Prologue: Arrival and Departure

July 15:  We arrived in Calgary this past Wednesday and made our way via bus shuttle to Canmore, a town just south of Banff, our jumping-off (of a cliff) point for the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR). The trip was uneventful but logistically a bit challenging as we hauled a few bags of gear and two large bike boxes. Luckily for us, Bill's niece, Alli Childers, who lives in Canmore, met us where we were dropped off and drove us and our gear and bikes to our Airbnb. Alli has been invaluable to us - she even lent us her car - and we cannot say enough good things about her. She was (and is) a real joy!

We're excited about the trip but a little daunted by the challenge. The GDMBR winds its way over the continental divide about 35 times and, after 2,700+ miles, ends at a border crossing in New Mexico (Antelope Wells). The riding will be mostly on unpaved roads and single track with lots of climbing. Lots and lots of climbing. Plus camping. We're a bit sketchy on how long this will take but hope to be back by mid-to-late August, barring injury, illness, family emergency, major mechanical issues, inherent physical limitations, heart attack, heat stroke (we hope to savor the blistering desert heat at this time of year), lightening strikes, forest fires, or unanticipated and unwanted interactions with local wildlife (the route winds through the densest concentration of grizzly bears in North America). So, we thought, why not?

Well, Susan, Bill's wife had a ready answer: "You guys are too crazy. One of you is going to get hurt and the other one is going to feel really bad about it." Since we are both math-challenged, we each concluded that there is a greater probability that we'd each be the 'other guy' than the one who gets hurt. Makes perfect sense - to us. Now we don't have to worry about speed or outclimbing each other. All we have to do is be the 'other guy'.

We'll be starting on the route today, Saturday, later than we planned, but then those who know us know that planning is not our greatest skill. The likelihood is high that we will be camping tonight as the nearest 'town,' as it were, is about 110 miles from our start, probably a reach on the first day. We'll be posting daily, assuming we have internet access. And we encourage comments - a nice distraction from talking to each other all day.