Previously published on EMU News.

Through paved roads, switchbacks, hail, and snow, EMU alumni Ryan Swartzentruber ‘16 and his fiancée Rita Cohen biked from Mexico to Canada this past summer.

After Swartzentruber finished his master’s degree in agricultural and resource economics at Colorado State University and Cohen completed her first year of teaching high school math, the pair wanted to celebrate their accomplishments and have something exciting to look forward to.

EMU’s Bike Club helped make that happen by sponsoring the pair. From May 28 to July 14, they rode approximately 2,900 miles (on a Diamondback Axis Comp and a Surly Karate Monkey, respectively) with 200,000 feet of climbing on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route.

“We more or less followed the Adventure Cycling Association route, but there is also a race route called the Tour Divide that diverges a handful of times from our route,” Swartzentruber said, adding that they weren’t alone, but met or saw approximately 150 people riding the same route or a portion of it.

Though incredibly difficult, the journey proved rewarding. The pair formed new relationships, experienced immense beauty, and reflected on life and biking. For example, having Cohen along for the trip made Swartzentruber realize just how male-dominated the biking world is and how important it is to celebrate women who pedal. 

Swartzentruber’s favorite parts of the trip were “the people, nature, simplicity, and the reward,” he said. “As with any similar trip, we met such wonderful and kind people while riding on the road that 99.99% of the US population will never see… Seeing the world on a bicycle is such a different lens than a car or hiking. It’s addicting.”

However, the trip was not without its challenges. The Divide trail was often covered in snow, and most of the Tour Divide leaders dropped out due to a snow storm that dropped two feet on the route.

“We were largely lucky with weather (and everything, really) but did run into snow a handful of times, the worst of which was hiking a bike through Brazos Ridge in northern New Mexico. The drifts were huge and the snow was slushy. It took us five hours to push our bikes through approximately 10 miles of snow.”

Machinery also played into the challenges they faced. “It is impossible to ride your bike for any amount of time without feeling vulnerable to some extent,” Swartzentruber said. They were crowded by many drivers who often did not know how to share the road. “Add to this the challenges of consuming enough calories and staying hydrated, sleeping on the ground, and being subject to every change of weather. Now repeat this every day for six weeks and add some sleep deprivation to it. Feeling vulnerable to this extent led to some of the most meaningful interactions we had. Kind words and actions meant more than you could know.” 

And they got those in high supply—whether that be important advice from a woman named Grace outside of Salida, Colorado, or strangers stopping to give them Gatorade. “We got valuable information about road conditions from local strangers and other riders. Riders are extremely vulnerable on the Divide and interactions become much more meaningful.”

Swartzentruber and Cohen met a memorable woman named Kirsten, who owns and operates Brush Mountain Lodge in Colorado. She simply asks for donations, but turns no one away, feeding all who pass through. Kirsten offered to pick up the two if they couldn’t make it through the hail and sludge on their way to the lodge, and that offer got them through. “We were at our height of vulnerability of our trip. We wouldn’t have been able to make it over the pass without knowing that Kirsten was there just in case, but taking the road to the Lodge made us become more vulnerable than ever before. Kirsten’s kindness stands in such contrast. She gave us a hug, a warm place to stay, food, more food, and even more food. This kindness would not have been understood in the same way if we were not so vulnerable.” 

Vulnerability was a common theme for the pair. “Reflecting on our trip, the most memorable portions result from our vulnerability,” Swartzentruber said. “It reminds me of the cross cultural program at EMU. However, we can’t always take a semester or summer to take a trip like this nor do we need to. My takeaway from the trip is to find ways to be vulnerable with others in my privileged life and be aware of when others are in vulnerable situations.”

Swartzentrubers’s advice to others hoping to do a similar trip? Do research, watch the documentary “Tour Divide” and lastly, “Take your time and enjoy it. Stop and talk to others on the trail. Make the trip what you want it to be and don’t be afraid to diverge from the mapped route.”