Let's Go LOTOJA

Lotoja 2008 is in the books and I could not be happier. All of that extra time it ate up training, and even worse, all of that extra time I felt bad that I wasn't training when I should have been. When it came down to either training or doing something else, I always chose the alternative (i.e. tennis, wiffleball, chick flicks). In the end, I was able to ride about 650 miles before my big 206 mile race. Here is a picture of the course from 2007, which was the exact same this year.


To give some of the highlights of the race, I've decided to do it in interview format. I've always talked to myself so I figure, why not interview myself.

Interviewer: Well Brian, first off, congratulations on finishing your third Lotoja race!
Brian: Thank you. Wow, you said third...I mean, I can't believe I keep doing this thing.


Interviewer: What was the main difference between this year's race and of one's goneby?
Brian: I didn't need a potty break before reaching Preston...(under breath) let alone two

Interviewer: Now, you finished in 11 hours and 37 minutes, a little bit slower than your pace last year. What happened?
Brian: Well, you see, last year I wasn't a married man. I was just starting my courtship with Jackie so I felt a lot of pressure to impress. Simply put, I wanted to look good in front of the girl, you know, show her how awesome I was. We tied knot earlier this summer so that means she's stuck with me no matter what. She has to take me as I am.


Interviewer: What was your favorite part?
Brian: Anytime I saw the following sign:

It reinvigorated my soul everytime. Especially after the third mountain pass. (under breath again) dang Salt River!

Interviewer: Where did you really give it all you had, you know, went the fastest?
Brian: Probably down my Grandma's street in Logan. I realized I was about 3 minutes away with only a couple of minutes before my start time. I pulled up to the start line with 6 seconds to spare. After that sprint I decided the only way to recover was to not take any pulls within the first 100 miles of the race.

Interviewer: You didn't take any pulls until 100 miles!?
Brian: Well, I compromised and did my first one around mile 95. In between Geneva and Salt River.


Interviewer: Ok, so what was the scariest moment?
Brian: On the way into Preston, the guy in front of me tapped his brakes, I hit my brakes hard, but the guy right behind me wasn't ready. He brakes, swerves, and goes down hard. He made the loudest "Ughhh" sound I have ever heard before he even hit the ground. When he did hit the ground, it sounded like a shotgun. I spent the next 30 minutes convinced that I had just helped in killing someone. It wasn't until the next group caught us and I found out that the guy was actually pretty lucky. I guess he completely taco'd his wheel though.

Interviewer: When was the happiest part of the ride?
Brian: I saw this sign with about a mile or so to go:

I saw and all that ran through my head was, "You're dang right. You better believe I'm prepared to stop."

Interviewer: What about the worst part?
Brian: (suddenly angry face) Probably the idiot who didn't move to the side to clear his nose...twice! The second time I got sprayed pretty good and that's when I told him "come on man!" or something like that. All he could say was, "oh, did I get you?" I stopped riding with that guy.

Interviewer: Sorry about that.
Brian: Oh, it's not your fault.

Interviewer: Well, any last words?
Brian: Congrats to everyone that did it! I know it's not easy.