Video summary
The video features Ryan preparing for his latest attempt at riding the entire Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, a 3,000-mile journey from Jasper in Canada down to the border of Mexico along the Continental Divide. Although he has previously ridden most of this route during the pandemic in 2020 and again in 2021 before suffering mechanical issues like a broken belt, his current goal is distinct because he will be riding rather than racing. This shift allows him to move at his own pace without the intense pressure to constantly gain miles, giving him time to fully appreciate nature's beauty, film detailed moments, and connect deeply with fellow travelers. He views this summer trip as a special celebratory experience for the 50th anniversary of the Adventure Cycling Association, an organization that created many of these iconic routes across North America.
Despite his physical training and good shape, Ryan admits to feeling nervous and overwhelmed by the prospect of spending forty-five days on the road after not undertaking any ride longer than two weeks in five years. He attributes some of this difficulty to a potential midlife crisis at age 47 or simply life changes that have made routine tasks feel harder lately. However, he frames these challenges as beneficial opportunities for growth, believing that pushing his limits brings a sense of accomplishment and renewed confidence. His primary motivation is not just the physical feat but the personal transformation it offers; he hopes to emerge with a new perspective on what matters in life, feeling more patient, loving, open-minded, and connected to himself, nature, and humanity after such an extended adventure.
To support his journey, Ryan has assembled a team including friends John and Mira for the Canadian section and plans to meet up with about twenty-five members of his audience near Salida, Colorado, where they will ride together through Section Five before he continues solo toward New Mexico. He is riding on his Priority 600 ADX bike, which features a low-maintenance carbon belt drive system that eliminates the need for lubrication and offers an extensive gear range to handle steep terrain with heavy loads. Throughout the video, he emphasizes gratitude towards his family, friends, and supporters who make these long-distance adventures possible, acknowledging that while missing loved ones will be hard, the joy of being out on the bike outweighs the difficulties.
Looking ahead, Ryan plans to share real-time updates via Instagram rather than editing videos from the road, promising a full collection of footage later in the fall for his Patreon supporters and YouTube channel. He invites viewers who live near the route to stop by for high-fives or treats like burritos and cookies, reinforcing his desire to foster community connection along the way. His overarching theme for this expedition is seeking advice on how people overcome tough times, drawing parallels to a past project called "Love Cycles" where he asked strangers for love advice as a new couple; now, he intends to ask them about resilience during depression or feelings of incompetence. Ultimately, he sees biking not just as travel but as practice for being a good human and expresses deep excitement to share the beauty, joy, and lessons learned from this life-changing experience with his audience.
Read the full video transcript
Check it out. I got a new shaver on eBay
for 30 bucks.
I'm ready.
>> [snorts]
>> Hello my friends. I am sitting in my
garage here in Boulder, Colorado. My
bike is behind me, the Priority 600 ADX.
And I leave very soon to ride the entire
Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, 3,000
miles from Jasper to the border of
Mexico along the Continental Divide. And
you might be thinking, "Well, haven't
you already done most of this, Ryan?"
And the truth is, yes. So, here's a
little bit of history. In 2020, during
the summer of the pandemic, I fulfilled
a long-time dream of riding most of the
Divide. It was the pandemic, so I
couldn't get into Canada. I started at
the border of USA-Canada.
You'll remember this video. I rode with
John and Mira and Kevin [music]
and Dana, and I rode all the way to the
border of Colorado and New Mexico. At
the time, New Mexico had very strict
COVID rules, so I didn't go into the
state there.
The next spring, May of 2021,
I started where I left off and rode
[music]
what I thought was going to be the rest
of the Great Divide Route, but about 100
miles north of the Mexican border, I
broke my belt.
Damn it. I was a big dummy and did not
have a spare belt, and I certainly
learned a lesson. I always travel with a
spare belt now. And then, two summers
ago, 2024, I attempted the Tour Divide
race.
And it was good until it wasn't. The
weather was horrible for most of it. It
was freezing cold and snowy and very
wet.
And then I developed insane saddle sores
and was diagnosed with prostatitis.
No bueno. This is not good. So, I ended
my race in Helena about 600 mi into the
route.
I'm walking a little funny and sitting a
little funny. This summer, I am going to
attempt it again. I am riding, not
racing. I'm going at my own pace. What I
learned in the race is I don't
necessarily like the pressure of go go
go go get more miles get more miles. I
want to be there
>> [music]
>> to enjoy and smell the flowers and
listen to the birds and film all the the
beautiful details and share them
>> [music]
>> with you. And really, the main reason
why I'm doing the Great Divide this
summer is because well over a year ago,
the Adventure Cycling Association, you
probably know them, they have created
all sorts of amazing bike routes all
over the United States and a little bit
in Canada. This is their 50th [music]
anniversary. Happy birthday ACA. And
they said, "Hey Ryan, will you ride the
Great Divide on our behalf and show all
the beauty [music] and it'll just be a
big celebratory
experience." And I said, "That sounds
like a great idea." Oh, what a beautiful
day. Woo! Yes. I'm going into this
experience with an open mind and an open
heart. And I know
that this adventure is going to crack
[snorts] me wide open. They always do.
And that's actually a good thing.
Challenges always open my heart further.
>> [music]
>> And in a way, I feel like I'm being
called to do this. You know, there's a
many other routes around the United
States and the world that I could be
doing,
but for some reason, I really feel
called to do the entire Great Divide all
in one
>> [music]
>> go.
I'd be lying if I didn't say I was a
[music] little nervous and overwhelmed.
If you know my history, you know I've
done a lot of [music] very big long
rides.
But in the past, you know, 5 years, I
haven't done any ride over 2 weeks.
This experience this summer is going to
take 45 days.
And when I sit here and think about 45
days on the road,
it's just overwhelming to me. It's a
little scary. I know I can do it
physically. I've been training. I'm in
good shape.
But for one reason or another, I don't
know exactly why, but things that used
to come routine and easily to me
have just been more difficult lately.
Um and I don't know exactly what it is.
Maybe it's a midlife crisis. I'm 47
years old. I don't know.
Um but I'm going into this
excited, looking forward to it, of
course. This is a opportunity of a
lifetime. I'm so grateful that I have
the time to [music] do this and all the
gear and the support.
Um but it's I know it's going to be
hard, but that's that's why I do these
things. I really believe that doing hard
things
is beneficial. From time to time. Not
every single day. You don't want to do
hard stuff all the time. But from time
to time, I have felt that I gain a lot
of value in [music] in pushing my limits
and challenging myself. I feel it brings
a certain level of accomplishment and it
it helps me gain confidence, of course,
because when you go through something
hard and [music] you push through the
moment that you want to quit and you
keep going
and you get to the end or wherever
you're going, oh, it feels so amazing.
I'm sure that you can relate [music] to
this.
So, uh yeah, I'm going to need your
help, actually. So, send me all of your
advice
through for getting through hard things.
And it's interesting that I'm asking for
advice cuz I'm usually the guy that does
hard things and makes videos about how
to do hard things, but right now I'm in
the middle of a little sticky whatever
it is. There's nothing bad going on in
my life. Things are great. I'm just
like, uh just having trouble getting
that spark back, [music] you know? So,
if you have any advice, leave it in the
comments below. And as you know, I film
all of these experiences. I'm really
looking forward to showing you again the
best of this route, Mother Nature, the
beauty, sunrises, sunsets, rainbows, and
the humans along the way. That is
absolutely one of the main reasons why I
love traveling by bike is meeting
wonderful people, and you better believe
I'm going to have my cameras and I'm
going to be documenting and showing off
the best of this route and the best of
humanity, and I hope that it makes you
feel better because I know it makes me
feel better when I connect with somebody
on the side of the road even just for 5
minutes.
>> Ladies, aw, thank you so much. You're
incredible. Sorry if I smell bad.
>> I really hope when I come home and I
edit these videos
>> [music]
>> and I show you what I experienced that
you feel good and that you feel hopeful
and that you feel more connected to
humanity because that's exactly how I
feel in [music] the moment. And it's my
job as a storyteller
to portray my experience in the most
honest and genuine way possible. That's
how I've always done it, and this is how
I'm going to do it again, and I'm really
looking forward to this experience once
again, even though I've already done
most of this route.
>> [music]
>> I've seen pretty much everything along
the way, but
you know, years have passed since I
first tried this in 2020. I want to see
how I have changed, and even though I'm
at the very beginning of this voyage,
and it seems daunting to get all the way
to southern New Mexico at this point,
>> [snorts]
>> ah, I know it's going to happen little
by little, just every day ticking off
some miles, and there's a lot of life
experience from now until then, and I'm
excited to see what's down the road.
When I'm on my bike, whether it's in
Boulder or a far-off adventure, it's
always magical. I love the feeling, and
I feel more connected to myself, to
nature, to humanity, and when I come
home after an experience like this, I
have a new perspective on life and
what's important,
>> [music]
>> and I always feel like I'm more patient,
and more loving, and more [music]
caring, and more open-minded, and these
are all good things
for me to have in everyday life. You
know, I think [music] doing these rides
is is practice for being a good human,
and so I look at this
>> [music]
>> as a gift. All I have to do every single
day, even though it's hard and
overwhelming, all I have to do is wake
up
and ride my bike. [music]
And that, my friends, is a dream come
true. It really is.
Way back in 2005,
when I did my very first big adventure
from Honduras to Boulder, after I served
in the Peace Corps,
I had the time of my life on that
adventure. And when I finished that
experience,
I said to myself, I want to find a way
>> [music]
>> to make a living
by doing this thing, by [snorts] riding
my bike. And at the time it was absurd.
How could you make a living just by
riding your bike and going on bike
tours?
But with the advent of online video,
I get to share my stories, I get to make
a living, and this is a dream come true.
I have some exciting news. You see this
wonderful creature right here? You all
know Mira?
John and Mira will be joining me for the
Canada section. I will be starting in
Jasper, which is about 300 miles north
of Banff. So, that whole part in the
north will be new to me. I will ride
with John and Mira for the Canada
section, and then along the way other
people will come and meet me, some good
friends. I will have a tracker, I will
put that somewhere in the link below or
whatever.
And then, on July 21st,
I will be meeting up with a group of
about 25 people from my audience. I made
a video about a month ago inviting
people to come join me, and I will meet
up with them in Salida, Colorado, and
we're going to ride together for about
550 miles. This is section five of the
Great Divide Route. We're going to ride
from Salida to Grants with
>> [music]
>> those 25 people and five people from the
Priority Bicycles team, Connor, Will,
Daryl.
Uh, who else is coming? Uh,
I forget. No, Eddie's coming. The Eddie
is the guy who has designed a lot of
these adventure bikes, and um, I'm just
really looking forward to it. That's
going to be like a carrot for me hanging
in front of me to keep going, Ryan, keep
going, keep going. Get to Salida. Once I
get to Salida, I have a whole week with
these wonderful humans. And then, once
they're gone, I will have from Grants to
the border, which is another 400-ish
miles, which equals about 45 days on the
road. Oh my god.
So,
yeah, here I am sitting in my garage
getting all my gear together. I will
make a gear video cuz I know you love
gear videos about all the stuff I'm
bringing. There's some new stuff. Of
course, I'm going to be riding the
Priority ADX. That is the bike that was
born on the divide in 2020. I rode the
prototype of the 600X.
If you're new to my channel, this is the
bike that I ride on all of my
adventures. And I helped design it with
my friends at Priority Bicycles. And
what makes it extra special is the
low-maintenance Pinion and Gates
drivetrain. As you can see, it's not a
chain, it's a carbon belt drive. And it
never needs to be lubed, and it lasts
three times longer than a chain.
And the Pinion gearbox, I love this
thing. It has a 600% gear range, which
is a bigger range than any other bike on
the market. And the granny gear can get
you up any steep mountain even when your
bike is fully loaded. And it's protected
from all of the elements. All the gears
in there are protected. And I'm just
feeling [music]
incredibly grateful that I have the
support of Priority,
>> [music]
>> and my mom, my family. I know my mom's
going to miss me. I'm going to miss my
mom. I'm going to miss so many people,
my friends, my girlfriend.
But, I'm going to have an amazing
summer. And I truly believe that.
Because every time I've ever been
[music]
on my bike
for any extended period,
it just
it feels good. Even though it's hard, it
feels good to be out there. And it
[music] feels good to overcome
hard moments. And I know I'm going to
see so much beauty and meet wonderful
people that will probably probably
become my friends
>> [music]
>> for life. I mean, that's an example of
John and Mira. I met them on the Baja
Divide in 2020 and we've been friends
ever since.
And um
yeah, I'm I'm looking forward to it, but
I definitely have a healthy
>> [music]
>> level of
>> [laughter]
>> nerves, you know? This is a big
undertaking. And I've been planning it
for over a year now. I think my theme
for this, because I'm already asking you
for advice, I might be asking people as
I go for advice on how to get through
[music] tough moments in life.
If a lot of you followed me from way
back in the day, 2018, I rode across the
country with my then girlfriend. The
project was called Love Cycles, and we
asked people along the way for love
advice. We were a new couple, and we
wanted to learn from people's experience
and wisdom. And I'm thinking [music] on
this particular project, I think it
would be really helpful for me and maybe
you, the viewer, to ask people from all
walks of life, "How do you get through
tough times? [music]
How do you get over,
you know, feeling
down or depressed or
>> [snorts]
>> incompetent or whatever it is? Cuz I've
had all of these feelings swirling
around my head
for the past year, year and a half.
Feelings that I've never really
experienced. Um and I well, I've
experienced them, but not in the levels
that I have. It's been a tougher year
um [music] than I can remember. And I
think meeting people and asking them for
advice is going to be helpful. And I
know I've talked about this being hard
and overcoming big challenges. but the
truth is it's not all hard, not even
close. Most of it is pure joy.
>> [music]
>> When I'm out there on my bike, I tap
into that feeling when I was a little
boy and I first learned how to ride a
bike and I felt [music] that feeling of
freedom. And that's what riding a bike,
bike packing [music]
really does for me. It makes me feel
free. Free to [music] explore, free to
connect, free to have fun, free to goof
around, free to overcome challenges,
free to eat really
not so healthy gas station food,
whatever it is. I love the feeling.
I will not be editing videos while I am
on the road. If you want to follow in
real time, the best place is Instagram.
I will try my best to put some updates
there. I'm definitely going to be
posting a lot of updates to my [music]
Patreon. So, if you'd like to join my
Patreon, here it is right here. There's
actually a free level of Patreon, so you
can do that, too. Thanks for being with
me, you know, for all of these years on
my channel here. It's It's a privilege
to be able to share these stories with
you. It's an honor.
And I I know that the the content that's
going to come out of this is going to be
really good. I I just I feel it, you
know?
There's so much beauty out there in
every shape and form. [music]
And I'm going to have 24 hours a day
to
>> [music]
>> capture it and share it with you. And
so, expect those videos later this fall.
But in the meantime, follow my
Instagram.
Send me good vibes. I will have a
tracker, so if you live near the route,
come out and say hi, give me a high
five, maybe give me a burrito or a
cookie. You know, you don't have to, but
hey, it would be cool. I love cookies
and burritos.
Um so
yeah, that's about it, you know. Here I
go. I will start pedaling on June 22nd
with John
and Mira, and I'm so grateful that
they're able to join me. So
yeah.
Let's do it.
And I'm going to have such a smooth
face. Ooh, yeah.
Mhm.