LOTOJA

Lotoja was a blast this year, I didn't quite achieve my goal of completing under 10 hours but I enjoyed the ride and came close. It felt great to get 2nd in my category. Steve Wilson and I rode in the same group and he outpaced me yet again this year. I felt great through all the climbs and then at about mile 140 my energy waned significantly and I decided that biking 206 miles as fast as I can without stopping is a stupid idea. I lost Steve around that time because I couldn't hang on to the group and I was highly tempted to stop and rest at the feed zone in Alpine - but I somehow convinced myself to just keep going so I grabbed my feed bag from Jentry and kept rolling. After a couple minutes the peaches and some more nutrition revived me mentally and physically and I felt fantastic again - so I renigged my decision that biking was stupid and I loved it again. I finished the last 40 miles pretty fast and feeling great, and I outsprinted another rider from my group for 2nd Place. Wilson finished right at 10 hours and I came in at 10:09. Thankfully the weather was phenomenal again this year and I had no mechanical issues or accidents...good times.