Logistics for GDMBR

[Andoni]

Hello,

I just incorporated to this forum and I say hello to all of you.

This summer I'm traveling to the USA for cycling in the GDMBR. We will be a group of 8 people and we'll stay in your country for 4 week. Our aim is to cycle from somewhere in the north (still to be decided) to somewhere close to Denver

We'll go from Spain and Denver is the easiest (and cheapest) way to get close to the route from here.

Our idea is to rent a van and drive form Denver to the north. Once in the north, 7 of us will cycle and the other one will drive the van (changing driver everyday)

My questions are the next ones:

- Is it posible to arrive with a van to any place on the route where the group is going to pass the night? I still didn´t study the route but we will be able to cycle 60-80km per day (100 or even plus if necesary, but not everyday)

- I'm searching for van rentals in the Internet but I'm getting confused. Any advise of how to handle the logistics for this trip will be welcome

Thank you very much.

Andoni Solagaistua

[indyfabz]

For auto rentals, you might try Enterprise Car Rental. I have seen cargo vans of theirs and they rent minivans and SUVs.

I'll let people more experienced with the route give better detail, but I am pretty sure that some of the route is not accessible by automobile while other portions are.

[Iowagriz]

I can only speak to the Montana section as I grew up in Montana and have ridden from the Canadian border to Ovando.  The vast majority of that section could be reached by van. From Eureka to Whitefish would require driving a long route around to meet up with the group, but is entirely possible.

The route from Whitefish to Ovando parallels a paved highway and is within a short distance of the road the entire time.  I believe this is the same from Ovando to Butte.

As long as the group rides 50 a day (or so), I think you could easily figure spots to prearrange a meet-up.

[Andoni]

Thank you for the answers!

Yesterday I started studing the route, comparing the GPS track of the route with the campgrounds I found in Google Maps and, as you said Iowagrid, it looks like all the campgrounds in Montana can be reached by van.

The only section that I don´t know how accesible it is, is the southern part of Montana, from a place called Lima, in the route 15, to the route 20 in Idaho near Yellowstone. This section is very long and the only campground seems to be by the Upper Red Rock Lake (in the Red Rock Lakes Wildlife Refuge). Do you know if that camp is accessible by van?

As I follow "studing" the route I'll post more cuestions. Thank you very much for the aid.

Andoni

[Iowagriz]

I do not know that section, but if you look at when the route enters Idaho and crosses Hwy 20 (Island Park area), it seems like the group could easily ride that section and then the driver goes south from Lima on I15 and finds a route east to Hwy 20.

I would be surprised if a van couldn't drive the section from Lima, but be very cautious of rain events in that part of Montana, the roads can quickly turn to mud.

[JayH]

You should be able to meet up in Lima, MT,  A bunch of us stayed at Centennial Outfitters in the 4 man bunk house right by Red Rocks and you could easily drive the road that gets to that ranch...   And there is also a regular town in Idaho before the route hits that famous volcanic ash section... 

Jay