Author Topic: Great Parks Tour or Great Divide -- late season start?  (Read 6765 times)

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Offline teampeacedove

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Great Parks Tour or Great Divide -- late season start?
« on: February 26, 2009, 01:35:59 am »
Hey all -- I am brand new to this forum and have a couple of questions. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 I'll be travelling solo and leaving late in the season (around August 20) to do either the Great Divide or Great Parks route.  I have plenty of experience touring and backpacking in places from North America to SE Asia to New Zealand.

1.  Is this too late to be starting either of these rides in Jasper, CA?  Any thoughts?
2.  What can I expect bear-wise this time of year on the Great Divide? Would solo travel be safe?
3.  I have a Salsa Fargo -- great bike, no suspension.  How miserable would I be on the Great Divide route?  I don't mind any time of terrain except washboard - can't stand it.  Will I see a lot of it this time of year?

Looking forward to hearing from some of you!
Cycling - Education - Music - Peace

Offline valygrl

Re: Great Parks Tour or Great Divide -- late season start?
« Reply #1 on: February 26, 2009, 02:16:49 am »
I'm a road tourist, no info on the divide, but I've done some of the GP.  Last summer I rode from Wyoming to Jasper and back.  I left Jasper 8/14 and rode to Yellowstone, had great weather in Canada, a little rain in Yellowstone, missed snow by a couple of days, but there were still some warm days after, I think.  It was just starting to feel like it was getting on the late side - 9/3 in Yellowstone.  I wasn't setting any speed records.  I did have some rain on the Icefields Parkway on the way north, sat out a day or two, but it wasn't very cold.

My gut feel is, unless you are really fast, you'll be OK until around Walden (south of Rawlins) and then south of there you head up into the high country in Colorado.  September is the shoulder season - could be nice, could be stormy.  You could always bail out of the mountains to the east.  Mid to late september it's not a surprise to get snow & hail up high, but the front range should still be really nice.  Or, you could head over to Utah, September/October around Moab is really good.

My impression is the divide is generally higher than the roads, so probably on the too-late side.

Don't know if you want suggestions,  but that would be an absolutely lovely time to ride the pacific coast, if you are looking for an alternative.

Offline teampeacedove

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Re: Great Parks Tour or Great Divide -- late season start?
« Reply #2 on: February 28, 2009, 09:34:46 pm »
Thanks for the advice!  I've already done the pacific coast or I'd be there in a second. 
Cycling - Education - Music - Peace

Offline John Nettles

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Re: Great Parks Tour or Great Divide -- late season start?
« Reply #3 on: March 01, 2009, 12:04:57 am »
Over on Crazy Guy on A Bike, there are a few rockies experts.  You might consider asking over there.  I have not been on the GDR yet, but from what I hear, you will definitely get some washboard.  Whether or not, certain sections are worse or worse at certain times of the year, I can not tell you.  Remember that if you do the GDR, you will probably not make as much distance per day as when on the road.