The Great Divide Route was intended to be a cross-country off-road route that riders took 70 or 80 days to complete, according to Aaron Teasdale, spokesman for the ACA. That was until John Stamstad rode the entire route in 18 days, 5 hours and 37 minutes in 1999.

The first official Great Divide Race took place in 2004, and in the three years of competition, only seven people have even finished the race. Last year, Matthew Lee, a three-time competitor, was the only person to finish out of a field of eight.