Philip Benningfield
Great Divide
Living on the Great Divide Route
It came to me this morning as I contemplated a ride before work. Living on the GDR offers so many opportunities to connect classics close to home and world famous mountain bike rides. And the route itself is nothing short of endless expanses through the hidden woods and parks of magnificent Colorado.If I head east I can ride to Breckenridge in a day or two and play on the Colorado Trail or a plethora of fine singletracks in Summit County. If I stay closer to home I simply cruise along forest roads enjoying some of the most far-reaching mountain vistas Colorado offers, without a care for car traffic.
If I head west the real gems are met from Marshall Pass. The Monarch Crest Trail goes due north, part of the Colorado Trail and Continental Divide Trail. If I feel like it I can point the wheels south and do some of the finest singletrack along the Colorado Trail then plunge back down to the GDR along Silver Creek and the Rainbow Trail or the lesser known Starvation Creek, which is the definition of classic singletrack.
If you are lucky enough to use the GDR as a connector to fine trails then you understand the advantage of living close to the route. If not, pack up your car, or better yet just your bike, and head to Salida or Steamboat Springs or Missoula or Pinedale or Grants or Banff…
#blackburn
#getoutthere
- IMAGES OF THE ROAD -
Philip Benningfield
Gear List
- MY BLACKBURN GEAR -
- BIKE SPECS -
- • FRAME-2010Titanium Motobecane Fly Team 29er
- • BOTTOM BRACKET-Shimano Deore XT
- • SHIFTERS-Shimano XTR
- • TIRES-Geax Saguro 29er
- • STEM-TruVatin Stylo
- • SPARE PARTS LISTS-Always, always, always a spare derailluer hanger! Chain links, cleat, misc. bolts, brake pads, Haven spoke, tubes, zip ties, duct tape, etc. etc.
- • HEADSET-FSA Orbit XLII
- • PEDALS-Shimano XTR SPD
- • BRAKES-Avid Elixir
- • SEATPOST-Thomson Aluminum
- • HANDLEBAR-Easton Monkey Lite Riser, Ergon grips with bar ends.
- • ACCESSORIES-Princeton Tec light, Blackburn Fleas, Garmin Dakota 10 GPS
- • CRANK-Shimano Deore XT 175mm, XT rings
- • CASSETTE-Shimano Deore XT, 11-34
- • WHEELS-29 Easton Haven Aluminum
- • SADDLE-Brooks Titanium B17
- • BAGS-Oneja Negra framebag, Carousel Design seat pack, front and rear top-tube packs and handlebar pack.
- PERSONAL ITEMS -
- • Electrolytes
- • Ibuprofen
- • A&D ointment
- • Vitamins-(cordyceps mushrooms, Hyaloronic acid/MSM)
- • Basic first aid kit
- • Water purification tablets
- • Spoon
- TECHNOLOGY -
- • Garmin Dakota GPS
- • Princeton Tec light
- • Ipod
- • Blackburn Flea light
- CAMPING GEAR -
- • Oware tarp
- • SOL emergency bivy
- • Thermarest Neoair sleeping pad
- • Sleeping bag-Feathered Friends Hummingbird 20-degree sleeping bag
- •
- MY CLOTHING -
- • Tattered Bellweather bibs
- • Worn-out Pearlizumi Arm and Leg Warmers
- • Marmot Poly shirt
- • Bell Variant Helmet
- • Bellweather outer shorts
- • Trespass waterproof jacket
- • Trespass waterproof jacket
- • Marmot Down jacket
- • Jagged Mountain skull cap
- • Champion jersey
- • Smart wool socks
- • Giro gloves
Philip Benningfield
- FROM: Salida, CO, USA
- DOB: 1964-07-31
- Married to Dawn Heigele
- OCCUPATION: Coffeeshop owner and author
- What was the genesis moment or inspiration for your upcoming adventure? Have your traveled by bike in the past? My motivation comes from some instinctual need to see what lies over the next mountain pass, to see a pristine meadow flushed with wildflowers or filled with stoic elk, or follow a never-ending ranch fence line in as obscure a place as possible.
- What is your goal for the route? What do you hope to get out of this journey? Any undertaking along the GDR is tempered with as little expectations as possible. I find no need to try and experience the trip beforehand as the actual ride far surpasses any expectation. The goal each and every time is to get away from the busy world and witness, with as minimal a kit as I can survive with, the peace found out in the middle of nowhere!
MY MUST HAVES
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Tattered warm Pearlizumi gloves
-
Sleeping Bag
Feathered Friends Hummingbird 20-degree sleeping bag
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Marmot 650-fill down coat
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Jagged Edge skullcap