Ohiopyle Mountain Biker going big! Tour Divide
Montana Miller sets out on the toughest Mountain Bike race!
If you have been a bike customer of Wilderness Voyageurs in the last five years, you may have been fortunate enough to have made the acquaintance of Montana Miller. During his 5 years with us in Ohiopyle he has been the year round store guy ( assistant chief gatorade seller) bike wrencher, Ohiopyle Mountain Bike guide, Inn to inn bike tour guide and all around staff humorist. In the fall of 2013, Montana pulled up stakes and headed west. He can now be found residing and riding in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.
So this understated dude is probably the most bad ass mountain biker you will ever meet. And also the least likely to tell you what a bad ass he is.
Today he sets off on arguably the most difficult mountain bike race on the planet, “The Tour Divide”. A mountain bike race that covers 2745 miles from Banff, Canada to the Mexican border at Antelope Wells, New Mexico. Yes you just read that correctly. And yes this will be on mountain bike trails, single track and dirt roads, and yes it follows the spine of the rocky mountains the entire length,, thus the name. Biking the Continental divide would be a feat no matter what, let alone as as a race.
So aside from an insane amount of miles to be ridden (2700+) and that it will be on difficult terrain, and a lot of altitude, you only get to use the gear you bring. So luxuries are really not part of the lexicon. Check out Montana’s blog that he wrote detailing the painstaking planning to shave weight and pack just the right stuff.
Montana’s goal is to
1) finish the race
2) Finish in style, 21 days is the plan!!!!!!!!!!
You do the math, that is 21 consecutive days of more than 128 miles of mountain biking every day. Remember the part about carrying all your equipment. Also, did we mention that he is doing this on a single speed?????
Track Montana’s progress in the Tour Divide.
He will also be calling in from time to time on MTB Cast: mtbcast.com
Follow Montana’s quirky mountain biking blog
We encourage everyone to stay tuned to his progress, send him positive vibes, and just randomly clap and call out his name over the next 3 weeks!
Ohiopyle Mountain biking
Well Ohiopyle is not where you will find Montana these days,, If you would like to hang out with Montana and have a chance of keeping up, join our Colorado road bike tour this fall, where he will be one of the guides. If you want to watch this guy really work at his specialty, join the Colorado Mountain bike tour, where he will be forced to keep the pace of us mere mortals.
Over the years he has written a number of blog posts for us, they are all worth reading again. If you are reading this and employ people who write stuff, check it out, he is really talented and could always use some side work. Although I would not make big plans on having him move to some city to work for you any time soon.
If in Ohiopyle, stop in and say hello and get the low down on all the great mountain bike riding in the area.
Wilderness Voyageurs, Ohiopyle’s bike shop 103 Garrett Street, Ohiopyle PA 15470 800-272-4141 located adjacent to the railroad tracks and Route 381 at the north entrance to Ohiopyle.
#ohiopyle
#tourdivide