Back to the Beginning of the Journey

My name is Mark Furches.  I completed this bicycle tour in October of 2016.  I wrote various journal entries during my camp time, but I never got around to posting any photos or blog entries until now.  So, back to the beginning with the 1st entry in my journal.

1st Journal Entry - June 18, 2016

I have decided on an approximate date of departure for the Continental Divide Mountain Biking Tour.  I will leave in early August after Mike, Mary Jane, and Marathana come down for a visit in July.  A specific date will be chosen as the time draws near.  My dad intends to drive me up to the starting location in Banff, Alberta, Canada.  Most of my things are in order, and at this time I have about 1 month to continue prepping.  This route will take me from Banff, Alberta, Canada to the Mexican border at Columbus, New Mexico.  I may decide to keep riding back home to Pensacola, FL once I reach Columbus, New Mexico.

Of primary importance at this juncture of preparation, I need to compile a list of the items that I need to take with me on the trek.  So, here it goes:

Checkmarks indicate that I took the items with me, at least initially, on the trip.  X-marks indicate that I decided not to take the item with me due to redundancies, unnecessariness, and weight issues.

Primitive Navigation at Night - LURD Method

Primitive Navigation at Night:  LURD Method - June 28, 2016

This was notes concerning primitive navigation at night that I took just before leaving on the trip.  Primitive navigation skills along with basic compass use helped me tremendously on this trip, and I would advise anyone to take a compass along for any long distance journey.

Prior to departure I went on a few long distance day rides with my Surly Long Haul Trucker in order to prepare myself for being in the saddle.  I also watched the movie Grizzly Man because I was expecting that I may run into a few bears along the trail.

 

The Road to Banff

The Road to Banff - July, 9, 2017 @ 8:41am

I apologize beforehand for the crappy penmanship, but many times I wrote this without a table and my penmanship is sloppy to begin with.  With that being said, I don't want to rewrite my journal on here, so I will post pictures of the individual pages along with pictures from the trip that parallel the journal entries.  If you are interested in taking a trip like this please read through the journal entries and you will get a better idea of what to expect along the trail.  I hope you enjoy and please leave comments or ask any questions that you have.

Break Day at Upper Elk River

Break Day at the Upper Elk River in British Columbia - July 10, 2016

At this point during the journey I decided to do a Bible study before writing a journal entry.  I decided to start in the book of Romans.  After the Bible verse of the day I continue on in my journal where I left off on the previous entry.

Following the Elk River to Koocanusa Lake

Following the Elk River to Koocanusa Lake - July 14, 2016

There are typos in the journal entries, so if you can not figure out the word that I wrote insert your own words in order to make the story what you want it to be.

Unfortunately, I did not get a close up picture of the mother bear and cub.