Continental Divide Ride - Solo Motorcycle Adventure - September 2019
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- Опубликовано: 30 сен 2024
- In September of 2019, round trip from Dallas Texas, I rode the continental divide, south to north, from the border of Mexico all the way to the Canadian border.
The trip took 24 days total: 14 days on the actual Continental Divide Trail (12 riding days, 2 days off in Jackson, WY). The return trip to Dallas took 9 days (4 days off in Jackson, WY and Driggs, ID to avoid a winter storm). I camped every night except for the one motel to escape that storm in central Wyoming, and also stayed at a friend's house in Idaho.
The bike is a 2014 KTM 690 Enduro R, the only issues I had were slightly tweaked handle bar risers a few times from mostly low speed crashes, and one broken rear brake pedal at the end of the Montana section.
Tires : front - IRC TR8, rear - Motoz Tractionator Adventure (both worked great)
Music:
-RUclips studio creative commons
-The Spaghetti Western Set - Brett Van Donsel (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
-Some additional guitar playing by myself
©2019 Double Arrow Garage
I believe that was the best trip vid I've ever watched! Absolutely phenomenal! Simply outstanding!!!!
Thanks man! It was a blast
I just keep coming back to watch - probably seen this 3 times beginning to end. I guess I just have to add this to the long list of rides I need to do before departing the planet. Tks again for taking the time to film, edit, and post!
Thanks for watching and the kind words Sean, definitely do this ride if you can! It's more doable than a lot of other epic rides in my opinion
You might enjoy this feature length Film on what it is like to ride a motorcycle around Australia. ruclips.net/video/ep0gmY1d85s/видео.html
Smart move @ 30:40. I was solo on the TAT and had to do a reroute in OR. Couldn't believe I couldn't get it but better safe than spoil the trip. Great ride, and your trip has inspired me to get back out there. cheers
Thank you for taking the time to share this epic ride with us. Very inspirational.
This is one of the best videos I’ve ever seen. Not kidding. Wonderfully edited shot sparsely narrated and just overall put together. Bravo to you on this awesome adventure my good man. Thank you so much for sharing it with us!
Thank you! That means a lot
Super good presentation of the Continental Divide Motorcycle Ride. Thanks for you work in putting this great video together Blake. AWESOME!
What a great video, fantastic job. Incredible shots of the views! Thank you for the effort to put this together.
Nice ride. You got guts to ride that by yourself! I sure did enjoy the video. I had a KTM 525 for 3 years and went with out a bike for 3yrs. I just picked up a WR250R and sported it out to do some backroads camping and exploring. Well stay safe out their DA! Around Bend Oregon out !
Excellent riding video...lots of visual riding and little spent on eating and other mundane chores. Wonderful views of rural Western countryside...again very well done
Great Road Trip, loved the scenery and the camping.
You did an amazing job with this video and the trip, congrats! can't wait to get out there for myself
Very impressive and inspirational . Considering doing this ride as well. Thank you for sharing such beautiful and amazing ride.
Hey Blake, your video is in the very top rank . Good job ,
I did this on a bicycle. North to south.
You're a legend. I made sure to talk to as many cyclists as I could in case they needed water or something, but they were all super prepared. Nothing but respect for the human powered Divide riders!
@@DoubleArrow I've been touring for almost 25 years. Looking back to the 1st trip, 1050 miles, in 11 days over a 13 days, in can't believe how much I tried to take with me. I left items at a friend's house that was 12 miles out, and then I left more things, 80 miles out at a friend's house where I spent the first night. I'm lucky that I had people who encouraged me to build wheels then bikes. Cheers. Hit the road and you'll discover how nice people can be.
Great riding skills great bike for trip, enjoyed alot. Have a Klr and a Himalayan that I do trips on, I can relate well. SJ
You’ve got the perfect bike for it. I wish I could trade my Norden on one.
Thank you for making the big ride and taking so much time to video for us to enjoy. Loved the route, camera work, music! Have watched the video 6 times at least! Will get a dual sport/adv bike in the Spring and hit the trail, appreciate your fine work.
Thank you sir! Definitely get out there yourself, it's a big world and it's a lot more fun on a dual sport/adv bike!
Thanks so much for taking us along!
Awesome 🙂 NZ
I feel inspired by this video to do the same maybe in 2025.
Thank you for sharing this amazing experience! The scenery was gorgeous!
For maps check the advrider forums
Wow..This is one of the best and most inspiring vids to get people motivated to ride. Thumbs Up....BIG THUMBS UP!!!!
Thank you! That means a lot, my motivation with the video was to inspire people to get out and ride. I appreciate it
Great vid what tyres you running.cheers
Damn, that was really well done. Your video moved this ride up on my list and looking forward to hitting the GCDT in the next season or two. Thanks.
Thanks man! Get after it!
Late Fall 2020 I decided to take my dual sport out for it's 1 spin after 4 years of not riding. I've been physically and mentally recouping from a serious foot injury. It was your video that made me want to get out there again. Thanks a bunch for sharing. I believe I'm going to ride this one. cheers
Dude that's awesome! I'm stoked I could inspire, hope your foot gets back to 100% so you can ride a whole bunch more. Life is short, get out there!
Thanks for letting us ride along with you. I have a 2021 KTM 690 R and out of my 3 motorcycles, it is my favorite.
You don’t wanna get stuck @ 25:05! 🙀🙀🙀
This is a very well done video and makes me want to tackle this ride more than ever! Is it mostly gravel road other than where it got a bit muddy/wet further north? Any tips? Could it be easily done on a BMW f800gs or better on a dual sport dirt bike ?
I bet an F800 would do just fine. It's mostly gravel/dirt but there are some tricky sections I'd avoid if you haven't ridden much off road; mostly in Montana and northern NM
What a great adventure! It's on my bucket list!! Thanks!!
Awesome! Whose GPX route did you use? We’re going this summer and I’m not sure which route to use.
I used a couple different ones from advrider, I think Cannonshot and BigDog were the main ones. Good luck out there!
What a magnificent journey ! Thank you for taking the time and effort to do an equally wonderful video and sharing it , you rock Man , my 4 year old Grandson is named Blake , hope there's "something in a name" that inspires such "conduct" , Thanks Man.......
Thank you! I bet your grandson will do great things in life
Great vid, thanks. Any way to share the route/tracks? All of the resources I've found are hiking oriented. Me and my 990 thank you.
Thanks! Check out advrider . com, there are a bunch of routes/tracks and ride reports on there, that's where I got all my info
Congratulations on your trip. Born and raised Oregonian but now spends his Winters down in Arizona.
Liked and Subscribed, cause I own both this bike and the BMW GSA1250. I find it interesting how you planned this trip without running out of fuel and the minimal packing and sacrificing seat comfort. I doubt many people will have the stamina to do this route on a KTM Dual Sports, let alone - SOLO...
Thanks man! Fuel planning was key, I almost ran out once but that was on the way home hah! And yeah most of the trip I was wishing I had a bigger, more comfy bike but the 690 really shines in the rougher terrain so I was happy to have it; also when I'd drop it at low speeds or on a hill, picking up a big 1250 BMW would've sucked
@@DoubleArrow If you noticed, those riders that do go far and around the world on the bigger adventure bikes, ALWAYS have a SUPPORT VEHICLE and I think that's not as tough as someone who does solo rides. The most fear I have is getting hurt with nobody around, but hungry wild animals. A concealed carry firearm can also land one in jail here in the US, but better to go to jail than be killed by a wild animal.
It was a really great tour. Wonderful landscapes. Congratulations!
This is sick, but I need to ask, did the vibrations not kill you from riding an older 690?
Haha! Yeah man they vibe pretty hard, but at that point I had only ridden singles so I was kind of used to it. The only time it was bad was the long road stretches, my hands would get tired but I'd just take plenty of breaks
Awesome job, you killed it ! any problems with the KTM along the way? How much cash did you bring with you?
No real problems, not even a flat. I got lucky. I probably had some cash in the wallet, but mostly used the ol debit card for fuel and food.
Terrific ride mate, loved it! I'll be riding some of those spots when I visit, they just look too good to miss!
Thanks man! If you ride anywhere in the rockies, you won't be disappointed
Great trip, beautiful land. thanks for sharing. I live in Dallas too, and youve inspired me to do this trip, or something similar in the next year. :)
I'm going to be doing this trip in late August/early September this year. Also on a 690 and can not wait to go!
You're gonna have a blast!
About the time I learned about this hike I was diagnosed with diabetes, killing any realistic dream of hiking the CDT. But, this opens up a real possibility. I had no idea one could motor bike this. Truly stoked!
Yes man do it! I feel like moto is the best way to do the CDT unless you're unemployed and in excellent shape hah! Even then, I still think the motorcyle way is the funnest
Very well done!! Looks like you had a great trip and your videography and photography were excellent. Thanks for sharing.
Great video and sound editing, music really complements the video - esp the eagle cries!
What video editing software did you use, and what camping stove did we get a glimpse of? Any chance you can share essential to have items - planning my first adv ride with a friend next year - also his first, appreciate anything you can share.
Thanks! I've got a plan to record an FAQ video that covers a lot of the stuff I get asked, hopefully I can get around to making that sooner than later. The stove is just a JetBoil, not so good for cooking honestly but great for boiling water for coffee/oatmeal. The editing software I used for this one is just called Video Pad, it's free but simple.
Great stuff brother! Thanks for sharing the experience. I just picked up an adventure bike and plan on getting some seat time. There's nothing like that in Hawaii, but I'd love to do a trip like that someday. 🤙🏽🤙🏽
The rockies will always be here, ready for you to ride em! Hawaii has epic scenery though, I'd love to ride out there.
Absolutely well done, Sir....congrats. Encouragement for all who ADV. THX
Awesome ride! What did you use for gps/maps?
Thanks! Cheapo gps with maps I got from advrider. I also had printed paper maps in my tank bag
Great video! Well put together. Looks like a great trip. Definitely in my list. Ive been on parts of it in Wyoming near south pass.
You are now one of my rider and videographer heroes! You totally get the whole anticipate your shot with the end result in mind from a rider's POV... very well done. Inspires me to keep improving my efforts for POV. Oh, masterful audio blends and choices too. Westbird5
Wow thank you!
Wow. What a ride. Looks like you spend most of the time on really nice gravel roads. Where did you spend your nights? Thanks for sharing this awesome adventure
Thanks! I mostly camped in the national forest, just started looking for a good spot before the sun went down
I know that this sounds nuts , but I guy I met in our area WALKED !!!!!! THIS ROUTE!!!! made it to Wyoming and called it a day ,but is returning this year to complete it !!! 😲😲😲😲😲👍👍👍👍🍺🍺🍺🍺
Enjoyed it, Need to try a trip up through British Columbia, when this BullShit Covid is over, if ever? All The best . Love to Ride!
You are from the metroplex? I'm about 90 miles east. This is a great video. Which KTM did you take? Also thoughts on the giant loop bag?
Yep I'm a Dallas native, lived in Wyoming for 5 years so it's like a 2nd home. The KTM is a 690, it's a killer bike; and the bag is a knockoff of a giantloop from ebay, but it did excellent.
Sweet. I tried to buy a 690 Duke last year. The thumper beast. Lol
Hey really enjoyed your video! Was wondering what luggage you were running? Kinda looks like Giant Loop or something like that?
Thanks! It's a knockoff giant loop I got on ebay from some guys in Russia. I can't remember the brand name off the top of my head, but it worked great!
Beautiful scenes. Loved the spaghetti western music. Anybody who believes in overpopulation needs to watch this. Thanks.
After riding the entire trail...how difficult would it be on a larger bike like the BMW R1200GS? I am guessing your kit was around 400ish pounds and the GS would be closer to 600ish. The only areas that made me rethink the trip was the Reecer ridge and the lava ?? Areas.
Totally doable on the bigger bike, the really technical sections like Fleecer ridge and Lava mtn have alternate go around routes
@@DoubleArrow Thanks. I thought so. I have been riding for years, but have always done stuff like this on a YZ250. Fleeced Ridge and Lave Mnt definitely made stop and think. Really appreciate the info.
I'm proud and a little bit jealous of you for doing this. Perhaps next summer I'll do it with you and we (you) can make another awesome video but we may have to stop here and there to fly fish.
Almost brought my flyrod but didn't wanna break it, hah! There are definitely a lot of good creeks along the way though
Great video!
I’ve done all of it on my mountain bike and headed back again this June ,I met lots of dudes on motos ,I sure would like to do that someday . And Fleecer is even harder in the dark going down . Good times
Mountain biking the divide is next level! Nothing but respect for those who do it under leg power
Great video, thx!!! We did it precisely 10 years ago in a group of 8 - on GS 800 and 1200s. Also 13 days, North to South, from Seattle all the way to ATX. Brings back a great bunch of memories. Unfortunately, there’s still a lot of raw footage stored on some SD cards... Anybody “considering” this: JUST DO IT!!! Stop the excuses!
Did I find it difficult to do it on the bigger 1,200? I’m considering it in a vstrom 1050. Thoughts?
No prob, as long as you mount the right tires. Fleecer ridge will be the only challenging descent, and that stretch of the trail can be avoided if you don’t feel comfortable, due to weather, luggage or lack of experience. I’d say, as long as you’re able to pick up the bike, you’re ok.
Which state was funnest to ride through?
It's almost impossible to pick a favorite. I loved the desert areas in NM, but CO/WY/MT all have amazing terrain to ride through also. That's why this ride is so epic, little bit of everything
WOW, what an amazing trip. Thank you for sharing.
Nicely done. Any other cyclists encountered doing the same? I did the TAT from Virginia 2019 and left my bike in the NW to do more in 2020. This would be epic.
Thanks! I talked a lot of cyclists, definitely encountered more of them than I did moto guys on the trail. The TAT is on my short list of trips to do next; I highly recommend the Continental Divide as it takes very little time compared to a lot of other big ADV rides and it's just an amazing ride. Cheers!
Awesome. A few questions. How did you find the routes, and navigate them? How do you charge camera gear/gps/etc? With that much video, how do you offload in the middle of nowhere?
Thanks. I answered some of these questions in the comments already. But for charging I wired in a USB port, and just used 128gb sd cards and tried to mostly film shorter clips
Thanks for for taking the time and trouble of filming your amazing ride. Broke my arm off road couple years back and at 77 I think I'll just watch videos like yours.....much less painful 😊
Thanks! Don't let one little arm injury keep you from adventure, there's plenty of it to be had on the smoother roads too!
One of the best cross country ride videos I've seen. Well done.
Thank you!
Awesome Mr.Cash---------You video was the perfect combination of length, content and music.
I by-passed Fleece too--------way back in 2004---------now I'm too old to try it.
Thanks-------BigDog
Thanks BigDog! Your ride reports definitely helped a lot with my planning. Never say never though, you might find yourself there again one day and feel like it's destiny!
Hello Mr. Cash;
Can u tell ne what sort of saddle bag u used fir your FABULOUS adventure and what was the carry capacity in litres?
I am getting rigged up to start my ADV rides in the Spring!
Your video is my favourite.
Thank you!
Wayne
Thanks Wayne! The bag is made by a guy on ebay called Motosektor or something like that, he's from Russia I believe. It's really just a much cheaper version of a Giant Loop bag, and I think it is 80l capacity. It worked great
Just got my bike slowly getting my gear together, watch this keep me inspired to go do it.
Sweet Jesus, when I saw the title I thought you were riding on the CDT!
Great ride amigo....can you tell us what mods if any to your 690 for this ride or pretty much stock ? Cheers....
Thanks! It's mostly stock. I did add a seat concepts seat (almost mandatory), rear rack, aluminum skid plate, bar risers and bark busters, led headlight bulb and flush mount rear turn signals, foam air filter, cj designs gas tank filler neck, and that's about it. Mostly little things that make the 690 more comfy, better protected for the inevitable crash, and more reliable. I carried a bunch of extra parts like rocker arms and stuff like that but didn't end up needing em. The 690 is a great bike
hey man, my dad and i are going to do this trail later this month... last minute change of plans turned our eyes to this. we leave on the 16th. I would love to get together and talk and ask you a few questions. i am in dfw also ( royse city) let me know if we can get together or at least chat on the phone a bit
Hey dude, sorry I didn't check my comments for a while! Shoot me an email - doublearrowgarage@gmail
Who's tracks did you use? I know GPSKevin has a set and I've read about others on AdvRider. Besides the gas can I saw tied to the rear did you have anything else? Rotopak? How many miles do I need to make sure I can reach on gas? Were your tires new at the start? Was one set enough? LOL, can't think of anything else, you covered most of it. Great trip and great job on the vid, thanks. These vids always help those of us that have not run it yet. DC
ADVrider all the way for maps. I just carried a little gas can mostly, and my 690 got between 125 and 175 miles per tank depending on the terrain and a lot of other factors. Brand new tires at the start and I honestly thought I'd have to put a new rear on at some point but the Motoz Tractionator Adventure held up super well. Thanks man, hope you can get out and ride it!
Thank you for documenting your ADV, this is now my 2021 summer plan. What timeline would you suggest?
Go for it! The main thing is waiting for the snow to melt from the high passes, so August or early September is the bet for timing.
You might enjoy this feature length Film on what it is like to ride a motorcycle around Australia. ruclips.net/video/ep0gmY1d85s/видео.html
Really enjoyed your adventure on this one. Keep up the great work!
Great adventure, watched every minute of it and rewound a couple areas. Give you credit for traveling fairly light and certainly braving it alone, well done. PS: Thanks for captions of where some views were shot. Do you think your route would be reasonably achieved on a GS1200 and of course avoiding Fleecer pass hill climb? Thank You for taking us along.
Thanks! I'm sure guys do it on big GS Beemers all the time, there are easier bypass routes that skip the gnarlier stuff
Totally doable on GS 1200, we did it back 10 years ago with a large group of 8 guys. Advantage: higher range than the 690, so there’s really only one stretch where gas is an issue. Fleecer Ridge (down) was the only challenge that was only for the pros. Only one of us made that one. Of course, all the others had a great excuse, as there was a massive thunderstorm coming in, so we turned around to look for shelter...
Are there any sort of trail markers from Time to time???😀😀😀🏍🏍🏍🍺🍺🍺
I did the GDMBR 15 years ago with a buddy on our then new KTM950's by simply using the (analog) ACA maps. Now technology is all digital so I'm going back again in 2021. This time supporting a group of four motorcyclists by driving a 4x4. I see Cannonshot's route has a fair amount of single track which would not work for us. Looking at GPSKevin's routing currently. I loved the video and smiled as I remember seeing many of the vistas you captured. I too missed the gooey treats in Polebridge, but won't next time. Nice work and kudos for doing it solo.
Thanks for the kind words. I definitely thought to myself how much more tricky it would've been with just paper maps; I would have missed turns a lot more often hah! Cannonshot's route has a lot of branches for levels of difficulty and accessibility, I took the hard options most of the time. Maybe look into the details of his before buying a route from someone like gpskevin, and good luck on y'alls trip next year!
Great video, I was in the same area at the same time last September on my Road King, we probably passed each other :-) Looks like you went through Glacier NP on the Going To The Sun road. I too stayed with a friend in Idaho (Boise) and rented a R1200-GS Beemer and we rode some of the Idaho BDR , 850 miles worth, including the Magruder Corridor. I know the KTM worked well for you, but do you have any comments on long distance traveling on a single cylinder smaller bike like the 690? Would you prefer a bit bigger bike for the next time? How many miles a day did you do? Inquiring minds want to know. I'd like to find the new 790, an older 990, or maybe the Africa Twin for future rides...thanks!
Awesome! I'd love to ride some more of the BDR routes, they're on my list. The KTM was excellent, obviously not as comfy as a 1200 GS beemer on the long road stretches but it never let me down. I think something like an Africa Twin would be the perfect bike for the CDR, big enough for comfort but not too huge that you'd be stuck if you dropped it alone. Picking up my fully loaded 690 sucked enough hah
That was absolutely awesome! What beautiful country also. That was the best RUclips video I have ever watched.! And I'm going to watch it again and again. I'm doing the same this summer but just in my state Minnesota. But on a 1500 dollar Chinese enduro... tbr7
Thanks man! Whatever bike gets you out into the world is the right one to be on. Have fun!
around 29:00 the steep hill - what is that? A pioneers way? Why would such a way exist? This was an amazing video, which leaves me with a hundred questions. I envy you for such freedom "at home". I think about a moment in Australia, when a maybe 12 year old girl ask me how Germany was and I answered "In Germany is no spot, where you could be without seeing a house!" She turned to her father: "Can that be true?" ;-) Thanks mate!
The American west is wonderful for how much wilderness there is, it's not all wide open but there are a lot of places to get away from people. That hill is called Fleecer Ridge, and I'm assuming it's just some old 4x4 access road for hunters. Most people come down it instead of trying to climb up
Great video. Q: Where did you get your GPS tracks? Stuff I could find that was free was from 2010-2012. Thanks.
ADVrider forums. The gps info I got was several years old but it's all pretty much the same
thats pretty amazing! great video!! id like to do that some day my self!
Thank you for sharing the ride. Great production!
🤨👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Would have made it easily if you would have left the mirrors out......
Nice job man.....looks like you had a good time!
Nice job. Curious what GPX track you used.
Awesome video. I did this a couple years ago on a multi enduro, it was epic. Can’t wait to do it again. What did you use for route planning and tracking?
Epic trip indeed. I got a lot of map/route info off of the advrider forums
gorgeous views! glad you made a safe trip!
Awesome video. I really hope to do this sometime soon. Is your route that you took shared anywhere? Thanks for posting.
Thanks! I used gpx files from advrider . com
I like the hawk noise towards the end. You have the perfect bike 690 right? I like to try this one day. Very exciting to watch.
Thanks! Yeah the 690 did awesome on this trip
Watching this from Costa Rica! Great adventure. Congrats
That is so cool. I would surely love to do that, but I'm too chicken stuff to camp in the wilderness. I will camp in an established campsite. You also have some awesome riding skills, thank you for sharing this inspirational journey.
Thanks! And man you're missing out on the best camping, national forest primitive spots are the best ones. Once you start doing that, you'll never want to go back and pay for a spot that's 20 feet from the next person!
My brother and I were about ten days behind you on that ride! Great video! Than,s for sharing!
Awesome ride, I am doing that in 2021 if the US/CA border opens again. What make/model of side mirrors do you have?
Get it man! HDB (Highway dirt bikes) makes the handguards/mirrors. The mirrors only work with these handguards, but they're tough af. Highly recommended
Nicely done! How much off road / on road is this trail?
Thanks! I'd say at least 80% off road
I did this trip this summer on the same bike. Absolutely loved it. Wanna do it again sometime. Thanks for sharing.
Heck yeah man! I'd love to do it again with, maybe with a couple friends next time
Nice trip, nice video. I did the GCDR in 2018 (did New Mexico and a KLR a year earlier) on an Africa Twin so it was really awesome to see the same roads. A 690 is the perfect bike for this kinda of ride.
Thanks man! I honestly think an Africa Twin would've been perfect for this ride. A little more comfortable than the 690 without sacrificing too much agility
@@DoubleArrow The AT was great, especially on the way home banging out miles. I'd like the bike to be a 150lbs lighter and in the 700-800cc range tho..... :)
I always wanted to do that ride but after watching your video I felt like I was there so I’m gonna scratch it off my bucket list. lol Great video
Thanks! Get out there and ride it for yourself though, it's way more epic in person!