Leo Pershall is moving… and not stopping much either. Today marks the 11th day of Tour Divide – Leo’s already covered over 1700 miles and is deep into Colorado, approaching Silverthorne (on the I-70 corridor west of Denver but before Vail.) He’s stayed in the top 10 the entire time too and is averaging over 150 miles per day. He’s encountered rain, hail, heinous mud, and freezing temps, and at least one Grizzly run in that we’re aware of.
Listed below is an update from Leo’s kind, understanding, and very supportive wife Laurel describing days 7 through 9. Read below to get an idea of what Marin’s champ is going through. From all of us at WTB, we’re awfully proud of you Leo, keep moving and may the miles be easy on you, take care.
Keep following Leo’s whereabouts at: http://trackleaders.com/tourdivide13i.php?name=Leo_Pershall
Picture above taken at Montana High Country Lodge in Polaris, Montana.
Happy Saturday to Leo’s Cheering Squad!
I’ve had a couple updates from Leo since Thursday. Here you go!
Thursday, Day 7, second half:
Leo and Brian Pal continued riding until midnight and stopped to camp just short of Wyoming. Apparently the day became rather trying with a long stretch of washboarded rail trail that drove Brian and Leo to a near breaking point. Leo reported a poor night of sleep due to a bear rustling around somewhere nearby.
Friday, Day 8: Leo and Brian continued to ride together into Wyoming, through Teton National Park and over Togwotee Pass. They saw their first (hopefully only) grizzly bear of the trip! Brian actually nearly hit the bear as it ran out in front of him. It ran off when Brian yelled, but then followed alongside them for a while in the woods as they rode uphill.
Leo called home around 6:45 pm, saying he was utterly exhausted, falling asleep on the bike and wasn’t sure whether he should continue riding over a second pass with Brian. They had reached a small lodge and Markley Anderson had stopped there in a similar state. Leo felt like he would push himself to a breaking point if he did continue and also felt he would have another terrible night’s sleep in 30 degree weather at 9,000 ft. He decided to get a room for the night and he and Markley ate elk stew, then Leo filled his bath tub with ice water and soaked his injuries!
Saturday, Day 9: Leo and Markley made plans last night to ride together to Atlantic City today, about 175 miles. They left their lodging a little after 6 am this morning and Leo called during a quick lunch break to say that sleeping, icing and eating real food last night has made all the difference in the world. He sounded very positive and wasn’t too worried about the ground they’d lost to Forest Baker and Brian Pal. According to his Spot tracker, they just rode through Pinedale where they’d planned to reprovision and are making good progress toward Atlantic City, which is now about 80 miles away.
Before he started this race, Leo said he was looking forward to reaching the Great Basin. He said he would be happy to be out of grizzly territory and heading for Colorado and New Mexico, both states he loves. If all goes as planned, tomorrow he will be crossing the dry, flat stretch to Rawlins and then south to the Wyoming/Colorado border!
Thanks for reading and all your support!
Laurel