LOTOJA 9-6-2008
Not unlike many races of its caliber, planning for the Lotoja begins many months in advance. While just riding the 206 miles is admirable in its own right, truly competing within your category and the overall field takes more than just training and commitment to the bike. Perhaps most importantly it takes a strong team that pushes you to stretch your limits beyond what you could accomplish on your own. Our team this year, Teton Veloz, was comprised of Brian Romrell, Evan Romrell, Craig Romrell, Jason Miller, Scott Swallow, Jeremy Jensen and Wade McFarland. Although some on our team were new to road racing they all have a proven track record of being able to "flip the switch" and compete well in other similar endurance events.
The Lotoja this year required teams such as ours to enter the CAT 5 lottery and register in the age division of our youngest rider, the 19-24 series. Fortunately our number was picked and we were granted admission into the race. Although training never goes exactly as planned in the months leading up to the race by the time September 6 rolled around our team was strong and ready to ride.
We couldn't have asked for better weather for the race this year. When our category, CAT 5 (19-24), started at 7:37 am the temperature was in the upper 40's and skies stayed pretty clear throughout the day and it was in the low 70's along much of the race route. From the outset of the race we found our team leading our race pack with very few willing to join the pull rotation. This being the case we didn't push the pace too much from Preston to Logan which cost us in the overall time but kept us in the front of our pack and in control of our own destiny. Admittedly we weren't sorry to see most of our group drop off after the first feed zone and thin out even more over Strawberry Summit leaving 10 or so racers near the lead. Unfortunately Brian and Wade fell victim to one of the slower groups and then fell victim to a group of riders hitting their brakes in front of them which sent Wade's handle bars into the spokes of Brian's rear wheel leaving Wade with some road rash and Brian with a severely bent rim. From Strawberry to Montpelier the rest of us hooked on the back of a terrible "yo-yoing" group that was continuously speeding up and braking. Once in the feed zone at Montpelier our support crew worked marvelously, switching out our water bottles and food and sending us on our way well in front of the yo-yo gang.
From Montpelier we climbed over Geneva Summit then enjoyed the nice downhill reaching speeds over 50 miles an hour. When we got to Highway 89 we once again began pulling a large group that mooched off us until the beginning of the King of the Mountain Stage at the base of the Salt River Pass. The wind was pretty steady at this point as Evan sprinted up the mountain first in our group. We regrouped on the other side of the pass where Jason started to experience some cramping in his legs. At Afton we stopped for some Coke/Dr. Pepper, PB&J's, and red potatoes. From Afton to Alpine the group of freeloaders drafting off of us grew larger and larger. Craig began yelling to the rest of the team "Trim the fat, if these guys aren't going to help us out, let's get rid of them." Heeding this call, Evan, Craig, and Jeremy pulled away from the pack leaving Jason stuck behind a couple of other riders. Jason seeing us pull away went out in front and worked hard to catch up. By so doing, Jason managed to pull the whole pack back up with him and we ended up towing the train all the way into the Alpine feedzone.
After another round of caffeine and carbs we headed up the Snake River canyon, past Lunch Counter and Big Kahuna. We were passing racers the whole way up and many would hop on to our train if they were able. One of the racers in our race pack who we will affectionately nicknamed "hair" began working with us at this point, taking his turn pulling in the rotation. We had seen hair throughout the day and he had once again caught up. As we were nearing the feed zone in the canyon, Jeremy was taking a pull with hair right behind, followed by Evan Jason, Craig and many others in the freeload chain. After Jeremy signaled the end of his rotation and went to the side of the chain, hair hit the gas and started going strong. Evan right on his tale stayed with him but Jason, Craig, and Jeremy were behind and unable to stay in the drafting pocket. We had stayed together for 180 miles and now the four of us were going to see where the chips would fall in the final 20 miles to the finish. Hair slowed down near the feed zone. Evan passed him first, followed by Craig and then Jeremy and Jason. Through the Hoback and closer to Jackson, hair and Craig started riding once again in a small group of riders. Evan was well ahead at this point and had found the only other rider from our race group that was in front of us. Jeremy and Jason worked together until Jason's leg started cramping once again, then all four of us were split up and would be until the finish.
Evan made a deal with his compatriot and with their 15 second rotations they started blazing to the finish, Evan sprinting out at the end for the race group win and automatic entry to next years race. Craig came in fourth place. With 10 miles left, the muscles in his neck went out and he could only stare at the ground in front or sit up and take his hands off of the handle bars. He was not passed in the last 10. Jeremy was fifth place, gutting it out to the finish and leaving it all out on the road. After the finish and on the way into Jackson in the truck, Jeremy left it all on the road once again. ;) Jason finished 7th. When asked about the race Jason was heard to say, "What are we doing?, we're crazy, 206 miles on a bike. I'm all numb!"
Wade came riding in a little while later followed by Brian. Both were in good spirits despite their unlucky accident. Sometimes its tough to get back on the bike after an accident like that, neither competitor tossed in the towel but finished strong.
The Lotoja this year required teams such as ours to enter the CAT 5 lottery and register in the age division of our youngest rider, the 19-24 series. Fortunately our number was picked and we were granted admission into the race. Although training never goes exactly as planned in the months leading up to the race by the time September 6 rolled around our team was strong and ready to ride.
We couldn't have asked for better weather for the race this year. When our category, CAT 5 (19-24), started at 7:37 am the temperature was in the upper 40's and skies stayed pretty clear throughout the day and it was in the low 70's along much of the race route. From the outset of the race we found our team leading our race pack with very few willing to join the pull rotation. This being the case we didn't push the pace too much from Preston to Logan which cost us in the overall time but kept us in the front of our pack and in control of our own destiny. Admittedly we weren't sorry to see most of our group drop off after the first feed zone and thin out even more over Strawberry Summit leaving 10 or so racers near the lead. Unfortunately Brian and Wade fell victim to one of the slower groups and then fell victim to a group of riders hitting their brakes in front of them which sent Wade's handle bars into the spokes of Brian's rear wheel leaving Wade with some road rash and Brian with a severely bent rim. From Strawberry to Montpelier the rest of us hooked on the back of a terrible "yo-yoing" group that was continuously speeding up and braking. Once in the feed zone at Montpelier our support crew worked marvelously, switching out our water bottles and food and sending us on our way well in front of the yo-yo gang.
From Montpelier we climbed over Geneva Summit then enjoyed the nice downhill reaching speeds over 50 miles an hour. When we got to Highway 89 we once again began pulling a large group that mooched off us until the beginning of the King of the Mountain Stage at the base of the Salt River Pass. The wind was pretty steady at this point as Evan sprinted up the mountain first in our group. We regrouped on the other side of the pass where Jason started to experience some cramping in his legs. At Afton we stopped for some Coke/Dr. Pepper, PB&J's, and red potatoes. From Afton to Alpine the group of freeloaders drafting off of us grew larger and larger. Craig began yelling to the rest of the team "Trim the fat, if these guys aren't going to help us out, let's get rid of them." Heeding this call, Evan, Craig, and Jeremy pulled away from the pack leaving Jason stuck behind a couple of other riders. Jason seeing us pull away went out in front and worked hard to catch up. By so doing, Jason managed to pull the whole pack back up with him and we ended up towing the train all the way into the Alpine feedzone.
After another round of caffeine and carbs we headed up the Snake River canyon, past Lunch Counter and Big Kahuna. We were passing racers the whole way up and many would hop on to our train if they were able. One of the racers in our race pack who we will affectionately nicknamed "hair" began working with us at this point, taking his turn pulling in the rotation. We had seen hair throughout the day and he had once again caught up. As we were nearing the feed zone in the canyon, Jeremy was taking a pull with hair right behind, followed by Evan Jason, Craig and many others in the freeload chain. After Jeremy signaled the end of his rotation and went to the side of the chain, hair hit the gas and started going strong. Evan right on his tale stayed with him but Jason, Craig, and Jeremy were behind and unable to stay in the drafting pocket. We had stayed together for 180 miles and now the four of us were going to see where the chips would fall in the final 20 miles to the finish. Hair slowed down near the feed zone. Evan passed him first, followed by Craig and then Jeremy and Jason. Through the Hoback and closer to Jackson, hair and Craig started riding once again in a small group of riders. Evan was well ahead at this point and had found the only other rider from our race group that was in front of us. Jeremy and Jason worked together until Jason's leg started cramping once again, then all four of us were split up and would be until the finish.
Evan made a deal with his compatriot and with their 15 second rotations they started blazing to the finish, Evan sprinting out at the end for the race group win and automatic entry to next years race. Craig came in fourth place. With 10 miles left, the muscles in his neck went out and he could only stare at the ground in front or sit up and take his hands off of the handle bars. He was not passed in the last 10. Jeremy was fifth place, gutting it out to the finish and leaving it all out on the road. After the finish and on the way into Jackson in the truck, Jeremy left it all on the road once again. ;) Jason finished 7th. When asked about the race Jason was heard to say, "What are we doing?, we're crazy, 206 miles on a bike. I'm all numb!"
Wade came riding in a little while later followed by Brian. Both were in good spirits despite their unlucky accident. Sometimes its tough to get back on the bike after an accident like that, neither competitor tossed in the towel but finished strong.
1 comment:
Wow! I do look like a guy about ready to puke my guts out! Thanks for getting a record of it. So funny....
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