2025 Tour Divide: Racing (Day 1) - Banff, Alberta 🇨🇦 to Koko Claims, British Columbia 🇨🇦

Day 1 of the 2025 Tour Divide was everything that I hoped it would be. It was challenging and rewarding in every sense. I still can't believe that I am actually starting this race! 🤯

Check out the Day 1 YouTube Video 📼 📺

The starting line 😅 🇨🇦

I can't believe that I am actually here... I am at the starting line of the 2025 Tour Divide!!! 🥳 This feels totally surreal... I am completely overwhelmed by the nerves, excitement, fear, and every other emotion you could imagine.

I was so overwhelmed that I forgot to start my Wahoo Elemnt Roam bike computer, so my distance tracking was off by a few miles all day. 🤦‍♂️ Thankfully, I did remember to start my Garmin inReach Mini GPS tracker, which was used for official race tracking purposes.

The race starts with a few miles of paved roads as you leave Banff, AB. This includes passing through the incredible Fairmont Banff Springs hotel courtyard. A few minutes later, the race really started as we left the pavement and headed towards the mountains.

Entering the Spray Lakes trail system ⛰️🪨

I reached the Spray Lakes trail system rather quickly. This felt like the true start of the race since I had seen this trail entrance probably 100 times while watching Tour Divide YouTube videos.

It had rained the night before, so the trails were all slightly muddy and slippery. The rain was a blessing, though, as it had completely cleared the heavy wildfire smoke that we had been dealing with for the past few days. The rain also lowered the unseasonably high temperatures. I was glad to be starting a little cool since my body really responds well to cool temperatures. I mean, I was in what is supposed to be "cold" Canada at this point, not "sweltering-hot" New Mexico.

The doubletrack trails were easy to navigate, but they did include some short, steep, punchy climbs. These climbs must have caught some of the riders off guard, as I saw a few walking up them already. The trails were mostly tree-lined but would occasionally open up to stunning mountain views.

Riding the boardwalks 🪵 😄

So far, I was keeping pace with most of the racers in my starting wave. I even passed probably a dozen racers that were either riding slower than me and/or had stopped for breaks. This was a massive relief since I had been worried about getting dropped shortly after the start, which would have raised the fear that I wasn't going to be able to keep up.

Eventually, the doubletrack trail connected to a beautiful set of boardwalks that crossed a swampy area. It was so much fun zooming over these boardwalks and listening to the wood creek below my tires.

At the end of the boardwalks, I was greeted by my first set of trail angels! These wonderful people had set up a table with coffee and muffins for the racers. This was such a welcome sight. I grabbed a small muffin, said "thank you!", and then headed back out. I didn't want to stop too long as I was really in a riding groove.

Singletrack around Spray Lakes Reservoir 🚵 💧

The next highlight on the route was the Spray Lakes Reservoir. The reservoir and surrounding mountain views were stunning! The reservoir was super low, which was surprising to see this time of the year.

The route led to the first section (of several) of the High Rockies Trail that I would ride. This section of singletrack traversed the perimeter of the reservoir. I followed closely behind a small group of racers, and we rocketed down the trail. We were going so fast that the lead rider missed a turn, and we all ended up almost crashing into each other on a descent that ended on a beach. 🤣

The short singletrack section eventually ended, and I was routed onto the largest gravel road that I have seen in my life! I swear that you could fit 8-10 vehicles side-by-side on this road.

Getting recognized from YouTube 📸 😄

As I was riding along the massive gravel road, I heard someone yell out, "Is that Keith... from KeithAndLindsey?" I was shocked since I thought that there was no way that someone would know or recognize me.

Sure enough, Dave Klingman, another Tour Divide racer, did in fact recognize me. We ended up chatting for about 15 minutes as we headed down the road. It was so cool to be recognized and to hear that someone watches and enjoys our videos and blog posts so much. Dave was planning to ride at a slower pace than I was, so I eventually had to say goodbye and take off down the road.

As I was cruising down the road, I noticed what looked like police vehicles and pop-up tents stationed every few kilometers. It turned out that these were checkpoints for the G7 Summit. They were ensuring that nobody entered the closed trails and roads that were creating a secure perimeter for the world leaders' summit.

Navigating the High Rockies Trail 🗺️ 🌉

I finally reached one of the famous singletrack sections of the Tour Divide, the High Rockies Trail. This trail was everything I had hoped it would be. It had a few tough climbs, but it was overall easily rideable.

The trail routed me deep into the forest as it wound its way along the mountainside. The trail was fast, flowy, and even had berms in a few sections. I relished the opportunity to ride this section since only a small portion of the overall Tour Divide route is singletrack.

This section of the High Rockies Trail also contains the famous suspension bridge crossing. This suspension bridge is crazy high in the air and is just wide enough to fit mountain bike handlebars. Some riders walk this section, but I chose to ride it. It was beautiful and scary at the same time!

The High Rockies Trail eventually brought me back out to the main road. I quickly refilled water from a nearby stream and prepared to head out. As I was getting ready, another racer appeared, but not from the exit of the singletrack... I was confused. This racer began telling me that he didn't know about the singletrack section, didn't have a map, and had been following other racers up to this point. I don't know what happened to that guy, but he was definitely in for an adventure!

First paved road climb 🛣️ 😅

I was roughly 50 miles (80.5 kilometers) in before I hit the first paved road section of the route. It felt so good to be back on smooth pavement after spending the morning on rough gravel roads and singletrack trails.

I felt like I was keeping a good pace for the entirety of the road climb. The descent on the other side was fantastic! It felt great to be riding at a decent speed again and really covering some ground. However, this pace would be short-lived as I was on my way to the first named mountain pass of the Tour Divide, Elk Pass.

Climbing Elk Pass 🥾 🦌

Elk Pass is the first named mountain pass on the Tour Divide elevation profile infographic. I had heard that sections of this pass were very steep and required hike-a-bike. So, I decided to fuel up before starting the climb by eating two StarKist Smart Bowls packets (tuna, rice, and beans). This was the first real food that I had eaten so far.

Elk Pass started steep, but was completely rideable. I made slow but steady progress for quite some time. Over the course of the climb, I kept noticing that the grade was getting progressively steeper. It went from 6-8%, then 10-12%, and eventually hit 15-20% in sections. Those steeper sections were too much for me and my fully-loaded bike, so I was forced to walk them. In a way, it was nice to get off the bike and push for a while. It gave my back, butt, legs, and other muscles a chance to stretch and relax.

After pushing, and riding, and even more pushing, I eventually crested Elk Pass and reached the famous "Welcome to the Elk Valley" totems. Iconic elements such as this act like milestones and help me to realize just how much progress I was really making. I believe that this is also the crossover point between the Alberta and British Columbia Canadian provinces.

Amazing descent towards Koko Claims 🚀 ❓

After a quick break and a short traverse along the Elk Pass ridgeline, I was treated to a world-class gravel descent towards the base of the notorious Koko Claims hike-a-bike section.

The descent was incredible! It was super high-speed, just rough enough to keep you focused, and surrounded by some of the best mountain views that I have ever seen. I even saw several wild horses just roaming around next to the road. What an amazing place and experience!

Upon reaching the bottom of the descent, I needed to make a critical decision: should I try to cross Koko Claims on this first night, or should I wait until morning? I had run across another racer who had ridden this section of the route once before. He warned me that crossing Koko Claims at night is very dangerous due to the bad footing on all of the boulder fields. He recommended that I stay down in the valley, where a lot of other racers had already set up camp, then cross Koko Claims in the morning.

Before making a final decision, I decided to take a break at Blue Lake Recreation Site. This was a stunning mountain lake that offered primitive campsites and an enclosed outhouse. I ate dinner there, gave my body a much-needed rest, and then I decided to somewhat take the advice I was given about Koko Claims and split the difference...

Starting the climb towards Koko Claims 😰 🆙

After a short but steep, gravel climb, I reached the turn-off for the Crossing Creek Recreation Trail, the official start of the Koko Claims climb. The first section of the trail was rideable, which was fantastic. The trail was lined with soft pine needles, which made the climb eerily quiet.

Over time, the trail became progressively steeper, and I eventually had to resort to pushing my bike. The sun was starting to go down quickly, so I began looking for anywhere that I could camp. Unfortunately, there was nothing even remotely close to flat ground where I could set up my tent... so I just kept pushing.

Setting up camp for the first time ⛺ 🔦

Finally, I rounded a corner and saw a small, informal camping area where a few other riders had pitched their tents and bivy sacks for the night.

I picked a spot, quickly pitched my tent, ate a small amount of food, and then found a safe place to hang my food bag. As I was wrapping up dinner, a rainstorm moved in, so I made my way into my tent.

It had been a very long day, but I was surprisingly not sore or overly tired when I finally made it to camp. I guess all the excitement from the starting line had carried on with me thus far, and my pacing strategy was working. Once I fell asleep, though, I slept like a rock! 🪨

Day 1 ride stats 🧾 📈

My stats for the day:

• Distance: 100.07 miles (161 kilometers)
• Elevation Gain: 7,927 feet (2,416 meters)
• Moving Time: 10 hours, 6 minutes, and 50 seconds
• Calories Burned: 4,901 calories

Coming up next 🚵 ➡️

In the next post, I take on the notorious Koko Claims hike-a-bike section as I make my way towards the town of Fernie, BC. Be sure to subscribe to our blog so you don't miss out.

What are your thoughts about my first day on the Tour Divide? Should I ever ride this route again, do you have any recommendations? Let us know in the comments below. 👇 💬