LOTOJA Positive Vibes for AuntieK and others

[sulis]

Just wanted to send a big good luck, best wishes and positive vibes to AuntieK and all others heading for LOTOJA this weekend.

May rain, snow and otherwise yucky weather stay away on Saturday. May the temps for the day be whatever is perfect for you.

Have a great time!

[Flybye]

Same for me - good luck to all.
LBS owner - go get em'!!
Sulis - Any insane thoughts of ever doing this one??

[sulis]

Yep- one day I want to be a strong enough rider to complete LOTOJA.

[yellow]

GO AK AND ELBOW GASH*! Looks like great weather for the ride.

sulis, you can do it. It's not easy, but if you put in the time, you can. It's really a great experience training for something like that. Your body goes through such amazing changes!

*For details on who Elbow Gash is, see this thread. She's up there with AK.

[Flybye]

How did it go all of you ladies??

[AuntieK]

LOTOJA was sooooo much fun!

It was absolutely beautiful weather (thanks Sulis ).

I rode 96 miles of the course, from Preston, Idaho to Afton Wyoming. This means I took on all the big climbs.

My relay partner, known here as Elbow Gash, started us out bright and early in Logan, Utah. She rode for 34 miles to Preston, Idaho. My crew and I had driven up to Preston, and thinking we had plenty of time, went to the grocery store so I could change into my bike clothes. I chose this store because I remembered from last year that it had a massage chair. After a miserable night's sleep on some stranger's front room floor, I figured a massage was in order. So after changing, I proceeded to sit in the chair and talk to people who were wondering what I was up to. I stood out a bit, I guess. Next thing I knew, my phone was ringing. It was Elbow Gash! Freaked me out! I was sure she had made it to the feed zone already and was wondering where I was. But, luckily, she was only calling to tell me she was seven miles out. So we hurried over to the park and waited for her to come in.



Then it was my turn to ride. I was a bit nervous about climbing Strawberry Summit because my friend had told me how hard it was. I discovered that she lied. The first 16 or so miles had dragged on, but after Strawberry, time passed really quickly. I was in Montpelier, Idaho before I knew it.

In Montpelier, I pulled into my stop, hoping to grab my feed bag and go. But my crew was missing. When he showed up, he insisted that I sit and have a quad massage. I did a quick rub down with The Stick, grabbed my stuff, and took off again. I spent way too much time there.

East of Montpelier there was some major road work going on. Luckily the road was totally closed to traffic. There was a place where you had to climb a steep grade, in gravel, come back down another steep grade (I'd guess 10 or more percent), sliding on the dirt and rocks, then cross a metal bridge made out of railroad cars at the bottom. It was kind of nerve wracking.

The next climb was Geneva Summit. It was a little more difficult than Strawberry Summit, but not as long. It's almost 1000 feet of elevation gain in nine miles.

The last big climb was Salt River Pass. I had ridden this part last year, but I had forgotten how long of a climb it was. On this climb you gain 1300 feet of elevation in 11 miles. It's a pretty consistant 7 percent grade for the whole 11 miles. I was so relieved when I got to the top, knowing it was mostly downhill from here.



Coming down from Salt River Pass I felt really weird. Blurry eyes and dizzy. I don't know if it was from the work of climbing, from the sudden change of speed (from about 8 mph to 40 mph), or because of the strong cross winds. I wasn't sure I should go on. But by the time I got to the bottom of the descent, I was feeling back to normal again.

The winds were really bad coming into Afton, Wyoming. It would whip around and smack you in the face every once in a while. I was glad when I was done with my part.

Elbow Gash took the rest of the race, from Afton to Teton Village (11 miles beyond Jackson Hole). She needed me there for her at the end of the race. She felt like she was done at about 20 miles left to go. Said she wanted to throw her bike in the road and watch it get ran over. So, we would drive ahead, wait for her, and encourage her as she went by. I got back on my bike for the last five miles of the race and rode to the finish line with her. We came into Teton Village about an hour earlier than we expected. Yeah!

Our total time was 12 hours and seven minutes.

On Saturday, I swore I would never subject myself to this again. By Sunday I already started planning next year.

Thanks to all of you who wished us well!

[viento561]

The weather was almost perfect except for some wind in Star Valley. I happened across another web site specific to Lotoja riders. It's at www.lotojatalk.com

Count me in for next years lotoja.