BANFF And BEARS! Bikepacking the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR)

[@SurlyRider2019]

That makes sense, see a bear cub and follow it.

[@PursuingMountains]

😅

[@bryancaluwe1920]

Great music track!

[@PursuingMountains]

Thank you! I always have a lot of fun with the music on our videos :)

[@arcoulant87]

i rode the bcepic1000 race and rode back up to Banff must have just missed you I was going through bolton trading post on the 7 july, A few weeks later rode down the trail to sawmill camp site for a overnight trip and on way back saw that grizzly bear you saw it just jumped up out of the bush 10 feet away from me and roared I just kept pedalling, the roar it made I wont forget .It was holly crap moment .GDMBR next year looking forward to it ,great video thanks for posting.

[@PursuingMountains]

Wow!! That’s so crazy! We didn’t hear him roar but that would be so terrifying! We were about a month after you. We started the trail in early August. Do you plan to bike the entire GDMBR next year?

[@arcoulant87]

@@PursuingMountains yes from Banff as my daughter lives there very handy for starting.

[@PursuingMountains]

@@arcoulant87 that’s awesome! 🙌🏼

[@slowridescott]

It's been a while since I've been on a ride, HABing up steep hills brought back some painful memories lol! Great video, looking forward to watching the entire ride. Just subbed.

[@PursuingMountains]

Aww thank you! We have HAB soo many times on the great divide 😅

[@kenny4540]

Love your videos. Keep up the adventures.

[@PursuingMountains]

Aww thank you!

[@jamieturtles]

Gorgeous paved path that follows down to Banff !!! Wow!!!

[@PursuingMountains]

Yes so beautiful there! The most beautiful part of the GDMBR that we’ve done!

[@ashleyhowell9045]

Very interesting life style documentary, excellent photography good luck on your adventure.

[@PursuingMountains]

Thanks!

[@walterdanielswalter.r.dani7628]

Brought back a memory of me driving the ALCAN through B.C. in 2016 where I spotted a large male grizzly feeding on a moose kill just off the road in the ditch and at the very top of a long grade. As i looked forward and down the long grade, I spotted a lone bicyclist loaded with gear. I stopped to warn him of the extreme danger awaiting him at the very top of the grade, assuming it would be the perfect spot for a bicyclist to pull over for a rest after ascending the hill. I often wonder how he managed that situation. A short distance later I stopped at a small gas station/store where I informed the owner of the bear kill and the bicyclist. He went on to inform me that not only was there the large male that I saw, but also a sow with two 2 year old cubs who had also been feeding upon the carcass. I'm glad I was driving a truck.

[@johngorman7729]

You can always tell the tourists in Alberta 😂. Next time see if he will let you tickle him.

[@PursuingMountains]

😂🤣and a great big bear hug 🤗

[@philjoy08]

I watched all the episodes of your Canada biking adventure.

[@PursuingMountains]

Aww that’s awesome!! Thanks for following along :)

[@kenny4540]

That log you are going to hang your food on is from deer hunters so they can suspend the deer. Works for keeping food away from bears too ... if you get it high enough. Stay safe.

[@PursuingMountains]

Thanks. I don't know if it was high enough, but it was fine for a night. I'm sure a determined bear could figure out how to get food off the log. 🐻

[@Scor-ah]

Much As I Love Jasper, I think I will skip the Jasper to Canmore section next summer because of traffic

[@PursuingMountains]

That’s probably for the best, at least until they develop a more dedicated bike path.

[@Bikepacking]

Cool video you should look into Bikepacking setups it great for trails compared to traditional pannier cycle touring setup

[@PursuingMountains]

Thanks! We have definitely considered that. One of the reasons we didn’t is because we didn’t want to have to purchase an entirely new setup when we already have the gear we need, but we would like to try the bikepacking setup at some point.

[@chantallemire3485]

Good video! What were your travelling dates? You also mentioned it was hard to hang up food. What did you do if you just could'nt hang it ? Good luck on your next adventure

[@PursuingMountains]

We got to Banff on Aug 16th. Often times the trees branches are too weak or there’s too many branches which makes hanging food basically impossible. So, we will use bear boxes when they’re available, but when they’re not, we resort to what we call the “sacrificial pannier.” We just put our food in a pannier close it up and put it far away from our tent and try to hide it a bit if possible. It’s not ideal, but we’ve actually never had an issue with it surprisingly. Thanks for watching!

[@chantallemire3485]

@@PursuingMountains Thanks a lot!

[@chadv5143]

lol you guys are scary. Stopping to get some photos of a bear. You know you can't outbike them right?

[@PursuingMountains]

Haha, yeah, it definitely wasn’t the smartest thing we’ve ever done. I think we’ve learned our lesson now 😆

[@briantyhy4880]

Great Video, I am planning to cycle this section of the great divide and branch off to Fernie BC. I have taken a few bear aware course and what they have told us in these courses that black bears are more dangerous. Why because black bears associate people with food because the bears scavenge from peoples garbage. If you don't scare a grizzly bear, they are generally more curious about humans but don't associate us as food or with food.

[@PursuingMountains]

Interesting…in person the grizzly was much more scary. But we shouldn’t have stopped so long with him. It def aggravated him as you saw 🤦🏻‍♀️😬

[@briantyhy4880]

Just a side note, I worked for approximately 35 years in the Yukon, predominately in the wild. Saw lots of bears and also stayed well clear of them. I remember one time while camping, I woke up because I heard something walking around my tent. I got up and saw nothing but packed up my tent and climbed into the truck. As I drove away I came across a grizzly bear two kms away from the tent. I also notice it's paw prints. around my tent glad to get away.

[@PursuingMountains]

@@briantyhy4880 Wow Crazy! We would love to visit the Yukon someday though!

[@briantyhy4880]

@@PursuingMountains If you come in june next summer. Ill put you up at my house put Im leaving the Yukon next summer in July. all the best with your future adventures

[@PursuingMountains]

@@briantyhy4880 Aww that's so kind! Thank you!

[@unkreativnet]

Banff is nice, but Jasper is still nicer :-D Thank you for another nice video to dream about canada

[@PursuingMountains]

Aww thanks! We’ve done some very nice hikes in Jasper in pervious trips and loved it. It was just a shame that the GDMBR takes you on busy gravel roads. We met people who road the ice fields parkway because it’s more scenic which might have been better!

[@unkreativnet]

The Glacier Highway can make me depressive, comparing where the glaciers have been 20 years ago and today you have to take a ride to come to the ice…. So well…. Yeah it is scenic. But also brutal in showing what we do to the planet….

[@pido598]

Ride safe Madam and Sir

[@PursuingMountains]

Thank you!

[@jamieturtles]

Are u using gravel bikes or hard tail mtb with drop bars ?

[@PursuingMountains]

We are using gravel bikes. Salsa Fargos. We have a video talking about them and how they worked if you want to check it out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hZfZiH2Jgc1pkJY

[@davejack3054]

Just a quick comment. As others have mentioned, there are some lessons learned from your bear encounters. Rather than making these mistakes in real life I suggest you consider taking a Bear Aware course, its only a couple of hours online. This will help with your personal safety and just as importantly, the safety of the bears as well. Each year sees Parks personnel have to shoot bears due to preventable human interactions. While the course will not cover practical considerations like using bear spray and bear bangers you/should practice those on your own before the trip.

[@karllorossanodasilvarossan8708]

👏👏🙏🙏🙏

[@PursuingMountains]

Thank you for the support 🙌🏼🙏🏼😊

[@jht09]

Hey guys just wondering what bikes you guys are riding didn’t know if you did a video on your bikes thanks

[@PursuingMountains]

Hi Josh! Yes, we did do a video on our bikes. We used salsa fargos: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hZfZiH2Jgc1pkJY

[@frankducett9]

Don't get so far away from your bear spray, ever.

[@PursuingMountains]

I’ll remember that next time

[@BruceFromhart]

Love your stuff, you are my lunch time get-away. Please be more careful around bears. Just read bear attacks and bear attack survival guide, by James Gary Shelton. I do not get any monies for saying this. After being in the bush for 40 years, these books changed how I view seeing bears, and gave me some excellent strategies for survival, if I need them. Thanks again, please know, this comes from a place of concern.

[@PursuingMountains]

Hi Bruce! That is so great to hear that we can entertain you during your lunch break! That last encounter with the grizzly gave us such a good scare that we won’t be creeping up that close to bears again. That was terrifying.

[@B-kn8yb]

@@PursuingMountainsyeah usually you see a bear, you don’t creep up to them unless you’re in a vehicle with the windows rolled up. lol

[@zenofthemoment]

I know you said you learned your lesson, and I believe you, but the point needs to be reinforced. If not for you, then for others who may see this and not take it seriously. Y’all need to quit playing with those bears. Their names aren’t Whinny or Pooh, those are the real thing. I think 4 people were mauled to death in Montana alone in 2022, one of whom was a female bikepacker who was dragged from her tent at 4am and killed. She was even camped behind a public school building in a town. That’s the worst case. Best case is the bears get used to being around people, start getting too close, and fish & game has to come out and kill them before they hurt someone. There is no good outcome from messing around with them. That automatic reaction you had to a real life no bullshit predator paying attention to you originated deep in your brain stem, as automatic as breathing, programmed in by a million years of your ancestors successfully avoiding predators. It’s what kept us alive. I would pay very close attention to it. A great tip I once heard was create a huge triangle. Cook and eat your food in one spot, then hang your food and the clothes you cooked and ate in at least 200 yards (600ft) away and at least 15ft up, then pitch your tent and sleep at least 200 yards from both of those two points, forming a triangle. Your mileage may vary, but that sounded like pretty solid advice to me. Continued success on your rides. Safe travels. Thanks for sharing.🤘

[@flutingaround]

Even black bear are dangerous. There are cases of them tearing into tents in Colorado. Thanks for stressing this important information

[@PursuingMountains]

Thanks for your concern. I think we’ve learned our lesson now

[@MARK71611]

❤🎉✝️