The beginning - June 2

Beth-
I am a high school Science teacher. Riding the Great Divide from Canada to Mexico is a dream I have had for a long time . I started my planning over a year ago. My principal agreed to let me leave school 2 weeks early so I could finish the entire trip over the summer. I plan on sharing much of what I learned with my students for years to come. I had a set of maps from Adventures Cycling and a GPS to help me find my way. I began my trip with my good friend and fellow bike enthusiast Jean. Jean and I did a lot of training before the trip -riding both loaded and unloaded bikes for a couple of months before we left. Jean rode with me to just north of Helena, MT. I pulled a BOB (beast of burden) trailer the entire trip and Jean used panniers. The total mileage ridden by me over the course of the summer was over 2,600 miles.
Jan-
I am Beth's mother and was the "sherpa" for Beth as she rode the great divide trail. A Sherpa is traditionally defined as a member of an ethnic group in Nepal, often employed as guides & pack carriers for mountain climbers and hikers. I left June 2nd and drove out to Montana with bikes, camping gear, maps and other necessities. A good friend, Ann, (a retired Science teacher from Maryland) accompanied me for the first 6 weeks. Ann & I did some sightseeing of our own on the way to Montana and while attending to Beth. Beth flew into Kalispell, Montana on June 12th, with a friend who rode with her the first week. This trip has been over a year in the planning. We read a lot and have tried to line up companion riders for Beth in the single track parts of the trip. She biked alone well over half of the trip. We learned that not everything we read was correct, so hopefully my notes will help others attempting to do this. We were armed with gazetteers from each of the states Beth biked through. We learned flexibility, a sense of humor, and a 4-wheel drive vehicle is needed for a successful attempt at this. I am a retired Environmental educator, so much of my notes relate to the fauna & flora we saw.