Why the Divide?

At first, I thought the Divide would be a one and done thing for me. But this cycling artery crossing arbitrary lines in the sand, dividing three countries and hundreds of millions of people has a pulse that I still hear every day.  

The Divide is more than a race. It’s more than an adventure. It’s an experience. It exposes you to adverse conditions, ever changing terrain and most importantly, people. 

It’s the people that are the calling for me. It is the other athletes, trail angels and people from all walks of life that make the Divide one of the most special experiences one could have. I have forged very deep relationships with people with whom I will remain connected with for the rest of my life. 

Sometimes, rising every day to saddle up knowing that there’s just so far to go can be the hardest part. More often, it’s the excitement of getting to that next iconic resupply you’ve been reading about for years that becomes the motivation. The highs and lows will test you on levels you’ve never been tested. 

You’ll spend hours in the cave trying to disconnect yourself from the suffering. With a blank stare, you’ll watch miles of gravel roll beneath your gaze as you try to forget the pounding rain, the mud and the cold. 

With bright eyes, you’ll immerse yourself into landscapes that will inspire awe deep in your soul. You’ll find beauty in the vastness of it all. Big skies, dry, expansive deserts and of course iconic mountains bursting from the surface of the earth, forcing you into a feeling of insignificance on this blue marble of a spaceship hurtling through an eternal, ever inflating universe. 

Will I ride The Divide again? Of course. Will I ride it faster? Perhaps, but that’s not my why. My “why” is the journey and the people. It’s reconciling life. It’s finding me again. Riding the Divide is a reset that evokes joy, gratitude and love. Love for others but most important, love for myself which will resonate within me until the next adventure.