Hi Mike, We reside in Southern California and, for us, it was logistics. For this trek we rode Amtrak out of LA Union Station (bikes stored in baggage car). At that time we were able to get off at El Paso, TX [one needs to constantly check Amtrak's schedule; sometimes they stop but *don't *allow access to the baggage car). We then rode west to Columbus, NM (Sister City to Puerto Palomas). We rode south to the border, turned around and headed back to Columbus. We then rode west to Hachita, NM, rejoining the 'route' NoBo. Riding NoBo was somewhat novel as we encountered all the SoBo riders (and remaining racers). We could exchange info on water, food, etc., along with chit-chat. The other kinda important thing (at least for us) was finishing in a stunningly gorgeous area ~ Banff.
The 'primary' southern terminus is Antelope Wells, NM and there isn't much there other than a border crossing. Interesting aside: Columbus, NM is a tiny town and we weren't expecting much. However, there were many fellow Americans staying overnight, from all over the country. They had medical and dental appointments in Puerto Palomas, across the border. Apparently the costs were/are fractions of what they are in the U.S. This was in 2017. Best regards, Jeff On Sunday, January 18, 2026 at 9:13:44 PM UTC-8 Mike Godwin wrote: > Hi Jeff > What choices did you have that had you start in Mexico and go "uphill" on > your first leg of the GD ride? Uphill, south to north :) > > Mike SLO CA > > On Friday, January 16, 2026 at 10:18:49 AM UTC-8 Jeffrey Arita wrote: > >> A kind and gentle piece of advice: never say never. >> >> Around 2009 or so after an exhausting week of work we sat down after >> supper and turned on the TV. Up popped a documentary called "Ride The >> Divide." As we watched this I sadly thought to myself "I would never be >> able to do that" even though I desperately wanted to try...... >> >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7MqAiPOF8c >> >> Forgot that documentary and got caught up yet again in the work-life >> cycle......... >> >> Fast-forward to July 2017 and we (my wife and I) embarked from Puerto >> Palomas, Mexico (an alternate start point) and headed northbound to Banff. >> It ended up taking us two seasons to complete the trek. The first season >> (2017) we made it to Butte, MT when it started snowing (mid-September). We >> hit the pause button and returned to Butte in July 2018. Zero spoilers but >> it could very well be an adventure that changes your life (among many >> others out there searching for the meaning of life). All one is concerned >> with are water, food and shelter. Life takes on a whole different meaning. >> >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqCYE-Smqf4 >> >> We would encourage anyone to at least consider embracing and embarking on >> such a journey. You may never be the same. >> >> All the Best, >> >> Jeff & Lori >> Claremont, CA >> >> >> >> On Sunday, January 11, 2026 at 5:08:35 PM UTC-8 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! >> wrote: >> >>> Who is having winter and is missing riding season? Would you like to >>> live vicariously through these two fools who decide to ride the Great >>> Divide? Yes, you would. You would like that very much, I just know it. Ok, >>> if you have Amazon Prime, off you go. Here’s the trailer: >>> >>> https://youtu.be/IP9BS49-l2w >>> >>> Leah >>> >> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/bf1b65ca-67f3-4798-a6c2-3581b422bbffn%40googlegroups.com.
