I need to make this quick because it's after 11pm and it's getting cold. I'm sitting in a tipi in Ovando, my favorite town in all the places I've ever bike toured. Ovando... What can I say about it?
Back in 2014 I stayed here on my solo four thousand plus mile, 64 day bike tour from Eugene to all over. That night I met a crazy divide rider who rolled in at 2am to stay in the jail I was staying. Her, along with Iowa Mark, inspired me to do this ride. About a week or two less than four years ago I decided to do this very difficult ride, and only four years later, despite two near death experiences and a very difficult divorce, I'm here doing it. That's pretty fucking good follow-through (if I do say so myself).
Ovando is town of 50 or so with only a few buildings, but it caters to bike tourists. It has an old vintage jail, covered wagon, and tipi you can stay in. I'm in the tipi this time, and last time I was in the jail. In case I didn't make this clear, this is a joining point of the Lewis and Clark Adventure Cycling road route and the offroad divide route.
Today may have been the best ride of the trip. It started with a nice morning with Barb and Steve, and then a 16 mile beautiful (and difficult) climb on dirt and single track. Then it had the best descent of the trip! A fast, screaming mountain bike style cliffside downhill into a sweet downhill burn (a forest fire hit there last year) for about 15 miles. The single track was just cleared of downed trees and stuff today, and Henning then I (you'll meet Henning later) were probably the first two riders to ride it since it was cleared. It was screaming fast! I met the saw crew on the way down, and they were stoked to see us riding it! Their work was not wasted. I fact, I know at least five south bound and one north bound rider did it today!
I took a detour to Seeley lake to get food, and then 25 fast miles into Ovando through some logging and with a tailwind. In Seeley lake I met a north-bound rider from Austin, and passed a nobo rider on the ride to Ovando who didn't stop.
Back a the top of the big climb I met Henning from Holland, who is riding much faster than me. He is trying to do the Divide in 30 days! He is camped in Ovando as well, but he got here way before me. He's a psychotherapist helping people with drug addiction in Holland.
Also in Ovando I caught up with Keith, originally from Missouri and now living in LA, who is a classical violist who plays on movie scores. I'm moving a bit faster than him. Tomorrow I'll go farther than Keith, and Henning will go farther than me. The three of us had a great time together in Ovando and shared lots of good info.
The Divide is very different from all my other tours. The route is very much dependent on things like rain and wildfires. Wildifire influence is obvious, but rain can turn a volcanic soil road impassible due to mud. Every year and every month is different. I don't know what flavor of Divide ride I'll have, but I know I'll have to be flexible, and I know I will be dissapointed at times, and at times it will be very hard.The Divide is a great teacher, I feel. All of my tours have been, but never have I been so dependent on conditions- which is saying a lot. Bike touring is about surrendering your comfort to the elements as it is, but with the Divide, it's even more extreme.
That's what I love about adventure. it's not comfortable, it's not easy, but it is hard - and some thing are worth doing just because they are hard. And, sometimes, you spend a wonderful night with people who believe the exact same thing and have made the same ridiclous life choices.
The Divide is no-ones first tour. At least not anyone I've heard of. My 3.5 times across the country already seems average. I can't really explain what it's like to have these people as peers, but I Iike 'em, and it's nice to know I earned my spot. :)
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