LOTOJA, almost

Dan supported me in my last 2 LOTOJA s (LOgan TO JAckson bike race which is 206 miles) and has dreamed of doing it himself.  This was his year.  We trained and trained riding 3000 miles this summer including a 133 mile ride as well as a 125, 2-100, 2-80, and many 50, 40 and 30 mile rides.  I felt better prepared for this LOTOJA than any other I had done.

We started at 5:45 Saturday, September 11.  It was 36 degrees.  We were prepared and ready for a great ride.

On a ride of this distance you need a support vehicle to meet along the way to replenish your supplies.  Driving our support was our cute daughter-in-law, Megan,  and my good friend, DeAnn.

 They were THE BEST!  Who wouldn't love meeting these cute faces at every stop?

 Megan took this picture of us at the stop in Afton, Wyoming.  We'd just finished 125 miles which included 3 mountain passes.  I couldn't believe how good we still felt.

Dan and I were riding well.  We felt strong (for us) and were having a very fun ride.  After meeting Megan and DeAnn in Alpine, Wyoming (160 miles down) we took off to do the last leg of the journey, 46 miles.  I told Dan that this was not a normal LOTOJA.  We were feeling too good, too strong, and having way too much fun. 

Through Snake River Canyon we were riding alone together anticipating a strong finish.  We had hoped to finish under 12 hours but at the pace we were going we were set to finish at 11:15 hours. Although a racer would have been mortified by that time, we would have been thrilled.

Megan took this picture in Snake River Canyon a few minutes before the crash. 

At about mile 176 we were going on a slight down hill, probably at around 25 mph, and I was right behind Dan, drafting, when all of the sudden his front tire went wobble, wobble and he went down.  He hit hard.  I stopped my bike and ran back to my husband.  His eyes were open but he was unresponsive.

I was terrified but with in a minute several people had stopped including a lady driving by who had just floated the Snake River. She was a paramedic.  LOTOJA support people also stopped.  A sheriff arrived quickly and started directing traffic.

Dan regained consciousness after a few minutes but was confused.  Slowly, as we waited for the ambulance, which took an hour, his memory came back and by the time he was in the ambulance he was himself.

We went to the hospital in Jackson.  They did lots of tests and X Rays.  Aside from the fact that his left side was covered with road rash and abrasions, everything was okay except for very low blood pressure (66/27 at one point) and the fact that he had sustained a concussion and lost consciousness.  They admitted him to the hospital for observation over night.

He is home now and on the mend.  I expect him to fully recover.

Now, a couple of side stories.

While we were caring for Dan in Snake River Canyon there was a lot of confusion.  Cars were going both directions, many slowing to view the accident.  Cyclists were riding by having to curve out around the crash.  At one point 3 riders were drafting together.  One slowed at the accident, the other ran into him and they both fell on the 3rd rider.  All 3 went down 5 feet from Dan's head!  Luckily they weren't seriously injured and after about 10 minutes they were able to get back on their bikes and finish the race.

In the ER a rider came in with a big gash on his face.  He'd been involved in a crash in Star Valley where he was riding in a big group.  A girl in front of him went down.  He fell over her and went down.  Several of the other riders went down.  When he sat up he said he needed his glasses.  Someone handed him a pair.  He said they were not his.  They handed him another pair.  Not his again.  The third time they were his glasses :-)  LOTOJA support helped him dress the wound on his head and then he went on to finish the race, riding about another 60 miles to the finish.  He then went the the ER.  They put 17 stitches in his head and admitted him to the hospital.

The ER was hectic with LOTOJA injuries.  It gave me a lot more respect for the danger of the sport.

I later inspected Dan's bike and discovered a bulge in the front tire that must have stuck at the brake pads causing the front tire to wobble and forcing Dan to lose control.  We need to figure out why that bulge occurred.

I thought this would be my last LOTOJA but now I'm not sure.  We have the winter to decide if we want to do the training, and I guess, take the risk, again.  I'll keep you posted.  I'm just grateful Dan is going to be okay.

Only 30 more miles and we would have finished!  Sigh.....

The Mountain Won

All you need to know on this post is that I tried to climb a mountain.  I failed.  I'll try again.  My life is like that.  I try again, a lot.  If you want to know more, read on.

My friend, Roxane, and I planned to summit the Middle Teton this summer.  We were both available Tuesday and the forecast looked fine so we headed up to Jackson Monday afternoon.  When we checked the forecast again Monday night things had changed and it was iffy but we were there so we decided to hope for good weather and hike.

 We began at the trailhead at 4:30 am.  It was dark and we were worried about bear but we needed an early start for this big hike.  We had bear spray.  As we were hiking at one point I smelled a very strong scent of animal.  I didn't say anything at the time because I didn't want to worry Roxane but later, when I told her about what I'd smelled, she said she smelled the same thing but didn't say anything because she didn't want to worry me.  She was pretty sure it was bear musk.  YIKES!

Here we are after a couple of hours of hiking near the meadow in Garnet Canyon.  You should be able to see some Tetons behind us but they were socked in with clouds.  It was about here that it started lightly snowing.

 I was excited to find this little flower, Grass-of-Parnassus, that I'd just seen in Sink Hollow last week with the Likin' Hikin' Ladies.

We hiked for quite a ways through this boulder field but it started to blow and snow hard.  We were slipping on the wet rocks and the visibility was low.  We knew we needed to abandon our summit attempt.

 I wasn't happy that we had to turn around but I value my life more than conquering the summit.

 On the way down the snow stopped and we enjoyed the views below but the Tetons above were still socked in.  They were buried in clouds all day so we knew we'd made the right decision to turn around.

The Tetons aren't going anywhere.  We'll try again.  I'm looking forward to spending another day with Roxane (and anyone else who wants to join us.)

Photographing the photographer

My son, Mark, recently entered a photograph in the Herald Journal Photography Contest.  His photograph was published, along with other favorites, in the Herald Journal last Sunday.  As I looked at his photo I remembered that I had been with him when he took the picture, in fact, I photographed him shooting the picture.  If I had used HDR, as Mark did, my colors would be truer to what it looked like, and I'd like mine almost as much as his.

Nanimal in Training

My family lovingly (I hope) calls me "Nanimal."  I think they call me this because I love to do a lot of different activities outdoors.  During our family vacation to Havasupai I was watching people jump off a waterfall, trying to get the courage to jump myself.  Karen followed her brothers to the edge of the falls and, without a moments hesitation, jumped.

That was the first time I heard them call her, "Nanimal in Training."  Since then when she wakeboards, water skies, hikes, bikes, runs or whatever, she is expected to be strong because she is a "Nanimal in Training."

So, being the family says she is in training we decided to start the training in earnest.  Last week we hiked the Wellsvilles end to end.

 She is strong and wore me out but we sure had a great time.

Today we did a mountain bike ride together (one of many we've done this summer).

 We had a fun, fun time together but I must admit, the Nanimal has been dethroned. Karen is much stronger, faster, better than me but I love her for sticking with me anyway.  I am happy to announce that Karen is the new "Nanimal."

It works

I found a new to me scripture I love-D&C 136:20  "If thou art sorrowful, call on the Lord thy God with supplication that your souls may be joyful."

It works!

I'm thankful for the gospel, temples, and the scriptures.

A new hike

A month and a half ago I lead the Likin' Hikin' Ladies on a hike I'd never been on and we kinda got lost.  I vowed to never take them on a hike I'd never been on again.  That means, if I want to learn a new hike, I need to take another strong hiker with me and we can explore the trail together.  If it's a good hike I'll take the Likin' Hikin' Ladies on it another time.

Today, my strong hiker was Lee.  She is a good friend and in great shape.  I knew that if we got lost she'd be okay to hike around with me until we found our way.

The  new trail?  Blind Hollow to Tony Grove.  Am I going to take the Likin' Hikin' Ladies on it?  YOU BET!  We absolutely loved this trail.  It had a lot of shade. We walked through meadows filled with wild flowers, Aspen Groves, along a ridge with canyon views and mountain vistas, past a small stream, and through a conifer forest.  We even saw a Golden Eagle fly by.

As we were hiking along we followed the directions from my Cache Trails book and also a map I had.  At one point, we had to take a turn.  We were pretty sure we were on the right trail but not positive.  We were thrilled, a mile or so later, to come upon the sign, pictured below, that pointed to Tony Grove, which is where we had parked our car and wanted to go.  Success!

In the picture below we are nearly to the end of the trail.  We had just come through the forest behind us on the mountain side.

Thanks to Lee for a fun hike.  We did about 8 miles in 4 hours.  Likin' Hikin' Ladies-we'll do this trail some time in the future.  It would be gorgeous in the fall.

Little man Big man

Cash and his daddy Jake at our recent family reunion.  I love these guys, as well as the photographer, my son Mark.