It's a Long Story-The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route-Part 1

WOO! YES! [screaming] WOW. HEY THERE. My name is Ryan Van Duzer and I just rode the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. Correction. I just rode most of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. The goal was to ride the whole thing. That didn't exactly happen. It has been a very long journey. This was my fourth attempt. I will get into that. But first, the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route is a 3,100 mile mostly off-road route starting up in Jasper, that's Canada, all the way down to the border of Mexico and it loosely follows the Continental Divide. It goes up and over a lot of mountains and we're talking some serious elevation gain, like 200,000 ft in total. I rode it this summer on behalf of the Adventure Cycling Association. It's their 50th anniversary and they created the Great Divide Route back in the late 90s along with lots of other bike touring routes all over the United States and their mission is to empower people to travel by bicycle and it was an honor to represent them. Now, let me rewind just a little bit. I love riding my bike. I've actually never had a car. I ride my bike everywhere and I've been going on bicycle adventures around the world for 20 years. I tell people all the time that nothing makes me feel more alive than exploring places on two wheels and meeting wonderful people and pushing my limits. >> [gasps] >> Woah! Now, obviously, these adventures take me places physically, but they also take me places emotionally. >> [music] >> Adventure cracks open my heart, and the feeling of freedom feeds my soul and makes me feel more connected to this big, beautiful world. >> [screaming] >> And now, I want to get into my history with this route. It's been a 6-year journey. In 2020, I rode from the border of Canada and Montana to the border of Colorado and New Mexico and had the absolute time of my life. But, COVID restrictions prevented me from getting into both Canada and New Mexico. In May of 2021, I returned to where I left off hoping to pedal the final 700 miles, but unfortunately, I had a major mechanical issue 140 miles from the finish. Damn it. In June of 2024, I attempted to race the route, and this time, I got to experience the beautiful Canadian section. Wow, the Canadian Rockies are the real deal. However, it was wet and cold, which led to awful saddle sores and an infected [music] prostate. No bueno. I made the tough decision to quit just 600 miles into the [music] race. I am in Helena, Montana, the capital. And I'm not going to go any further. I've learned a lot from all of these setbacks, and even though this route has tested me repeatedly, I love it. And obviously, I love it enough to come back again and again. And this summer was finally going to be the moment where I was going to ride the entire thing from Canada to New Mexico. But, that didn't happen, and here's why. On June 21st, I flew to Canada to meet up with my good friend John and the world's coolest dog, Mira. They were set to ride the Canadian section with me, and I was really excited to reunite with them because it had been many years since we [music] had done an adventure together. But, my bike didn't show up. >> So, I'm in the Calgary airport. I got this bag, but my bike wasn't even loaded onto the plane. >> Somehow, on my short flight from Denver to Calgary, they lost my bike. >> Oh, hi Mira. Hello, sweetie. Hello, it's so good to see you. You just made every You just made everything better. >> Day after day, I waited for my bike to show up, and it never did. And I wasn't really getting any hopeful answers from the airline that would lead me to believe that it would ever show up. >> Your luggage tracing time is 48 hours, but our standard recovery window is 10 to 14 days. >> 10 to 14 days. >> Yeah, if there's still no update after that point, then the file transfers to our claims department for an investigation. >> Okay. Wow. And this is where it gets a little tricky because I didn't have all the time in the world to be waiting for my bike. And the reason is I had invited 25 people from my audience to meet me in southern Colorado to ride a 500-mile section of the route down into New Mexico, and I needed to be in Salida on July 21st. So, every day that I was not riding my bike made getting to Salida on time a lot harder. Hey John, do you know where my is, by chance? >> I have no idea, dude. >> [laughter] >> It's been 48 hours now. >> Bye-bye. >> And at this point, I'm really bummed out. I'm extremely sad. I see my dream of being able to ride the entire Great Divide slipping away. And I start to think maybe the universe is trying to tell me something. >> [music] >> Maybe the universe is telling me not to do this. And to be honest, even before this whole lost bike fiasco, I was having major confidence issues. Lots of self-doubt. For the better part of this year, I've been in a bit of a dark place, and I just haven't had that same confidence that I usually have. And so, leading up to this ride, I was already on edge. Woo. It is Wednesday morning. I landed Sunday afternoon, and still no bike, still no word. They don't know where it is. Yeah. >> So, after 3 days of waiting for my bike, and no hope that it would ever show up, I decided to fly home to Boulder. And I will never forget walking through the Calgary Airport feeling incredibly defeated. When I got home to Boulder, it was time to formulate a plan B. My initial dream of riding the entire divide was out the window, and I was still coming to terms with that. But, I knew that I could salvage something and ride most of this route. I called my good friends at Priority Bicycles, who are really more like brothers. They're like family. This is not your typical brand partnership. And I talked to Dave, and he said, "Let's make this story amazing. I know it's not what you had hoped, but we can still turn this into something positive. He said, "We'll send you out a new bike. Just tell me where to send it." And so, I calculated that I could get to Whitefish, Montana, up in northern Montana, and still have enough time to ride my bike all the way to Salida to meet my group. And he said, "Great. I'll put the bike in the mail overnight." And I want to quickly interject something about the bike. This bike is really special. It's not just any bike. [music] I designed this bike with my friends at Priority Bicycles. And [music] I wrote the prototype in 2020 on the Great Divide. So, this bike really was born on this route. And this is the bike that I ride on all of my adventures. And what's special about it is low maintenance. It has [music] a pinion gearbox that keeps all of the gears protected from the elements, and a Gates carbon drive, which is really cool, never needs to be lubed, and last three times longer than a chain. Here I am back in Boulder, getting reset. There's all of my stuff all spread out, ready to repack. I feel a little bit of déjà vu right now, but I must say that I'm feeling a lot better. I feel a lot lighter. I feel like I've shed a lot of the anxiety and fear, and just discomfort that I had been feeling for quite a long time leading leading into this adventure. And that doesn't mean I'm 100% gung ho. I'm still apprehensive. I still hope I can finish. You know, I'm going to do my best, like I said before, and I'm just excited to finally start pedaling my bike here soon. And here's the silver lining of the lost bike fiasco, I am avoiding a major winter storm in the Canadian Rockies down all the way through Montana. And if you know me, you know I don't like cold weather. So, my time in Boulder is allowing me to avoid that storm. And then I get back on an airplane and fly to Whitefish. And by that point, I am feeling good and I am feeling ready. One more thing before I get go, I got to call my mom because I always call my mom before I start a big adventure. >> Good morning. >> Good morning, Mom. How you doing? >> Okay, set to go? >> I'm getting pretty much ready to roll. I just wanted to say thank you. I love you. I'll be thinking of you. >> Yeah, just have a really good time and pedal pedal pedal. >> Yep, and you will always be with me. But before I get into day one, I want to give you a little teaser for what you're going to see in this series. And I just got to say >> [snorts] >> it was incredible. It truly was. And remember, I had seen most of this route already. I had experienced [music] the beauty. But for some reason, everything seemed >> [music] >> even more beautiful. Of course, I met wonderful people all along the way. Trail angels came out of nowhere. I connected with old friends and I made new friends. I felt like every single day out there was [music] the best day of my life. I was so full of gratitude and love and wonder and joy. And I just felt like I got my mojo back. >> Yeah. >> [music] >> I'm excited to introduce you to all the wonderful people I met along the way. As always, this was the best part of the journey. And because I was in need of some advice, I asked everyone I met how they get through hard times. Their answers were insightful and inspiring. >> Especially before this trip and probably still after. Typically, I like want to control as much as I can, like, you know, like almost like white knuckle whatever is going wrong and just force it to be right. And this trip is learning teaching me how to not do that and to just let things happen, both good and bad. >> This is the moment I've been waiting for for so long. Oh my gosh, I can't believe it's real. Oh my gosh. Hi, Mom. >> You're all done. >> I'm all done. Can you see it? >> Yeah. >> As you've already seen, I gave away the ending. I made it to the fence. And while that accomplishment felt amazing, it makes me think of the famous quote, >> [music] >> "It's not the destination, but the journey that matters." And what a journey it's been. Definitely one of the most fulfilling mental and physical challenges of my life. And it's my honor to take you with me. I really hope that you this video and all the videos to come. I have a lot of editing to do and I'm really excited to share the story. I feel like you're going to enjoy it hopefully as much as I did and maybe it'll inspire you to get up off your couch and go challenge yourself in some way, shape, or form. That truly is the goal with all my content. I've been making YouTube videos since 2016. That's 10 years. I have over a thousand videos and the goal always has been to inspire you, the viewer, to get out and see this beautiful world and connect with yourself and connect with amazing humans and of course nature. And here's a little ask. If you feel like you can do this, please consider joining my Patreon. I have a community-funded channel. I don't do brand deals other than Priority, which really isn't a brand deal. And if you join Patreon, you will get early release videos before I put them on YouTube and those early releases have no ads. I do a once once a month community Zoom call, which is really fun. There's also other goodies that happen for my patrons and it would really help out, but no pressure at all. If you can't do it, I totally get it. The goal really is to just put these on YouTube and hopefully put a smile on your face and get you up off that couch. So, here we go. Finally. Okay, I am now officially on the Great Divide Route. It is time to go. I'm feeling good. It looks cold, but it's not too bad >> [music] >> and there's my beautiful bike. Kickstand up. Let's do this. >> [music] >> There's my first wildlife, [music] little deer. Hi deer, good morning. >> [music] >> And now for the loudest ever NO CRASHIES, NO FLATTIES, NO WHAMMIES. WOO! YES! I'M HERE! WOOHOO! OH, IT FEELS SO GOOD TO BE RIDING MY BIKE. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. WOO! Oh god. I didn't know how much uh just energy I needed to release. I've only been riding my bike for like 30 seconds and the emotions are flowing. Oh my gosh. LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL! OH MAN. >> [sighs] >> OH, this is so incredible. Oh, it's so incredible to BE HERE. THANK YOU! [screaming] WOO! OKAY, I HAVE BEEN riding for about 10 minutes now. And I feel a lot lighter. Like a gigantic weight has been lifted. And it feels great. And right now I'm reminiscing about some of the first days of my other big bike trips and all the emotions I had. >> Feel good. I've said my goodbyes. I'm ready to roll. I'm ready to start the adventure. Let's go. The first moment I left my village in Honduras on my way to Boulder and in 2009 when I rode a cruiser bike across the country starting in San Diego. >> This is an amazing feeling. Feels good to be doing this, finally. >> And the morning my brother and I started riding south from Vancouver to Cabo San Lucas. >> We have Ryan Van Duzer, check. Ethan Van Duzer. >> Hello. >> And it's just such a flood of really powerful meaningful memories. I feel so grateful for this beautiful life and that I get to do this again and again. And uh I just feel really really good right now. And now I'm going to downhill so I feel EVEN BETTER. WOO! SO YOU ALL KNOW that I'm all about silly good luck charms and today is July 1st. And on the 1st of every month in the morning I always say to myself rabbit rabbit and that's supposed to bring about good luck for the entire rest of the month. And I've been doing it for a long time. My teacher, Miss Carlson, my health teacher in high school was the one that taught us all about this. And ever since on the 1st of every month I say rabbit rabbit. Look at that. I'd like to show you something here. Antelope Wells 2,327 miles away. That way and to the right and up and down and I'll [snorts] be there. Wow, I remember coming by this house during the Tour Divide race and this nice lady had really really good homemade cookies for all the racers. This right here is the best cookie I've ever had and this wonderful woman right here made it. Thank you so much. >> I hope you enjoy and have safe wonderful travels. >> No such luck today, but that's okay. I brought plenty of snacks with me, but uh it's kind of crazy to think that I have you know, 2,300 miles to go. It sounds daunting when you just say that number. [clears throat] But my motto lately has just been day by day. Just take it day by day. And that's how I'm looking at this. I can't get too overwhelmed by the by the [snorts] by the mileage. Just got to stay focused on the day in the present moment. Hi deer. Hello. Hello. Hi. >> [music] >> Okay, this is it. The pavement that I've been riding all day is turning to dirt >> [snorts] >> and the easy part of the day is over. Easy riding part of the day. And those might be the easiest. I think it's almost 50 mi on the entire divide. So flat, mostly paved. And now I'm getting into the woods. And this really is the true essence of the Great Divide. Dirt roads, mountain passes, trees, woods, desert toward the end. And >> [sighs] >> yeah. [snorts] Pedal, pedal, pedal. Inch by inch. Here we go. I am also deep in grizzly bear country now. So, I'll be whooping and hollering and ringing my bell from time to time to hopefully scare them away. I do not want to have an encounter. I have my bear spray, but still, I don't want to see one. Maybe only from far. >> [music] [music] >> So, this section that I'm riding right now is bringing back very vivid memories of 2 years ago when I did the Tour Divide race, and I was riding here with my friend Gabriel from Quebec, my new friend at the time, and it was miserable. It was freezing cold. Rain all day long. I was wearing all of my waterproof stuff, waterproof pants, socks. I had long disc gloves over my long finger gloves. And this is really when my saddle sores started uh barking at me. And we were miserable, but we were happy. We were trying to like, you know, [snorts] pump each other up, cuz it's so easy to to get into just like a a dark space when you're really uncomfortable, and not just uncomfortable, but kind of scared. Like, when I get that cold, I get scared that, you know, it it might never stop, and I'll get hypothermia, and I am so glad Gabriel is with me. >> What a wonderful day. >> Oh, man. >> What a wonderful day. >> And the good news is, for all of you Gabriel fans, he's going to meet me in Helena and ride with me for a week. I'm really excited to see him. HEY! YES! YES! [screaming] SORRY FOR ALL THE SCREAMING, but I'm both excited and trying to keep bears away. Hey! Oh, it's so nice and cold. Almost. Oh, yeah. Look at that crystal clear mountain water. And I'm just going to hook it back up to the hose, which has the Sawyer filter on it. And as I suck water through the it filters. So, this is a really fast solution. I've filtered water in many different ways over the last 20 years. Iodine tablets for a long time, a UV pen, um regular squeezy filters, and now I'm I'm I'm digging this approach cuz it's just fast. You scoop and go, but it won't be that handy for like really dirty water, maybe like in New Mexico or something. But, for Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, this is the ticket. Thank you, sun. Thank you. Okay, so this spot right here brings back some really good memories. In 2020, I camped like right around there. It was flatter back in the day. Looks much more overgrown. I went down and got in the water, and it was a beautiful evening like this. By myself. Look at this beautiful view. Wow. Love it. >> [music] >> I just stopped to look at this beautiful little pond with all the lilies. If I were a frog, I would want to live there. That looks pretty idyllic. Wow, it's so nice to just stop and hear the sounds. The birds are chirping, probably for the first time after 4 days of torrential downpour. Sun is shining. All the animals are happy, the flowers are happy, the sun is out. The Ryan is happy, the sun is out. It's like a a different day from when I woke up this morning. I woke up and I was like, "Uh-oh, could [snorts] be a wet one." >> [music] >> So, I was riding by and this big pile of poop caught my attention. That's a big poop. I don't know if that's bear poop or I don't know. Well, it's got to be bear poop, I guess. Like the deer can't do that, right? There's no cows out here. Huh, okay. This looks pretty fresh, too. Mhm. >> [music] >> It's not a big waterfall, but it's a waterfall. And I can feel the cool air. And it's just a soothing sound. Oh. What's up, Shadow? How are you doing? Feeling good? I'm feeling good. Let's keep it going. Find a perfect campsite. So, I just saw a little bear just run right in front of me. It went like right in there. And when there's a little bear, there's usually a big bear. It looked cute from afar. It was probably 200 ft in front of me, ran right across the road. Um I'm going to keep going downhill at a good speed to get away from this family. It was beautiful, you know, it's I don't hate bears, but they have the potential to cause a lot of damage, you know. They're beautiful creatures. They're even cute, really, but I just don't want to deal with an angry mom bear, you know? Angry moms, no thank you. I'm pedaling up >> [music] >> probably the first really long sustained uphill for the day. It's hard to see through the trees, but I just looked left and there's a couple openings and the mountains out there are just stunning and the light, the evening light, just illuminating them perfectly. Okay, so it's 6:30. I've ridden 89 miles and I'm seeing water right here, which would be great to jump in and get water for the night. Nice stream. This field is a little lumpy, but I'm looking over this way, and I feel like I'm seeing one flat spot for a tent. Oh, yeah. Right there. That's it. Yes! Oh, that's awesome. That's perfect. Oh, I'm so happy. This is great. >> [snorts] >> And there's a little bit of an opening, so I have some sunshine, cuz otherwise when you're in the trees, it's just dark. Oh, yes! What a great first day. Oh, I'm feeling good. Feeling really good. Time to get set up. Here we go. Oh. It's not too cold. WOO! YES! WOO! YES! Wash off the legs. There is nothing better than jumping in water at the end of a long day. At least for me, I sleep a lot better when I'm not all sticky. Sticking to my plastic sleeping bag and my plastic air mattress. >> [music] >> Ooh. >> [music] >> Ta-da! Haha, yeah. All right, I'm all set up. I've got my quilts, my mattress. Right here is all my charging stuff, my charging station. I really like two-person tents, so I have more room for all of my stuff, and I don't feel cramped. It's a little bit heavier, but I don't really care. I'm so glad I brought these comfortable running shoes to walk in. My SPD shoes are not as comfortable. Just look at this. This is what I've been looking at all day. That right there. This is the This is the picture of adventure. An open road. Where's that open road going to take you physically and mentally? That's what I think of all day long. When I can, after a long day of riding, I like to go for a walk just to loosen up my legs, move them in a different way. And also just it gives me a chance to think and process the day. And what I was thinking about a lot today is that last Wednesday, a week ago from today, I had flown home to Boulder from Calgary. Really dejected and I felt defeated after everything that happened with the lost bike. And I was wondering if I should even do this. If the universe was telling me something, "Hey Ryan, don't do the Divide." And uh I was pretty bummed out. And then now this Wednesday, it's wild to be out here on the Divide. An amazing day one. Beautiful weather. And uh it just goes to show how quickly things can change, you know? And although I've, you know, last week and leading up to the ride was was uh a lot. I'm feeling better now. And there were moments throughout the day where I felt so excited. I'm like, "Yes, I got this. This is amazing. This is the best thing ever. Finally." And I felt all the relief after so long planning this. And then like 20 minutes later I was I would be like, "Ah, this is really long, Ryan. Are you going to be able to do this?" And these like negative thoughts started creeping in. And I think it's probably going to be a balance of that most days where sometimes I feel amazing and sometimes I don't. And that's all part of the experience of doing hard things. And I truly believe that this ride, like all the other adventures I've been on, will change me and form me for the better. They always do. And for example, today I just thought so much about my mom and my family and my brothers and my nephews and friends and just I had so much love. Just so full of love today and that's what happens when my heart cracks open and I get a little vulnerable and you know, touchy-feely and ah. So, it's good to like spend an entire day just thinking about everybody you love. Because in my regular life, when I get distracted by everything, you know, we can all relate, I don't think that way. But I'm when I'm out here and it's just simple and me pedaling and I'm just with my thoughts, I think about the people I love, which in turn fills me with love. I am going to eat my dinner in my tent because there are a lot of mosquitoes out there. And check out what I'm going to have. We got some beans and tortillas and I even brought some Taco Bell hot sauces from home. This is luxury. There it is, the famous Dozerito. It's simple, but it's good. Carbs and protein. They're just so soft and mushy. It's easy to eat. And these tortillas are actually from Canada. I bought them with John last week. And I definitely will not be leaving this food inside of my tent tonight because bears love bean burritos. You know what I'm saying? I'm actually [snorts] going to put it all on my bike, zipped up, and I'm going to move my bike further away from my tent. That's the best I can do to keep my food away from me. I I don't hang it. It is 9:00 p.m. and still plenty light as you can see. It's going to be light till about 10:00, but I am tired. It's been a very full day. I actually had one little dot of service and I was able to get through to my mom. You got to let mom know that you're okay. I've always done this on every bike trip. I try to at least let her know through text or something at the end of every day that I've got a campsite and that I'm safe and it's you know, I'm 47 years old now. I've been doing this since I was 25 and it's part of the deal. I don't want my mom worrying too much about me. And it's nice to talk to my mom. And she told me that USA beat Bosnia-Herzegovina, however you say it, in the World Cup. So, that's exciting. We're moving on to the round of 16. I love soccer. Okay. It is time for bed. I am feeling happy and fulfilled and uh just relieved to be out here. It's going to be a beautiful experience. So, buenas noches. >> [music]