Rob's Really Cold Ride

Luckily Melissa posted details of the 1st Annual Team Firestorm Bike Ride on her blog, since I wasn't there to take photos or retell the adventure. Firestorm is a team that was formed to support Rob's friend and fellow-cyclist, Ben Jacobsen, in his fight against cancer. Ben passed away last fall (you can read his last blog post here, but make sure you have a kleenex). Ben was an amazing person, so I guess it's no surprise that almost a hundred people were riding Emigration Canyon in his honor on Saturday, in spite of the freezing temperatures, snow and ice. Ben's widow, Allison, hosted a Pizza and Pasta party at her house the night before, and had food and drinks (including hot chocolate) at the start/finish line too. She is also amazing.

I asked Rob to pose for a photo when he got home, but had forgotten to change my camera settings from the ones I used at night, so my photo was completely overexposed by the bright snow. When I tried to tone down the highlights in iPhoto, I decided this had an Andy Warhol quality to it, so I'm posting it anyway.

I did eventually get the settings right.

Lotoja

I probably should have snapped a photo at the polls to commemorate Election Day, but I didn't, so here's another catch up post. September 11, 2010. A big day, and not just because it was 9/11.

Here are Danny, Rob and Shawn, loading up the car on Friday, September 10th.

I'm thinking there must be some starting line photos, but I don't have them. Don't worry, there's no shortage of photos, this post is probably a record for me. And I only used a fraction of what I took.

We (me, my kids, Naomi, Natalie, Melissa & her kids) made the trek up to catch the action. Here we are in the long line of support vehicles.

We spotted Danny first. Still smiling after 100+ miles.

Shawn was up the road and also still smiling.

Rob rode his tail off and was already at the rest stop. He proved to himself that he could push it, but wanted to wait for his friends to finish.

Rob was happy to see us, but one rest stop with the chaos of 13 spectators was probably enough.

It made us appreciate Troy, who drove support, all the more. We still need to schedule a date for a thank you dinner. Notice that Shawn has caught up, and is eating the Subway that Troy picked up.

This was Rob's fifth Lotoja, but the first one with massage therapy.

Troy giving Danny a pep talk. To this point, Rob, Shawn and Troy had been worried about how he was holding up.

Danny was tough though, and you'd never guess that he was only fifteen, and had never ridden this far.

Here is where concern shifted to Shawn. Bye-bye Subway sandwich. I was a little hesitant to take this photo, but Shawn forgave me—he says this may be the Christmas card photo, with the caption "Do you live life until you vomit? We do."

It was a beautiful day, the weather was perfect. Alpine to Jackson, only 47 miles to go.

We let the kids (even the grown up ones) play at the park before we headed to the finish line.

One more stop for cheering and a photo...

And finally the finish line.

Danny came across first, so fast, in fact, that the photo was a blur. Here he is after.

Rob stuck with Shawn until Shawn forced him to go ahead.

And in spite of some serious puking, Shawn showed that the mind can overcome the body. Kudos.

Just avoiding an IV—probably should have had it, but a Vanilla Frosty did the trick.

Our slightly illegal car ride to the hotel, while Melissa sticks it out with Shawn and the EMTs.

Being there made me appreciate this amazing feat even more. I am proud of Rob for finishing five times, even the infamous Snowtaja. I am also grateful that if he rides next year, it'll be as part of a relay team.

Pioneer Day = Clowns

Thank you, Shawn, for not being a photo scrooge. And for letting me steal a copy of your photo. I like the caption you used too—"Two clowns with two interestingly dressed people." Yep. Clowns who rode over a hundred miles today. Nice.

A couple of days late

This wasn't taken today—it's the photo I should have used to restart last Saturday, but I took it using Shawn's iPhone and just grabbed it on his blog yesterday (thanks, not just for the photo, but for the post—it made me laugh). You can read it here—Shawn is a much better storyteller than I am. The only thing I can add is that in addition to running 10 miles roundtrip to take this shot, I came within about 5 inches of a large snake of unknown species on my way there. The really great photo would have been the jump and sprint following that encounter. Anyway, Rob rocked the hill climb. He's been tearing it up on his bike all season long. He should be in great shape for LOTOJA this year. I'm so proud.