Ride The Divide Movie: A Review

divideposter-485x666We all have our dream rides, the bike tours that top our list of places to go next.

One of our dreams is the 4,400km Great Divide mountain bike route that traces the spine of the Rocky Mountains in North America. When we cycle this route, we’ll take it slowly. We’ll meander our way from valley to peak, following the ACA maps.  We’ll swim in the lakes and camp in the woods. It might take the whole summer.

So it was with great anticipation that we sat down to watch the Ride The Divide movie; a documentary that follows an unsupported mountain bike race along the same route.

Set to the backdrop of stunning scenery, we meet people like Mary, who fights off injury as she attempts to be the first woman to complete the race. There’s also Super Vegan, who roams the small shops along the route, trying to find healthy food to eat, and Matthew Lee, someone who’s done the race several times.

We’d never go as hard-core as these racers do (they regularly ride 100+ miles a day), but we still came away inspired by the Ride The Divide movie and we picked up some useful information for bike touring along this route.

rtdIt’s clear the weather can be fickle. In June, it’s still possible for some of the higher passes to be covered in snow and this forces some of the racers to lift up their bikes and walk for miles at some points. We’ll start a bit later, and perhaps pack lightly in case we have to carry our bikes!

There’s also a very real possibility of encountering a bear (the racers have several close encounters with wildlife) and the movie shows how spread out the towns are sometimes. When we ride this route we’ll need to plan our food supply points carefully.

What we really liked though are the small-town characters that the film features along the way. This movie isn’t just about racing, it’s also about kind-hearted and sometimes quirky people that add so much to every bike tour.

Comments

  1. Fred Bouwman
    9th November 2010 at 8:10 am #

    My dream bike tour is from New Delhi, India to Kathmandu, Nepal which is one I plan to do while on my current trip. Everytime I climb a hill or mountain I think this is just training for when the real climbs begin.

    • Dick Korehof
      14th November 2010 at 12:52 pm #

      To be inspired from all the impressions you get from outside, I think is vry common these days. Howevr, it still sounds very consuming. Of all the evils we have in this world consumption is probably number one.
      So, my will not be in countries where you can expect more than consumption and that is culture.
      You can imagine waht kind of countries do have culture and what kinf of countries do have consumption. Both of them sounds fantastic, but not very realistic.

  2. David Piper
    9th November 2010 at 8:52 am #

    Just a tiddler really – The West Highland Way. Only 100 miles of lochs and glens and being warmed by roaring log fires at the end of each day.
    Im hoping to ride it at the end of this month if anyone would like to come along for three days of incredible scenery that’s right on our doorstep?

  3. Peter Warrender
    9th November 2010 at 9:52 am #

    My wife and I are both retired, I am fed up with riding my comfy armchair and using my bus pass. We purchased a couple of second user Hybrid Carrera bikes and are planning a budget 2000 mile camping/cycling trip from our home town of Milford Haven Pembrokeshire across Europe ending in a town just below Hamburg, to visit our son and his family.
    We hope to go May 2011 for 2 months. Any inspiration would be great. I am fitting mudguards,easyseats,dynamo and panniers at the moment we have not ridden a bike for 40 years, I am sure we can make it if we take our time. looking forward to our first time in the saddle around our local cycle paths sometime this week, to build up some stamina for our dream trip.

    • Jeff Mika
      9th November 2010 at 5:33 pm #

      Sounds GREAT..pack. light..alcohol stove.camp in your yard. Ride to the store 10 times..and practice humor..and learn songs..do cross training and lifts weights..cook on Trangia stove at home..get GSI PAN..get aerobars to dry clothes on..use smartphone for maps..

      • Peter
        9th November 2010 at 8:11 pm #

        Thanks Jeff for the tips I have been buying books on long distant cycling. Plenting of reading just need to get on the road and get some stamina built up. Really looking forward to the experience.
        Regards Peter

  4. Amaya Williams
    9th November 2010 at 10:13 am #

    My dream is to bike through every single country on the planet–all 195 of them. I’d like to be the first woman to follow in the tracks of my hero, Heinz Stucke. The thought of so much pedaling is daunting, but I think I’ve got at least another 20 years to accomplish the task before the body starts giving out. After all, Heinz is in his 70’s and still going strong.

  5. Ingrid
    9th November 2010 at 10:40 am #

    We can not make trips like this anymore because of health problems. We need to follow more flat areas. Therefore, it would be great to accompagny these ambitious athletes on their adventure.
    Will you really take this route or are there paved roads?

  6. Chris
    9th November 2010 at 10:56 am #

    My dream tour kicks in every time I succumb to routine and feel swamped by the mundane reality of day to day living. My tour is going nowhere in particular, but the sun is shining, the views are high mountains, blue skies and fast flowing streams and there’s that all important feeling of freedom in the air. The places I’ve been reading about most recently will come to mind, but they don’t linger because it’s not the location but the process of getting there that’s driving the dream. It’s a tour I need to do on a regular basis – it keeps my mind fit and my soul happy.

  7. Johann Rissik
    9th November 2010 at 11:18 am #

    My dream would be to ride the Great Divide route and then to keep going, down to Tierra del Fuego. And across Australia. And…

  8. Miles Fargo
    9th November 2010 at 11:32 am #

    Superb!
    It is on the top of my list of things to do once I have managed to find enough spare time.
    Having seen the trailers and having got a friend seriously interested, I think it is a go-er!
    Oh for the wide open spaces.
    Its all about the bikes!
    Miles

  9. Budianastas P & Irene MYS
    9th November 2010 at 11:34 am #

    We dream of riding our bicycles to places where people can trade smiles freely with us, where we can polish the better part of mankind to light the day, where we can appreciate the great nature, our tiny planet.

  10. Perry Clawson
    9th November 2010 at 11:45 am #

    This movie IS my touring dream. I would love to do the divide tour. Last summer I rode from W to E coast. Now I would like to go N to S !

  11. david
    9th November 2010 at 12:17 pm #

    Jackson Hole: figure 8 through Yellowstone then up throught Icefields parkway and Circle Lake Tahoe. (no not epic, mega week tours but 2 I WILL DO!). Other fabulous tours are 1) Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive, Natchez Trace,2) New River, then over to Virginia Creeper, then Greyhound back to northern NRT trailhead. 3)DC to Cumberland, then down Caanan Valley to Greenbrier Rail Trail to White Sulfur Springs, 4) of course, TransAmerica trail VA to OR (possible in 4 weeks for “normal” rider who trains and travels lightly). No these aresn’t epic but very wonderful routes a normal person who has a job can do and enjoy. I certainly admire super riders with lots of time off but gracefully accept that I am not one of them!

    • david
      9th November 2010 at 12:19 pm #

      oh DC to Cumberland via C&O canal trail!

  12. Graeme Willgress
    9th November 2010 at 12:32 pm #

    Two years ago I couldnt dream of riding a cycle again due to seriously poor mental health. Now, I’m planning to ride the UK coast next year, which has always been a dream of mine.
    Every ride feels like a dream ride to me, so wherever I go, it’s a big adventure.

    If I had to choose another, it would be the Coastal run from Norways North Cape, down through Europe to good old ‘Blighty’

  13. Eric & Elaine Hendrickson
    9th November 2010 at 12:34 pm #

    Our dream trip changes as we complete it. Our next trip in the summer will be a trip from home in Northern Maine across the railtrails of NB then on to NS where we will take the ferry across to New Foundland and do the Trans Canada section. A railbed the cross the rock. Once across we will head back home to Maine. Total distance in the area 3500 km. We just have to hope for some good weather. Our next adventure will be on to Iceland then Australia as we reach retirement time.

  14. Lorenzo
    9th November 2010 at 12:55 pm #

    My dream trip would be to start in a place that would give me a cultural shock but nevertheless would have something that I can recongize as belonging to my own culture,I’d then like to cycle towards wilder places to reach what in my head seems as paradise-
    I thought this route could be cycling from Hokkaido starting in winter and try to reach New Caledonia hopping through the islands after letting the cold and the more “westernized” cultures behind!
    I’m due to leave next february and really hope I’ll come to fulfill my dream!

  15. Genisis
    9th November 2010 at 2:27 pm #

    I would love to do the divide… Being from out west (and currently living on the east coast) I miss the mountains. And there is something about the solitude that appeals to me, as well.

  16. Two-Wheeled Explorer
    9th November 2010 at 2:45 pm #

    My dream is the entire Lewis and Clark Trail, not just the route mapped by the ACA, but from where the two Captains joined forces near Clarksville, IN. Following their path to the Pacific, meeting and interacting with the people along the Trail; Experiencing the hardships of the Lolo Trail from Missoula, MT to Kamiah, ID and finally, be able to see and say for myself, “Ocian in view! O the joy!” Then, to come back and explore Clark’s return through Yellowstone territory. To have 5 or 6 months to do all that would be such a blessing, such an experience, such an adventure!

  17. Jesse Bethel
    9th November 2010 at 2:50 pm #

    My dream tour is following the sacred tour: pilgrimages, around the world. The Bighorn Medicine Wheel here in the US, Virgen de lo Vásquez in Chile, Assisi in Italy, the 88 temples of Shikoku in Japan, and, if I could swing it the big one, Mecca. All by bike! Every country, and in many countries every town, has its own pilgrimage, and I’d love to witness as many as I can.

  18. Jack
    9th November 2010 at 3:02 pm #

    My dream bike trip is a dirty road tour in central asia. I’d like to ride in mongolia, western china, kyrgistan and mainly tajikistan. I want to see the whakan corridor and the pamirs. I just finished hiking the continental divide trail this week, and if I save enough money in the coming months central asia might happen this summer

  19. friedel
    9th November 2010 at 3:15 pm #

    Wow, so many great dreams here. Jack, I can definitely recommend the Central Asia tour 🙂

  20. Justin
    9th November 2010 at 3:17 pm #

    My wife & I have been cycling for a number of years, but never toured. Last week we completed the build of our new touring bikes. This time around my wife selected every component for her bike and then assembled the bike to completion without any assistance. This one is all hers. Our dream is ride unsupported from our current home in Austin, TX to Deception Pass on Whidbey Island, north of Seattle, WA. If we leave next spring we should arrive at Deception Pass right around our wedding anniversary. It would be fitting because we were married on the beach at Deception Pass 15 years ago. To get the most out of our journey we plan to ride a paved version of the Continental Divide Route from New Mexico to Yellowstone. In addition, we will be bringing our two pups, 50 lb. Haley and 60 lb. Jordan along for the ride, each in a trailer behind our bikes. Thank you for providing the resources in your website as it is a great help to making our dream a reality.

  21. gries doef
    9th November 2010 at 4:26 pm #

    my dream

    within a few years with my bike going to Santiago de compostolla.

  22. Oriol
    9th November 2010 at 4:33 pm #

    My dream tour is allways my next tour, no matter if it’s a 1 week tour in Spain where I live or nearby Marrocco, or 5 weeks in South India. So my next dream bike tour will be February 2011, it will long 4 or 5 weeks, but still not sure where it will be.

  23. Jenn & Houston
    9th November 2010 at 4:34 pm #

    Our dream bike tour..wow! we have so many dreams that we plan to make real one day, the Great Divide being one of them. Our big dream has a set date of just under 3 years. We’ll sell off or store our “stuff” and peddle out from our front doors in Canada heading west, fly to asia, and keep peddling west through China, central Asia, hopefully into Iran, up through Turkey and western Europe where we plan to make our home for a couple of years. Until then we have lots of small local dreams to keep ourselves busy-next summer the Kettle Valley Trail from interior BC to the Okanagan. Surrounded by mountains, rivers, clear lakes and off-road trails it will seem like a dream the entire way.

  24. Len
    9th November 2010 at 4:44 pm #

    I have done many bike tours in the past 8 years since I retired in 2002; through Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bali and others. I keep going back to Asia because I truly love Asia and meeting new people and seeing how they live their daily lives. I keep coming back to a tour I’ve been planning in my mind for several years now. I want to start here at home in Boulder, CO, U.S., head south through the Baja through coastal Mexico and ride south to Rio, onto Buenos Aires, the circle around the southern tip of the continent and ride up through Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and on through Central America and back home. Having once lived in Brazil for my employer and done 3 week runs through the Andes of Peru and Patagonia, I’m longing to return on a bike. I love the people of South America. I’m doing the Tour d Africa tour this January-May so maybe after that’s finished!

  25. Jeff Mika
    9th November 2010 at 5:18 pm #

    I WOULD LIKE TO RIDE THE COAST OF AUSTRALIA..IHEARD OF THIS BIKE CLUB CALLED THE PERIMETER BIKECLUB..THEY RIDE THE PERIMETER OF ANYTHING. COUNTRY,STATE,PROVINCE.TOWN..ONE THEY DO IS AUSTRALIA. 8900 MILES! !..WOW..

  26. Rory Woods
    9th November 2010 at 5:21 pm #

    My dream is to ride with a caravan of others to Washington D.C., while pulling a 15-foot trailer with “Love One Another” in 3-D, the letters of which can be stuffed with letters we collect on the way. We’ll deliver the letters to President Obama before meeting thousands of others for a peace rally in the hopes of ending the violence in the Middle East.

  27. Becky
    9th November 2010 at 5:33 pm #

    My current dream bike tour is a trip around the US (with a couple of stops in Canada for places we haven’t seen like the Dinosaurs in southern Alberta). I’d like to ride through all the US National Parks and the dessert and mountains … there is such a vast amount of varying terrain.

    I say current … cause I’m sure that we have several more 6-month tours left in our lifetime 🙂

  28. Colleen Welch
    9th November 2010 at 5:50 pm #

    Literally, what is inhabiting my dreams at night is my next tour starting June 1st. I’m flying to San Diego, CA and riding inland on the ACA Southern Tier Route to where it intersects with the new Sierra Cascades Route. Then I will follow Sierra Cascades home to Washington. I’m looking forward to a less structured itinerary, meeting lots of people, beautiful scenery and a Shakespeare play or two!

  29. Stephen Botel
    9th November 2010 at 6:39 pm #

    My current dream tour (which is about to come true) is to ride my bike from my home in Phoenix Arizona out to the Sonoran Desert Monument during the week starting December 12th. On the evening of December 13th is the annual Geminid Meteor shower so I’ll be packing my Nikon and tripod to try and get some meteors pics. This might not be as ambitious as doing the Rockies but it will be my first multi-day tour so I am really looking forward to it. I’m thinking of doing a shorter test run during Thanksgiving weekend since traffic will be lighter. I’ll post some pics on Facebook if I get any good shots. See you guys out on the road!!!!

  30. Cinda Weisgerber
    9th November 2010 at 6:48 pm #

    A few years ago I might have watched this and said these ‘guys’ are nuts. But last year at the age of 60 I borrowed an old Raleigh Mountain Bike and learned to ride with gears for the first time in my life. I trained and did my own version of a triathlon (swimming 1/2 mile, cycling 20 miles, hiking 6 miles up a 1,555 ft mountain in the first 4, down over 1,000 feet in a mile) and hosted a dinner party 45 minutes later. This spring I decided I wanted to do a century – so I developed a 7 week training program and on 6/5 I rode 101.4 miles with 3,758 feet of climb and averaged 10.05 mph (on a bike that weighed 40 lbs). Earlier this year I set a vision of doing my first cycling tour – found no one interested in doing it with me – so planned and saved and did it myself.
    I flew with my bike to Pittsburgh PA and cycled 502 miles with 7,600 feet of climb, avg 9.85 mph on that same bike when loaded with gear and water weighed 87 lbs. I crossed the Eastern Continental Divide like a champ and completed my ride in DC with 50 miles around all the monuments/memorials. WOW – I can’t say enough how blessed I was by the all the people I met along the trail – my trail angels and heroes – that made this the most amazing adventure of my life (and I have lived in 31 countries).
    I aspire to do more rides for many years to come including a cross country in 2012 (if not sooner). It would be great fun and inspiring to see this movie in its entirety. I got goosebumps just watching the trailer. Thanks for the opportunity to win a copy and for sharing your adventures with me.

  31. RichNYC
    9th November 2010 at 6:50 pm #

    I rode the route twice, but only to Colorado. I better get it right the third time and finish it now;) Amazing scenery, mind-blowing vistas… Just unbelievable route. Holy grail of long-distance touring!!!

  32. sharon
    9th November 2010 at 7:12 pm #

    Hi Guys
    We almost met in AUSTRALIA 2 years ago, so I would love to meet you on a tour.

    I have had knee issues and landed on crutches for a bit last year(overdid the riding, surprise, surprise!). I am much better now, toured PEI this summer and I am doing hill-training to get ready for riding again in Tasmania in Feb. My M.D. says I shouldn’t do hills, but I am LOVING doing hills. I figure it’s unhealthy to follow MD’s advice a lot of the time.

    I would love to tour Europe-southern France, Italy, Spain and especialy Greece. I really enjoy small town culture and hanging out with friendly people. I didn’t get addicted to cycling until I was about 62 (now 68) so I have a lot of catching up to do. I usually cycle solo, but I would love to find a compatible cyclist to hitch up with. Heading out to the West Coast of Tas. when hurricane winds picked up convinced me that it would be safer-maybe-to ride with someone.

    Take care,love your newsletters,

    Sharon

  33. Norm Babin
    9th November 2010 at 7:23 pm #

    Mid June 2011 a group of retired men will start riding North on Vancouver Island, Canada. At the Northern tip we will take a ferry to Bella Coola, a small community on the Nortnern/Mid coast of Britsh Columbia and ride inland across the coastal range on a rather remote streatch of road to a point where we can head South and East to the town of Whistler, site of the 2010 winter olympics. Then back to the coast, ferry back to Vancouver Island and ride back to our starting point. I look forward to the long uninhabited streatches as well as the remote outposts along the way.

    • sharon
      9th November 2010 at 8:38 pm #

      Is this for guys only? No women???
      Looks like an interesting ride.

      Here is my email:

      [email protected]

  34. Joshua Bryant
    9th November 2010 at 8:52 pm #

    Wow, Where to begin? I’ve always had a fondness for the great trade routes. Turkey to China via the Great Silk Roads like this:
    http://www.orexca.com/silk_road.html

    Also a nice long tour of S. America along the Pan-American Highway (corridor) Visiting out of the way places and tackling many high passes along the way.

    The Great Divide Race sounds like a lot of fun, but I’m not sure I’d want to be away from my lovely wife for that long, and racing isn’t her thing.

    So many countries and so little time and money 🙁
    Someday!

  35. Mandy Creighton
    9th November 2010 at 9:17 pm #

    Wow, we avoided mountain passes at all costs on our 6,500 mile tour of the US, but I can see how being at “the top” would be SO AMAZING. I hope you two do it, and your review of the film DEFINITELY makes me want to watch it! Perhaps we’ll offer you a free copy of our film once it is out on April 22, 2010 and you can give it away in a similar fashion 🙂

    So glad to be in touch. You are truly an inspiration.
    -Mandy

  36. Joe Beber
    9th November 2010 at 9:18 pm #

    Actually, my dream tour would be the Divide (at a leisurely pace). I think I would like the remoteness and isolation of it. I would want to do it with somebody though.

  37. Álvaro
    9th November 2010 at 9:19 pm #

    My dream trip would be an spiral itinerary, starting on my hometown (coruña), following by doing all the perimeter of my region (galicia), then my country (Spain), Europe and finally, round world. I think one have to know better his roots to enjoy the contrasts of being abroad.

  38. Denelle Grant
    9th November 2010 at 10:16 pm #

    My dream ride would be miles the miles of single track that meander ths Swiss Alps… plus stops for amazing food and wine along the way. Bike, food and wine? Is there anything else?

    Here… I came across this link and its interested me ever since. http://thelazyrando.wordpress.com/2009/02/16/swiss-alpine-bike-route/

  39. James Hallworth
    9th November 2010 at 10:47 pm #

    After riding the week long, 700km, three country, off-road Duchenne Heroes event 3 years in a row, it’s time for a new challenge – could this be it?
    I certainly think it could be right up my stre…..singletrack! :0)
    Jimbob

  40. Dmitry Fedorov
    9th November 2010 at 11:40 pm #

    Hi ! I would like to pass all western coast of northern America – from Canada to California and Mexico! There can be it it will turn out!

  41. Andy C
    10th November 2010 at 12:27 am #

    I fancy following Cass Gilberts example; start in Anchorage and head south, avoiding the Pan-American Highway. Although there are so may other big tours I’d like to do. I just need to figure out how I can fund them the road/dirt! 🙂

  42. Karen Stefanyk
    10th November 2010 at 12:30 am #

    Our dream cycle tour is in the process of coming to fruition. My husband and I dream to cycle from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada to New Zealand. We plan on covering North and South America, Africa (from Cape Town to Morocco), Europe, India, The Middle East, South East Asia, Australia and finally New Zealand. We have been planning and saving for the mast two years and just finished building our very own custom touring bikes (on mountain bike frames so we can still hit up the wicked single track across the globe).
    We will be departing on the trip of a lifetime on September 3, 2011 and are leaving our trip open ended (at least 3-5 years but who knows where it will take us!) looking forward to meeting new people, exploring new cultures and experiencing what traveling is really meant to be!

    • Sheila
      10th November 2010 at 3:11 am #

      My partner and I are heading out on our own open-ended cyle tour next year too! It will be great following your story online while we’re cycling, and who knows, perhaps we’ll run into each other along the way. We’re leaving in April(if all goes well). Glad to have found you here. Happy Travels to you! 🙂

  43. Pete Serbian
    10th November 2010 at 1:10 am #

    My dream bike ride is to ride back to my home town of over 40 years ago and ride the streets I once floated on – sometimes no hands, sometimes a long wheelie, or with both of my sisters on handlebars and toptube to the park, often barefoot and on the beach boardwalk waiting for trouble, rarely on a new bike, always on a loved one – beatup, bent pedal, bent fenders or loose stem, and always dreaming of far off places. Until then, I’ll settle for something like the Great Divide!

  44. Sheila
    10th November 2010 at 3:21 am #

    Kai & I watched the movie a couple of weeks ago and we thought it was a great reflection of all the psychological stuff you might go through during not only such an intense race but on any extended tour. We’re not sure of all the challenges cycling around the world will bring us, but we’re sure we’ll be facing our psychological demons out there on the road as we go. I’m a little nervous about that, while Kai approaches it with optimism, saying, “You haven’t even seen what you’re capable of yet! You’re going to be so empowered!”. 🙂 Glad I’ll have him out there with me to help push me on when I need it.

    What did you think, Friedel & Andrew, after being around the world — did you you see some reflections of reality in the movie in regards to dealing with the mental part/process of long-term touring?

    • friedel
      10th November 2010 at 5:33 am #

      Hi Sheila, not long now till you head out on your big adventure! To answer your question, yes, we saw a lot of reflections of the reality of bike touring in the race. The daily routines, the feeling that sometimes you will never make it, the exhilaration when you do. Kai is right, you are going to feel very empowered on your trip! Look forward to it, embrace it. It will probably be one of the best experiences of your life.

      • Sheila
        12th November 2010 at 12:37 am #

        Thanks for all the positive energy you send out to us all!! You’re one of a kind.

  45. Ride The Divide
    10th November 2010 at 5:04 am #

    All your comments are amazing!

    I’d love to make films about most of these trips.

    With all the wonderful positive energy going on here and letting your mind dream – what if you shed the thought of doing that trip “someday” and make specific plans to make it a reality!

    “I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it” — Rosalia de Castro

    This is a fantastic group – I love it!

  46. friedel
    10th November 2010 at 5:54 am #

    I love that quote:

    “I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it” — Rosalia de Castro

    Simply beautiful. Thanks for sharing. And I agree, there are some amazing dreams here. Now I have to add cycling trails along the Swiss alps to my list, plus many other trips!

  47. UK Bob
    10th November 2010 at 12:02 pm #

    My dream is to circumnavigate Australia to celebrate my 50th birthday in Dec 2011. Although I have never toured on a bicycle, travelling around Australia on a bike would give me a ‘local’ perspective of the cities, towns and communities I travel through, and at a much slower speed.

    As Bernie Friend would testify…”don’t let your biggest fears stand in the way of your dreams, even if your biggest dreams happen to be your biggest fears”

  48. Andrew
    10th November 2010 at 2:22 pm #

    I would really like to do the North Sea Cycle Route. Looks like an amazing route. Alternatively, and perhaps more realistic is Paris to Geneva – currently in the planning stage!

    • UK Bob
      10th November 2010 at 3:10 pm #

      Andrew, if you’ve not read Bernie’s book I would absolutely recommend it…it’s a good read and very funny, especially when his friend Rhys joins him for a couple of weeks.

  49. Jenny Quick
    10th November 2010 at 6:22 pm #

    For my 50th year I celebrated by paying homage to Beethoven and playing his last 3 piano sonatas… my musical Everest I would say, and an immense inner journey. My dream bike tour (starting early summer 2011) will be to take the outer journey and bring these pieces (and my beautiful tent) with me as I explore some of scandinavia and europe… visiting the cities of my favorite composers and offering a little music wherever a piano shows up! “no one can love the country more than I,…. for surely wood, trees rocks produce the echo that man desires to hear” (Beethoven)
    I hope to paint and write letters by way of compiling an ‘old-fashioned’ journal which I hope will find it’s way back to me when I finally head for home. Loosely, Norway to Turkey/Armenia, via Bonn, Prague, Vienna, Budapest?? Perhaps, like Annie Mustoe, invite friends/family to join me from time to time and travel together a little way, or just hang out somewhere beautiful.
    I am SO inspired by all the wonderful ideas out there and the generosity of your lovely website. Thank you!

  50. Errol Tremolada
    10th November 2010 at 7:50 pm #

    My dream bike tour is to see every National Park by bike, ride every mt bike accessible fire road/trail in the NPS.

  51. Stefan
    10th November 2010 at 8:37 pm #

    My dream bike ride is from St John’s on the east coast, over the southern part of Canada to Alaska, then south to Seattle and go west across the northern states of US to Nova Scotia.

  52. Keith Bright
    11th November 2010 at 12:18 am #

    I just love to read about the torus you are doing and done. As for me I love to tour around Europe and next year I want to bike from Hook of Holland to Stockholm across to Oslo over to Denmark and back to Hook of Holland via some cities to look around. At the moment I would find it a bit heavy to organise a big trip as I don’t want to fly anywhere but bike everywhere.
    By the way I like to use a Y frame trailer and carry nothing on the bike, I find it much easier to move.
    Bye for now
    Keith

  53. Seth Dominguez
    11th November 2010 at 4:38 pm #

    My ideal bike tour would be a world-wide tour (which I’m actually starting in Guatemala this december).

    The thing is that I will not carry a camera and will attempt to illustrate my travels through watercolour and ink sketches. Much like Joseph and Elizabeth Robins in “a Canterbury Pilgrimage”

    That’d be my ideal tour.

  54. Zia
    11th November 2010 at 4:38 pm #

    The sell-everything-and-take-off kind of tour…w/no time frame, no destination. I realized recently that I’m one of those crazy self-contained cycle tourists that’s happy just about anywhere on a bike…even across Texas, especially across Texas.

    “I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The greatest affair is to move.” (Robert Louis Stevenson)

  55. Sue Potter
    11th November 2010 at 5:24 pm #

    Riding the Great Divide is my dream ride. Ever since my sister tried coming across the Rockies in a half-dead volkswagon bug and ended up dropping down to Route 66 and missing coming to see me at school in Colorado I’ve wanted to conquer the Rockies. What an opportunity! I hope I win the movie–it would be a sign that I should move forward with my dream. So far, the longest ride I’ve done is 100k.

  56. Anderson Muth
    11th November 2010 at 6:24 pm #

    While this ride sounds intense and awesome, we’ve been dreaming of a similar Canada->Mexico trip. We’re thinking Vancouver to Baja California would be amazing, and enable us to see a lot of the American West that we haven’t been fortunate enough to experience yet. Not sure if the hills of SE Asia will have prepared us sufficiently for the Pacific Coast Highway, but there’s only one way to find out!

  57. Andrew
    11th November 2010 at 7:18 pm #

    I have several, actually. Here’s my top 5 list: Ride the Divide, The Colorado Trail, The Umpqua River Trail, Hwy 101 from Seattle to San Diego, and the Kokopelli Trail (Fruita to Moab)

  58. Steve C
    11th November 2010 at 7:59 pm #

    Daydreaming of a ride starting in London, down the west coast of Africa, then taking a sahel route across to Addis Ababa.

    And then a ride across Russia, and then…

  59. DPeach
    12th November 2010 at 4:02 pm #

    That looks like a cool race! I will have to get a copy of that. I am a big fan of multi-day events. Particularly running events. Biking is all kind of new for me.

    My bike dream? Biking through Spain and Italy.

  60. ted edwards
    12th November 2010 at 9:06 pm #

    Friedel my dream trip would be actually just setting off.I sit here reading of yours and others adventures and it gives me inspiration but at the same time I think of all those buts that you mention in your earlier interview.Would you believe that even though I have just brought my Roberts equipped bike to set off on an sdventure I very nearly sold it because I had just convinced myself that it was all a dream and I would never do it. Thankfully it did not sell and so I am now determined to make sure that I use the bike what it was intended for; touring.
    And so in 2011 I shall cycle down to my daughters in Eastbourne stay the night and next morning set off to cstch a ferry from Newhaven over to France and then cycle down to the Med.Probably not a great adventure for many but a big one for me at the age of 60.

    • friedel
      14th November 2010 at 10:57 am #

      Go for it, Ted! We were at a bike touring fair yesterday, and we met many people in their 50s and 60s setting out on similar trips for the first time. You certainly won’t be alone in your big adventure across Europe. If you come through Holland, make sure to look us up 🙂

  61. Ruby
    13th November 2010 at 12:12 am #

    I dream of riding my bike to the Gulf to see the BP disaster. It touched my heart, especially the footage of the dead and dying seabirds. I volunteer as an educator & handler at a state wildlife center in the Southwest. It’s over 1,000 miles just to get to the western edge of the coast that’s been affected, but it seems fitting to arrive by bike as part of a statement about our crazy addiction to oil. Then I’d journey along the coast, cycling through Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama helping any way and any where I could.

  62. Greg Mu
    14th November 2010 at 7:19 am #

    Off-road, from Prudoe Bay, AK to Tierra del Fuego via the GDMBR–a warm-up for the 2012 race!

    And the best part? I start my dream ride in 7 months!

  63. Darren
    14th November 2010 at 9:32 am #

    After finishing my previous dream of riding unsupported John o’Groats to Lands End on my own this summer, my inspiration made me consider a tour of Europe. Again this would be a solo unsupported trip with the added incentive of doing this in record time (please let me know the record if known). There is something special about touring with a bike that I think some people will just never understand. I know that my 12 day JOGLE was the best thing I have ever undertaken!

  64. Nation Harris
    14th November 2010 at 9:49 am #

    My dream is cycle to live on the road, to cycle around the world continously, until I can’t anymore. I dream that my life will be contained in four pannier bags and the bicycle is my steed. I want to sample all the cultures in the world, meet the people and places. To see all the beauties the world offers, that is my dream!

  65. Janka Konarska
    14th November 2010 at 12:10 pm #

    My dream tour…
    As a geographer, I’ve always liked to travel, learn about different countries and cultures, and of course, to “discover” them on my own, see them with my own eyes. I can’t see a better way than riding a bike which gives the possibility to feel the world around us. And what’s my dream route? It’s a route that would surprise and charm me every single day with its beauty. A route in a place where I could get to know local people and make friends with them. I’m sure there are plenty of such places, they’re just waiting for us to discover them.
    I have many, many dream routes, so I’ll describe just two of them: First one is to ride across US and Canada, visiting all of the States and Canadian provinces. And the second one… I’d love to start in New Zealand, where amazing landscapes would remind me my amazing trip in beautiful Norway. Then I’d go to Malaysia to visit my great Couch Surfing friend, then ride across SE Asia, China and especially – Tibet. After that I’d love to ride eastwards across northern China and Mongolia, and finish my trip by riding along the Japanese islands, visiting many old friends and making new ones.
    It’s not my dream to spend the whole life riding a bike, as I’m afraid it could loose its magic. After waiting a few months or even years for my trip, I’m pleased with its every day. Then every trip can become a dream one, no matter if it’s a trip around your homeland or on the other end of the world.

  66. Simon
    14th November 2010 at 3:22 pm #

    Currently dreaming about The Way Of The Roses which I am planning to ride next May. I would love to ride the Pacific Coast of the USA one day.

  67. Allison B
    14th November 2010 at 3:36 pm #

    Down the western coast of S. America; Starting in Ecuador and ending in Southern Patagonia. Can’t imagine the beauty.

  68. Allison B
    14th November 2010 at 3:38 pm #

    Cycle Down the western coast of S. America; Starting in Ecuador and ending in Southern Patagonia. Can’t imagine the beauty.

    • Len
      14th November 2010 at 5:54 pm #

      That’s one I’ve wanted to do for a long time. Have mapped most of it out, riding from my home in Colorado, down through southern Calif., into the Baja, then riding the coast of Mexico (much safer) into Central American, then down into Brazil along the coast, to Rio, on down to Buenos Aires, onto Ushuia (furthest most point of South America), then up along into Chile along the coast, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, then back into Central America and back up along the Mexico coast of Baja and home. I will do it…just not this year as I’ll be in Africa.

  69. hotshot bald cop
    25th April 2022 at 6:42 pm #

    Why is it I always really feel like you do?

  70. hotshot bald cop
    6th May 2022 at 10:59 pm #

    Wonderful views on that!

  71. hot shot bald cop
    8th May 2022 at 10:56 am #

    That’s a great point

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