Huck and I talked about bikes alot during the long hours of hiking, both on the PCT and the CDT. Finally we decided to tackle some bikepacking together… he wanted to ride the Great Divide Mountain Bike route, and I was game.

I hadn’t bike toured since riding the Camino de Santiago on a fixed gear with a trailer, so I was interested in some gravel riding, and seeing more of the American west after finishing the Triple Crown the year before. We set out June 9th and headed south, taking about 2 weeks to ride thru Taos to the Mexican border in New Mexico, then detoured thru Bixbee and ended up in Tuscon, AZ.

I abandoned the tour after we drove back to Leadville due to mental health issues, but Huck went on to yo-yo the Tour Divide route. I ended up sticking around Leadville, taking some time to walk the local mountains (including a modified Collegiate Loop on the CT/CDT).

---