I felt better about doing the whole route as I didn’t want to regret not having ridden the complete thing if this was to be my only chance at it. Also, since I’d had no opportunity to make any rehersal trips, it would give me time to get into the rhythm of life on the road and iron out any kit issues before the race.
I met Bruce at London Heathrow Airport and we flew out to Calgary on the 10th June. I stayed with a friend the night in Calgary and Bruce headed for Banff. On 11th June I found Bruce at Banff youth hostel and we met Josh Ficke soon after. Josh was also racing and we'd been in touch on email arranging to meet up for the prologue ride. Josh had already cycled 80 miles from Calgary the day before - he was going from the men’s tee, as he put it. We spent the day making final preparations, and as I built my bike up on the sun deck of the hostel I shared some of Josh’s bottle of vodka he was working his way through. That’s right, straight vodka from the bottle the day before a 2,700 mile epic.
DAY I – 12th June – Banff to Tobermory Cabin (70.6miles)
Josh, Bruce and I met for breakfast in town at 9am, and after a good fry up, the three of us rode over to the Banff Springs Hotel to find the Great Divide Route trailhead. We asked a hotel gardener to take a photo of us, which recorded the time as 10:12, set the trip computers to 0.0, and started pedalling. The three of us were having a laugh a minute over the ridiculous scale of this thing we had begun. It still makes me laugh now.
Right from the start the route is real ‘take your breath away’ scenery and wildlife is everywhere. Bruce rides on the front blowing his whistle to keep the bears away. We have no idea if this works, but what the heck. When Bruce stops to put his rain jacket on I carry on past deciding the rain won’t last. Within two hundred yards I come face to face with a grizzly bear right next to the trail. Luckily it takes off running away from me after I startled it. Lesson learnt – whistle man on point, It does work. We didn’t see any other bears after that, but plenty of scat all over the trail.
Our day ends at the Tobermory Cabin and tops off the perfect days riding. We collect some wood and get the stove in the cabin fired up while we settle into our new home for the night. As it warms up in the cabin jet-lag catches up with me and I’m struggling to keep my eyes open as I eat. I crash out seconds later as soon as I get in my sleeping bag.
DAY II - 12th June – Tobermory Cabin to Fernie (94miles)
It was cold in the night and my front derailleur is frozen solid for the first hour. The weather then brings in the odd snow shower as the temperature is hovering around freezing. I’ve only just enough clothes for these conditions but am comfortable and expect it can get no worse. It’s similar to a British winter ride in the hills and I’m used to that. Josh however, from sunny California, is taken a bit by surprise and suffering silently without any overshoes.
Shortly before sun-set we arrive in Fernie and find a hostel to stay in. Everything feels a lot more natural today and I’m used to navigating off my route cards, and can translate the maps well. I’ve sorted out where all my kit is arranged, and calibrated my trip computer correctly, for this side of this map at least.
DAY III - 14th June – Fernie to Eureka (64.3miles)
Waterproofs on, waterproofs off, waterproofs on, waterproofs off, waterpr…. Funny day, kinda flat, wet, lots of pavement road, and some mind boggling detours off the pavement road that take you off for a few miles on dirt, only to bring you back out on the same pavement road a couple of miles down. Riding on the wet dirt road my drivetrain is making an expensive grinding noise, and I'm suffering chain suck already.
As we approach Rooseville we meet racer Ashley McKenzie riding north looking for prologue racer Matt Lee coming in. Ashley looks so clean and fresh! Matt and Ashley are friends from North Carolina. Josh is also a friend of Matt and I'm begining to see a theme. The sun is out and the five of us pick up the pace and enjoy a fast spin to the border. After I’m through passport control with Bruce we find Josh and Ashley next door in the First Chance Last Chance Bar. I can barely order a beer quick enough – it goes down so well and I want more. I find out Josh has already had more while I was being processed and I feel cheated. As we leave the bar it’s raining again and we crank it down the pavement road having a bit of time-trial fun into Eureka. I love to finish a day on a nice flat and fast road and open it up.
We arrive at the Ksanka Motel near Eureka and see a fleet of 29ers parked up outside the gas station/Subway next door. We rack ours up beside them and head in to meet the other GDR riders. We arrange to meet up for Pizzas later in the evening in Eureka and Bruce and I go to find Matt Kemp who is meeting us here.
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