The OTHER race across America

One of the coolest -- and toughest -- bike races in the US is underway. We're talking about The Great Divide Race, an unsupported mountain bike contest that follows the Great Divide from Canada all the way to Mexico.

Yes, it's been done more than once and by more than one person. Mike Curiak, the creator of the race and long-distance legend, set the course record in 2004. He rode the distance in 16 days and 57 minutes.

This year, the field is relatively massive: 24 hardy souls are attempting the race, and you can read their on-the-trail comments here.

According to the official tabulations,

The GDR route is ~85% dirt, gravel, two-track, or fire road, with ~14% paved and less than 1% singletrack.

That sounds almost exactly like our daily commute! Except our commute is about 2,455 miles shorter. Oh yeah, and the roads are more or less paved.