Day 71 – 29mi – 3 flats. Pulled >20 thorns. Ran out of patches and used tape. Had to stop and pump often #frankentube pic.twitter.com/3t8FJmDV3E
— Adam Gianforte (@UniForJustice) September 27, 2015
Adam carried all of his gear on his back, so he had to pack pretty light knowing that the weight on his back would add up over time. He packed a bivvy, sleeping bag, and cooked on campfires which replaced his stove. He also carried extra clothes, food and especially towards the end of his trip, a lot of water. Because of the slow speed of a unicycle, Adam had to carry about two gallons of water in sections where those resources were limited.
Overall, the ride took Adam 79 days, starting on July 17th, and finishing on October 3rd. He averaged roughly 45 miles a day typically riding around 8 hours a day, giving him the chance to enjoy the best parts of the GDMBR, “making time to talk to people.” Adam mentioned that the unicycle made people more open to talk, it was “a great way to meet people. I had some deep and meaningful conversations with people because of the unicycle.”
Camped with CDT hikers Patrick & Jeaneane & cyclist Roger, all from Switzerland. A rare water source drew us together pic.twitter.com/1vHC8aLMQx
— Adam Gianforte (@UniForJustice) August 27, 2015
As many of you can imagine there are some good days, and some not so good days. Adam recalls his most trying day was going across the Great Basin in Wyoming, which happened to be his first 70 mile day. “I ran out of water, so the last 10 miles I had no water, and I had to ride about 3 hours in the dark because it took me so much longer than expected.”
But maybe the most interesting parts of Adam’s ride was when he got sick. Adam contracted iardia, and managed to only take a couple of rest days before hopping back on the bike. The illness gave Adam diarrhea, and made him extremely fatigued. He was coming to grips that he indeed had giardia. It was fate that a random, clean, and dry roll of TP was waiting for him off the trail just outside of Salida.
Day 49 – 15mi – Felt sick. Got a mile into the climb of the day out of Breckenridge and turned around. At a hostel.? pic.twitter.com/M9cvTHoqDt
— Adam Gianforte (@UniForJustice) September 4, 2015
Most trying section: Great Basin, giardia.
Favorite state: Montana
Favorite town: Fernie, BC
Favorite piece of gear: Solar charger, and Spot Tracker (for the parents)
Now that Adam has finished his big trip, he looks to start up his acting career, a hobby of his in college. While he did not say no to another adventure in the future, he thinks he had plenty of adventure for the time being. Adam became the 8th person to ever start the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route on a unicycle, and one of the few to ever finish it. Adam is certainly In a unique class of his own.
If you are interested in donating to International Justice Mission, head over to his website.
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