LOTOJA - 206 Miles / 3 States / 1 Day

The BIG event is finally here. Did we do enough training? Did we bring the right food? Will our bodies and equipment withstand the day, the hills, the heat, the road?  A lot of unknowns, but one thing we know for sure........  LET THE RIDE BEGIN! YIPPY SKIPPY

 I'm so excited to use my Bento Box for the 1st time

 Eating the right food, with the right people is key for a strong LOTOJA!

 Don't worry Jan, we will take good care of Val..

 We love our support crew!

 YEA BABY!

 I'm healed! No problem raising my hands after a broken collar bone 3 weeks ago

Jodi and her MEN!

Time to get to bed and try and sleep for an early morning start

 

The FUN GROUP had to be at the starting line at 5:30am to get a spot in the 1st group of riders leaving at 5:45am. Boy are we EXCITED! It was an amazing thing to see, hundreds of bikers riding in the dark with their headlights and flashing red taillights.

  

 

 Anyone seen the B- team yet? We have been chasing them for a LONG time...

 You'll never catch us....(not) we're at the Snake River Canyon.. YEA!

As individuals, we looked ok..............

.........but we couldn't have done it without our better halves!

Best dressed couple.... who are these movie stars?

WE MADE IT!

TARA, WHERE ARE YOU?

President, Dr. J,  we felt your influence, friendshp & POWER the whole day.... LOVE YA MAN!

 I didn't realize how exhausting it is to be apart of a support crew!!!

 Hey Cory, where did you say to turn left?

 YES, we are kinda proud of our medals and our WOMEN!

 Post ride breakfast.... Yes, we are ALL VERY HUNGRY!

B- Team, ROCKS!

Fellow Rocket Heads and other Parleys Canyon Riders.... I hope you have enjoyed this trip to LOTOJA as much as I have. WOW, what an EPIC event. Thanks for putting up with me.  I'm eager to continue the ride of life with all of you, no matter where the road takes us......... YIPPY SKIPPY!

Just Follow Me!

The whole training season I have been telling the Rocket Heads, "Just Follow Me!" Finally, the wise senior of the group decided to DO IT, and it lead him to Berry's Breakfast House....  WOW!  What a treat. Thanks Berrys for feeding two Rocket Heads and helping me teach the others an important lesson in life...... :-)

Last Sat. Ride Before LOTOJA

Well, it's down to the last week. All the training, smack talk, interviews, and pictures will come to a head next Saturday as we experience LOTOJA. For most of us this will be our first time and last.... :-) Seriously, the training has been a lot of fun and we would all like to thank our wives for putting up with a bunch of 50+ year olds that think they are still boys........ YIPPY SKIPPY!

 Taking the podium after 206 miles will be done sitting down

 You fellow Rocket Heads missed a GREAT Day!

Make sure all your mechanical problems happen pre- LOTOJA (Honey, can you come and get me my bike is broken.... :-( )

Get Well Soon!

As you may have read from an early post, our President of the Rock Heads, Bruce Jensen, went down on a ride in April. They are still fine tuning his treatment to get him back in shape. Bruce, our prayers are with you and we hope you will wear the team jersey on 9/10/11 and pray for us to survive LOTOJA.. :-)

Love ya Man!

Peo > Wolf Creek Pass > Weber Canyon > Peo

Two more weeks - READY OR NOT LOTOJA, HERE WE COME! Today's ride was sponsored by yours truly and let me tell you..... BEST RIDE OF THE YEAR! We started early by meeting at Kim's to load the bikes and off we headed to Peo. The weather was 58 degree when we arrived and NO wind... Doesn't get any better. We all survived the climb to Wolf Creek Pass, and road a total of 85 miles, averaged 16.9 mph, and climbed 4,600 ft.

As you can see from the pictures below, we were all very happy campers when we finally reached the summit. (more then others as noted by his jubilee) The conditioning is start to pay off not only for the biking, but as you will see in the video clips this week, many of the riders have overcome their stage fright and have become quite the hams..... :-) Also, the interview with the non-bikers this week will go down as one of my favorites.. :-)

How do you like my NEW BIKE?? I think it's really going to help with LOTOJA

Big Mtn to Coalville & Back - 8.20.11

Well, 3 more Saturdays and the BIG day is finally here.... LOTOJA. This training is KILLING me. However, as we continue to train new lessons of life are learned and new people are wanting to join the Rocket Heads. As you can see from the picture below, we are attracting not only new bikers, but Harley MOMMAs.. :-) Here are just a few of the lessons I learned:

• When leaving early to get a head start on some of the stronger riders, make sure your alarm is set
• When picking up road-kill to use as a motivator to help some of the still sleepy riders, make sure to touch the wrapper only of your powerbar while eating
• When the A team shows ups, put all games, toys and thoughts of riding for FUN away and get SERIOUS!
• If you have a flat tire, don't expect the rest of the team to wait for you
• If you want to ride fast, it helps to LOOK FAST! ..... (The Black Knight)
• If you commit to stop for a HEAD DUNK, STOP! (Won't mention any names, but we love his wife Vicki)

Tour of Utah - 8.13.11

Today was a flat training day and one that lead us to the starting point of the 2nd-to-last stage of the Tour of Utah. As always, I requested the team to follow me, but do they ever listen…. NO. So Mr. Hale and I were the only two that were asked to ride through the starting/ending gate of today's race. We were even asked for pictures and autographs standing in front of the State Capitol Building. As you watch the video, you will notice that the younger riders of the group think they know what's best, but in the end.... "JUST FOLLOW ME!"

 Always STOP and smell the flowers.......

... they bring out the best in you!