COMING SOON!

In the summer of 2008 I will be leading a 10 day wheelchair expedition over the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. Crossing the North American Continental Divide in the Canadian Rockies on all-terrain handcycles before descending into the valleys for 3 days of river touring in kayaks.

Places will be limited due to the difficulty in getting hold of the specialist mountain bikes, each costing US$5000 each, and is dependent on applications. This expedition aims to really take a group of adventurous wheelchair users where wheelchairs have never been before.

The preliminary route starts in close to the Canadian side of the border with the USA, before heading north towards Banff. We will be following the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route in reverse, allowing for plenty of time amongst the awe inspiring mountain peaks of the Canadian Rockies before switching from mountain bikes to kayaks. The Bow River, running through the Bow valley towards Calgary will be the site of the kayaking portion of the expedition, with 3 days spent on the river, camping along the way.

A support team will accompany the wheelchairs along the way, carrying supplies and equipment on 4 wheel ATV’s and acting as alternative modes of transport for those in need of it, with Calgary and the nearby kananaskis National Park acting as a base location.

Calgary International Airport is a hub for international flights and accessible by direct flights from most countries and cities.

No prior or specialist experience is necessary for the expedition, with training and familiarization to be provided on all equipment before the expedition begins, although a decently average level of fitness will be needed to travel over 200 miles over the course of the trip.

Pricing and further details will be coming soon as the exact details and route begin to take shape, this will be an epic journey and planning is at an early stage to ensure a successful and ultimately rewarding challenge.

Please register your interest as soon as possible, so I can cater to demand and make provisions for the possible amount of participants. Registering in no way commits you to anything at all and will just help me to gauge interest and possible final numbers of mountain bikes needed.

STOP PRESS - The planned expedition has been cancelled for 2008.

The logistics of camping in Canada’s National Parks have been too difficult to overcome, we would only be allowed to camp in designated site and many of these are too far apart to cover on a handcycle in the course of a day, especially considering the terrain.

I am hoping to revise the plans and still organise an expedition or handcycle holiday that can work around the confines of camping in the national parks. Stay tuned!

Apologies to all those that contacted me and expressed their interest in the trip. Now that I know so many people are interested in this type of adventure I will definitely be getting an expedition of the ground.