[Closed] French Divide. Anyone Ridden the Route?

I know someone doing it at the moment, they started last week end. Very hard with the weather.

Please post the address if they do a write up.

My gf did it last year. However if you follow Lael Wilcox and/or French Divide, there are lots of photos and insights.

Just for clarity, Lael Wilcox isnt my girlfriend.

That looks great, maybe a bucket list job, but how do you actually do it? Just hope there’s a pasty shop somewhere on route or do you have someone googling like mad at home?

you will have to read french though ;

here his strava

https://www.strava.com/athletes/3100156

I'll ask Mrs Mugsy (aka Bénédicte Saintier) when she gets in. She appears to be on fire..... Follow progress on trackleaders.

Whitestone of this parish and his wife are riding it but I don't know their real names, although I think I have figured it  out.

Any route descriptions available online? I was thinking of doing something like this (as a solo trip, not the mass participation thing).

Is it always the same route or does it change?

this year the route is a little different.

I havnt done it, but it seems like it would be an awesome trip to just follow the route.

Any route descriptions available online?

Some good info linked from the French Divide site, the route split into 20 stages

http://www.frenchdivide.com/a-propos/parcours/

https://www.mountnpass.com/en/evenements/french-divide-2017/

The gpx files are available. As someone said above the route is fine-tuned each year. For instance this year they took in some of the northern WW1 battlefields to commemorate the centenary.

I think riding these routes by doing the actual event is the msot enjoyable (and most resepctful) way of doing them. The camaderie between riders, the organisers and locals is huge. Locals really go out of their  way to help and I 've had several friends who have gone out  and set up impromptu feed stations. The route doesn't exist as a Grand Traverse/ GR path: it's made up by the  organisers who spend a lot of time and effort developing the route. There is often an article in the French 200 magazine documenting the French Divide route reconnaissances.

There is a brit this year doing it on a dinglespeed. He seemed to struggle being at the back for the  first few days or so but is now massively moving up through the pack.

Quitting job at end of the month, looking for a ride in September that doesn't require much planning. This could be just the job, thanks for the links.

Montgomery/ I would look at doing one of the GR's or GTV's if you are not going to do the event itself..... The French Divide has a lot of road and flat...especially in the north and has been designed to welll.....do a trverse of France and thus crosses some terrain that you might not find the most inspiring. I will suggest the GTMC for starters:  https://www.la-gtmc.com/

That GTMC looks awesome

Tom and I did most of it the first year. Each year the route has changed though.

The organisers are lovely people, and the atmosphere of the event is ace. The route varies between road, fast tracks and slow hike a bike.

My top tip is carry lots of water.

Currently being led by a brit for the last day and a bit. As in he is at the very pointy bit. Not the fastest time though as there were 2 départs 24 hours apart. But I think the genral ethos is that he is currently in pole position.

The orange markers are the 2nd wave so Harold must be in the lead.

Oh yeah good point...I knew about the oranges being Sunday... but only just realised Harold is ornage...lots of other ornages at the front too. Been paying more attention to BS  'my little dot'!

montgomery - there's loads of cycle routes down the length of Europe. Just figure out whether you're more a France, Belgium or Germany sort of chap and crack on. I was talking to a guy who rode from the Rhine delta in the Netherlands to the "source" in Switzerland. Then carried on over the alps down to Italy. Wasn't a challenging ride (apart from the middle bit) but he had a great time and there were loads of towns, campsites, B&Bs on the way so he was never too stressed.