LoToJa

Once again it's that time...LOTOJA!!! Matt completed his 4th finish. For those who don't know, this is a bike race that starts in Logan, and you finish in Jackson (206 miles all in one day!) I was a little nervous about this year's race because his training schedule has been pretty minimal due to my crazy work schedule and the demands of Search & Rescue and other family stuff. He did as much as he could, but it's still such a huge race that it made me nervous. He did SO awesome though. I was so darn proud of him.







These pictures above are in Montpelier (about 80 miles in to the race). His time was great, but he hadn't eaten much to this point. He was trying to eat some salt potatoes and was gagging on them like crazy. I thought for sure he was going to throw up right there on the spot. I was worried, because he needed to eat and the next stretch was a tough one. It's a 35 mile stretch, mostly up hill. He was able to hold his food down and plowed through the next 35 miles with out any problem. From there the race got better and better, and he was feeling great.




These pictures are at the "King/Queen of the Hill." It's at the top of Salt River Pass. It's quite an incline and super tough. We watched several riders walk up. He did great though, and by this point was feeling fabulous! He was happy to reach the summit and flew down to Afton.





There is no way I could be support crew without the help of Matt's parents, Lee & Debbie. They are awesome. We all drove together, so they were able to help with the kids and to help with food items/water/etc. The kids LOVE being with their grandparents, and I love it too. They are so lucky to spend so much quality time with them.



Here we are at the finish! Unlike last year, we're in daylight still! Matt shaved an hour off his time from last year. His average speed was better, and he looked/felt so much better too. I was so darn proud of him. He had a really successful race. When asked if he was going to do it next year, he said "Oh, of course!" That's a huge indication of how great he was feeling. When I asked him last year he said "Hell no." What a great weekend. We loved being there supporting him and cheering him on. The kids were great in the car (we were in the car for about 16 hours straight...we left Salt Lake at 4:30 AM Saturday morning and got to our hotel at 8:30 at night!) Way to go Matt! You did awesome and we're excited for next year! Let's hope we have a van by then, or else how are we going to do it?!




This is Parker in the hotel in Jackson. How cute is that?