I had breakfast last Wednesday with a longtime friend from Davenport, Iowa, named Jerry. He and his family used to welcome Bikecentennial riders into their home when the Northern Tier Route passed through their area (it's since been rerouted). He also led a few "light tours" for us in the late 1980s and early '90s.
Jerry still travels on two wheels, but somewhere along the line he discovered that he prefers his bike to come with a motor. Which explains why he and another friend were on their way back to Iowa on their BMW R1200 sport-touring motorcycles, after attending the 2010 BMW International Rally in Redmond, Oregon. (A lot of their rally rides took place on the TransAmerica Trail, and they say they did see a lot of cyclists.)
Anyway, to make a short story long, Jerry said he overheard more than one party at the rally discussing rides they'd made on the Great Divide Route. Being familiar with our Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, he investigated and learned that they were indeed talking about the same route.
Curiosity piqued, after breakfast I came back to the office and did an Internet search for "dual-sport motorcycles on the Great Divide" and came up with numerous links. For starters: This one about a ride made on a 2001 Triumph Tiger and a Suzuki DRZ400; another one about a 2005 adventure, which includes some great photos of the route; this one by Wazzy, a Canadian with a sense of humor; a ride account from Dirt Bike Magazine's website; and, finally, episode one of a three-part YouTube video shot along the route. (Check out what they've done with the Beatles' "Let It Be" and another song, beginning about three minutes into the video.)
Now, while I would hate seeing the Great Divide get overrun with motorized vehicles, I don't think the occasional dual-sport motorcycle rider is anything to get upset about. After all, these guys and gals are not Hells' Angels; in fact, they share a spirit of adventure much like the one possessed by long-distance bikepackers.
What do you think about it?
"My neighbor Bob (and his dog Mentzel) and Bob's 1981 BMW touring/enduro bike, the model that launched the motorcycle adventure-touring craze." Photo by Michael McCoy.
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BIKING WITHOUT BORDERS is posted every Monday by Michael McCoy, Adventure Cycling’s field editor, and highlights a little bit of this or a little bit of that — just about anything, as long as it’s related to traveling by bicycle. Mac also compiles the organization's twice-monthly e-newsletter Bike Bits, which goes free-of-charge to 38,000 readers worldwide.
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I think it's great! I just got a dual-sport motorcycle of my own and have been looking for great off-road rides to do on my bike. Something like the Great Divide route, but for motorcycles, would be incredible!
ReplyDeleteOn the flip side, anyone ever do the Trans-Am trail on a bicycle?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.transamtrail.com/
When it comes to road/mixed terrain like the Divide bikes and motorcyclists share the same agenda. Last year, during the 2009 Tour Divide it was common place to see enduro motos along the route, especially in Montana. I think we scared them more than they scared us. They won't be able to access all of the Divide (Richmond)...We all need to keep our heads up out there and stay safe.
ReplyDeletePeter; Yes, thousands of cyclists ride the TransAm Trail every year. Adventure Cycling Association created the route for the 1976 Bikecentennial event (where thousands of cyclists crossed the country in celebration of the nation's bicentennial). It was our first route. Read about it here: http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/transamerica.cfm.
ReplyDeleteWinona Bateman
Media Director, Adventure Cycling Association
Inspiring people of all ages to travel by bicycle
www.AdventureCycling.org
Get our press releases: http://www.adventurecycling.org/news/media.cfm
Read our blog: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/
Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/advcyclingassoc
Peter - Just to clarify - our TransAmerica Trail is not the same as the one that you shared with us.
ReplyDelete--
Winona Bateman
Media Director, Adventure Cycling Association
Inspiring people of all ages to travel by bicycle
www.AdventureCycling.org
Get our press releases: http://www.adventurecycling.org/news/media.cfm
Read our blog: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/
Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/advcyclingassoc
I just wound up with a dual sport BMW. You know, it works pretty well on the road, but up until now I hadn't even thought about using it in any other fashion. It was a purchase of convenience and sentiment over functionality, this is giving me a reason to explore the other half of that bike.
ReplyDeleteRawHyde Adventures leads a fully supported tour for dual sport motorcycles eights day covering 2500 miles. BMW of Manhattan is sponsoring a trip with RawHyde on August 12th-20th for more info go to http://www.rawhyde-offroad.com/divide.html or email BMW of Manhattan at bmwbikes@bmwnyc.com.
ReplyDeleteI would love to go on a motorcycle road trip with my mates, just like Long Way Round, even using the same BMW motorcycles. That will be a experience of a life time.
ReplyDeleteA Great Divide dual-sport motorcycle ride on a BMW R1200 sport-touring motorcycle would be almost as fun as doing the ride on a 2001 Triumph Tiger and a Suzuki DRZ40 like Kevin Naser and Jim Lamm. Wazzy's photos make it look like a Great Divide version of Ewan McGregor's, Long Way Round TV Show. Makes me want to go for a ride.
ReplyDeleteIn contrast to this, the Great Divide Route follows large, unpaved but high-quality road 22 to take bicyclists from Atlantic City and South Pass City to the wide-open spaces to the southeast. It is the way to the city of Rawlins.
ReplyDelete