This is post #3 of a narrative riding a section of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route eight years after the original trip. This multi-part account is posted chronologically and Part One can be read here. Great Divide Redux 2023

For well over a week and a half this entry has been written, edited, and sitting just waiting for me to hit the ‘Publish’ button to release it into the wild. It was written while I was still in Colorado. As the words flowed, it took an unexpected trajectory… A narrative of my 2015 ride that only a few friends have heard. The retrospective journey that I found myself on was an enjoyable one as I relived those memories and finally put words to a part of my ride I kept off the blog. Satisfied the story was complete, I felt the Holy Spirit telling me, not now. After MUCH consideration, I decided to trash a couple of days of writing and start over. Hope you enjoy this rewrite. 

This is post #2 of a narrative riding a section of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route eight years after the original trip. This multi-part account is posted chronologically and Part One can be read here. Great Divide Redux 2023

Saturday August 12th, 2023

Our plan to ride a portion of my beloved Great Divide Route was cemented a few weeks ago, and since then there has been building excitement and a bit of anxiety. Let me say it’s not the type of anxiety to say “What the hell am I doing?” Keep in mind I’m primarily a solo backpacker, and the only one that depends on me is me. Now being one-third of a team, where my presence and performance are paramount, is causing some angst. I don’t want to let anybody down if things fall apart.

This time last year my youngest child, Emily, moved to Colorado with her fiancée Josh. Was not happy that she was moving 1,200 miles away, and God bless my baby girl for attempting to put a positive spin on the move. She told me, “Now you can check out Colorado.” To which I replied, “Sweetie, I rode a bike through it, I’m good.” 

Earlier this summer Emily and Josh made a trip back to Michigan and during that visit, we made plans that my summer vacation will be visiting them in Colorado. Then suggested that I drive out to bring my bike so that Josh and I can do some riding together. AND… Since it’s in the neighborhood, how about we do a day ride on a section of my beloved Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR)?

As I sit here in Michigan, in the middle of winter, I’m doing a little reflecting. Other than the daily question, what the heck am I doing in this state/climate? I’m thinking about how it’s been a very long time since I posted an adventure story. This past summer I did set out on a ride that certainly would have been worthy of a few words in this blog, but that ride didn’t play out as planned, hence no story.

Now that several months have passed since that ride and finding myself in a peculiar mood to write… Figured I’ll tell the good, bad, and ugly of what happened and satisfy my yearning to pen some witty banter that will either, entertain some or continue to feed my delusion that someone besides my mom reads this stuff.