Lotoja

Dave says: Riding the 206 miles from Logan to Jackson is practically a rite of passage in the Utah cycling community. Since moving to SLC, it seems like everyone who finds out I ride bikes asks me if I had done Lotoja (mispronounced by non-cyclists as "Law-tow-jaw"). When I said "no", they figured I wasn't a serious rider.

Well, this year I got a call a week and a half before the race from my friend Marty. His tandem partner bailed on him and he wanted me to ride with him. I told him I'd have to think about it, but when he insisted that everything was taken care of and paid for and that I just needed to show up and ride, I agreed.

The first hundred miles was actually quite pleasant. We were turning the screws on the other tandems on the climbs. However, about 120 miles in, Marty was having some heart problems (he has a pacemaker) but we managed to pull through and finish as the second tandem. He finished, and basically fainted by the finish line and the EMTs hooked him up to all the machines. Props to him for making it all the way and giving 110% for over 10 hours on the bike. Overall, I was happy to ride a strong race and not cramp or crack on my first 200. Marty's nutrition company, Jama, hooked us up with some good fuel that kept us going.

In other news, Alisha went down to Cedar for Brody's baby blessing and had a nice weekend with family. Then, last night we had the U of U cycling team over for a BBQ and discussed the plans for the upcoming mountain bike season. It was a good turnout and it looks like the team will be strong this year.