We got up before the crack of dawn on Saturday morning to go give our support to Bill as he competed in the Mt. Ogden 100K mountain bike race. It was held at the Snow Basin Ski Resort in the mountains above Ogden. Now, I struggle to jog 5K, and here is my husband, about to race his guts out on his bike for 100K! For those of us not on the metric system, that translates to 64 miles of riding ON MOUNTAIN SLOPES! Ugh. Bill is now offically crazy! The photo above is of his bike and entry number about an hour before the start of the race. The shotgun for the start of the race fired at 7:20 a.m. Bill was racing in the open division, meaning that he was an amateur, not a pro.
Here is a shot of the racers gathering before the starting line. The blow up red arch is the start. Each racer wore a timer strapped to their ankle. As they passed under the arch, the timer was activated and wouldn't stop running until they passed through the finish arch down in front of the lodge.
While we were waiting near the starting line, another family there asked us if we planned to stay all day. When we said 'yes', they offered us some cow bells to ring at the finish line! That was a fun bonus.
You can see Bill in the left side of this photo as the yellow helmet with the fluorescent yellow neck guard. His head is between the two dudes in pink spandex. I would not have chosen all pink, myself, but whatever! These are only the 100K racers. About 30 min. after this start, they started the 50K race as well.
Right after the second shotgun blast. To keep the racers from clumping too much, they sent them in waves. The first wave were pro riders. The second wave were 'expert amateurs'. Bill went in that group. The third wave were 'sport amateurs'. There wasn't an ounce of flab to be seen anywhere!
Just a shot of the lodge at Snow Basin. It was a posh building! Ski lodges are the winter retreat for the country club set. I didn't take any pictures inside because I simply didn't think to, but really, I am glad I didn't, because then I'd just look like the hick tourist who was unaccustomed to luxurious surroundings!
The moon above the mountain.
The kids and I wandered a bit, then hiked up onto the mountain side to try and cheer Bill on at a spot where he told us he thought he'd pass by at approximately 8:30 a.m. We waited until 8:45 at that spot, but never saw him. We gave up figuring he must have passed before we got there. I found out later from the mother of another racer that she did see him (that neck flap was VERY identifiable) pass that spot at 9:15. Drat!
At 10:00 we set up our cooler and chairs at the Feed Zone. That was a designated spot the event coordinators created for racers and their support teams. The cooler was full of fruit and protein bars, Bill's second Camel Back water bladder, and sodas for the kids and me. We rang our cow bells as Bill arrived at 10:20, and we quickly gave him what he needed. I pulled his empty water bladder out of his pack and reloaded it with the fresh one. He really was only there for less than a minute before he was speeding off again in quest of a good time (figuratively and literally).
The jersey was my early birthday gift to him. I gave it to him the day before the race. It has special pockets built in the back where he stashed protein bars to eat while riding. I was really proud of how pro he looked in it!
The whole re-fueling felt a lot like a pit stop in a car race, with us as the pit crew. It was only a minute, but it was a super charged minute! Once Bill was on his way, the other people in the feed zone all complemented us on our team work and seemed mildly impressed with it. They were also impressed that Bill didn't stop longer, since most of the 100K racers stop to eat at the half way mark.
We stuck around at the feed zone to cheer on a couple of Bill's biking friends who were also racing. One of them, Jack, rode his bike over to his car to eat. Since it was only 3 cars down from ours, we went to see how he was doing. He didn't look very good! He was pale and actually ended up throwing up what he ate because he ate it too fast. He decided to keep going, though he was unsure if he would be able to finish the race. Bill had told me that Jack had never gone more than 45 miles before, so this race was extreme for him.
After seeing Bill off, we had nothing to do until 1:30 p.m. We planned to go wait at the finish line at that time. Meanwhile, we decided to ride the gondola lift up to the upper lodge just for the fun of it!
Helena on the gondola. She was excited to ride it and compare the experience to riding the gondola ski lift in the Austrian Alps. She told us that this one was newer, quieter, and had more viewing area, since the walls were made almost entirely of glass. The lift in the alps had metal sides with windows installed. However, she informed us that the view in Austria was much better. Well, of course!
Will in the gondola.
Me in the gondola. How do you like the windblown look?
Helena and I in the gondola. The ride up took 15 minutes and ascended over 2,000 feet. We had to adjust our ears several times.
The elevation marker on the lodge at the top.
Once again, the lodge at the top was sumptuous and grand. There was a restaurant at the top, and one at the lower lodge as well. We decided not to be parted from our money and just ate the junk food we brought with us. The window in the picture is actually part of the women's restroom! Those were some of the nicest bathrooms I have ever seen, and no, I did not take a picture of them.
Helena in the ski lodge.
Will at the ski lodge. He didn't feel very well, and gets impatient with his touristy mom always taking pictures. But notice what an amazing blue his eyes are?! I did not enhance the color, either.
A view of our descent.
I told the kids to pose for a shot of the two of them together, so, of course, Helena had to ham it up right when I pushed the button!
So I made them do it again!
When we got to the bottom, we went to the finish line just in time to see the very first 100K pro racer cross the finish line. We cheered with the rest of the crowd until 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners crossed, then went back to the car to eat our junk food lunch. We knew Bill would not be crossing the line any time before 1:30, because he came to the feed zone (at the half way mark) after 3 hours of racing, so there was no way he would be faster on the second leg of the race than he was on the first.
At 1:30, we plopped ourselves down on the grass in the shade near the finish line and started our wait. We cheered and rang our cow bells for any racer who came by. They were very spread out. There were even some of the slowest 50K racers coming in with the 100K racers.
We saw the mom of a biker that we had met back at the starting line and again at the feed zone, and invited her to sit with us in the shade. She is from New York happened to be visiting her son during the time of the race. I was fun to visit with her! As we waited we just enjoyed the sunshine and good company. Helena even got out her physics homework and worked on it, which impressed our neighbor.
Finally, There was Bill! I don't remember the exact time he crossed the finish line, because I was busy with cheering, taking a picture, and ringing my bell. But his official timer recorded a race time of 6 hours and 52 minutes! He came in 19th over all, and even beat out four of the pro riders! Can you imagine sitting on a narrow, hard bicycle seat for close to 7 hours?!?
He was very pleased with his time, because it was a personal record for him.
We stayed to see a couple of Bill's friends cross the line, and to see if he won anything in the raffle (he didn't). Even Jack managed to finish the race, though he was over the 8 hour mark. But, hey, he finished!!! Finally, around 4 in the afternoon, we were ready to head back home, with a stop at Rubio's for dinner.
To be honest, when Bill asked me if I would come support him in this race, I was not thrilled. His bike riding has been somewhat of a thorny subject for me and I often resent the time he spends on it. However, it meant so much to him that I just had to go, and now I am glad I did! I had a great day with the kids, and I was SO proud of Bill for accomplishing such a difficult thing! Bill told me later that he got terrible cramps in the second half of the race and almost quit, but kept going because he knew we were going to be waiting for him at the finishing line. He said we were his inspiration to keep going.
We were so wiped out, but I ended up staying up late that night while I waited for Helena to get home from a football game and a stake dance. It ended up being a 20 hour day, but boy, was it a good one!
