Tour Divide / GDMBR Resource List: Read, Study, Watch, Listen

I decided to pen this blog post as a companion for my Tour Divide Prep Video Series on Youtube. This will be a living document, so save the link and I’ll keep it updated as new info becomes available… If you intend to ride the Tour Divide / GDMBR, I suggest you gobble up the all the brain food you can as part of your mental training. There’s no substitute for doing your homework!! You might also find my Amazon Shop helpful in your planning. This is just the tip of the iceberg on all the research and recon available on the interwebs. If you have any info to add, or if any of these links are broken, please let me know in the comments 🙂 Ride on! *Some links might take you to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

MOVIES/VIDEOS

Obviously, my Tour Divide Prep Series Playlist on Youtube 🙂
Jay Petervary’s 2021 Great Divide Race (documentary)
Jay Petervary’s 2021 Great Divide Winning Bike Check / Rodeo Labs Flaanimal
Jay Petervary’s 2021 Great Divide Clothes & Kit
Sofiane Sehili 2022 Tour Divide Winning Kit
Ryan Duzer’s GDMBR Playlist on Youtube
Ride The Divide (Hunter Weeks/Mike Dion) *This is “THE” Tour Divide movie that pretty much stokes everybody and makes them wanna do it! Chronicles Matthew Lee, Mary Metcalfe and a handful of others on the 2008 Grand Depart… A must watch for anybody doing the TD.
I Just Want To Ride (Lael Wilcox and the 2019 Tour Divide)
Rapha Gone Racing – Tour Divide feat. Lael Wilcox
Katie Strempke’s 2022 Tour Divide
Divided (The Adventure Syndicate)
The Length of Time. Inside the Tour Divide (Josh Ibbett’s Journey)

BOOKS

The Cordillera Series – Yearly compilations from TD participants. Each features a fresh crop of rider perspectives. Read as many of them as you can. We all have different rides, stories, outlooks, successes, hardships. Tons to learn through others’ adventures, and they really get your imagination and desire soaring!
- Volume 1 (2009 Race)
- Volume 2 (2010 Race)
- Volume 3 (2011 Race)
- Volume 4 (2012 Race)
- Volume 5 (2013 Race)
- Volume 6 (2014 Race)
- Volume 7 (2015 Race)
- Volume 8 (2016 Race)
- Volume 9 (2017 Race)
- Volume 10 (2018 Race)
- Volume 11 (2019 Race)
Eat, Sleep, Ride (Paul Howard)
Trail Magic and the Art of Soft Pedaling (Scott Thigpen)
Be Brave, Be Strong: A Journey Across the Great Divide (Jill Homer)
Dividing The Great (John Metcalfe)
Cycling the Great Divide (Michael McCoy)
Just Ride (Ty Hopkins)
Divide by One (Grace Ragland & Steve Justice)
Touring With A Sense of Urgency (Jesse Carlsson & Sarah Hammond)
A Dream Worth Living (Andy Amick)
The Divide: A 2700 Mile Search for Answers (Nathan Doneen)

INFORMATIONAL WEBSITES / MAPS / FORUMS / GPS

adventurecycling.org (GDMBR route info, purchase paper maps)
ACA Forum for temporary route/road closures
tourdivide.org (the officially unofficial website)
Facebook Group (TD gear, advice, tips, pics, etc)
Facebook Group (TD race, training, and prep)
Facebook Group (GDMBR trail conditions, Q&A, gear, and stories)
oneofsevenproject.com (treasure trove of info, custom cue sheets, elevation profiles, etc)
bikepacking.net (The “OG” Tour Divide forum)
trackleaders.com (link takes you to the archive, where you can replay past Tour Divide races and totally geek out and study resupplies, sleep spots, overall pace, etc on all riders)
GPX Files / Garmin Basemaps (the unofficial official gpx tracks are historically uploaded here. Scott also has a basemap you can download for your gps device)
GAIA (GPS route planning and navigation App)
Ride With GPS (GPS route planning and navigation App)
Rowlo.com Resupply List (resupply info with route mileages)
USDA Interactive Snotel Map (current snow levels, measured against historical medians, etc)
Services Along the GDMBR (ridewithgps map created by Sarah Swallow)

PODCASTS

There are so many specific “Tour Divide” related episodes/interviews… and the list is constantly growing… maybe when I get some free time, I’ll add more links… but for now, here are some great bikepacking focused podcasts… have a listen on your training rides!!

mtbcast.com (the OG call-ins from the races… you can listen to archived call-ins and geek out)
The Desolationist (Justin Dubois does great interviews with tons of bikepackers – lots of insight to be gained here… he hasn’t done any in a while, unfortunately)
Overland Archive (TD Winner Lewis Ciddor has fantastic interviews many bikepackers on his podcast – another great resource)
Bikes or Death (Patrick Farnsworth is the host, great list of bikepacking guests)
BIKES BIKES BIKES (Cjell Mone of Mone bikes is the host and yeah… good stuff)
The Bikepacking Racing Podcast (some great interviews more geared towards “racing” – hosted by Ezra Ward-Packard and Andrew Onermaa)
The Adventure Stache (Uber-fast Payson McElveen pumps out great cycling content)
The Bikepack Canada Podcast (hosted by the late and great Ryan Correy, RIP)

BLOGS / ARTICLES

There are a million personal accounts, gear and packing lists, bike checks, etc all over the web. Start researching and have at it! Here are a few good reads to get you going. If you have a blog or article you want me to add, let me know!

bikepacker.com (this link will show you all their Tour Divide related articles and posts)
bikepacking.com (this link will show you all their Tour Divide related articles and posts)
Achilles Heel Pain Article/Bikepacker.com
My blog posts of the 2018 Tour Divide:
- Recap
- Lead up 1
- Lead up 2
- Lead up 3
John Schilling Blog Post (2019 TD Recap)
2016 Interview with Mike Hall (Bikepacking.come)
2011 Interview with Kurt Refsnider (Outside Magazine)
10 Lessons Learned from the Tour Divide / Josh Ibbett

*Note: We now upload videos to our Youtube Channel every week. Everything from adventures and ride reports to tips, tricks, and hacks for mountain biking, bikepacking, etc. Please subscribe to us on Youtube and stay up to date!

Ride bikes. Give back. Pay it forward.