Ride The Divide - Colorado
Introduction

The route is about 1200+ miles and crosses, by my count, 20 passes. 14 of these passes cross the Continental Divide. For those who don't know what the Continental Divide is, it's the point that divides the water flow in North America. Water on the west side goes to the Pacific and water falling to the right flows to the Atlantic. Maybe that's a bit simplistic, but it works for me.

I first read about Riding The Divide at the Concours ( Colorado) web site. If you Google it, you will find others. For my inspiration and planning details, COG gets the initial credit. The only change we made in routing was to spend night 2 in Vail rather than Minturn ; Minturn had just about zero accommodations that I could find. We also spent night 3 in Salida instead of Poncha for the same reason.

Whether you really care about geography and water is really irrelevant. This is just an excuse to take one of the best rides ever. I've ridden from BC to Newfoundland ( and back ) 4 times and have ridden all of the Canadian provinces and half of the United States. My conclusion is this should be in the top 3 or your riding destinations. Period.

I thought that 300 miles per day was a bit short for a serious long distance rider. By the end of Day 1, I had changed my mind. It was just about right for having fun, taking pictures, and exploring small towns. Be sure to eat where the locals eat. If the sign looks familiar, move on; you won't be disappointed. In fact, the food is one of the highlights if you're a little adventurous. Be forewarned - this is ski resort country and it ain't cheap. Ever spend $10 for two ice cream cones ? I did; twice. Do your homework for motel selections before you leave. We also used the visitors center in Vail and it really paid off.

All of the photo's are shown in the order taken. There were probably a couple hundred more photo's that I would like to have taken and posted here. You'll have to do that yourself. How's that for an invitation to ride.

Have fun,
David Morrow, 
Vancouver, B.C.

Updated December 07, 2011