We just had a funeral service for my wife’s cousin McKay.  He was in the military so there was a that part of the service.  I have seen portions of that but was really great to see close up and the whole thing.  One thing that stuck out was when they were carrying the casket under the tent, they stopped and said “Down”, they all bowed and proceeded under the tent.

Lots of other things as well.  I was able to put together a video for him with help from Jenny.  This was nice as I learned more who he was and really what an incredible kid he was.  And how loving and happy he was.  We are sad and will miss him.

Here is the link to the video.

So my brother turned 40 this past October and he thought it might be fun to do the 100 mile White Rim trail loop in one day.  I have done it previously in 4 days, camping 3 nights along the way and thought this would be awesome.  Be a good time to take the family down and hang out as well.  Here was the problem… That day, there was a 70% chance of rain.  It was the best day for me and Chris really wanted to do it on his Birthday.  So, after many calls to the ranger station, my wife and others, we made the choice to still go.  I saw the forecast dip to 40% and hoped for the best.  Hats off to my wife for letting me go.  Thank you.

Chris at the beginning

That morning we woke up bright and early and got to the trail head about an hour before sunrise.  We sat for a few minutes and then decided to take the lights and head out, getting an early start on the day and the storm.  The first part was a gentle downhill on a wide, smooth dirt road.  We started at intersection of 313 and Mineral Bottom Road using lights for the first 20-30 mins.  When we reached the edge of dropping down in, it was now light and starting to warm up.  As we decended (That was fun!) Chris launched his bottle I think three times.  He explained that he had tons of gel in there making it a bit heavier than usual.  We were totally alone.  Doing some Woot Woot’s along the way hearing it echo on the canyon walls, knowing we were just starting our awesome day.  That was a cool spot.  Down at the bottom it got a bit sandy and rolling flats.  At 36 miles we past Potato Bottoms.  I found it interesting this trip to see campsite number 1 where we stayed last time I did this.  As we passed, I said, “Ok, that was a good first day.”   Felt invigorating to know we had two more camp sites to pass and all within the same day.

Trail through Potato Bottoms

Here comes the Green.

Rain began to hit us just a bit then blew over and I thought ah man.  If that’s it today we are in for a treat!  Well, treat it was but not exactly on my agenda.

Next up was Hardscrabble.  Not bad really, but one part nailed us all.  Sandy and steep with rocks about.  It was good to see Chris get ticked and frustrated at it especially when both Geoff and I stopped in his way, but then he still managed to get around us and the obstacles.  Nice. At the top of the top Chris had the camera and Geoff was walking… hmm what should I do… Of course WHEEELIEEEE!

Pulling a Wheeliee at the top of Hardscrabble

Me and My Bro

Now we come to a beautiful place where we see the beginnings of the actual “White Rim”.

The begin of the "White Rim"

Feeling good

After this picture we had the rain clouds coming in.  We could see it from way off and was coming in fast.  Carring with it Thunder and Lightning.  We were headed to our next major mile stone… Murphy’s Pass.  As you can see there is not really any shelter for the things were were about to encounter.  Rain, Wind, Lightning and soon cold.  We could see a break in the clouds headed our way so at about the midway point up Murphy’s we stopped under an overhang and waited for the break.  It came and we headed up the rest of the way.  The trail after this point would be a rolling decent.  A welcome terrain most of the time but to us right now it brought wind and not much blood flow… which to me equaled COLD.  At the bottom of this post click on the link for the pictures.  From this point on was spectacular images and thankfully Chris had a camera and was waterproof.  Beautiful shots of the landscape and weather we were in.

Yes, soaked all the way through. And yes... Keep moving.

Now it started to really come down.  I was soaked to the BONE.  My poor little wind breaker turned into an airconditioner type thin, now soaked fabric with the wind blowing right through it.  With little movements I could feel cold water trickle down new areas on my skin.  Down my back.  Then the sides until I was completly soaked.  This was happening over a period of about 2-3 hours.  Passing amazing scenery and oh yes, wanting to stop but now way I could.  Stop for 5 seconds and takes an hour to warm back up to were you were.

The remains of the storm - Flash Floods

At some points we would stop and the looks we exchanged were “You know we can’t stop.”  Although at one point I was so cold and now searching the terrain for something.  There has got to be some kind of alcove or cave or something.  Ahhhh!  yes I found something up ahead.  I was picturing how all three of us could squish in, and by having all of us in we could maybe create enough heat.  But when we came close to the out house the smell was pretty bad and I was judging whether to ask the others or not.  I think we all kind of answered our own question.  Keep going.   It was difficult to think of stopping and getting out food to eat, but I knew I needed some or would need some rather.  I had a hard time moving my fingers.  They were cold.  Now try to shift gears with thumbs that don’t work and shift cables packed with mud.  To shift I took the palm of my hand and cranked the gear to get it up one slot.  Bikes were aging quickly.  Putting about 7 years on it in 4 hrs.

Even through being so cold I loved seeing the cliffs to the right of me and thinking how cool it was to be here. If this wasn’t going to let up, I started to get a little worried.  Hypothermia?  Would we get out with all the mud going up the steep road on Shaefers trail?  And then…. It broke.

What a welcome site!

Trail goes up to the left on the switchbacks

About six miles from the end Geoff’s chain broke.  Chris pulls out his “Bag o’ Treats” with extra cables, chain and a chain link.  We put in the new link and while doing so Chris made contact with his wife and family who were up on top via the radios.  We started and not 500 yards later it broke in another place.  Doing the same thing.  The chain was so void of oil and was scraping against the de-railer it shaved off the link.  Chris had three different sizes of links with him just in case and this was “in-case” so we used another size which worked.  This was taking us some time and darkness was setting in.  We decided that if it happens again I would take the keys and go get the truck.  Up schafers trail we went.  Switch backs all the way up.  Roughly 2000 ft elevation gain right there at the end.  Sure enough Geoff’s chain broke a 3rd time.  Chris caught up to me and told me so we kicked it up a notch to get up and out to the truck.  Chris being the strong rider that he is left me in the dust (or should I say MUD) and headed for the top.  It was now dark and I kept thinking I would see the top but it continued for quite a while.  Maybe wasn’t all that far but feels like it and the end of a long day, being cold, wet, tired and it’s now dark.  I got the truck and headed back to Geoff and he was right there.  He walked up the switch backs and rode on the flats to about where I was.  Chris’ family had a hostess cupcake with a candle and sang happy birthday to him.  I think that was the highlight of his trip.  Good to see them supporting him the way they did.  Takes a lot of patients to sit at the end of a trail waiting for someone.  Way to go.

We headed back to the hotel and found Jenny and my kids there.  Geoff went out to get us a hearty mexican meal and I could tell he was hungry as he returned with a Feast!  Now we were warm, clean and full.

What a memorial epic trip.  It surely would have been without the rain but now it is engrained in my memories.  Good company, great scenery, and awesome ride.   I hoped to see it done in 9 hrs.  I felt great physically and even with all the rain, mud and wind riding time was 9:45.  Total time with our chain breaks and stops I think was 13 hrs.  Long day but so worth it.  Thanks guys.  Next time better jacket, and ride faster.

I put together a video for Chris as a Birthday present.  Turned out pretty cool, check it out:

WRIAD 2009 Video

Pictures

On Sunday we were listening to Conference and the kids were doing great.  We really enjoyed it.  Then in the after noon we went for a drive and headed up the canyon only to find SNOW!  Yes it was snowing and it was coming down.  People off the side of the road, I helped one guy get pulled up in his rear wheel drive Kia suv looking thing.  And yes we had to get a picture right?

Jenny needed to get things done so I took the girls for a little “Outing”.  What else would we do?  Hiking of course!  And they did great.  We saw caterpillars, played in the water, threw rocks, hiked, said hi to the passing bikers, saw a pretty waterfall, plugged our ears when Harley’s drove by, messed Daddy’s hair up while being on his shoulders, walked a pipe for 1/2 mile, and got a little dirty.  Adyson, when she has a goal in mind and when “she” is the leader, does quite well hiking.  Even up steep stuff.  I gave her some tips on the descending and she took applied it.  Helps to use the earthed in rocks to step on so you aren’t always sliding down the dirt. Lexi would love to go for a ride, then walk, then ride, then walk.  We missed Mom, and want to take her there with us.  Until next time.

First the cliff notes – Those that do not know about Lotoja, it is one of the longest single day race in the world, and the longest in America.  Goes from Logan Utah to Jackson Hole Wyoming.  206 miles through 3 States.  3 mountain passes and puts you just under 10,000 feet of climbing.  I felt stronger than ever before through the climbs and most of the race.  Although I came in  5 mins slower than last year it was overall a good race.  Geoff and I were together the whole time even sprinting to the finish.  10 hours 15 minutes.  The dumb part was on the back side of Salt we were flyin to catch 2 guys up ahead that were in the lead, then a tadem came by and 3 guys on our tail in our cat jumped on with them.  I hesitated cuz it was a Tandem, but then my buddy and I both were thinking, uh the other guys in our cat are leaving us.  So we barreled to catch them adding two other riders and 4 of us working but that whole group was within site but just out of reach all the way to Afton.  We ended up being 8 mins behind that group but first in the second group in.  Overall, good times.

Nice Stamp Tat!

After reading a few blogs about this years race I laugh a bit knowing that internally it is such a different experience for each individual.  For many it is a huge accomplishment to finish and to others are in it to win.  I on one hand am racing to win right, but for years I dreamed about one day doing this race.  Even before my brother did it I had it on my log of things to accomplish.  Last year was that for me, and this year I had a goal to beat.  Sub 10 hours.  This year was and is going very well.  I weigh less than I did in high school (my weight never really changes) by about 10 lbs, I feel good physically and psychologically it is quite the feeling when you push hard to the top of a mountain or canyon, then go to work.  You feel like you did something.  I have a great set of friends that I ride with and is fun to see us all improve over time.  Taking my improvement over last years training and adding it to 2x of this years training things gradually increasing.  I have not been much for being a climber so that is what I focus on.  Seem to handle the long rides and rolling hills good, so I keep my focus on the hills.  I saw this training come into action this past weekend during the climbs.  I was climbing better than I ever had.  Feeling really good.  This year we did Tour de Park City and came in 1st and 2nd place in our category and both getting prizes (thought that was cool) and 1000 Warriors Stage 4 of Tour of Utah which had a horrific accident but we still did our ride time in 5:40.  Felt like that was huge for me as that was all mountain hills.  So coming in to Lotoja for our second year we felt good.

This years adventure was a bit different for us.  Jenny and Taylor (my support crew) would bring along their support crew ages 5, 2, and 5 months.  We weren’t quite sure how this would go and when I didn’t see them at the Salt summit or at the Afton feed zone I worried they were having more difficulty than I.  I was grateful first of all that my wife was willing to come but that Taylor agreed to come help as well.

The race this year was so much warmer than last year and I was in my arm warmers and that’s it.  I dropped those in Preston.  Then we headed up Strawberry Canyon.  This is the longest climb of the day, not the speepest but the longest.  Things were going well, I was feeling good, and I could hear others breathing hard.  The guys just in front of me were doing fine so I tapped into their rhythm.  As we were cresting Geoff whipped his head around to see how far back I had fallen on the first summit and to his surprise I was right next to him.  I asked him if he was surprised to see me and he said yes.  I replied, “Good!”  Means we’re not going slow.  Geoff is a great climber and I find myself tagging him for a pace.  I dropped the hammer down the other side and the rest followed.  Eric flew in front of me and then the others.  We went back and forth all the way down then as we hit the flats we tried to get a good rotation going but a few of the guys didn’t want to do any pulling.  One of which ended up third in this race.  More later.  So we battled through the horrid crosswinds to Montpelier.  There my support was ready to go.  Jenny was a little more familiar this year and was all ready with gear in hand.  I tossed my old, grabbed the new and off I went.  Side note at this stop Jenny told me her proud moment.  There was a large cooler taking up lots of room and she politly asked the man that if she yelled my name if he might let her through.  He said he had been there longer and his riders should be coming through first.  Then another lady standing there asked her if it was her first time here.  Asking when I started.  She said, “7:07″ and she told her not to expect me as I had at least another 30-35 more minutes and just to sit back and chill.  Jenny said, no I think he should be… just then I rolled in.  So you can imagine the smile Jenny had walking back through the crowd as I came in even before their guys who started before me.  She said to me, “You rock!”  I do don’t I, in my own little world.

Out of Montpelier we head up to another summit.  Geneva.  Nothing to write home about but somehow we always seam to pass tons of riders.  Again this race is mentally challenging as well.  Dropping down the other side we were all together as a lead group heading to Salt River Pass.  I could see Eric inching his way up a head even before we started the last summit of the day.  I figured he would be pushing up and over on this one alone if he could.  This one climbs gradual for a while then kicks up.  I knew what to expect this time which was huge.  I was about 15th back when we started.  On this climb they do KOM or King of the Mountain.  They have a start at the bottom and a finish at the top.  Who ever is first gets the “Extra points”.  I sat back and watched as when it kicked I kicked it up a bit.  Passing all but three.  Eric was up a head, then Geoff, then me.  I was third in line on KOM.  That rocks!  And I was feeling great, like I still had lots more in me.  So as I crested and bombed it to catch Geoff.  I did and so did about 5 others.  I was pulling down with Geoff behind me heading to catch Eric, our lead guy.  Just then and tadem FLEW by us.  In my mind I didn’t think of jumping in his wake cuz it was a tadem right?  Well the guys in our group sitting with us did.  So while I was there thinking hmm… no that’s a tadem… hmmm, but the guys in our race cat just took off.  Um, Geoff, we need to catch them.  All this in the matter of a split second, but that split second cost us.  We pushed and pushed to catch them.  So close, and just right ahead of us but never catching them.  They caught Eric and another group and would eventually all go in to the finish together, us being the next group 8 mins behind.  With us exploiting all energy to catch them and yet to no avail.  Two other guys caught on with us and we worked and worked.  I remember passing a girl and she I guess jumped in with us but would not take a pull, nor really sit on the back.  She would get in the rotation then fall out.  I was pulling at one time when cuss words were flyin.  One guy was yelling at her to take a pull or get out.  Or sit on the back but don’t get in our rotation.  It was messing us up.  He was right, she could just sit on the back and we could care less.  Well, we arrived in Afton and were quite toasted.  I pulled in to my spot, where’s Jenny?  Um, where’s Jenny.  No Jenny!  Uh oh.  So I went to neutral support and filled up my bottle, and grabbed some oranges (story there for later) and off we went again.  I felt bad as I knew she would have been there if all was well.

From Afton to Alpine we sat back and spun.  We were tired and wanted to get a breather so we did.  I saw my support crew pass us with Adyson hanging out the window yelling “Go, Go, Go, Go Daddy!!!!!”  That was awesome.  Even more awesome that I wasn’t quite sure if she even saw me, as she was just looking out in the distance while yelling it.  I laughed and thought that was pretty cool.  They pulled over a few times and yelled as we went by.  That was also very cool.  Thanks Team!  Jenny wanted to stop just incase I was dying and needed something I would stop if I needed it.  I was ok and kept riding.

Alpine I grabbed more oranges and gel and perpetuem.  I was needing those things, maybe not the oranges.  From here to Jackson is the pretiest.  We saw several bald eagles, gorgeous river, pretty canyon.  It does have some hills but not bad.  We got in a pretty good group and usually the group you are in with here you stay with till the end.  Same case here.  There were 4 of us for quite a while but we started to grab others as we went.  This stretch is the most difficult mentally I think.  You are in it about 170 or so miles.  Long enough now that it is wearing, yet close enough you can start to smell the end, but yet still far enough away you can’t get excited yet.  I always seam to dig deep here mentally.  My feet were going numb and were sore.  I kept turning them to let blood flow, but after a while I was tweaking my knee and it started hurting so I just stabilized and kept pedaling.  Getting nutrition is also difficult.  You need it.  Burning 12,000 calories or so you need to replenish.  But by this time gagging and keeping it down is a delicate balance.  You don’t want any more gu or gel, no more bars, no more oranges, no more drink.  Body starts shutting down it seams like.  The tendency here is to not eat or drink.  That is worse so you just get it down somehow.

Finally we are rounding the corner to hit the finish line in the Tetons.  6 miles to go.  Our goal was to be sub 10 hrs.  I looked at the clock and it was off, but I was thinking we might just make it.  I told Geoff and we kicked it up several notches.  So did about 3 others.  We were pushing hard and moving fast.  I looked back and we had about 18 sandbaggers hanging on to our group.  I didn’t want to go back very far.  I felt I had a sprint coming :’).  Kinda like our own little version of a grand tour race.  The field getting stretched out and readying for  a sprint.  I was sitting in second position at about 5 kms out and other guy with Train with Eric jersey came up out of rotation and took a huge pull.  He became our lead out man, and did it well.  at about the 1km I could literally feel others coming up around me.  Geoff was one of them, so I jumped on with him and our “leadout” guy peeled off… now the sprint was underway!  I was holding on to Geoff and when he started to piddle out I thought, oh no you went too early!  Just then a guy on the right was coming up so I swung over to grab him and Geoff thought the same, pushing me out of line and out past the cones.  A little scuttle and he moved back, and I moved in between the two of them and hit the gas.  I ended up several bike lengths a head across the finish.  Geoff was right behind me. That was fun!

Then hanging out at the finish.  I started feeling soooo sick.  Finally chucked and within 60 seconds I felt back to myself.  It was All ORANGES!  I think I ate 6 or 7 of them in the second half.  Ooops.  Note to self, all things in moderation.

Too many Oranges

Summary:

Don’t eat that many oranges.  Geoff rode a huge improvement over last year.  Not surprising he has become quite strong, heavy on the hills but also on the endurance as well.  Kudo’s to him.  I do wish we could have done sub 10 hrs, or at least been contenders for Second and Third place if we would have jumped on with the tandem I think we could have been.  Too bad, but that is the way it rolls.  The day is a very hard one and very unpredictable.  And yes the next day we do have short term memories and are already planning next year.  We have some un-finished business to attend to as Eric put it.  I forget that years ago this goal was huge for me, and very glad to have done it.  Any one planning or having done it go for it, and or congrats.  It is a feat, and a very cool one!  So with that keep riding, and keep improving where ever you sit.

Click here for More pictures here.

Crossing the finish line

Flying down the first decent

We just had our Court of Honor and boy was it ever.  Most of the boys received average of 9 merit badges each, and a rank advancement.  We just did Camp Steiner which helped but we have done Rifle, Shotgun, Communications, Citizenship in the Community, and Family life on our own and are working on Cycling right now.  In addition to those they got about 7 more at camp including Orienteering, Pioneering, Canoeing, and others.  Good times.  My wife and work allowed me, (and not without lots of catch up when I returned :’)), to go stay the week with them at camp.  Several stories came from this camp and experiences I won’t forget, and hope the boys don’t either.

The first challenge for me was getting the trailer to our location.  Felt like Moab jeeping but going backwards and with a trailer.  Glad there were other leaders there to assist.  The badge earning began right away.  Some of them quite fun like Canoeing and Rock Climbing.  I was able to join on the climbing and when I started I turned to Parker who was belaying me and said that I had not done this since before he was born.  Wow, 16 or so years ago I was an avid climber.  Boy things do change and time fly’s!

Our food we had was oh so good.  Just the right amount and did I mention good?

During the times while they were in class I headed out on my own.  Exploring the surroundings and climbing to the tops of the peaks around us.  Pretty cool to hit just under 12,000 feet.  I found boulder fields and was fun to play Parkour leaping and balancing on each one.  Also when I got several miles away I felt quite alone.  In the Uintahs it is easy feel isolated due to the mountains and many trees.  I wondered what I would do if around the next bend I came on to a Bear.  Hmm.  Well, I didn’t so all good.

Yes I know my legs look like Marsh-mellow Man... It was really windy.

On Wednesday the Scouts would be doing Orienteering Merit Badge, so I talked the counselor into letting me take them out on Orienteering on our own.  After they had the class for an hour he turned them loose to me.  We headed back to camp so they could pack up.  I explained we might make it back before dark.  It was about 2.30 in the afternoon now.  I also told them this is the Uintahs and they might be wise in taking a jacket and a rain jacket, some snacks and water.  Some smiled while looking up at the bright blue sky and the hot Sun.  And yes this is foreshadowing.  I handed them a folded up map and said our first objective is “Lofty Lake”  Take us there.  The clammered trying to figure out where we were and where the lake was.  They figured it out and started on the trail.  or so they thought.  Not much of a trail but they were headed the right way.  A few arguments brewed about whether to go high or stay down low and the just about split when I said they could do whatever, but must stay as a group.  We headed up the first saddle and down the other side (Not realizing the desired lake was still up another saddle) we continued down to a lake they saw from way up top.  When arriving I asked is this really the right lake as there were two close together.  They looked and noticed the shape of the lake was different then found the one we were standing at.  Oops.  So now the choice is to go around a mountain or back up where we came from.  The clouds now were in bringing thunder and lightning.  Now there were three things being discussed and one was to get closer to camp.  I explained that was not a choice.  Choose the direction you want and sorry if you don’t have a jacket, you are going to get wet.  Spencer one of our leaders was among those without a rain jacket.  He was laughing.

Heading back up from the wrong lake

Top of the Saddle

Trail took us around to see another lake

We made it over the second saddle at 11300 feet and down to the fist objective, Lofty Lake.  All the while they wanting to take shortcuts.  One of which took them where they could not see down where it would lead.  They opted to go back to the trail, naming the beautiful meadow “Temptation Meadow”.  The trail was taking us in the opposite direction and I could hear some complaints, but when we got around the other side finally and could look up and see the 60 or so foot cliffs we were standing on at “Temptation Meadow”.  We made it to the next lake and from hear I asked them to take us home.  As we got closer to where they were familiar they wanted to shortcut again but I made them follow the trail.  Complaining was echoing off the trees but when we got to our last objective they saw how cool it was and said, “We will never doubt you again, Thank you, thank you!!”  Well, that was Calvin at least.  I brought them to some caves they had to climb through and up.  This required team work and it took some encouragement but all of them made it!  On the hike they all did very well including Allen who thought he might just not make it.  But he did great.

Wilderness Survival for us… Wilderness “It might rain so we are going to woos out vival” for others

They know me all too well, when they spent all day working hard on building their own shelters that they would need to stay in only to be told that they could not due to weather, they came and got me.  Sending only three of the eight boys back to tell me knowing I would return and demand they get to stay.  I did just that and they did stay in their shelters while all the other scouts went back to their camps.  I’m thinking so this is a Wilderness Survival merit badge, and uh we are canceling it due to weather???? Come on! Are we Girl Scouts here?  (No offense please)  Or are we boys out camping as Scouts learning how to prepare?  My boys were fine and loved it.

They work together well and help each other.  Real Team Work, Real Troop.

Ruben threw up, and the others woke up and helped him and cleaned up everything while the leaders slept.   Talk about a together troop!

Triathalon for the Mountain man.  This was to do a course that included running down a steep long hill, shooting 5 arrows 3 of which had to hit the target, running up that same hill, running to the next station, tying a Sheepshank knot, running, shooting and hitting a close pin within 5 shots, running, rowing in a canoe to the other side of the lake, and running up the hill to the finish.  All but one of my boys did it.  I was excited, I took the fastest time in the camp.  But I was more excited when that evening they called out all of the Ironmen that did this each on their own.  12 was all in the whole camp. The others did it as a relay.  They cheered all of us for having done it, and many including Garrick, beat most of the relay times as well.

Click here for Pictures

Click here for the Video

Went to the top of Butterfield this morning.  about a 20 mile ride from my house to the top then scream all the way home.  At times my Garmin said 17% grade then 23%, then 16%.  Man there were some parts that were steep!  Lots of dirt on the road as well.  Needless to say at the top it is always nice to feel the “Boom Baby” feeling you get after successfully climbing a mountain.  This time I actually made it to the top.  I have tried this canyon on a few occasions but due to snow or time to get back, or me just pooping out I have not made it to the very top.  This time I set out to conquer.  I am in the best form I have been in riding wise ever in my life, but still found myself in my 34/23 gear needing to stand up and barley get it cranked over.  I knew if I got past those parts I’d be good and I was.  Last time I remember stopping and thinking “Oh Man! this is steep”  Then I had a hard time getting started, like I was on my mountain bike.  This time it was hard yes but wasen’t going from left side of the road to the right, I was headed straight up.

I have read a few blogs about this and yes there are a few places with lots of debris and dirt so watch it.  But highly recommended.  My legs were feeling like they got a work out and this is a good thing.

My sweet little one Adyson just turned 5.  It’s been fun the last few nights I have been telling the girls stories instead of reading them one.  I let them pick the characters and where the setting is and I take it from there.  Adyson has a great imagination.  She is a little princess and knows it and that’s what makes it fun.  Her poses in pictures, her putting on shows and her walk alone sets her in a different age.  I love when she is having a blast and her face is lit up like the sun.  She beams with excitement even for mediocre things so when she hits on some thing she loves man watch out!  This year our neighbors put up a Pony Party for her.  Got to ride Cool Red and Toy.  Awesome neighbors to have to say the least and Adyson and her friends were in heaven.  My little princess turning part Cowgirl.  Ya, I’m ok with that.  I love you Aya.

Yeeeee Haaaaaa!

More Pictures Click Here

What an incredible area to race.  What a climb, well several of them.  First I will tell my story, then a little more on the terrible accident.  My first goal was to stay with the front group up the first main climb to Kamas from Jordanelle.  Then if I succeeded there, to stay with them to through Provo canyon.  I did and was very pleased with how I was feeling.  Not breathing hard at all and listening to guys around and behind me struggling, kicks up your confidence a bit.  I was expecting to have if not a few and might be many blast up past Sundance to the top of the Alpine loop.  I put it in gear and kept it steady and strong, passing slowly quite a few.  One guy stayed with me and we eventually caught another from our group close to the top.  I stood up and pushed up to take the King of the Mountain points, :’).  Yes they were gone long ago, but in my group of three, I got them, ha ha.  Then I really kicked it in.  Geoff had taken off at the beginning of this climb which I expected, he is a great climber, So when I started down the other side I wasen’t sure how close I was and thought maybe, just maybe I might gain some time and get closer, so I was Flyin!  Passing cars… at this point I was under the impression that they had closed the canyon so I was thinking the cars up here were in the wrong.  So I was barreling down like a bat out of somewhere.  I left quite quickly the other two guys and was alone and passing guys left and right.  Not just passing, but did I say “Flyin!”  Then as it leveled out a bit, two other guys caught me and we started a line and pushed pretty fast.  I was thinking oh man could I catch Geoff.  How far ahead was he?  And just then, bikers coming up and people standing were yelling, “There’s a crash!”  So we slowed way down and came up on a group of riders and the ambulance had just arrived.  Geoff was here.

Blood was all over the road, and the bike was completely broken in half.  Some other riders there explained what happened and we sat there not being able to do anything to help or to leave.  We just sat and watched.  About 25 mins they let us go down to the mouth of the canyon where Life Flight had landed and waited for the Ambulance to drive down and load one critically injured biker in the Chopper.  When it took off we were also let off to finish our race.  Kind of hard to get started after sitting for 50 or so minutes.  We did and kicked it up.  I pulled over at the beginning of Suncrest to swap my bottles.  Kudos to Cayon Sports for having them ready.  I was a bit faster than Geoff and figured he would catch me on the climb.  Sure enough he came by me partially up Suncrest and waived me on.  I kept him and his group in my sites but could not keep that pace, and I was even passing other bikers.  When I crested, I knew he wasn’t far so again I barreled down and again “Flyin” down.  When I flew by Geoff I looked back and he was just shaken his head.  From here we stayed together.  There was a decent head wind coming at us.  We did the climb on Wasatch pretty good passing quite a few, but when we got to the mouth of Little Cottonwood, I asked Geoff how he was feeling, and he said “Crappy”.  I repeated the same back to him.  We were now both hurting pretty bad.  Little Cottonwood kicks up between 10 and 12% of a grade and I found it difficult to keep my bike up right at times.  Here I was doing about 4 mph and normally climb this canyon 7-10 mph.  Only 6 miles up to Snowbird, but was harder than the entire race.  I heard a bike go off in the gravel and looked back and it was Geoff.  I stopped and waited as he had to catch his breath.  We started again and continued and a snails pace up it felt like.  I looked back and Geoff was stopped again.  I stopped and waited and the rest felt soooo good.   We started again and I remember thinking I just want to lay down in some grass in some shade with some water.  Oh that would be nice.  It was hot too.  100 degrees or so.  I just put my head down and stayed climbing.  I looked back for Geoff and could not see him.  Now I was in survival mode.  Get this thing done!  So I kicked it up a notch and ended up passing 4 guys that had just passed me right before I went down to the finish.  I was dizzy, and had to sit still for several minutes.  Eric was there waiting.  He was in the group before us and looked fresh and rested.  About 4 minutes later Geoff came up saying, “I threw up!”  We at the time, were thinking this was one of if not the hardest races we have ever done.  Included Lotoja Classic and Tour De Park City which are much longer.  So glad to be done, so glad to be safe and grateful to my wife and family for letting me do these things.  Thanks to Eric for driving and having cold water for us.  What a ride/race.

Here is a perspective from Xango executives.   They did a video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oK6SaUjkrmY&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Exango%2Etv%2Findex%2Ephp%3FvideoID%3D978&feature=player_embedded#t=135

***

Included is  the email sent to us from Sterling about the racers.  I am glad they are ok, and glad they have such a positive outlook on cycling.  He makes a huge point at the end.  Thank you Sterling, and Good luck to Dave and the others.  What an amazing blessing that EMT’s were there to get things under control.  I could not imagine what I would have done.  Bless them.  Allthough I did not know him well at all, I rode with Dave and his group in Lotoja for most of the race.  He and Micheal Norberg.  Michael was the one that said, “Way to go 306!” and invited me to jump on.  I got dropped just before the finish coming in about 2 mins behind them.   What a great group of guys.  Our prayers are with all of them and especially Dave.

An Email from Sterling to all racers this day:

My name is Sterling Baer and I lead the group of Cyclists many of you saw wearing the gold BRUMBYS jerseys from Mesa, Arizona. We had 45 cyclists participating yesterday and unfortunately the 5 who crashed were from our group. For those who did not see the story reported on KSL News last night, it can be viewed here

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=7636047

First and foremost the riders requested that I convey to all their deep appreciation to all who helped at the accident scene, have inquired or expressed their love and concern for them. They are very grateful for the outpouring of support!

I have also been asked to find out which of you were the EMT cyclists who assisted at the crash site? You performed a literal miracle in saving the life of the most seriously injured. Please reply to this email as the families would like to make contact with you.

For those who were not fully aware of what occurred, below is an overview of the accident along with the current status of our injured cyclists.

Sterling Baer
Red Mountain Brumbys
www.azbrumbys.com

On the descent from the Alpine Loop coming down American Fork Canyon the 5 Brumbys who were in the accident were Dave Collins, Steve Beck, Mike Skousen, Wayne Smith and Grant Taylor. All went down when a Ford Explorer suddenly stopped in front of them and they plowed into the car at about 40 mph. Dave Collins and Steve Beck hit the car and Dave shattered the rear window and both destroyed the rear door. It was a very bad scene for those of you who witnessed it. Dave was the cyclist most seriously injured with broken jaw and facial bones, a punctured lung and a cut from his sternum to his ear which severed his jugular vein. Miraculously two EMT cyclists on the ride were in their pack and tended to him quickly. He lost 5 pints of blood and we believe they literally saved his life while the ambulances were arriving. He was life flighted out to University of Utah Hospital. Dave had two surgeries yesterday and today he has another long one for bones in his face. Despite his extensive injuries, the Dr's report is positive about full recovery, with no brain, neck or back trauma. Steve Beck who also impacted the car has a partially collapsed lung and lacerations from impact that took a lot of stitches. He is pretty sore but hopes to be released tomorrow from Intermountain Health Center in Murray Utah. We are very happy to know his injuries were not more serious. Mike Skousen was injured trying to avoid the crash and skidded on the pavement through the glass from the car. He has significant road rash but no broken bones. He was treated at American Fork Hospital and released yesterday. Wayne Smith and Grant Taylor have quite a bit of road rash from also trying to avoid impact and ran off the road together but avoided trees and will be ok.

As an epilogue to what would have otherwise been a great day racing through some gorgeous country, I am sure that I can speak for my friends by saying that this was an unfortunate accident. I am sure that they would hope that we all get back on our bikes and ride in a sport that we all love. I have read many negative commentaries about us cyclists and when incidents like this happen, it is important that as a greater cycling community, we stand together and support each other and continue to promote opportunity for participating in our sport. If we allow antagonists to pressure events to be cancelled or limited in the future, we all suffer for it. While the accident was unfortunate, I support the efforts of Rick Bennett in doing everything possible to organize a safe race.

*** Update ***

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Sterling Baer <sabaer@us.ibm.com>
Date: Wed, Aug 26, 2009 at 9:19 AM
Subject: Update on Injured Utah 1000 Warrior Race Cyclists
To: 2009 Warrior Cyclist List <2009_Warrior_Cyclist_List%IBMUS@us.ibm.com>
Cc: Brumbys%IBMUS@us.ibm.com, Las Sendas Brumbys <Las_Sendas_Brumbys%IBMUS@us.ibm.com>, rick@rickbennett.com

Please share this update with all cyclists, family and friends who are following Dave Collin’s progress.

On behalf of the 5 injured cyclists in the 1000 Warriors Race last Saturday, thank you very much to all of you who sent get well wishes and shared information helping to clarify important crash details. I have tried to respond to some of you, but may not get the time to thank all of you individually. I wanted to pass along our deep appreciation on behalf of each injured cyclist and their families, as well as from our Red Mountain Brumbys cycling gang in general for your support and prayers. They are definitely having a great impact and I am compiling all of your notes into a document to share with our cyclists and their families.

I’m happy to share a quick update on our two cyclists who were admitted to hospitals and most seriously injured—it is very positive. Steve Beck was released yesterday from IMC Hospital and his lung is improving and his road rash a 30 stitches are healing well. He hopes to be cleared to fly home Thursday and is spending time with family locally in Utah and also visiting Dave Collins at the UofU Medical Center. They are partners and best friends and he said Dave is progressing on the road to recovery. On Monday Dave Collins had a 13 hour surgery to repair all the bones in his face which were broken. He is on a ventilator and his jaw is wired shut, but yesterday as he was coming out of his medically induced coma, he was responding to friends and families voices by squeezing hands and eye movements. The Dr’s and Dave’s family are very positive about his progress so far. He will undergo another surgery on Friday to repair two remaining bones in his jaw and eye socket area which they were not able to finish on Monday. Please continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers going forward.

On that note, I must make a comment on the truly miraculous nature of this accident. All 5 of these cyclists are great men of faith as well as good friends and cyclists. It is chilling to have read and pieced together the emails of those of you who were first on the scene and realize how Dave’s life was literally saved by those who had a perfect compliment of medical skills and training. This was NOT mere coincidence. Without sharing names allow me let me tell you why.

The first on the scene was a cyclist in the race who is in a PhD program and is a “licensed physical therapist in Park City, former US Ski team medical staff trained in first response, race course triage and emergency medical coverage”.

Shortly thereafter followed two University of Utah Doctors who were an hour late getting off on their Sat ride (not in the race) and instead of riding north of Salt Lake City decided to ride south and UP the American Fork Canyon, which put them on the scene precisely at the time of need to help save Dave.

Within a minute or so two other Drs arrived on the scene who were cyclists in the race.

About the same time a Medical Green Beret who’s car was stopped close by due to the accident came to help and another car driver close by had a first aid kit which was used.

It is remarkable to contemplate the breadth of the highly trained team of Pediatrician, Orthopedic Surgeon, Orthodontist, Obstetrician, PT Emergency Triage and Green Beret Medic that tended to Dave and that they would all be in that place at that time. I and Dave and his family believe that this was divine providence to save Dave’s life. All those who helped him have commented that it was a team effort and it indeed was miraculous! I know you will agree when you read one of the accounts from the cyclist who was the Park City Triage PT first on the scene.

“I was about fifty feet behind Dave and saw him and his teammate explode off the back of the SUV. I was first on the scene and began checking vitals while he was face down in the road. He was breathing and had a pulse so I didn’t move him. This went on for a couple of minutes and then two other cyclists came on to help and said that they were both doctors. Maybe 4-5 minutes later as we were all kneeling by him and discussing his condition he began to twitch like he was having a seizure and then he started vomiting. We could hear him start to choke, his breathing weakened and he began to lose his color. The three of us made the difficult decision to roll him onto his back to re-establish his airway. I took his head, the other two (plus one other helper) rolled his body and in normal “log roll” fashion we got him on his back. As I held his head and applied light traction one of the docs lifted his jaw forward, held it, and Dave started to breathe on his own and his color returned. He and I held this position for about fifteen minutes until the ambulance got there while doc #2 was monitoring his pulse. It wasn’t until we turned him over that we realized the extent of the trauma, and as I held his head I couldn’t believe that he was still alive and breathing. He must really be a fighter.
I don’t know the names of the other guys who were helping but it was a team effort. I can’t tell you the relief I felt when I found out later that Dave was ok and had not sustained any significant brain or spinal cord damage considering we did have to move him to keep him breathing.
Please give my best wishes to Dave’s family and other teammates that were injured.”

As a wise man Jeff Holland has said, “Angels are still sent to help us. Most often it is to comfort, to provide some form of merciful attention and guidance in difficult times…not all angels are from the other side, some of them we walk with and talk with –here, now, every day. Some reside in our own neighborhoods.”

I have no doubt that it was not coincidental that these expertly medically trained people were literally “angels”, whose timing and skills were miraculously and divinely aligned to be in the “neighborhood” just in time to administer urgent medical attention to save Dave’s life and tend to the others.

Thank God to all of you wonderful Dr’s, 911 caller & dispatch, the Police, Ambulance responders, Helicopter team & Hospital Staff, Rick Bennett’s response team, fellow cyclists, bystanders and anyone else who assisted for your heavenly help.

Sterling Baer
Red Mountain Brumbys

We always have a good time when we are together.  Here are a few snippets of events not blogged about us this summer.

Boston loving the sun

Family Photo

Playing in the sand at Daybreak Lake

Sand and Pizza!

Us

My Lovies!

Hiking down from Timp Cave

Lexi Sleeping soundly

Adyson being the Awesome Hiker that she is

Us hiking to Timp Cave