Iohan Gueorguiev
Great Divide
Frisco, CO - Loma, CO 428 miles
After a two week break, which hardly felt like one (driving, hiking, climbing), I am back on the bike. There is only 12 miles of GDMBR this section, bits of the Colorado Trail and some google route finding. You won't believe the roads google sometimes suggests!Armed with a kilogram of peanut butter M&M's, I climbed up Breckenridge's ski hill. The climb to Wheeler trail and later Kokomo Pass was a cake. The trail was amazingly well graded and perfectly rideable, both down and up although I often just pushed the bike when granny gear felt like too much.
I am not sure how everybody else shops but the first thing I look at is the calories... then amount of servings, multiply and decide if it’s worth carrying it. Route planning is basically doing point A to B on google maps and then seeing if you can drag the route through the mountains. Save and export as gps file. I have a track loaded and not much of an idea about what towns are on the way. This keeps things interesting.
Next was Tincup Pass, it started pouring once I reached the top and not too long after I was soaked and shivering. A map booth showed a more direct way to Crested Butte - road 759. It started off nicely, turned to a rocky 4x4 and before long I was out of breath sliding back on a muddy vertical jeep road. At times it was funny to imagine somebody driving a Wrangler or even an ATV here. The downhill had jumps about every 50 feet, making it a blast!
Two breakfast orders in Crested Butte and I still didn't know which way to go. A message from a friend who is biking across America on a tandem put them only 30 miles away. So I took the muddiest ride down to Gunnison. Next day I joined Carol on the tandem up and over Monarch Pass, while Bob took a day off. Big contrast between moving slowly up dirt roads and blasting 25mph on highways.
Hartman Rocks in Gunnison and all those trails near Crested Butte will have to wait for another time. Winter is coming and I need to hurry up if I still want to do the remainder of the Colorado Trail. Riding to Paradise divide felt like Alaska - vibrant green hillsides, glacial fed streams and endless valleys. And of course - Rain but that only made the downhill better.
And it was all downhill to Grand Junction, where I'll hop on the Kokopelli trail to Moab, Utah.
- IMAGES OF THE ROAD -
Iohan Gueorguiev
Gear List
- My Ride -
- My Blackburn Gear -
- BIKE SPECS -
- • FRAME-NINER SIR 9 CHROMO, 142MM X 12MM THRU AXLE
- • FORK-NINER SIR 9 RIGID, 853 (9MM QR) OR CARBON RDO (15MM AXLE)
- • FRONT WHEEL-SRAM ROAM 50 29
- • REAR WHEEL- SRAM ROAM 50 29
- • FRONT TIRE-WTB WOLVERINE 29
- • REAR TIRE- WTB WOLVERINE 29
- • INNER TUBES-WTB INNERTUBE PRESTA 29
- • SEALANT-WTB TCS SEALANT 500mL
- • CRANK SET-SRAM XX1 175MM
- • CHAINWHEELS-SRAM XX1 CNC-X-SYNC DRICT MOUNT, SEVERAL SIZES
- • BOTTOM BRACKET-SRAM GPX 73MM
- • CHAIN-SRAM PC-XX1
- • REAR DERAILLEUR -SRAM-XX1 X-HORIZON
- • REAR DER SHIFTER-SRAM XX1 TRIGGER SHIFTER
- • CASSETTE-SRAM XG-1199 10-42T
- • STEM-TRUVATIV STYLO T40 STEM SEVERAL SIZES
- • HANDLEBARS-TRUVATIV STYLO T40 RISER 700MM WIDE, 15MM RISE
- • TAPE / GRIPS- WTB TECH TRAIL CLAMP ON
- • SADDLE-WTB VOLT TEAM, 142MM WIDE
- • SEAT POST-TRUVATIV STYLO T40 SEATPOST 27.2MM DIA, 400MM LENGTH
- • FRONT BRAKE-SRAM GUIDE RSC POST MOUNT, 160MM ROTOR, >1,000MM HOSE
- • REAR BRAKE-SRAM GUIDE RSC POST MOUNT, 160MM ROTOR, >1,800MM HOSE
- • BRAKE LEVERS-SRAM GUIDE RSC
- • BRAKE HOUSING / CBL-SRAM
- •
Iohan Gueorguiev
- FROM: Ontario, Canada
- DOB: 1999-11-30
- OCCUPATION: Adventurer
- What was the genesis moment or inspiration for the upcoming adventure? After starting the GDMBR in mid-October and having to hop out in December at Colorado, I always wondered if I would ever get a second chance. Later I learned of the first bike ride of the Continental Divide Trail and also wondered, how cool that would be. During a rather cold January in Utah I heard about the Blackburn Ranger program, connected the bits and pieces and there was only one logical choice: apply to be on the team and bikepack the CDT.
- Have your traveled by bike in the past? In 2013 I crashed down a hill on my road bike which left me with a broken collar bone, two broken hands and a 3 month recovery period. To make it through I thought of biking from Vancouver to Ontario. So I did it, then Toronto to Halifax in winter. I was hooked, in 2014 I took time off school and set off to bike from the Arctic Ocean to British Columbia. And then, Alaska to Argentina. I've made it as far as Mexico and am looking forward to riding the CDT and continuing down south as part of the Blackburn team.
- What is your goal for the route? I have few ideas, most importantly: have fun, stop and smell the flowers (oh yeah - it won't be winter so there actually will be flowers), find out more about the CDT trail hiking community, do as much as CDT as possible, find time to ride the Colorado trail and spend some time in Moab, Utah. I'll also be filming on the way (nothing fancy) and continuing the "SEE THE WORLD" series on which follow my bike trip south. Video is such a great way to try and share the wild and unpredictable story of the open road!
- What do you hope to get out of this journey? One always has some expectations with trips like these but the moment you set a wheel on the dirt it all changes. I want to see how bikepacking compares to fully loaded touring and see if it's something I can adopt and continue doing for the rest of my around-the-world bike trip. Aside from that - create memories, make new friends and meet old ones, explore and get lost in the Rockies.
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What's in my bag?
Buff, Gopro, Alaska License plate,Turtle (which I had on my first bike trip, and ever since)
