Continental Divide route

[Garth]

Hi all
I'm trying to plan a trip along part of the CDCR but live in a remote location in the Australian desert with terrible internet connection.
I plan to fly in to San Francisco and pick up the trail as close to there as I can and then head north up to Canaga.
I have a few general questions to throw out.
1. where can I get maps from
2. I usually travel with Schwalbe Marathon tyres - would it be reccommended to have a more knobbly profile tyre as it is dirt track.
3. what is the water and food availability like along the way.
4. It seems that most people go from north to south. Any ideas on why this is because going from south to north is more convenient for me.

[jbphilly]

I have no real experience on this front, but :

1. From the Adventure Cycling Association. Or you can get the maps used. In any case, ACA publishes a comprehensive set of maps for the GDMBR.
2. No idea, though the Marathon Extreme tires are supposed to be more suited for dirt, I believe.
3. Don't know, but in the northern parts, you should be able to filter water from plentiful streams along the way.
4. I've always thought south to north was more appealing - you end with the most spectacular scenery, and have the sun at your back rather than in your eyes - but most do north to south for whatever reason. It's probably not a huge deal.

[JRA]

The maps from ACA as mentioned above.
There is also a book that offers additional details on the route:  http://www.mountaineersbooks.org/Cycling-the-Great-Divide-P160.aspx

People ride the route in both directions.  Timing is important due to the relatively short summers, particularly in the north.

[redtabby]

San Francisco is ~1000mi from the route, give or take.  If you have limited time
and want to spend most of it on the divide, consider taking the California Zephyr
AMTRAK train from the San Francisco area into Colorado and joining the GDMBR
there.  I haven't done this myself but I do see reports that AMTRAK can be bike-friendly
and probably a lot more fun for you than some of the alternatives.  If you've got tons
of time and want to bike the entire time, you'll certainly get a workout crossing the
Sierra Nevada range and could probably find some interesting ways to do that either
north or south of SFO.   

[krefs]

Are you talking about the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route or the Continental Divide Trail? They are very different routes, the latter of which would be a burly singletrack-heavy undertaking.

[Garth]

Thanks for that question Kurt.  Now I'm talking about the GDMBR.  I wasn't aware of the difference.