The Baja Divide - Future Journeys


The Baja Divide is a described as "a 1,700 mile off-pavement bikepacking route down the length of the Baja California peninsula, from San Diego, CA, USA to San José del Cabo, BCS, MX, researched and developed by Nicholas Carman and Lael Wilcox in the winter and spring of 2015-16."

A couple of weeks ago I spotted an article on the BD and noticed a scholarship was available for a woman who wished to undertake the full length of the ride, to be equipped with a bike, camping equipment and funds to help pay for food and necessities on route.

In the spirit of 'if you don't apply, you won't get' I put in a submission and have been waiting for the past couple of weeks with a mixture of wanderlust, excitement and what if's

Its a crazy journey covering 20 sections from San Diego to La Paz, over mountains, through historic mission sites and deserts. Riders must be able to carry 2-3 days worth of food, and water and expect to camp out for at least some of the trip.. It sounded amazing


Unfortunately this time around, I've not been successful in securing the funds to support doing this, but in reading the response from the organisers and creators of the trail, I'm pretty pleased to know that somewhere out there, I'm one of 200 women aged from between 19 to 62, who also really wanted to do this ride.

That's a small but significant number of women who are also up for some adventures, 1700 miles of cycling and a good reason to celebrate where women's cycling is getting to. It gives me hope that it is possible to do this stuff and that I am not completely crazy for wanting to go out there to try and complete this type of challenge.

So.. I am going to have to find another way to get there, another year. But it also means that the two additional group challenges that I have been made aware of this week, may now be possible to squeeze in next year while plans hatch to take this on in future, either alone as planned, or as a group

For more info on the Baja Divide, check out the route website
https://bajadivide.com

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