Brian Pal, of Lopez Island, recently completed the Tour Divide self-supported, single-stage mountain bike race. He finished sixth overall and as the first American, on July 1 after completing 2,859 miles in 17 days, nine hours and 28 minutes.

“Every person who has followed the race has been captivated by the sense of adventure and the amazing character qualities it takes in order to compete,” said Tammy Pal, who is Brian’s mom and a Lopez resident.

Normally the race is 2,745 miles but this year there were two detours around forest fires, which extended the route to 2,859 miles with 200,000 feet of elevation gain. Starting in Alberta, Canada, and ending in Antelope Wells, New Mexico, riders go through five states. The route is a mixture of forest service roads, single track trails, ATV trails and pavement.  There are rivers to cross and a wall to climb, along with every kind of terrain imaginable.

According to the Tour Divide website, the theme of the race is “to keep moving and be moved; exist well outside one’s comfort zone in tackling a cross-continent bike packing odyssey; finish as fast as possible without cracking.”

Self-supported racing means that you can’t receive help from anyone on the “outside” or have  packages sent to you.

“You have to navigate every aspect of the trip – food, water, camping, mechanical repairs, navigation, medical  – entirely on your own,” said Pal.

Brian Pal is currently working on a master’s in engineering.

For more information about the race, visit http://tourdivide.org/.