This is the story of my experience at Logan To Jackson (LOTOJA) on September 11, 2010. LOTOJA is 206 mile bike race with just over 9,000 feet of climbing over 3 mountain passes. I some how convinced three co-workers (Matt, Joel, and Scott) and one co-workers friend (Baz) to try it with me. We had a great support crew: Riki (Matt's wife) and James (a benevolent co-worker)
3 AM
As I stare at the ceiling I hear a voice from the other side of the Hotel room:
"How are you feeling?"
"I want to puke"
"Did you bring some Ginger Ale?"
"Yeah"
"Drink that"
I consider this for a minute, then decide it would be too much work to go find it. Somehow I fall asleep
5:45 AM
Time to wake up. It is a chilly 35 degrees at the run-down Howard Johnson in Brigham City (Note: Get your hotel reservations early for LOTOJA!). Some discussion ensues about to wear. In the end pretty much everyone decides to wear all their warm clothes. I push down a bowl of yogurt and granola. My stomach feels tight and I have little appetite. As we drive to Logan I strum my finger on the door and hum to myself trying to relax and relieve the tension in my stomach. "Why am I so nervous? Quit being a wuss" I tell myself. A few butterflies i is normal but this is ridiculous.
7:00 AM
We unload a few blocks south of the start line. The cold crisp air feels good and I finally feel my body finally relaxes a little. We're finally here after months of training and logistics. Scott looks around and wonders where everyone else got a timing chip from. We slowly pedal over to the start area, Scott goes and finds a timing chip, everyone else takes a final potty break.
7:22 AM
They call our start group up to start line. We stand near the back. We decided not to hammer the first leg and don't want to get caught up with those who do.
5...4...3...2...1! We are off!
Logan To Preston
"Get with a large group and never pull" - Matt
From Logan to Preston is almost perfectly flat and snakes through 30+ miles of farmland. A mist rises up off the land as the sun rises and heats up the frigid air. It's a very pleasant ride and a perfect warm up for the day. We stay together as a team and trying to hook onto other groups as much as possible. Somehow we still end up pulling often. Some teammates need a reminder that there was no reason to pull for more than 30 seconds when there were 20 other people behind them who could share the load (sometimes those people needed a little encouragement to take their turn).
There is little drama on this leg (though I learn later Scott almost crashed after a surprise pothole). I feel like I spent almost no effort so far. I even think "We are already 1/7 the way done, this is not going to be too bad".
I am so naive.
Up Strawberry Pass
Next up was the first big climb. It starts off with kind of rolling hills (including one awesome downhill were it is easy to reach 40-50 mph), then begins a steady 20+ mile climb over Strawberry Pass. I'm a slow climber so when Matt and Scott stop for a potty break I push on with Joel and Baz. Soon Scott and Matt pass us. Then Joel drops us. Then Baz is struggling and I drop him. I feel slow but strong. My stomach starts to hurt again. I start eating half as much as planned to ease the discomfort. "I will make up for it at lunch" I think.
Where is Feed Zone 2?
According to the race bible, towards the end of Strawberry Pass there is supposed to be a false summit, a short descent, and then another 3 miles at 7% grade to the real summit. Feed Zone 2 is supposed to be at the end of the short descent.
I reach what surely looks like a false summit. I coast down what surely looks like the short descent. I am excited for the feed zone. I need to stop to let my stomach relax and get some food in me. But there is no feed zone. The road turns upward again. More miles pass. A little panic starts to set in. I know I have at least 3 hard miles after the feed zone and apparently I have not even reached the false summit yet. Nothing I can do but keep peddling. I ask other riders "Wasn't that the false summit?" No one knows.
What is the deal with the green bananas?
All of sudden Feed Zone 2 comes into view. Only 3 more miles of climbing I think. Then a volunteer yells "half mile to the summit!". What? Awesome. Thank the heavens. I guess they moved the feed zone.
I refill my water bottles. As I go to get some food, I see Baz pull in. He smiles and waves. He looks a lot better then when I left him. The only food that looks good is bananas. They look a little green. I take a bite. BLAH! They taste like chalk. I guess I will live off gatorade and shot bloks until the next feed zone. "I will make up for it at lunch" I think.
The Magic Road To Montpelier
I tried to find Baz before leaving the feed zone, but cannot see where he went. So I leave without him. I spin up the last half mile of Strawberry Pass. Then go down and down and down. For about 8 miles I don't even have to pedal. I tuck to get as much speed as possible. This squeezes my stomach and makes me want to puke, so I alternate between tucking and sitting up. I rarely need to even touch the brakes as I bank through the long gentle curves.
Finally I am out of the mountains and the road begins to flatten. There is no one around me and so I fear I will have to push through the wind by myself. But the road seems magical and I can maintain 21-23 mph almost effortlessly. I start passing other riders. After a while I look and see 7-8 riders tucked behind me. Eventually it takes effort to stay about 20 mph. I move to the side and flag the following rider to take over as I drop to the back. The speed of the group immediately drops to 18 mph. "Come on guys, I have to make up for the time I lost on the climb" I think. After a few minutes I tire of the slow pace and pull out then blow by the other riders. After a minute I look back and two riders have stuck with me. I give these riders a chance to pull and they do great. After a while, one of them drops off. Me and other rider roll into Montpelier together.
I look around for my team mates. I hope the are still here and haven't been waiting for long. I find them. They have been here less than 10 minutes and this makes me happy. A few minutes after me Baz roles in. We are all here. This is good. 80 miles down and only 126 to go. Now it is time to see if I can get this pain in my stomach to subsided and make up for the calories I haven't been eating.
Coming Soon: LOTOJA Part 2 - Into the Pain Cave
