Summer and I decided that we wanted to ride Lotoja together this year (I sometimes wonder about the two of us when we get together - it looks like we are running a marathon in 2015!). We trained and trained and trained and trained some more. Like I have said so many times before, I love to train for big events. Summer and I spent so much time together that when we would go a couple of days without talking it would seem like eternity. It's amazing how many of the world's problems can be solved by the two of us on our bikes! Anyway, thanks to all the hours in the saddle, we showed up on September 6th terrified, but ready.
The day was perfect. We stayed with the Cat 1-4 Women until they decided on a neutral potty break, and between a little confusion, stage fright, and the pure shock of seeing so many women with their worlds hanging out for everyone to see, Summer and I ended up a little behind the lead group. The funniest thing ever though was watching a girl loose her balance and go tumbling down the hill with her bibs around her ankles! It still makes me giggle just to think about it! Anyway, Summer and I had decided before the race that we would climb at our own pace and then meet together at the top of every mountain, so that's exactly how it worked. Summer is a faster climber than I am, so she would wait for a few minutes, I would get to the top, and then we would continue on together. We found a ton of great groups to ride with throughout the race, and it was always amazing for me to look down and see that we were going 20-30 miles an hour. Scott, Autumn and Matt were our support and they were AWESOME! They were there at every stop ready to help us with everything we needed. It's funny how nice it is to see familiar faces throughout the day - I found myself looking forward to seeing them at every stop.
Our goal was to finish under 11 hours, and even though our time ended up 11:04, I still like to think we accomplished our goal. We rode with someone that left during the whole potty break episode, but then we passed her at some point and ended up waiting well over 10 minutes for her in Afton - so you take that 10 minutes off 11:04 and you get under 11 hours, right?!? That's what I thought!
There were times that it was tough, but it seemed like at those times, Summer felt really good and helped me push through it. I am SO thankful we did it together, and it really was a great day, so I'm sure we will be doing it again - maybe after our marathon year!
^The Sexy Rick^
^Summer & Scott^
^Autumn & Matt^
^Brett, Blake & Heidi^
^Amanda & Madi^
Madi helped Brittani support Cody and Brittani loved it so much!
^The Finlayson Girls^
Alicia, Brittani, Andrea, Amanda, Madi
^Cody & Brittani^
^Summer, Alicia, Krista^
^I'm quite sure I had just grabbed Summers butt in this picture!^
^The Porcupine Race Team^
^The Best Support Crew^
^Keli & Rob^
^Maria & Mike^
^Dave and Karen being Dave and Karen!^
^Aspen, Kevin, Kate, Sidney^
"Prom Pose!"
^Birchall Support Crew^
^Wignal Support Crew^
^Rick got his 10 year award^
I know that Brittani got more pictures of the actual race, so when I get those from her I will do a LoToJa Take 2.
Also... because I rode, I really don't know the ins and outs of Rick's race. I know that all of the boys felt good and had a fun day. Maybe when I get the pictures from Britt, I'll see if Rick will write about his day...we'll see!
Also again...Cody decided that he liked biking, signed up for LoToJa, rode it, and did fantastic! I think he had the best time on our whole team. I was a little worried about him, and so when he passed me (he started after us) I was so thankful and relieved to see him doing so great that I started crying. I'm super proud of him.
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