Lotoja revisited

2 years ago was my first Lotoja. My sister volunteered to be my sag and I stayed with my good friends Ben and Jen Green in Logan before the race. I was pretty new to the whole racing thing so when I registered in my age group I didn't realize that they wouldn't automatically put me with women. So my category that day was 50 men aged 35-40.

It was a great day . . for me anyway. My poor sister rear ended someone about 10 minutes after I started. My entire front bumper was ripped off and the police officer wasn't about to let her drive it with no turn signals. She did the only thing should could under the circumstances and burst into tears. It worked and she made it on time to Preston with me none the wiser. The Greens in the meantime were worried she wouldn't make it so they ran home and grabbed the essentials like powerbars and gels and were there in case Stacey didn't make it. I had no idea any of this was going on. I was enjoying a beautiful day on my bike.

In Montpieler my parents showed up. It was really cool to see them and they were very excited and impressed by the race. They were also a little shocked when right there in the open I loaded up on chamois cream.

Most of the ride was great. I felt pretty good until the last sag stop. I was dehydrated and in a lot of pain. At the last neutral feed I went in the porta potty even though I didn't need to go and took a little nap. Only 30 more miles to go.

Somehow on the way into Jackson I got on the bike path. Soon I was wandering off course. Fortunately, I could see other riders on the road down below me and I realized that I was a bit lost and delirious. I found my way to the final stretch into Teton Village and the people cheering from their cars helped me find a little more speed. I finished in 12:26 minutes, 13 in my category of men. Not bad.

2007 I tried again. It was obvious by mile 100 that I was much slower than the year before and my neck was killing me. I had spent the summer on my trainer with a broken elbow and my neck was unable to hold my head up with a helmet on for very long. DNF.

2008 and here I am again. I'm not racing this time. Although already it has been a bit stressful. This afternoon I dropped my cross bike off at Contender for a tune up and when I went to leave- to head out of town for Logan- my battery was dead. Dad saved the day by bringing me his car and getting mine towed to the mechanic. Tomorrow will be a long day sitting in my car, watching the suffering, keeping track of the racers. Tomorrow I'm an official. I'm sure at the start line I may be a bit sad that I'm not racing but Sunday when I can still sit down without assistance I'll be glad I didn't put myself through the suffering.

I am excited to see my friends that are doing it and I wish them all the best. Good luck to the Greens, TA, DW, DJ, and all of my incredible SKI UTAH teammates and all the rest of my cycling family.