LOTOJA weekend. GO BRAD!!!

(Be prepared, this will be one LONG blog entry)

Brad did the LOTOJA this weekend which is a road bike race from Logan, Utah to Teton Village in Jackson Hole, Wyoming (hence the name Lo-to-Ja Lo(logan) to Ja (Jackson)). It was 206 grueling miles with many climbs through mountain passes and smaller descents since it ended at a much higher elevation then it started. Despite a bad crash at 150 miles into the race (somewhere between Afton and Alpine Wyoming) and being alone most of the race since his team totally split up Brad finished in 11:27 placing 615th out of 1420 riders and that includes the relay teams (people who only road 35-50 miles of it). Out of his group of 45 riders with whom he was competing he finished 20th. About 220 people did not finish at all. Brad could very well have been one of those 220 people because of his crash but he did not let it stop him. (click here to see results) I honestly cannot tell you how proud I am of Brad. For Brad, who has only owned a road bike for 9 months, to complete such an amazing task is unbelievable to me. It was an emotional thing for both of us and I am really glad he did it and I am very grateful he survived it!

Our weekend started on friday when we drove to Logan and stayed the night with the Egans, who are some good friends of ours from who still live in Logan. I honestly think it was my friendship with Hayley that got me through the hard times of having your first baby (especially a colicky one). Hayley and I met in a class at USU and one day she said, "Guess what, I am pregnant!" and I said, "Me too!" It turned out we had the same due date and the same doctor. We took a Lamaze class together and she delivered her baby boy, Will, exactly one week (to the hour) before I delivered Ayden. Will and Ayden were the same size! Along with all of that, both our husbands were engineers who were born and raised in Idaho and served missions in Brazil. It was really crazy all the similarities. Hayley and I were really fun and spontaneous together which I believe helped us through our transition to motherhood.

Here we are at Calaways in Smithfield (North of Logan). Hayley is on the left (obviously) with her little boy Drew (21 months) and then Ayden and Will further down the bench.
My mom and dad met us at dinner in Logan. Ayden and Alex were both VERY excited to see them!

Grandma and Grandpa with the girls. (sorry mom and dad, I caught you making funny faces in all the pictures!)

Drew and Alex riding bikes outside Hayley's house.

Hayley and I in front of her beautiful house that they just finished building themselves! It was so nice to see them and spend time with them. Thanks for letting us stay at your house and for your great hospitality!

The next morning Brad, my Dad (who drove Brad's support car) and I got up at 5:15 am and started getting ready for the race. I made Brad pancakes and then we headed off to the start of the race. Here is a very nervous Brad getting ready to go.

One of Brads best friends, Justin Mitchell, did the LOTOJA for his fifth time. They met up for a quick hello before their take off.

Brad was really nervous but took some time to make a silly face. That is my dad next to him on the left and some of his team mates on the right. My dad drove Brad's support car and met Brad at designated feed zones where he made Brad PB & honey sandwhiches and perpared water bottles. He also had extra bike tubes, Co2 cartiges, clothing, etc. It was really nice of my Dad to do that for him and it was a huge relief to me knowing that someone was just in charge of making sure Brad was taken care of. I should mention that my dad brought a book and a pillow for downtime which never occured. The support crews were pushed to their limit to get to the designated feed zones, fighting insane traffic and bad road conditions at times.

This is the whole team. Well, they were supposed to be a team but as I mentioned before, they all split up. Brad was able to ride with various people throughout the course.

Mike, Jeff, Jeff, Shane and Brad.

Brad took off at 7:20 a.m. and the girls and my mom and I left for Jackson at about 11:00. We took it slow and went the scenic route up through bear lake. Here we are having lunch in bear lake.

Ayden really wanted to take this picture of her on the rock with my mom. I can't tell you what a life saver it was for my mom to come with me. She kept the girls extremely entertained for the whole 7 hours in the car. She made a "grandma bag" with a new book for each of the girls and activity books with crayons and lots of treats. The girls loved it and we never had to resort to the dvd player! Thanks mom, it was fun to ride along with you and you were a life saver!

After we left Bear Lake we headed to Afton, WY where we were lucky to meet up with Brad on the road and cheer him on. We passed him and cheered and then we pulled over and got out and cheered for him and then drove passed him again cheering all the way. It was so fun to see him and he said he would choke up every time he saw us. What a man!

Here they come...

...and there they go.
They were riding so fast by the time my camera was ready for another picture they were gone.

My dad took this picture at the second supported stop.
Here is a shot from the car.
We stopped and waited at the next feed zone to refill brads food and water and as he pulled up we saw his arm! Apparently a guy in front of him put his brakes on and swerved in front of Brad causing Brad to crash into him. Brad flew into the gravel (which probably saved him) and the other guy flew onto the road. Although shaken up, after doing body part inventory Brad realized that besides a cut up arm, roadrashed thigh and a sore ankle he was fine so he got back on his bike and took off (after making sure the other guy got some help of course).

Alex was in a great mood while we were waiting for Brad at the finish line. Here she is playing peek a boo.

A cute shot of my parents with the Teton's behind them.

Grandma and Grandpa with the girls at the finish line.

Alex and I.

And here comes Brad! He was going way faster then most people were at the finish. He sped by us super fast but took a second to wave. It was so exciting to see him finish, all my worries were gone and I was filled with pride.

Immediately after the race the girls were so excited to see him and he still had enough energy to hold both of them! Again, what a man! Can you believe he is all smiles?

Here is the whole team. brad really couldn't have done it with out the support of my parents, the girls and I.If you look closely in this picture on the left side of Brads helmet is a rock that is still stuck in it from his fall. He said that for a couple of miles after his crash rocks kept falling out.

My parents treated us to a cabin at cowboy village the night after the race. It was nice to have a comfortable place to stay after such a long day (for all of us). The next morning we ate at my dad's favorite breakfeast joint, Bubba's and we went to the square and enjoyed some yummy food there as well. WE also went to the urgent care to take care of Brad's arm. Because we waited 20 hours to do something they decided that stitches would be a bad option so they scrubbed it really well (Brad said this felt great), bandaged it up with a nice pink bandage and gave him a tetnus shot.

Well, good job Brad and good job to the rest of his team as well and to anyone else who did it! That is the most unbelievable thing I have ever seen and you have to be one (or have one) tough A** to do it!