GDMBR 2023 Day 53
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- October 1, 2023
Distance: 72km
Ascent: 115m
Descent: 161m
End of day elevation: 1372m
Weather; Sunny, 24°C
This was the first and only time on this ride that I awoke before the sunrise...however as I/we had a busy day ahead, and the winds were forecast to strengthen throughout the day, the plan was to get an early start and set off for Antelope Wells before the sun came up over the horizon.
After some coffee and breakfast, courtesy of our host, we mounted our trusty and somewhat lightened steeds for the last time on this trip.
Jeffery took pictures of us as we left...then we were off just before 7am.
The first 10km's were absolutely sublime, as the unobstructed sun came up over the eastern horizon...and on it's way backlighting the surrounding mountains with more shades of red, orange and pink than I've think I've ever seen. The view to the south seemed quite daunting as anything discernible appeared so very far away...but that's where we were going, and I knew as long as I followed that strip of pavement, I'd get to the end of the GDMBR.
As the sun began to turn the skies blue, so too did we begin to feel the promised headwinds. Mark, Alan and I rode together for the first few kms, but as I was shooting video, Alan was stopping for pics, we eventually separated onto our own journeys south. Jeffery stopped at one point while on his way to meet us at the border and took pictures and video of us riding by...a very nice gesture.
I was somewhat surprised but nonetheless less happy at the lack of vehicles I saw that day, and most of those that I did see were from US Border Control. As well, there were a couple of border control trucks off to the side of the road that seemed to have some type of antenna/receiver...likely to scan the landscape around the border for anyone who managed to make it past the long, high wall that began to appear as we approached Antelope Wells.
I was half expecting at least a few other buildings, if not a small town at the border...but there was absolutely nothing except for a series of seriously fortified gates and a small group of border and immigration buildings.
As I approached, I could see a couple of vehicles parked at a lot close to the border fence...and there was Jeffery once again taking video and pictures of the event for each of us upon our finish.
I arrived at the iconic Antelope Wells sign, took a pic and Jeffery had me pose for a few more. I touched the gate, then turned back to where Mark was and cracked open a can of beer...and waited for Alan to arrive, which he did a few minutes later. We gave each other high-fives, chatted a bit about the ride we just had, then it was back to business.
For weeks before that day, I thought for sure that I would have some type of emotional moment at the end, but all I wanted after battling that headwind for 65km's was a cold drink and to celebrate that accomplishment...and we certainly did that!
We loaded the bikes onto the trailer that Jeffery was towing, then we began the drive back to Hachita. Once back at our host's place, we began taking apart our kit and packing up...and after loading the boxes and gear into the trailer, Jeffery drove us to the Lordsburg bus station, where, after saying our goodbyes, we caught the 4pm bus to Phoenix...and the hotel room I had booked...and from that point on, for days, weeks, months and to this day, I continue to think about that ride, as it left such an imprint on me...a life-changing experience for sure!
Congratulations. Your videos have been helpful in my planning.
Thanks...glad the videos were helpful in your planning...I know you're gonna have the ride of your life!
Hey Reinhart.... super congratulations on a great ride! Your video series oozed with reality and is one of the best ever GDMBR documentaries! Can't really express the value of your efforts here as I plan my ride. Great job my friend!! Thanks and best wishes....pops
Wow, that's quite the complement...thank you!! :-)
I'm really glad it's helping you prepare for that ride...you're gonna love it! I hope I didn't give too much away! Cheers!
Well done, Reinhard! I enjoyed the series! Beautiful country!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
Glad you got to finish with some road friends. Can’t imagine riding all that way, and then finishing an antelope wells alone. Sharing the accomplishment must have been pretty damn cool!
Thanks Lance! Yes, finish with Mark and Alan was great...alway good to be able to share the experience.
Chapeau !! I’m in the planning stage and your video diary is an invaluable resource. Thank you. Have a great LEJOG.
Thanks! Glad these videos are useful...planning is part of the fun...enjoy!! LEJOG will be a very different ride! Cheers!
What an excellent adventure. I looked so forward to each episode. Can’t wait for next season’s instalment. British Invasion. Well done sir. On behalf of Chaffey’s “WELL DONE SIR”.
Wow, thanks so much Dave...means a lot to me that you came along for the ride. Looking forward to getting together for a ride this spring!
Hello , I'm French, i liked very much your videos , next year it will be my round, I'll be on the GDMBR, Thanks for all, Jean ....
Hi, I'm glad you enjoyed the videos Jean! I hope all goes well and you have a great ride when get out on the GDMBR!! Cheers!
Well done! Up there with the best videos of the GDMBR. 2023 was a vintage year for vlogs from the divide. Mat Ryder, Chad Weber and yourself have documented the divide like never before, thanks so much for taking the time to shoot, then edit and post for us all to enjoy. And, if you want some company for your LeJog ride, you'll be passing nearly on my doorstep! Cheers, keep on keeping on, brother x
Wow, thanks for the complement...I am indeed flattered! Thanks for coming along for the ride...it was my pleasure to share it with everyone! What area of the UK are you in? If I'm riding through, perhaps we can hoist a pint! Cheers!!! ;-)
Thanks so much for letting us all ride along with you, Reinhart! Like so many others, I’ve enjoyed the daily adventure with you and I’m sorry to see it end. Best of luck to you in your future adventures.
Thanks so much Curtis! Really glad you enjoyed the ride with me! Cheers!
Thanks for taking us along on your ride.
Thank you for coming along! Hope you had fun! :-)
Thanks so much for producing this series Reinhart, and congratulations on an excellent finish! You will be in the UK before you know it.
Thanks so much and you're welcome! Yes, I'm already putting together the pieces for the UK ride... Cheers!
Well, thanks a lot, Reinhart, for the huge effort and perseverance for finishing the route, filming your journey every day ánd editing each day.
I'm going to do the route this summer, roughly in the same period as you did. Your videos gave me valuable info.
You're welcome...and thanks! I hope you have similar weather on your ride...regardless, you're gonna love it! Cheers!
Thanks for sharing your video and your adventure! Your videos have been a great help in planning my future GDMBR ride. Congratulations on your finishing the GDMBR!
Thanks Jim, my pleasure...good to know the videos are helping you plan your ride...you're gonna love it! Cheers!
Congrats and thanks for taking us along! This is really one of the best "reality" video series I've seen that helps show just what the adventure is like and the road conditions. If you ever make a "what i brought and worked/didn't work" videos I'd love to see that too! Happy adventuring in the UK.
Thank you! I'm flattered by your comment. It was just me, a camera and a bike (with lots of stuff on it... ;-) ). I learned lots both in shooting content as well as editing... Plan is to post a wrap-up video sometime very soon. Cheers!!
What an absolute venture! You, my friend…. Have lived the dream I have. You’re inspirational video coverage is bar none, impressive. I too would enjoy the challenge you’ve set forth via the images & video. I have the luxury of living Calgary so I can do “baby steps” until I’m ready to challenge the full GDMBR. Thank you.. you have inspired me. 🙏🏻
Wow, thank you! Riding it in bite-sized chunks is a great idea! I honestly wish I could have taken more time to do the route...you have that opportunity...and each time you do another piece, you will learn more about what is needed to make the next part better! I hope you get to do it...and I'm happy I was part of the inspiration to do so!
A great video to finishing off the series. Lovely scenery and engaging commentary. Looking forward to your UK bike adventure video journal.
Thanks David, glad you enjoyed it! Cheers!
Man, I know I’m gonna be sad to watch this. Great job! What an awesome accomplishment and unselfish act to document the Journey. Godspeed.
Thanks so much Lance! I too was sad when editing the final day...it was so much fun to share it with you. Cheers!
Awesome!! Congratulations on making it!! I will miss viewing the ride. Thank you for sharing…
Thank you so much...missing it means you enjoyed it, and for that I'm glad! Cheers!
Thanks again for your video work! Much appreciated, bro hug to you, and happy trails!
Thanks yet again Mike...so nice to have you aboard for the ride! Bro hugs back at ya! Cheers!
thanks for sharing your adventures
My pleasure!
Thanks for the series. I enjoyed your videos
My pleasure...glad you like them!
Thank you again for sharing your journey. I think I watched every episode. Safe travels on your next adventure!
Thanks so much! :-)
Thanks for bringing us along with you, must be up there with the best coverage so far of the GDMBR. Hopefully one day i'll get the opportunity fingers crossed.
You're welcome Steven! I hope you get a chance to ride that route...it'll be epic for you I'm sure!
That was great enjoyed the whole ride thankyou
Thank you David!
The GB divide (aka lejog off road) looks like your piece of cake ! Thnx for the Gdmbr videos. Great.
Thanks for your confidence! Not sure if it'll be the GBD or the more roadie route...I've never been to the UK, so I would like to see some of the classic sites...we'll see. Cheers!
Well done, it has been fun riding along with you these last 53 days! Loved watching your progress, thanks you so much for sharing all these videos, it must have been quite the chore editing everything
Thanks...glad you had fun! It was one of those jobs that take a long time to do...and for me, if I don't tackle it and keep at it until it's done, there's a chance that it'll get pushed aside by other tasks and languish for months if not years...such is life! Also, it was a great way to re-live the ride.
Having a patient and understanding wife also helps! ;-)
Well done! I’ve loved your videos and have begun to await them each day. Planning my own GDMBR adventure in 2026. Bike on order! I was unsure about these vids using the same photo each day, and a very limited library of music, but it turned out to be a genius move. I’m in the UK; you’ll love the scenery but not the weather. Thank you for creating these.
Thanks so much...really glad you enjoyed this series! As this was my very first foray into doing vlogs, I was not sure what would work, so I took inspiration from other videos and my own sense of made sense from a "look and feel" perspective...and it seemed to work out! The music I used was specific to the landscapes and how it made me feel, and was drawn from the RUclips music library. I know it was somewhat redundant, but I'm sure you understand that for that many videos, it would have been difficult to have original music score for each video...problem is, now that music has been and still is an ear worm, it just keeps running over and over and...but that's ok. LOL! Looking forward to the ride in the UK...very different ride I think. Cheers and thanks again!
Thanks for uploading this adventure of yours, enjoyed watching every day, good luck on your Lands End to John O'groats also known as LeJog. prepare yourself for the Midges (small flies) in Scotland. 👍
You're welcome...glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the warning about the midges in Scotland! Being from Canada, we have them too...but I think we call them black flies...regardless, I'll try to be prepared! Thanks!
Thanks for sharing your epic ride with us…enjoyed your daily progress and will miss your presence on tv. Congratulations on completing the GDMBR good luck on the LEJOG in May - usually a nice month in the UK
Thank you so much....glad you enjoyed the ride! Good to know that May is may be a good month for riding LEJOG...but I'll have rain gear as just in case! ;-)
Cheers!
Congratulations on such an awesome bicycle adventure. Thanks for sharing. Sub'd ;
Thanks Fred! It was an amazing ride for sure! Hope you enjoyed the ride! Cheers!
Thanks Reinhart. My routine for the past 53ish days was to go for a ride and then sit down with breakfast and see how Reinhart was getting on. Hopefully GDMBR next year for me.
Wow, thanks John...I'm flattered that you watched every episode. Good luck in planning for that ride next year...you're gonna love it!
@@reinhartbigl367 I might get back to you with a few questions as I will be 71 next year and I need to assure my family I will be okay. Haha
Any time John!
Well done you. I was riding along with you virtually from Banff, and now it’s over. Good work on the videos. Hope to see you some of your LEJOG experiences.
Thanks Dave! Glad you were along for the ride...I hope you enjoyed it! I hope to do another video on that ride...this time with much more intelligible audio! Cheers!
Way Cool Bud. As others here this is great valuable information to gather for my 7/25 attempt. I watched all 53 episodes and really like what you caught here. You took the time to capture the GDMBR at a comfortable pace and shown what not many others can show when in a hurry. I have questions and hope you can share some answers in a session someday soon. TY and rock on.
Thanks bud!! Glad you enjoyed it and that you feel it'll help in the planning of your ride in '25! You may notice at first that the clips weren't as long, but as I continued in post production, I figured that "it's the ride" that would be common to everyone who has ridden it or plan to...and to allow those who do not plan on doing the ride, to get a true sense of it...and so I extended the edits to include longer time on the sections (that said, I still cut out quite a bit from the original footage...). Thanks for hangin' in there for all 53 days...I know the audio quality was brutal in much of it (thank god for the RUclips studio's music selection...).
I do plan on posting a wrap up video fairly soon...however if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask...I love answering questions!
Cheers man!
And so an absolute epic comes to an end. All of the epicness of course belongs to you, Sir, but some of it also drips onto us, your viewers, who are so fortunate to join you on your adventure. I've done a couple of long rides myself, at 280kms and 545kms, but they were one-day roadbike races and are completely dwarfed by the ride you just brought us along on. But I recognize what you're saying about big rides leaving a life changing imprint on the people who do them. Mine sure diud on me, and though both hard and epic, I hope to experience that feeling again some day doing something like this at a more leisurly pace. Furthermore, your editing job is finally done. While I'm sure it's been great reliving everything , I'm sure it's also a relief finally being done. It means more time to focus on other things for a while and making new plans going forward. Your UK trip will be one for the books as well, I'm sure, I just hope you're lucky when it comes to the weather. As you're probably well aware, the UK is the cleanest region in the world being washed twice a day 😋Meanwhile I'll be heading back to episode 1 of this ride and go through all of it once more. Happy UK trails, Reinhart, and remember to bring a a furry cover for your mic 🙂
Till next time, Chapeau and cheers, Reinhart the Rider 🙂
Hey A.K., thanks for your kind words of support throughout this re-adventure...I'm so glad you came along for the ride! Those one-day road races sound monstrous...I can't imagine what you felt like after them...but I'm sure they made a huge mark on your life! Kudos!
Thanks for the comments on the editing...like the camera setup itself, I used only simple, fundamental techniques afforded to me via my Mac and iMovie...and I'm very thankful to RUclips Studio and the artists that contribute their music.
You're right, it is a relief that the series is done...but sad at the same time...but with one ending comes another beginning!! Yes, I've heard that the UK is quite wet...will be packing full battle gear to get through that...but I actually enjoy riding in the rain, just so long as I have a dry(ish) place to rest my head each night...and that's part of the adventure! As for the audio, my apology to everyone who watched any of the videos... I'm sure you can imagine that I was painfully aware of the need for a better mic system throughout this experience...I had no idea that the wind noise would be that bad...the mic on that camera is so sensitive to everything...and there is only so much you can do in post-production. As it is, after much research, I just happen to be receiving a brand new wireless mic system today...bye, bye wind noise!
Do you have any rides planned this year? I really do hope you can get out onto the GDMBR A.K...you'll love it!
On my list of rides is Norway...with the ultimate destination being the North Cape as well as the absolutely stunning Lofotan Islands...and if I do get to do that ride, I'll let you know and perhaps we can touch base! Cheers and thanks again for your support!
@@reinhartbigl367 I am the one to be saying thank you, Reinhart, for covering the GDMBR in such a great way. So thank you, sir, it's been a treat.
As for bike packing I have nothing in the pipeline for this year, but who knows, maybe I'll get to do a few overnighters at least. I'll keep an extra keen eye on the weather app starting late May/early June, because that's when temps start to get nicer up here.
Please, do get in touch if you're coming to Norway, that would be awesome. In fact, feel free to get in touch regardless 🙂 My email should be in my profile details, and if it's not visible to you, please notify me here and I'll get in touch with you 🙂
Cheers Reinhart🍺
Hey A.K., hope you can get the time to get out there...if it's anything like here in Canada, there will be a small window of relative "buglessness" when the season opens up... :-).
For sure will keep in touch if/when I get out your way. Cheers!
@reinhartbigl367 Thank you for the honor of accompanying you on this amazing journey. I have not skipped one minute. Infact your journey was so fun i watched them all in 2 days. 😅I remember the first episode and I really see the difference in you and how confindent you looked in the end of the series. We got a saying in Norway that is directly translated as "Well Blown Journey" and it truely was an amazing viewing experience. You can proudly say that you have one of the most documented GDMBR on YT. Only thing I really missed was some live commentary on top of the videos instead of all the loud music and all the text. But I respect that it would be too much work in the edit. Maybe next time? 😀 Happy travels in the future. ❤from Norway - Marius
Thanks for all the videos, Reinhart! Last summer I rode the GDMBR for five days in Colorado and I've wondered what it would be like to do the whole thing.
You're welcome! I hope these videos helped fill in the rest of the route for you!
Congratulations
Thanks Dan.
Thanks for sharing your ride. I very much enjoyed your journey. My second attempt starts on July 7th from Calgary.. Two years ago I rode from Jasper to Pinedale.
You are more than welcome! You're going to have a great ride this summer! Cheers!
thanks for having us
My pleasure...thanks for coming along for the ride David! Cheers!
Congrats on a great ride
Thanks Larry!
Awesome journey , hope to do this myself next year .
It was indeed...and I hope you can do it too! Thanks!
Good ride
Thank you Robert!
At Jeff’s bike ranch. Nice. I’m sorry that the series is ending. End of the road, so to speak. Happy Trails, Amigo:-)
Thanks for your support throughout Bret! Hope to see you out on the road sometime!
@@reinhartbigl367 definitely 👍
No, Thank you. Loved watching the entire series. Always looking forward to the next post. Excellent commentary. Hope to do this in 2025 as I'm just recovering from total knee replacement surgery. You look leaner at the end. I think I recall you mentioning that you were getting less winded climbing hills after a couple weeks. Do you know your weight loss? Your power to weight ratio probably went up, especially once you dialed in your nutrition.
Really glad you enjoyed the series Mark...I really enjoyed bringing it to everyone! With the advancement of TKR techniques and materials, I'm sure you'll be back on the road in no time! You're right, I did loose quite a bit of weight...probably about 6kg, which for me is a LOT. My wife noticed it immediately when I got home LOL! Certainly got acclimatized as I stayed up at those altitudes...the ride home from Toronto was a piece of cake as we're so much lower in altitude...
As for nutrition, I wish it was better...but as I'm sure you and everyone who is into bikepacking knows, the quality of one's diet can take a dive on longer trips and the ability to get as many calories as one needs is a challenge. Take care and thanks again!
Fantastic view, I binge watched this, good on you man!
How did you settle when home ??? I've just a month ago finished a 3600km trip and am finding it hard to concentrate on anything other than bikepacking future plans.
Lands End what a wonderful time you are in for 🏆🏆🏆
KUDOS to you ☮️🦘
Thanks!! Glad you liked the ride!
Settling when I got home was not easy...I had that ride in me for such a long time...even to this day! Best solution is to go through the pics and put something together that represents the ride and share it...and start planning the next ride!
Hang in there....it get's better!
I hope that the LEJOG ride goes well...from what I've read, it's going to be amazing!
Now that you have finished this route, what are your plans?
Heading over the pond to the UK in a couple of months to ride LEJOG...should be an interesting ride!