combination of skis, snowshoes and bike. Carrying the bike on your back while snowshoing would be necessary for some parts of the race. There would be some roads where there would be five to ten feet of unpacked snow. Snow shoes or wide backcountry skis would be the only useful method of travel.

I think that many of the roads would be packed down from snowmobiles but there would be a lot of places that would be unridable even on an iditabike type bike setup.

Seriously, you might need a setup like this. Except designed for legs

 

[mvi]

People will die attempting that one I,m afraid. (At least I would).

 

[sizlinseagulsoup]

WOW. I was telling fellow gdr'ers Dave N. and Andres V. that someone would eventually attempt this route in the winter. Both refused to believe me.

Crazy.

 

[Jay P]

This has been on the back burner of thoughts since I started snow biking. I've been thinking of the Wy. section for awhile. I know for a fact that there is a CD maintained trail from Idaho side Grassy Lake Rd to South Pass city and beyond and if your riding snow through the Basin it would be a hell of a year for snow. I feel this would be a great route and some what dependaple trail w/ the info that is available (huge snowmobile support on these trails). The only thing you should have to change is your tire pressure. This route does not follow GD ACA maps exactly but you won't be the first one trail breaking either.
It's a project on my list.
Jay P

 

[nathan bay]

Wow

Are you joking? If you're talking about the whole GDR I say impossible. Commuting in Bozeman year round is challenging enough for me and its on the valley floor!! The ammount of calories simply to stay warm would be astronomical and the time between towns would be several days at times.
If you're talking about a Wyoming section exclusively I hope you applied for all the special hunting permits available. Take a wall tent and extra ammo, see you in the spring...maybe...Peace..NB

 

[jeffscott]

Ski it

 

[Krein]

Ski it

... and walk the pavement and dry dirt roads. For 80+ miles at a time. :skep:

 

[jtucsc]

Admirable Aspirations

We thought it was pretty damn cold in Montana long before winter. And can only imagine what it´d be like up in Colorado.

A bad day for my fried in Montana (-10 degF)​

 

[jeffscott]

No ski beside the rode.....on the snow.

 

[Krein]

No ski beside the rode.....on the snow.

And in New Mexico...?

 

[ionsmuse]

And in New Mexico...?

Hey man, during the CB Classic I passed someone roller skiing between Mt. CB and Gothic.