Trail Magic: Behind the Scenes of "Tracing the Divide"
Have you ever wondered what it takes to complete the ultimate adventure (or how about documenting it)? We’re sitting down with the riders from “Tracing the Divide”; the story of two life-long friends who embark on an adventure of a lifetime. 24 days, one Cutthroat, one Beargrease, and a whole lot of challenges.
Check out the trailer, or watch the film for free on Roku, all here: https://www.tracingthedivide.com/
And keep reading for some behind the scenes takes on the trip.
Q: Where had you heard about the Tour Divide and what made you want to take on this route specifically?
Chris Hiebert: Chris Schmidt sent me a link to the route on bikepacking.com back in fall 2019. I initially dismissed it because of the length of the route and that it was so far away from my home. I didn’t think I could take the time off and be away from my family that long. Within a day or two I became obsessed with the route. It was crazy. The scale. The potential adventure. At some point I thought, “maybe,” and we started scheming. We tried local ultra-endurance bikepacking events like the Heck Epic and the EX225. Nothing dissuaded us. Everything I read and watched made me want to do it more. Eventually my wife was onboard with the idea and it began to take shape.
Q: Why did you choose the Beargrease for this trip?
CH: Simple: it was the bike I had that could do the trip. I bought my Beargrease in 2018 and did an ultra-endurance race on it in 2019. That experience showed me that the fat-tire bike isn’t a liability. It isn’t as fast as an MTB or gravel bike, but it isn’t slow either. And it has its advantages. I like to say that on my Beargrease I can’t pick a bad line, only better ones. Throughout our training leading up to our trip down the Divide, the Beargrease continually proved that it was a great bike to base my setup on.
Q: Why did you choose the Cutthroat for this trip?
CS: It’s hard not to consider a bike that has a map of your route painted on the downtube! You don’t have to look much into Tour Divide/GDMBR bikes without coming across the Cutthroat — it’s a drop-bar mountain bike specifically designed for this route. I snagged a Cutthroat frameset and my local bike shop (Avant Cycles) in Lake Geneva, WI built it up for me. The bike served me well, taking on the GDMBR in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Sadly, it was stolen in New Mexico during my 2023 attempt!
Q: What was your biggest fear going into the trip?
CS: Failure. We’d put so much time into preparing for this and had the support of our families and coworkers. To come back home from anywhere other than the Mexican border would have been a tough outcome. Also bears. As someone from the Midwest, I’d never seen a bear in the wild, let alone had any encounters with them. Coincidentally, a couple weeks before we started our ride, a woman was killed by a grizzly in one of the small towns on the route, and my friends and family had been texting me reports of it since it had made national news. I can’t say that any level of prep about bears made me feel less anxious that first night in my tent in the woods of Montana. The very next day a bear ran across the trail in front of us. Ultimately, my irrational fears faded as we spent more time on the trail.
Q: What was something that happened on the trip that you didn't expect or plan for? (Positive or Negatively)
CS: One of the most surprising events was Hiebert crashing and fracturing his hip. We were in the middle of the Gila National Forest with a ton of climbing to do on the second-to-last day of our ride. As a physician, I was prepared with basic first aid supplies, but I never expected something like that. Fortunately, his hip joint was ok. He was much worse off the bike than on it, since the area involved was important for stabilizing the hips when walking and the saddle did that when riding. He never questioned finishing since we were so close. That takes grit. I just made sure I gave him alternating doses of ibuprofen and acetaminophen on the final day and he just kept pedaling.
Q: What did you do to keep yourself going when things got difficult?
CH: I thought about the sacrifices my family made letting me train and the time they gave me to do this trip. I thought about my friends and coworkers who picked up my slack while I was gone. I also had my best friend to suffer with.
Schmidt had also suggested that we put together a list of motivational quotes. I drew on those too. One of my favorites is an African proverb “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with a friend.”
Q: What did you do to keep the other Chris going when things got difficult?
CH: I kind of chuckle at this question, because Schmidt is one of the toughest people I know. When he commits himself to a project like this he won’t stop until the wheels come off his bike or his legs won’t go anymore. But having another person there to share in the experience kept both of us going during the hard parts of the ride.
CS: I don’t think Hiebert ever felt that any given moment was insurmountable physically. He was probably more uncomfortable with the lack of concrete plans some days.
I think as an engineer his strengths and comfort to some degree come from having things planned out or calculated. I tend to go with the flow and pivot as the adventure dictates. Not knowing where we would sleep or resupply was definitely more front and center for Hiebert. With that in mind, I tried to let him plan our days a bit or not push back too much if his plans didn’t coincide with mine (except maybe one day at a grocery store in Steamboat!). I remember proposing a way to break up the last four or five days to the finish and seeing Hiebert’s motivation and mood change by having a plan and a way to the end at a time when we both wanted to finish this . I also think that as two lifelong friends we carried a sort of silent accountability to each other to finish no matter how much we struggled at times.
Q: What was your favorite portion of the ride? Why?
CS: As you prepare for a route like this, you read others’ accounts, watch videos, and study maps and other resources. You expect certain sections to be difficult or monumental, and when you actually experience them they take on new meaning in the context of your ride.
The Great Basin of Wyoming was one of these legendary sections — a 130+ mile stretch of high desert with no resupply and the threat of notorious headwinds and “death mud.” When we left Atlantic City, WY, it was raining and we had a long way to go to our destination of Wamsutter. I thought we were heading into disaster due to my healthy amount of scary anticipation. Ultimately, this great expanse had its own special beauty through wind, rain, mud, and near-freezing temps. It felt great to push ourselves beyond what was comfortable and just go for it. The landscape and the satisfaction of accomplishing that day really stuck and it gave us confidence for challenges later in the route.
Q: What was your favorite stop on the ride? Why?
CS: I would have to give that nod to Brush Mountain Lodge. The welcome and kindness from Kirsten and Andrew and Katie Strempke couldn’t have come at a better time. The food, the company, accommodations were all wonderful and a great reset. But it was really about the feeling and great vibe we left that place with — you have to experience it in the context of this route to truly understand.
Q: What was your most essential piece of gear
CH: My Beargrease. It was the foundation that everything else hung on. It’s hard to say that there is one most essential piece of gear because it’s a system of items that you need to survive. But it begins with the bike, and the Beargrease has proven over and over to be a great foundation for my adventures.
CH: My saddle. Finding one that works for you for 15-hour days on repeat is critical. Saddle sores at best are a painful nuisance and at worst can be the end of your adventure. I found the leather Sella Anatomica saddle worked best for me on long rides. There’s no escaping some level of discomfort and irritation down there, but figuring out your saddle and a daily routine to take care of your bottom will let you focus on the scenery and not your tail-end discomfort.
Q: Did you have a luxury piece of gear? Something you didn't need but it made you feel good to have it?
CH: The necklace that I wore on the ride. The year before, my two daughters and I were just having fun in my woodshop painting some washers with nail polish. I had them each pick one of the washers they decorated, and I put it on a necklace. I have worn those washers on my bike adventures ever since. I have added other items to the necklace, like a skull Schmidt gave me and a cross, and it hangs close to my heart. It’s noisy and heavy, but it is a physical reminder of people and events that made positive changes in my life.
We also packed coffee. Necessary and unnecessary at the same time. It’s fun stopping in the middle of the night to make a cup.
Q: When you got home after the ride, what's the first thing you said to people when they asked how it went?
CS: Initially it was difficult to put into words. I’d tell people it was an amazing trip and that I wanted to race the Tour Divide Grand Depart the next year. But jumping from riding your bicycle in the mountains for 24 days back into the “real world”
was an unanticipated transition. You’re still processing what happened. So many stories, so much internal dialogue, and all you feel is fatigue and insatiable hunger. You realize that you’ve done this “thing” that unless you do it or something similar, it’s hard to appreciate how it went. It was life-changing for sure. We never planned to put out a feature-length documentary for the world to see (we thought we’d have a cool video to show friends and family), but I’m grateful to be able to share with everyone what the ride meant to us. It’s a little bit of our story and way more than just a bike ride.stopping in the middle of the night to make a cup.
Q: Now that time has passed since the ride, what's something you've taken away from the experience?
CH: Life is a gift, and creation is something to be experienced unfiltered and without the noise of our built environment. I feel that the mountains are spiritual places and that you need to take the time to listen. I also realized that I need to pay it forward. Giving to others freely, just like people freely gave to Chris and I both on the route and at home to make our trip a success.
CS: Wow, what an absolute privilege it is to do something like this. I’ve cometo appreciate every moment along the way, both highs and lows, and tried totake what I learned in that space back to my life and relationships. We have an opportunity to learn about ourselves in moments of struggle and appreciate where we are and where we want to go in this crazy journey here on earth. Setting aside time away from the distractions of your typical routines gives you an opportunity to ponder and explore such things, particularly when you’re so raw and exposed physically and emotionally. I think anyone that takes on something like this comes out the other side changed in ways they never expected, and they’re better for it. It was way more than a bike ride.
Q: Any follow-up adventures planned?
CH: I have been scheming a trip here in Wisconsin that I am calling the “RIND”.
It’s deliciously simple: ride the rind (boundary) of Wisconsin. The route I have laid out is just under 1,600 miles and has more than 40,000 feet of climbing. Now I am trying to figure out how to bring some positive benefits to others as part of the ride. Schmidt has said he will join me. Some other friends are interested too.
I am also trying to encourage and share my love of adventure with my daughters. But this has to be on their terms and because they want the challenge. I don’t want to force them into something they don’t want to do. I’m hoping one of them might want to try the Crusher EX40 this year. I have enjoyed the challenge of the Crusher EX225, and the 40 is a good but still challenging starting point for my kids.
CS: Tour Divide 2025 Grand Depart on Friday, June 13. Hiebert also is planning an adventure for us riding the entire perimeter of Wisconsin to the tune of about 1,600 miles. We hope to elevate that ride in some way to help others. More to come on that.
Q: Do you still think Mike & Ikes are the best candy?
CH: Yup. You can buy them by the 3lb bag and when I do, I will sit there and eat them by the handful. Because I can’t control myself, I try not to buy them that often. They do make a great gift, and Chrissy and the kids usually give me some Mike & Ike’s for my birthday and Christmas.
Q: Do you still think Twizzlers are the best candy?
CS: Twizzlers are definitely my go-to in terms of candy. I’ve always liked Twizzlers since going to the movies as a kid. If you can find the large bag at a gas station it’s nearly 3000 calories, they pack into the frame bag or top tube bag well and are still pretty good/chewable in the colder temperatures. I could do without all that palm oil, corn syrup, and RED dye #40, but that is one of the downsides of many of these ultra bikepacking events – you’re limited to a convenience store diet. If you’re lucky, some fruits or vegetables come along and you appreciate and savor that gift.
