dorianr

anyone rode it?
I found info about Great Divide Mountain Bike Route few days ago. I wonder how remote are roads/path along the way and how often can you encounter other people?

VT_Speed_TR

Head over to:
crazyguyonabike.com and search on "great divide", lots of journals from folks that have ridden it

Also check out:
bikepacking.net Their forums have a wealth on info on the route

indyfabz

I have done a very short, paved portion in MT and have the map for that section. Some parts are very remote. Some parts pass through populated cities like Butte, MT. Some parts are in between. While most of the route is not paved, some of it is. Have you looked at ACA's forum?

cvskates

If you have netflix check out "Ride the Divide".

staehpj1

My impression from reading and watching video about it is that almost all of it is actually on roads but a lot of them are dirt and some of them are pretty rough jeep roads. I am also under the impression that any technical single track is a very small minority of the route. Can someone who has done it correct or verify that impression?

indyfabz

Yes. There is relatively little single track according to the map description. The majority of the route is unpaved, using things like U.S.F.S. roads. There are some sections of the main route that are paved. There are also some paved route alternatives shown on the map. Nonetheless, there are some parts that are very remote. The first sentence of the "General Information" section of Section 1 reads: "Many wild, remote stretches exist along the trail that are not elaborated here."

On Section 1, there is an early stretch between Eureka of Whitefish that has no services except for a few formal and informal campgrounds. A distance of about 80 miles with two passes.

niknak

I've ridden the section from Banff to Whitefish with a side trip into Glacier National Park. Almost all of that section is on unpaved forest service roads of varying quality. While you do sometimes get far into the wilderness, you're never more than a day or two's ride to a town. I don't recall packing more than two day's worth of food.

Because most of the route is on forest roads, you will see other people on a daily basis, whether in cars, on ATVs, or on bikes.

The route is f****ing fantastic!