Catnaps and skinny dips

I’ve just had a recap of some of the call-ins I’ve missed and made some entertaining discoveries – the sort of colour that makes the race so vibrant. For example, Marshal Bird succumbed to his regular mid-morning urge for an early siesta on top of Togwotee Pass.

Nothing unusual in that, you might think, but he didn’t just lie down at the side of the road for his 20 winks – he climbed into the open cab of a backhoe loader, where he said it was nice and warm and out of the wind. I should point out he said it was Sunday and the machine wasn’t being used at the time.

Also, the irrepressible Stephen Huddle confessed to skinny dipping in a Montana stream. All I can do is apologise on his behalf if he had any other racers with him, and point out that it was a desire he managed to suppress during last year’s race.

Stephen and Cricket Butler called in from Togwotee Mountain Lodge (two thirds up the climb) last night and gave the impression the weather has been good, which is good news for all. They said they had been riding on and off with Brad Perry, David Tremblay, Jon Billman and Nicolas Senie (sorry, still can’t do the accents) and expected some of them to stay with them, though the leaderboard shows Nicolas and David having gone further while Brad may have stopped sooner.

Kent Peterson and Patrick Tsai are the only active riders further back now, and both are making good progress (Shawn Sheppard’s SPOT is still in Lima but he’s already called in from further down the line, and Devian Gilbert’s SPOT is now in Idaho Falls, which suggests he has stopped racing). You’ll have seen Todd Ison’s excellent pictures of Kent that Jeff Potter posted yesterday. Today it was Patrick’s turn to meet the Todd, as he reports below.

“Greeting from Island Park, ID along the Tour Divide.  I had the distinct pleasure to meet Patrick Tsai on Red Rock Road after he completed his journey across the Centennial Valley into Idaho. The attached pictures were taken at 1:15 pm on 06/21/10.  Patrick represents all that is noble about the TD.  It's man against the weather, terrain, time, equipment, isolation, sickness, injury, physical and mental exhaustion.  It's an inward battle to persevere when everything around you shouts out to stop.  A voice whispers It's OK to quit since you've already accomplished more than what most other people would not have even begun to tackle.  Yet here is Patrick, in great spirits, a smile on his face and a determination to overcome all challenges to make it to Mexico despite his now isolated quest as the last person on the trail of the Tour Divide.  He is my hero.  He will have survived all the elements and obstacles and stayed on the trail longer than any other participant.  He is a winner.

But let me say all the participants are winners and just a great group of guys and women.  There wasn't one exception to this observation among all those whom I had the privilege to meet.  There is a special quality and strong character to these individuals that set them apart from others who would not venture into the wild.  I look forward to next year's TD and remain your correspondent on the ground along the Tour Divide. Todd Ison, a fan of the TD.”

That looks like it’s the end of Todd’s updates for this year then – very many thanks. I can’t do what Jeff has done with the pictures and include them in the post, so you’ll have to open the attachments. [Hey! Pics, ahoy, of Patrick! --JP]

We wait to see who’ll pick up the baton ground'  of 'reporter on further down the trail.

Speaking of which, Erik Lobeck continues the remarkable form that saw him challenging Matthew Lee at the very head of the race until his mechanical issues. He made it into his hometown of Steamboat Springs last night, and in doing so has caught up with Blaine Nester. Matthew stopped short of Kremmling and is maybe only 6 or 7 hours ahead. Could Erik still catch him?

Paul Howard

Two Wheels on My Wagon