I thought the road to Grants had been tough, but when Marco went on ahead to Pie Town (we heard that the grocery store closed at 3pm and we needed to stock up), I didn’t know that it would be so long until I saw him again.

My day started well, the legs felt fairly fresh and I seemed to be coping well with the climbing - a long steady uphill to make another Continental Divide crossing. After a short section on the highway, I turned into the West Malpais Wilderness, about which I had heard many horror stories. The track was surprisingly good and the first 20 miles passed very quickly.

With less than 10 miles to go to the highway, I got my first flat tyre. I sat down at the side of the trail and got it fixed, had a bite to eat and got back on my way. Less than 2 miles later, the bike was back upside down as I had ripped a hole in the tyre. That, and the resulting puncture fixed, I got back on my way ...

Well, we made it over Indiana Pass and on into New Mexico, where it is hot,hot,hot! Marco and I had a very warm day yesterday, with temperatures hitting 43 degrees in the afternoon, and with very little water around.

We’re now in Grants, heading for Pie Town, which marks the start of the final map - we started out with seven in Banff.

The climbs should be lessening in size from now on, but that means that it will just keep on getting hotter as we travel further south. We’ve both had our moments of feeling that we won’t make it, but after surviving the desert, I think we are both a lot more positive now.

More soon, hopefully from Pie Town tomorrow……..

Marco and I have had a few long days, and have made it to Del Norte, Colorado. Today we face the biggest climb of the whole route, Indiana Pass. Around 25 miles of steep climbing should take us to the top. Fingers crossed the headwind dies down before we start……

More soon

I was riding along yesterday, with my head down in to the wind, pedalling hard (even on the downhills) just to keep some momentum, the thought occurred to me that I’d much rather be at home watching the cricket!

It’s been a tough few days for me. After the highlight of completing our first 100 mile day on the way to Lima, came the disastrous Day 13. We should have known it was going to be a bad day, but still Ollie and I both ordered Breakfast Number 13 from the menu at the local cafe.

The day started out well and we were making good progress until Ollie stopped for a call of nature by the trailside and then never caught us up. He had a massive puncture caused by a tear to the rim of his rear tyre.

I unhooked the trailer and headed back to find him and then we all helped to change the patched tyre onto the front wheel, where it would bear less weight.

Things didn’t improve much after that. We were getting slower and ...

Day One was just 43 miles from Banff to Chester Lake Trailhead, thanks mainly to a late start and some problems with the bikes and trailers.

Day Two was much better, as we covered 66 miles on the way to Elkford, but still behind the unofficial schedule we had set ourselves.

Day Three was a bigger day for Ollie and I, as we covered 78 miles, although some of this was on paved roads. Marco was off on a little side trip adventure - check out his blog to find out more.

Day Four was a really wet and cold day which took us over the border and into Montana. We spent the night in Eureka, where we met back up with Marco.

Day Five was a tough day with two big long climbs, and even our first sighting of snow on the trail, meaning that we only covered 68 miles.

Day Six was our longest day of the trip; we covered 90+ miles on the way from Upper Whitefish Lake to Swan Lake, where we spent an entertaining evening with some locals in the ...

After a bit of a slow start, some nasty weather, a few punctures and a lot of fun, we have made it to Whitefish, Montana. Ollie’s bike is getting a bit of a makeover, so we have a few minutes to spend here in the library.

What to say about the trip so far? It has been hard work - a couple of huge killer hills yesterday but some wicked downhills too. Marco and Ollie have both seen bears, I haven’t yet. We’ve seen plenty of deer and a moose, loads of squirrels and chipmunks, and I accidentally ran over a snake yesterday…..

The scenery has been unbelievable too - snow on the mountains and loads of green hills and trees all around. So wonderful to be travelling through this land. The view seems to keep on changing and I can’t wait to get some pictures up here soon.

Should be quite a flat (ish) day today, with one big climb towards this evening, and then another hilly day tomorrow.

More soon…..

Final preparations are now well under way;  Marco has had his legs waxed and we are almost ready to go!

If you haven’t already had a look, you can now track our progress in real time, thanks to the SPOT GPS tracking device we will be carrying. The device is a little bit difficult to operate, but we hope to have it working well as soon as we set off tomorrow morning. You can follow or progress on the “Live Tracking” tab at the top of this page.

We’ve also updated the “Charity” tab. We aren’t riding for one single charity, instead we are letting you choose your own. If you enjoy reading about our adventure and are able to make a donation to charity, please just leave a comment or send us an email giving the name of the charity and the amount donated, or the amount per mile / kilometre.

Thanks to everyone who has helped us prepare - now I guess it’s all about the bike

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Well, the trailers arrived at 10am today and Marco and I spent a little time in the store assembling them and fixing them on to our bikes. After shipping a huge box filled with all our other stuff to Phoenix, we set off on the road to Canmore.

The road out of Calgary was busy and largely uphill and just as we reached the steepest of the hills, a lightning storm passed over our heads. Marco was up ahead as the lightning fork hit the ground - it looked to be very close and the telephone wires crossing the road were sparking. Then came a heavy rainfall, accompanied by a strong cold headwind which soaked us through to the skin. This was definitely a good test of the waterproof trailer bags, and thankfully they passed.

We had one huge downhill along the way and a series of long slow drags up hills. The scenery was amazing though, and every mile brought the mountains closer. We had another rain shower hut then the skies cleared and we had a very sunny ride into Canmore, where we ...

It has been an interesting few days, trying to get used to being back on a bike. Marco has been a very patient teacher, helping me out with my biking skills. I’ve fallen off every day, but yesterday’s was the worst so far. I approached a small steep hill in the forest, but didn’t have enough speed to get up it, hit a root with the front wheel and fell backwards and to the right back down off the hill. I landed on a solid wooden wall, with my ribs taking most of the impact. I even managed to dent the new bike - what an idiot! I managed to continue riding, but with some discomfort, and this morning, I’m not doing too well.

Other than that, preparations are going pretty well. We had our first team teleconference yesterday morning, and all sounds well in Scotland, where Ollie is getting ready to fly out on Thursday.

Here in Calgary, we are hoping that the trailers have arrived in the shop so that we can pack them up and get all our ...

Last night, Marco and I attended the Tour Divide pre-race barbeque in Banff. It was a great opportunity to meet some of the riders, especially the race organiser, Matthew. He invited us to join after reading about our adventure on this site, and even gave us a SPOT tracking device. This device will allow you to track our progress throughout our ride. More details will follow - we’re still getting it all set up correctly.

This morning, we went along to see the riders set off on the trail, and it was inspirational to say the least. Possibly the most striking thing was how little equipment the racers were all taking with them. There were a few panniers in sight, but definitely no trailers as all the riders try to take as little as possible with them. This means that they rely on making it to towns to spend the night in hotels or motels, removing the need for a tent, sleeping bag, stove and fuel. You can follow the race via the Tour Divide web site.

This afternoon, Marco and I put in ...