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Logistics of the Continental Divide Route

Joined
Oct 24, 2005
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Location
Wills Point, Texas
First Name
David
Last Name
Bell
We don't need another CDR ride report, at least I'm not going to write one. I did just finish the ride yesterday and thought it would be useful to go over some points about what to expect, what to take, including best bikes, and what not to take. We had a great ride with almost no problems at all. No flats, only a burned out headlight bulb and a rattly chain and some kind of weird KLR motor glitch 70 miles from home.

I picked up Jorge in Abiline (I'm from DFW). We pulled our two bikes on a trailer to Alto New Mex, home of Ruidoso Ron. We spent the night, loaded the bikes into a uhaul and drove very cramped up to Kallispell, Mt. where we spent the night in a junk yard and turned in the truck. Then rode 2400 miles on the bikes back to Ruidoso.

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Copy the image location from smugmug or some picture hosting site, then click the little post card looking icon. Paste the image location there and wa la

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Choosing which bike to take

I had three choices of bike to ride on the CDR. I just bought a Yamaha WR250 and am really enjoying riding it on the K trail and local trails. I love it. I also had my trusty old 02 KLR, which was all ready to go with new tires and oil. Then there was the BMW F800gs. I scoured ride reports to look for pictures that showed any road condition that would favor a smaller bike, figuring I could slog out the smooth parts if I took the WR. In all ride reports, I found zero pictures of any difficult roads. Of course everyone always says "I did not take any pictures of the hard parts cause I was too busy hanging on to take pictures". On this particular route, I would call bs on that statement.

I now believe that taking the WR would have been a serious mistake. 99% of this route is either pavement (not too much) or smooth dirt and gravel. I mean very smooth dirt and gravel. A lot of it will be ridden by a lot of you at 60 mph or more.

I am older and more conservative and did not want to deal with a broken collar bone 100 miles from any help, so tended to ride 45 mph or so. That too turned out good because there were some abrupt road changes, though not too many.

I took the F8. I love its smooth power and comfort (now that I finally got a good seat on the thing).

My two ride buddies, Jorge and Ron, took KLR's of newer style. Those were excellent too.

I also had to deal with camping gear of over 60 pounds, so that figured into the decision as well.

The F8 turned out to be the best choice, so I picked right. The KLR would have been fine too.

My F8 has a new "Seat Concepts" seat, which is made up of new seat foam and a new cover, which you glue and staple on your own seat pan. It saves a ton of money and the guy that makes them promised to work with me until it was right if he got it wrong the first time. Mine is the 'tall' option, with thicker and softer foam, because I am a thicker and softer person. It has two sweet spots, one narrow on the front and then an absolutely flat one a couple of inches back, so it's like two seats in one, and sliding back and forth gives a lot of relief on long rides. We did a couple of 350+mile days.
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The only question remaining is why do you have both an F800GS and a KLR650? Aren't those two bikes pretty similar to each other in size and function (but not in performance)?

Do you think a larger adventurer touring bike like a R1200GS or a Super Tenere would have been a mistake on this trip?

Okay, that 3 questions, not just one.
 
TRAX

We used the Big Dog Trax for the trip. Here is his ride report

http://bigdogadventures.com/CD.htm

I started a month and a half before the trip to get my GPS loaded up. My old CX 60 had burned up it's screen, so Garmin kindly gave me a new one. However, the Micro SD card out of the old one did not work, so I thought I'd get a bigger card to load more stuff. Logical, right? Nope. Anything bigger than 4 gig won't work for some reason that only Garmin understands.

I had to update the maps. I thought this would be simple, but I attempted to download my purchased maps about 10 times at the office where I have high speed. It would churn away for about 2 or 3 hours and then say "download failed". When I finally was told about the 4 gig card, I was able to download my new maps.

Then, I downloaded the Big Dog Trax available here:

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=108842

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There are others available, but at several points along the way, I was thinking about Paypaling Mark Sampson $100 or something to thank him. I can not imagine anyone trying to do this route without his (or somebody's) trax. Thanks Mark.

I also took Butler motorcycle maps that I had 'pre-dotted' with the route. I put tiny sharpie marks on the route. However, not all roads are on those maps. In several areas, there are mazes of trails, county roads, and dirt roads that are very confusing. I hoped that if the trax did not work, I would also have a fall back paper map. It turned out that they are useful to look at each evening to help give an overview of the next day's ride.

I also took DeLorme Atlases of each state. That was probably overkill, but what the hey, I love maps. I considered cutting pages out of them but could not make myself. They ended up riding flat in the bottom of my BMW top box so did not cause any problems. They have all the roads, trails, and other details so they would be useful if you really got flummoxed.

I also took a Nuvi 500 or 550 (can't remember). The trax did not download onto it for some reason, but the waypoints did. So I did not have the little line but did have little symbols with stuff like "muddy crossing" or "CDX12" (meaning the 12th time you cross the CD). I'm sure more knowledgeable persons could have downloaded the trax onto the Nuvi, but since I had them on the 60cx, figured my plan was ok.

Ron did basically the same thing on his 60 CSX. Jorge's GPS is some kind of WWII model that shows Lat/Long only, so he was in the rear all the time eating dust.

You will do a lot of zooming in and out and a few times you will overshoot a turn, but if zoomed in sufficiently, you will only go a few hundred feet before you know you are off.

So this worked out very well. Again, Thanks Mark.
 
The only question remaining is why do you have both an F800GS and a KLR650? Aren't those two bikes pretty similar to each other in size and function (but not in performance)?

Do you think a larger adventurer touring bike like a R1200GS or a Super Tenere would have been a mistake on this trip?

Okay, that 3 questions, not just one.

I got the KLR and took it to Mexico three times and Big Bend twice, and can't bring myself to part with it. Besides, it's got groovy military Desert Sand and flat black Stars painted on it and is too cool to sell.

The F800 is a much more $ophisticated bike and I love it.

A G1200, 0r 1100 0r 1150, would be excellent, as would a Super Tenere. The routes are custom made for Big Adventure bikes, cause it's a big adventure.
 
Weather

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Temps: I emailed Mark Sampson before the trip and asked him about temperature ranges. He of course replied "30-100" This turned out to be true. During one particularly trying morning (40 degrees, rain, mud, uncertain future) I realized how lucky we were. For the most part the weather was very pleasant. I generally wore my LD Comfort long underwear, an armor suit, and my aerostich Darien suit. I also had a Big Dog sweatshirt that I wore over my armor suit top for the early part of the day. A couple of times, I wore Merino wool underwear but got too hot later in the day.

We took Gerbings heated gear, but I didn't use it. That does not mean I would leave it next time, because I wished I had put it on in that rainy day weather. Ron wore his around camp and said it was a good jacket.

Temps at night for camping were generally 40's and 50's. I had no problems keeping warm in my North Face 20 degree bag and my tent.

Precip: Our experience was based on probably the most excellent luck, weather wise. It rained a bit, but not enough to create a lot of mud, which I will cover in a later post about tires. We only had 3 100 degree days and were able to keep moving (no, count em zero, flats). I fell twice due to my stupid habit of using the front brake at low speed in gravel, but no one fell due to mud. Your mileage may vary. This trip would not be nearly as much fun with a lot of rain or any ice, snow, or earthquakes.
 
Is it feasible to ride the CDT using hotels rather than camping? Don't like camping or all the extra weight of the camping gear on my bike!!

Gary
 
All my crap

When I started thinking about stuff to take, I used my experience on past trips and talked to others. I always tend to take too much stuff, and this time was no exception. Later, I'll post what I think "not to take" that I took.

Here is a picture of the stuff I took, excluding clothing, which I will cover in a minute:

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1: House. I took a rather inexpensive tent, which served me very well, but we did not have major rain storms. The fly on this tent looks like it was designed by a stylist rather than Sir Edmund Hillary, but as I said, it worked OK. In my house I had a camping pillow, a sleeping bag, and the new Thermarest air mattress, which packs much smaller, is more comfortable, and has a non-skid surface that I like.

2. Kitchen: I took the standard tiny backpacking stove with a blend fuel, a 42 year old aluminum cooking pot about big enough to put in stove, fuel, lighter, and plastic coffee cup, spoon and/or fork. I got two MSR water bladders which have the advantage of feeling like big boobies. I took a water purifying device but never used it, being rather careful to fill up Camalbak and water boobies frequently. I took several Mountain House Freeze dried entrees and bought more at a Walmart. I took little packets of Starbucks Coffee available at Walmart now, and packets of sugar and creamer that I scam from restaurants. I took a small bottle of palmolive antibacterial detergent for washing dishes, changing tires, and washing clothes.

3. Garage: I took a front and back tubes (Do NOT try to get by with only a front, ask Richard Gibbens about this), patches, rubber cement (check yours it's probably dried out), two tire irons, bead buddy, a tiny compressor, basic tools, a leatherman, some spare bolts (but not the one I needed when my headlight fell off), zip ties, various tapes, parachute cord, a large tire patch to be used as a boot if a tire split, voltmeter (and I can use it) fuses, and a short length of wire, as well as some cool environmental splices that crimp on and then seal with a lighter. I took a spare clutch cable and throttle cables. I should have taken brake shoes. No spare bulbs, they are too hard to store without breakage and you can buy them along the way; I did buy a low beam (H7) in Salida Colorado. I took, but never used, a one gallon gas container. I have done this several times. I never filled it up and rolled into town with less than 30 miles to go on a tank. Remember, Jorge and Ron had KLRs, the supertanker of bikes. I have found that at my offroad speeds, I get around 60-70 mpg, so my bike will go as far as theirs. I did take and always have a siphon hose and about 30' of strong nylon rope for towing.

4. Bathroom: Toilet paper, Wet wipes which took the place of a shower very well, Gold Bond powder that makes you smell like Grampa, lotion and Carmex (you will really bake yourself dry). Cheap *** camp towel from walmart. Baby shampoo in case you pick up a stray baby on the trip.

5. Electronics: Spot device, Iphone, 2 gps's. Should have brought ear buds but didn't. Note: Singing loudly to self at over 10,000 feet can cause dizziness and may lead to projectile vomiting. The Iphone served as a camera, porn storage, backup GPS, Weather Radar, and, uh, phone. Don't expect a signal most of the time, however.

6. Gun: Glock .357 Sig cal. holds 13 in a mag and 13 in the other mag and makes a lot of noise. I took, and lost along the way, a really nice laser sight. See, there were these other campers that were entertained in some way by the laser sight, and I drank too much scotch, and the sight is no doubt laying on the grass at a campsite in Wyoming. Upper Red Rock, last tent sight on the left.

7. Maps: Butler motorcycle maps and atlases, I would bring them again.

8. Checkbook (who knows?)

9. Camelbak: I left my cheapy at home and stopped at a Cabela's in Salt Lake City which was full of Stepford wives and husbands. The one I bought cost about $95 and had a ton of straps to whack you on the bike. Also handy pockets for blood sugar test device and insulin.

That's all I can think of now, probably come back and edit later.
 
What kind of range is needed between fuel sources?

Pat McDonald

My bike's tank was sufficient but you MUST pay attention. When you pull into a major town, look at the map and go ahead and get gas. I took but never used a one gallon ropax. Once I was down to 30 miles or less to go on my super accurate BMW computer.

Short answer: 200 miles.
 
Is it feasible to ride the CDT using hotels rather than camping? Don't like camping or all the extra weight of the camping gear on my bike!!

Gary

Yes it is very feasible. My Iphone and my GPS can always find lodging, but pay ATTENTION. When we rolled into Kallispell expecting a motel for the night, we found instead the state fair going on and we camped in a junk yard. How would your wife like that, I ask you. Also, some of the stops, like Breckenridge Co, are very expensive towns. But finding Hotels with those Caveats should be easy and fun.
 
What I wore

I really wanted to keep clothing down to a minimum, because that is where I usually mess up. I applied the Tricepilot method, then messed it up by thinking that one pair of underwear wasn't enough. Here's what I wore:

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Starting from my skin: I wore L.D. Comfort wear tops and bottoms. It's like long johns but wicks like a biatch. They recommend no compression shorts or t shirt under. I also took two pairs of under armor shorts and two under armor like shirts. All this stuff dries in minutes in dry weather and overnight. You can also put it on damp in the morning and it'll dry really quick.

I took some Moreno Wool longjohns which got too hot, but remember we had perfect weather. One pair nylon shorts and a pair of North Face Zippyleg pants for camp. One pair light running shoes for camp and motel.

One the subject of boots: I used my Aerostich Combat Touring boots, but I generally advocate for motocross boots. Last year, a riding partner broke his leg in some really soft sand north of Del Norte Co, riding in deep sand. The bike fell on him, he did not have on good boots, and something just broke. Maybe it got twisted and motocross boots would not have helped, but who knows?

Aerostich Darien jacket and pants: Yes they are black and can get hot, but they have vents and are good up to 95 degrees if you are moving. Above that, nothing is going to help that much. Too many pockets insure some episodes of panic when you can't find your wallet in the usual spot (pocket #6)

Pads: The pants have knee pads, but I took the pads outta the jacket and use a new armor jacket, you know the ones with the black stretch net and pads everywhere. I have found it to be comfortable and to prevent those pesky bone chips in a low speed flop.

Socks: wool or polypro--gotta dry fast.

Sweater: one big dog modern fabric of some kind, worn over the flak jacket for a little extra warmth in the mornings, easily removable and stuck under the bungee net.

Gloves: Elkskin ropers. Yes I know I buy too much from Aerostich. I did not bring rain covers. Big mistake. Extra cheap cloth work gloves for changing tires and other dirty jobs.

Electrics: Gerbings jacket. I did not use it but probably should have twice and would take it again. Again, we had good weather.
 
My bike's tank was sufficient but you MUST pay attention. When you pull into a major town, look at the map and go ahead and get gas. I took but never used a one gallon ropax. Once I was down to 30 miles or less to go on my super accurate BMW computer.

Short answer: 200 miles.

If you cannot get gas in Atlantic City, WY the ride across the Great Divide Basin is farther than that. IIRC about 230-240 from the last actual gas station. My DRZ has a 4 gallon tank, to which I added 3/4 gallon from Gatorade bottles ASAP, and was fixn to swith to reserve when we rolled into Rawlins. The most appropriate end to this statement is YMMV ;-)
 
Tars

I had a few hundred miles on my Metzler Karoo T's. They seemed a good choice:

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I ended up sweating it out for the last few hundred miles. I was certainly losing grip on what little mud we found, and loose gravel on a hard surface was even worse. My knobbies were nubbies that weren't really doing anything. I lowered the pressure to 22, which is low on the BMW with 260# of rider and 60# of gear. It helped.

Jorge had some chinese dual sport tires that did well. BUT.........

Remember, we had little rain. Last year when doing the New Mexico part we ran into just enough of their red grease to know what we were dealing with, (Excuse me Mrs. Baise, that is " that with what we were dealing".) If it rains much in New Mexico, you just call it a day and you would certainly want knobbies.

I did make it 2400 on these tires so I guess that they are good for 3000 though they are just holding the air together for the last 1000.
 
If you cannot get gas in Atlantic City, WY the ride across the Great Divide Basin is farther than that. IIRC about 230-240 from the last actual gas station. My DRZ has a 4 gallon tank, to which I added 3/4 gallon from Gatorade bottles ASAP, and was fixn to swith to reserve when we rolled into Rawlins. The most appropriate end to this statement is YMMV ;-)

We could not get gas in Atlantic City, and that Basin was where I almost ran out. It could have been 240 miles, I could make that. Plus, my buds were there with the supertankers. I was stupid not to fill up that Ropax. We might have gotten gas in Lander or something, I don't remember. All those gas stations start to look the same.

You could get drunk in Atlantic City, however, everyone in the Mercantile seemed tanked up. There was a great big single action long colt lying on the back of the bar too.....
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Atlantic City was one place that I remembered from a ride report that there was a good campground, but it was certainly not in the town, which is quaint but also kind of a sh**hole. The camp is called Atlantic City Campground and it's where I took this picture:

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It's the first campground outside Atlantic City on Riverview Cutoff, IIRC. After that, is 200+ miles of:

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What not to take:

Probably dont' need:

*water purifying device
*camp stool or chair
*folding entrenching tool, even if it's a cool Glock model
*things readily available like oil, bulbs, too much food
*liquor (drank too much one night and felt like poo whole next day, plus lost cool laser sight whilst impaired)
*nifty aluminum camping bottles available from Walmart with pictures of bears and stuff, brought along for ??
*too many clothes
*sheepskin or Airhawk seat dealie unless you already use it, although it's good for kneeling on in the tent in the infernal gravel camp sites
*a bunch of clothes brought 'just in case'.
*too many extra glasses. I usually wear one contact lens, so brought three of that type, plus one of the other eye I never wear, plus three sunglasses, plus two clear glasses, plus my Rx Glasses and Rx sunglasses. I only wore the Rx glasses and sunglasses because the dust was way too available for contacts. I had ordered some cheap utility framed bifocals and they arrived at my house the day after I left. They are sturdy Clark Kent types. Should have taken those and one pair of back up Rx.
 
Road surfaces

Mostly, this is packed and firm ground. Some dirt, some gravel, some pavement.

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There is a brief stretch of deep, soft, sand near Ashton where a railroad bed has been turned into a snow mobile track. It has been tortured into whoops by 4 wheelers. So it was slow, rough, and squirmy.

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Of course when it rained there was a little mud, but nothing like the red grease of New Mexico which slams you to the ground as if by the invisible hand of Satan.

There was a tiny bit of Class 1 1/2 rocky road, but if you were paying attention it was nothing to get excited about.

What was worth watching for was the random stretch of loose sand or gravel which was encountered after 77 miles of packed dirt or gravel, and it would wake you right up.
 
Re: Road surfaces

What was worth watching for was the random stretch of loose sand or gravel which was encountered after 77 miles of packed dirt or gravel, and it would wake you right up.

I thought that was why you were supposed to bring more than one pair of underwear, you know, for those sudden sand pits you find at speed... :eek2:
 
Road Surface

Between Abiguiu and Grants, NM is a lot of deep sand and dust that turns to mud if wet. I think this was closed this year due to wildland fires. :ponder: Several sections of the trail can become impassable when wet including the Divide Basin. I've read reports of folks just pithing tents and waiting till the next day when it dries out. If it rains heavy and long, go around these two sections. I'd say maybe as much as 80% of the trail could be driven in a 2wd pickup.
 
You are right about the pickup. It's always a hoot to be riding along on your big bad dual sport, feeling like Cortez the Explorer, and come up on a Tercel or something riding the same road.

We did that section last year and it was dry. One of our most interesting days last year was near that area. We saw a closed road and actually obeyed. I found a long, multi-creek crossing trail that went on and on towards Vallecitos. I came to a no trespassing sign but the land owners saw me and came over and talked for about 30 minutes. They were native Americans and hated the BLM, so I told them I hated the BLM too. They had actually put huge rocks and trees on the path we had been on to mess with BLM and keep them out, even though the places where they put the stuff was not their land. So after about a half hour, I said "Do you think we could cross your land to get to the road?" They said "I think so" and they let us through. Then I busted it big time on one of those red mud puddles. I had that red crap in my gear and nails for a month.
 
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