LOTOJA weekend

We had a great time last weekend participating in the LOTOJA race.
We did a relay this year with a team consisting of my husband, myself, my sisters husband Cody, his father Gary and Cody's bro-in-law. Got that? You'll be tested later. Not to mention riding the race with lots of our friends who are on our Red Burro racing team here in LV.
We left Thursday night and arrived late at my parents house. I so enjoy hanging with my family, even if for brief moments. Case in point: Richard had this silly thing posted on the refrigerator door (Click to enlarge and read the fine print). Turns out they had a few nice looking girls auditioning in the studio and he felt inclined to 'put himself out there', so to speak. So funny. It actually worked, but not in the good way he had hoped. You never know who will call despite good marketing efforts.
Early the next morning we drove up to Logan. The race begins from here on Saturday morning, so Friday is used to check in at registration, get groceries, run errands, etc. all in preparation for the long day. It's fun to see bikes on so many cars throughout the town. We also try to go to the temple in the afternoon with teammates that can make it. It's the best way to kick off the weekend. Our friend Shep, and his wife Tracy, were new to the race this year. Scott and I had fun helping him get all ready for the long day, as we did not have to stress over anything doing the relay. That is the way to do it, kids. The next morning we all gathered at the start and watched the groups head out. Here is our relay team. I'm in my gear since I was the first leg of the race.
Here is a shot of some of our pals.
I missed getting the faster dudes- they left earlier while Scott and I were scarfing down yummy pancakes and sausage at the team trailer.


They trained hard all summer long and performed well. Good going, guys. And the girls: how fab are they!? The Red Burro women are sweet riders. Look at them all fancy at the start line.....






Here I am waiting to go. Now that I am looking at this, I should have photoshopped myself in the upper image with all the fast girls. ha! oh well.
My leg of the race, being the first, has some fun energy in it. There's a lot of adrenaline and wasted energy on riders going faster than they should when facing 206 miles to go! But as a relay rider, it's okay to be stupid! (I'm good at that) and had fun burning my legs out trying to keep up with some groups, catching breakaways and working with others. Wahoo! Cycling is da bomb.





Once I finished, Scott was waiting in the wings to take over. After looking for the car (thanks to my relay team for their help!), I took off and went to the next feed zone. Here we waiting for Scott to come in. Cody was all ready to go and Cache was a good dude hanging out and watching all the action.
When Scott and I left on our way to Teton Village where the race ends, we passed Cody much further than we expected. He did great and hauled up those hills!
Same with the rest of the team. We had lots of fun and def. plan to do it again next year.


The best part of LOTOJA is the post race fun. Saturday night we all go to a fancy buffet room at the Four Seasons and eat our hearts out.
Then Sunday is the awards ceremony and the Burros cleaned house!
The winner of the entire race was Mark Zimbleman. He is actually the bishop of Marty's ward, a family we have come to know the past few years because their kids babysit for us when we visit my fam in Provo. He broke a course record and came in at 9 hrs, 6 minutes. Um, yeah. That's pretty good. Almost ten minutes before the next group. Way to go, Marky Mark.
During the awards ceremony, we saw an old friend get up and receive an award. I leaned over to Scott... "Is that Mike Scheuller?? As in Mike from San Francisco??" And it was!!! We were SO excited to see them and say hello. We got to visit briefly after the race. That was one of the biggest perks of the entire trip. If you are reading this, guys, email me so we can keep in touch!
The rest of Sunday and Monday was spent walking around, eating, shopping (Shep and Scott got matching jackets and ate Tram bars- what a cute couple!), hanging out in the spa, more eating, etc.
We ended the trip Monday night returning to Provo and having banana splits with my family to celebrate Julia's Birthday. Happy Berties, Juls! We also got to hold new baby Cole. So great.
And now you are all caught up on our celebrity paced life! Now that routine is back again, I have new focuses that are sure to enlighten and inspire the mind. Halloween is coming!
Have I been to Target? Yes.
Have I bought things? Yes.
Am I getting our party invites ready to send? Yes.
Am I planning our party video contest? Yes.
Have we committed to a costume? No- don't be silly. I can't commit!
Stay tuned. Fall fashion cravings are coming up!
(Wow- that was a long post! What a novel)