25 Hours of Frog Hollow, Hurricane Utah

After all of us completed 24 hours of Moab we sat at camp and made the decision that we would race the 25 Hours of Frog Hollow in Hurricane UT. The reason why it's called "25 Hours" of Frog Hollow and not "24 hours" is that the race takes place over daylight savings giving us an extra hour of racing.

I decided to race in the duo/pro category with a friend from Provo (Jake Rogers) which was interesting due to the fact that we raced throughout the season against each other, and now we would race on the same team. Chris and Danny also entered into the duo category as well. We left on a Friday night and as we hit Beaver we hit a blizzard and could barely see 10 feet in front of us. As we filled up with gas in Cedar City we flipped a coin to either stay in a hotel room in Hurricane or head to the race start and set up base camp. Unfortunately the odds were against us and we ended up driving to Virgin and arrived at the race around 10 p.m.

As we arrived we had a short window of no rain to set our tents up and went to bed, as 1:00 a.m. hit the rain pummeled down on my tent and I kept having flash backs from 24 Hours of Moab, and 12 Hours of Sundance with rain. I kept tossing and turning hoping that we didn't drive this far and as morning hit they announce that the race has been cancelled.

Fortunately as we woke up the rain stopped and the weather started to clear making the race conditions perfect. Jake and I flipped a coin of who would go first, and just my luck it was me. I geared up and walked towards the start line to set my bike up and walked back about a 100 yards because the race started with a classic "Le Mans" start.

During my first lap I was riding with the top 10 riders and as we hit the Gem Trail I ended up passing a few riders and finished in the top 5. I peddled hard as I arrived to the finish and quickly handed the baton off to Jake for his first lap. Jake and I kept a fast pace throughout the day and by the time 5:00 p.m. hit we were in 2nd place. As night hit the weather dropped fast and I knew we were in for a long night, not only because of the weather but we had an extra hour of racing as well. Jake and I kept a consist pace till 4:00 a.m. hit.

As 4:00 a.m. hit the weather dropped to the high 20's which made it extremely hard to head out on another lap. By this time Jake and I surpassed 100 miles each and were starting to feel the pain. We quickly strategized that the best option was to take a 2 hour break and wait till the temperature changed. The sun was about to rise and I headed out on another lap, and by the time I hit mile 2 I felt warm again. As I arrived to the finish line Jake headed out on his last lap as I headed back to camp to regain energy by the fire.

The weather turned out perfect, minus the fact that it was a little cold, but all in all it was great! Jake and I originally finished in 3rd place in the duo/pro category but later found out they made a mistake on another team which bumped us into 4th place. We finished 4th, and rode 130 miles each throughout the race. Danny and Chris ended up in 8th place. This race was my last mountain bike race of the year, and probably the best one!

Base Camp

Danny and I before the race

These guys cracked me up

Le Mans Start

My favorite photo of the race

Jake arriving from his last lap

Here is a cool youtube link of the race. I'm at 47 sec. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayyf1iAOlfs

24 Hours of Moab 2011

Last year as I finished my last lap of 24 hours of Moab I told myself that I was going to do a duo in 2011. All year in the back of my head I kept telling myself that each race I did was preparing me for the duo in Moab. Throught the year I kept switching duo partners and one week before the race Ahmi my cousin's friend had a similar thing happen with her duo partner, so we decided to race a coed duo.

Chris Okland and I left early Thursday morning to pick out our base camp for the race, since last year we were extremely far away from the venue. As we pulled into camp we had a spot big enough for our two teams for the weekend, we were literally across the road from the main tent. As Chris and I removed the weeds and set camp up the storms arrived. We quickly grabbed what we needed and went back to town and got a hotel room.

Friday morning Chris and I headed out to Outerbike (which was awesome) checking out the new 2012 models. I was amazed at the outcome of the event and I hope to be attending next year if these two events don't overlap on each other like this year. Chris and I soon headed back to camp and all of our friends and spouses arrived.

The weather was nice until 1:00 a.m. hit, rain, rain, and yes more rain. I literally could not fall asleep thinking that the race would be cancelled. I thought to myself all this preparation and for sure the race is over. Finally as sunrise hit the rain started to slow down and eventually stopped, and by the time the race started we had a perfect blue sky!

The race started at 12:00 with the classic Le Mans start, Willie and I ran next to each other which was fun. I quickly jumped on my bike and within the first 3 miles it was all starting to come back to me, every turn and bump felt very familiar from the previous year. I soon gave the baton off to Ahmi for her lap.

At 9:00 at night the announcer read off that our duo team was in 2nd place in the duo/pro category which helped pump me up for my next lap. I began to worry a little knowing how cold the previous night was and was hoping I had the right clothing to withstand the weather. When 3:00 a.m. hit my fingers, and toes hurt, I was so cold as I came into camp I quickly sat by the fire trying to warm up and eat something warm to revive me.

Ahmi arrived into camp, and we decided to take a two hour break to warm up and finish as the sun was rising. As I entered my last lap I received a text message from my mom that my Grandpa passed away that night.

During my last lap I was able to ride hard knowing it was my last lap, and also it was nice to clear my head and reflect on my Grandpa. He loved the beauty of the desert and always talked about the desert. As I arrived into the finish line to give the baton to Ahmi to ride out on our last lap I hugged my wonderful wife for being such a huge support for me with my races. We finished 5th place in the duo/pro category, I ended up riding 105 miles as Ahmi knocked out 90. Love you Grandpa!!

Base Camp

The two teams (Chris O., Danny, Willie, Chirs C., Me, and Ahmi Left to Right)

Abs and I trying to keep warm

Relaxin waiting for the finishers

Xterra Nationals Ogden Utah

One week after I completed 12 Hours of Sundance solo mountain bike race, I thought for sure I would have enough recovery time for Nationals, but I was wrong. All week long I tried to keep my legs loose for the race, but by the time Thursday came I started thinking that this race might be a disaster.

Arriving to the race I was excited to see the press for Lance Armstrong, and to my surprise as I pulled into Pineview many newscasts and photographers were at Lance Armstrong's side. I quickly felt nervous about the race, especially the swim, but I jumped on my bike for a quick warmup as I rolled around the parking lot to loosen up.

As I pulled my wetsuit on I walked down the ramp to Pineview Reservoir and quickly jumped into the water to get my arms loose. As I came out of the water I was literally 10 feet away from Lance Armstrong. I was a little shocked seeing him in person so close, but I shook his hand and told him "good luck," and he replied "thank you, and good luck to you as well." The cannon shot off and I got into a pretty good rhythm around my first lap, but I felt myself slowing way down around my second lap of the swim due to a sharp pain in my side. I jumped out of the water and stretched my side quickly as I ran up the dock and made a smooth transition onto my bike.

As I pulled away on my bike I felt strong up Wheeler Canyon and found myself passing a lot of bikers headed up the trail. I thought it was awesome to see the support of all the people cheering on all the racers. As I headed up the last climb of Sardine Canyon my legs really started to hurt, the Solo 12 Hrs. of Sundance race was really starting to get to me. I backed off a little knowing I still had to run 6 miles, but I kept a good sturdy pace till I hit T2.

During the first 2 miles of the run I couldn't get a pace set. Finally the trail straighten out and allowed me to keep a steady pace till I hit the downhill. I could hear the music and the crowd which pushed me to the finish line! I was pretty happy with my results, even with my short recovery from the week before. I finished 45 minutes faster than I did the previous year.

Mr. Lance Armstrong