I checked the SNOTEL data - http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snow/

Both Galena Summit and Dollarhide summit are showing open!
Naturally, this is just a sampling and there could be HAB on the route, but I remember Dollarhide being snowed in well into July in years past

I have an S&S-coupled bike, and it's great!
it takes maybe 15 minutes to assemble - the couplers and cable-joiners are trivial compared to wheels / stem / pedals. Packing is about the same, I suppose you can go crazy with padding and tube-wrapping but again, not a big deal.
S&S provides a nice little wrench for tightening the couplers, with a 15mm pedal wrench on the other end.  I keep a couple of 10mm open-ends in case the cable joiners were to freeze up, but usually I just set them finger-tight and everything is OK.

I guess they weigh 1/2 pound but that's hardly worrisome to me.  The technology is amazing and S&S is very particular about their builders so no worries whatsoever about the frame.

Cost is the only downside.  Couplers are expensive, suitcase is expensive, you'll be needing a lot of travel to break even.  29'ers are never going to make the 64-inch limit so I hope you like smaller wheel size.

I've fished that country, and you'll be pleasantly surprised!

There's no shortage of 10-12" native trout up high, and you can pretty much plan on some 8" pan trout.
Streams are stocked - and yeah the stocker-rainbows will eat about anything.
There are some truly big fish in Salmon River, Big Wood River and others I'm sure.  I once hooked a fish so big I thought it was a log and lost it. 

Trail Creek is near the route - that was Hemmingway's favorite fishin' water - and Warm Springs Creek above Ketchum is about the best stream I've ever fished. Not clear how close we'll get to Silver Creek and some of the other storied streams in the area.

Early in the season, water is high and a bit muddy so lures or big ugly wet-flies seem best.  Fly-fishermen will have more fun later on with those pretty ripples and monster trout behind every rock...

Thanks Casey, I am THERE

It seems like the section between Pie Town and Silver City is pretty tough, maybe due to distance, lack of resupplies, fatigue... and that riders are going slower (well, less fast) through there.  Can anyone comment on this?

First there is Mangas Mountain.  Very pretty.  Sandy.  Saw a lynx there. relatively nice grades.
And Then, the Gilas.
The Gilas are TOUGH!

Locals in Silver City (and elsewhere) use a term - "Gila Tested."  This means your gear is capable of, well, almost anything.

You drink from cattle tanks.  Intrepid riders look for windmills because you probably don't have to filter. Beaverhead Work Center is a nice place, but payphone, bathroom, soda machine, water, that is about it.  I expect all the crews are out working fires right now.

It gets lost in this ride, mostly because of Montana.  Our riders who drop, and attitude in general, are set in flathead/montana.  So we are led to believe that NM is just a ride-through -

but don't let them fool you.  The Gilas are toadily kicking their butts but they don't report it because it is 1)close to the end and 2)they are quite used to butt kickings. Northbound riders know it.

I thought Montana easier, but I am just a tourist

Dylan Thomas is taking a break just west of Pie Town on hwy 60.

As I recall, there is a store (the only store) and laundromat about three miles west of town.  That probably explains it!

It was a nice place to hang out - chairs on the front patio and such.  I learned some things about how locals consider mexican grey wolves when I was there

More importantly, anyone know if there is a water source anywhere near his current location?

He is having such a determined, impressive ride on that fixie.  Go Dave go!

I suspect he is at Diagonus Well right now.  Just south of the route, by Picket lake.

I've heard it said this well is hard to find, but I had no problems.  The water was cold and had a little bit of that machine-taste, but no complaints!  Lots of wildlife there too.

Go Dave Go!

For us reasonable people, it's not hard - program the "help" button one way and let "911" do its thing.  I made it clear to my brother (primary contact of messages) that help meant broken arm/leg, please call & ask the ranger to drop by soon.  "911" meant loss of blood.

But as stated, the yuppies aren't reasonable this way

One more thing about hotsprings - a few of them are mildly radioactive.  They must be straining through some hot rocks (pardon the pun).  Some people like this - must be the same crowd that hangs out in radon-infested caves and tell you how good it is for you!

I don't think I'll worry too much about taking a swim - after all, how many rads are we soaking up on a multi-day trip, anyway - but drinking it is another concern

Jumped right in.  First ride was the Great Divide (south to north).

It really isn't as crazy as it sounds.  I knew backpacking well, and I ride.  I built the perfect bike for the job at hand.  Had lots of time and just enough money & went for a ride.

There's a lot of riders with crazy skills, but riding dirt roads isn't so complex, ya know?

Good decision!  It's about time the feds had a reality check!

When in the wilderness, we have to take care of ourselves.  Hopefully you have a first aid kit.  And I probably have a pistol too. I've been held up at gunpoint and didn't like it very much.

The beauty of this rule is we can treat the law as common sense - until now the feds were off on their own legal planet, where crossing an unmarked boundary meant we were not allowed to protect ourselves?  You gonna throw rocks at a bear, or a two-legged critter?

You might not agree but this is the land of the free.  With a little training and a non-felony record we're allowed to protect ourselves almost as well as the bad guys now.  Remember, no sign stating "guns not allowed" ever stopped a criminal unless it fell and bumped 'em on the head

Thanks Scott - I promise to make good use of it!


Somehow I had a bad download at one point - the file seemed way too small or something, because when I loaded the 1.83 meg version it worked much better

I can vouch for the S&S Couplers - they are just as good as advertised.  When I pack the bike into a soft case it feels a bit delicate, though, I'm always careful to set it down gently, the clanking can get on your nerves.  And the packing soft-case is heavy canvas for a good reason.  And I must state the obvious - the bike hasn't gotten any lighter. 

I can roll up the canvas bag & anchor it on the rack, but there's nothing small and light about it, either.  It would be hard to go to a lighter bag, because you'd find a frame tube sticking out the side one day!  I've never thought of my dry-bags as durable that way.

They make an S&S suitcase that hauls like a trailer.  Put some Kendas on it?

While riding GDMBR this summer, I met some motocycle riders who where on Trans-America.  They were in Sargents, CO buying fuel.

We compared notes and they were talking of big hills.  The story involved hills so steep the best riders had to take the bikes up the hills one by one.  Of course this guy was one of those riders.

Miles of soft silt were mentioned.  They, of course, thought it'd never work on an MTB.

I only give them a little credit for knowing what they were talking about but that was the lowdown

I think I'm finding a common problem in these threads - we're always running out of something.

I ran out of fuel (and Scott forgot a particular fuel can, that's about the same) and the solution is simple - stick fire or help from camp host.  It's a pain to clean up the black stuff and get the ashes out of the coffee but hey, that's the price we pay.

I met a rider who ran out of food!  The store he thought he was going to resupply at was non-existent.  I gave him a meal or two, I believe he got some food at a ranch house and he survived.  This could be a tough one though, because the bonk demoralizes a rider.  When the mind goes soft, the body follows.

I've read about a rider who ran out of brakes.  Should have those checked every 1000 miles, friends.  Loaded MTB is rough on those things.

Another rider ran out of good weather!  I guess it was predicted but moved in too fast.  I'm particularly intrigued by this one - in mid-summer we can just hole up for a day or two, but it's late fall and one might need to hibernate for a few months!

And this summer, I ran out of time and money.  So I came home and got a job.  boo!  hiss!  pfffft! 

What have you run out of?  And what would/did you do?  Once we get beyond poor planning, this seems to be the number one problem statistically

Tim's the name, riding is the game!  I'm no racer, just an Arizona boy who loves to camp and ride bikes.

The first distance ride was San Diego to Yuma, a twin century.  Tough on a 14-yr-old kid but I pulled it off.  Did some pretty good backpacking trips - Sawtooths in Idaho, Sierras in CA, Havasupai and Grand Canyons, Black River, East Clear Creek, the list goes on. 

In my 30's I gave up cigarettes and bought an MTB.  Nice change for a city boy (now I'm in Chandler).  And a new road bike.  And another MTB.  And a SS.  And a better road bike.  I thought quitting smokes was going to save me money?     I started nailing some centuries, and pretty soon I'd pegged a couple of doubles, and this summer I ended up with lots of time (two months) and enough money so I bought a 29er & started the GDMBR from South to North.  Made it to Jackson WY before running out.

I suppose I'll still be all over the map as far as riding goes.  El Tour de Tucson is still a lot of fun, this will be my 7th I think.  A good full-suspension ride does things the loaded 29er can't do (like move quickly!) and everyone knows some SS riding teaches a rider respect.  I'll be out there cranking out the miles, hauling my zero-degree bag because I'm an Arizona boy and that cold just sucks!

I went so far as to scan campgrounds for noisy lanterns with pump-mechanisms, so I could bum a pint.  Didn't feel real classy, but gave $$$ and told the dudes to buy an ice cold beverage on me.  When the missus was giving away fuel, I just said nice things.   

One hears of places that will fill your pint canister, but couldn't find any when I tried.  SO I thought I'd ask the pros.

You lightweight, speed bikepackers burn no fuel at all?

My luck has been poor on all things fuel-related! Thus the white gas thread. Must learn from others.  Before I burn the place(s) down with their extra 7/8 gallon of fuel! Leaving it by the dumpster with a sign saying "have fun kiddos" would be bad form, ya know?

For denatured alcohol, you have opportunity to hit up a Home Depot or maybe even a Wally World, whereas WhiteGas is only (if ever) sold in small cans at real camping type stores.  Alcohol burns cooler, takes longer, burns more but weighs just as much.

I got a multi-fuel stove that will burn anything and stink most of the time.  A whiff of white gas will not turn my stomach like pure unleaded in the morning

where I come from, they're the same thing?

White gas is unleaded fuel without the stinky additives.

I suspect there are other definitions out there - I've heard such things before -
but the problem is usually, you can only buy a gallon.  And you want to fill a one -pint can.

Can you find white gas when you're on a trail?

Unleaded
STINKS

You're right, Scott, but I have a feeling things are changin' a bit out there.

Most importantly, this is different than a real ACA route.  There's a dirt-road alternate to Jackson (real route), and a paragraph about a route intrepid riders might find (not a real route).  We are told of another map (have to get that next). The route is mostly dirt-road, but there's a several-mile piece designated as trail, and I suspect that's the problem area.

Hiking trails are known to become grown over.  I've had to hack my way through forest, desperately spotting blazes on trees and hoping I didn't miss any. Most people blame it on lack of trail maintenance because the park/forest service won't invest any more - at the same time as they're charging fees where they were never charged before?  Revenues should be UP.

The ACA maps aren't new any more. TourDivide riders became desparate when a store on the map didn't really exist (locals wondered because they said it never had existed).  And this wouldn't be the first time a farmer plowed & said what are they going to do about it.

Of course, a GPS route would answer the question.  Certainly the rider I met could've gotten lost.  But he had a trailer and was really unhappy about that trail section, so I must believe he did the best he could? It sure would be nice to ask somebody who's been there!