What a magical experience! I've just finished crossing the Great Divide Basin and thoroughly enjoyed riding through a very different environment to the preceding forests and mountains. This is a parched landscape; upland desert with wide and wild vistas. Some cyclists find the crossing boring. However, I was captivated by the stark, desolate environment which felt like a true wilderness.
Sources of water were few and far between so I had to be mindful of supplies so as not to get caught short. The longest water-free stretch was 55 miles. I crossed this drinking just half a bottle of water (despite the sun, it was fairly cool so I wasn't sweating too much) but had plenty on reserve just in case. The water points proved to be great places to meet other cyclists!
In truth, part of the appeal of the crossing was the strong tailwinds which meant my bike, functioning like a dream, gobbled up the miles effortlessly. I felt a bit for these two guys going the other way; the winds would have really slowed them down. The key is to get started early if you're expecting headwinds as the wind speed doesn't really pick up until 9am.
Despite the dry, hostile environment there was some nature to encounter along the way: deer, larks, wild horses, coyotes (heard at night) and a chance encounter with a raccoon, can you spot it on this photo?
After an intense first month, I'm bringing my daily average mileage down below 60 miles per day and am trying to arrange a few more nights under roofs rather than canvas. Hopefully I have three nights arranged through Warm Showers in the next week. All helps to make for a sustainable tour.
No comments:
Post a Comment