As soon as I left Prince George, I headed up, and up, and up, into the Canadian Rockies. As I ascended, the mountains seemed to grow around me displaying some of the most awesome natural beauty I have ever seen. Every turn presented scenery unparalleled by anything in my experience. I spent five magical days with my head on a swivel, gawking at every glacier, river, and lake that crossed my path.

After is was all over, I arrived at Banff and started the Great Divide Mountain Biking Route. As soon as my tire hit gravel, everything changed. The scenery was still amazing, but now I had it to myself. Jasper and Banff National Parks are incredible, but they are also quite crowded. The GDMBR was a welcome relief from the cars and trucks and RVs towing cars and trucks.

However the Great Divide is not without its own challenges. Smoke, fire, and loose, rocky slopes all assailed me, and forced me off the main route, at least for a time. By the time I crossed the border into the USA, I was back on the route.

So far Montana has been nice. The hills have been challenging, but doable. No more fires have blocked my path and I've met quite a few Great Divide riders including Garret, who runs the channel @MoveWithMurph . We were able to share footage of each other. Check out his Great Divide video once he finishes it, probably in a few months.

I'm uploading this video from Helena where I've spent the past few days, but I'm anxious to get back on the bike and head to Butte, Wyoming, and beyond.

Social Media:
Instagram: instagram.com/crankingit

Support Me:
Patrion: patreon.com/CrankingIt
Paypal: paypal.me/AlexvanGelder

About the Ride:
My name is Alex van Gelder. I'm from Seattle and I'm just starting my first intercontinental bicycle tour. The goal is to ride from Deadhorse, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina in one go.

I also want to ride some bikepacking routes including the Great Divide Route through the Rocky Mountains and the Peru and Ecuador Divides through the Andes.

For this trip I built my own bike using a custom frame in order to be able to withstand rough mountain roads as well as power through long distances on pavement. (I had never built a bike before so we'll see if it holds up.)

If you have any other questions you can check out my FAQs video:    • Alaska to Argentina | Episode 0 | FAQs  
or leave a comment and I'll get to it as soon as I can.

I'm editing these videos on the road, so releases my be infrequent as I try to find a quiet place to edit.