Claire Porter

Great Divide

Roosville, MT

Overview 0 mi Overview
Segment 1 215 mi Banff, AB
Segment 2 277 mi Sparwood, BC
Segment 3 443 mi Roosville, MT
Segment 4 624 mi Seeley Lake, MT
Segment 5 828 mi Polaris, MT
Segment 6 1040 mi Flagg Ranch, WY
Segment 7 1178 mi South Pass City, WY
Segment 8 1363 mi Middlewood Hill, NY
Segment 9 1458 mi Silverthorne, CO
Segment 10 1588 mi Salida, CO
Segment 11 1712 mi Platoro, CO
Segment 12 1890 mi Cuba, NM
Segment 13 2051 mi Pie Town, NM
Segment 14 2169 mi Silver City, NM
Getting ready for the ride! 0 mi PRE-RIDE
01 Days before departure 0 mi Home
Banff, Canada 232 mi Eureka, Mt
Eureka, MT 259 mi Helena, MT
Helena, MT 183 mi Island Park, ID
Island Park, ID 98 mi Jackson, Wyoming
Jackson, Wyoming 185 mi Atlantic City, Wyoming
Atlantic City 349 mi Frisco, CO
Frisco, CO 165 mi Del Norte, CO
Del Norte, CO 307 mi Grants, NM
Grants, NM 240 mi Silver City, NM
Silver City, NM 136 mi Mexico/US Border

Roosville- the border! This means several things we have moved on to the next Adventure Cycling map, people will stop saying "eh" at the end of their sentences, and alcohol will be available in grocery stores again (EDIT apparently in Montana there are strange alcohol laws and it is sold in separate stores just like in Canada).

Ben and I file in line behind all the cars to pass through customs. I am extremely unprepared for this big event and my passport is buried deep in my handlebar bag which I packed so meticulously that morning. I am not getting it out. Ben insists that I need a passport to cross the border, but I refuse to dig through my pack. When it is our turn to pass through, the customs officer asks to see our passports. Ben obediently shows his, and I provide my California driver's license which looks fake since my picture looks like I was electrocuted. The officer asks if I have a passport. I explain that it is buried in my pack, and he stares at our bikes. He oggles the Blackburn packs, and admires my solar panel. "Where are you two biking from?" he asks. "Banff, Canada, and I'm going to the Mexican border!" I exclaim. I describe the Great Divide to him, and he is fascinated. We speak in Spanish, I tell him about my high school, and Ben rolls his eyes. My plan is a success he lets us go through and I don't have to unfasten a single buckle for that silly paper booklet. On to America!