this pretty much sums it up for me

official photos

notice all the riders david left in the dust behind him...

can you tell he's clipping along at 35mph?

slim jim hottie pants and the tale of the 1 day, 3 state, 206 mile ride

here is our hero, slim jim hottie pants himself (you have my permission to whistle):

our hero is wearing spandex from head to toe because it's aerodynamic.  being aerodynamic is very important when one is cycling in a race.  especially lotoja.  lotoja is a bike race from logan, ut to jackson hole, wy.  it's sponsored by the huntsman cancer society, and all proceeds go to cancer research.  david was invited to join this race by our spinning instructor.  she and the night class spinning instructor had entered the race as a relay team, but our instructor found out she was expecting a baby.  that meant no go on lotoja.  recognizing david for the strong climber he is, she invited him to take her place on the relay team.  david thought it over very quickly and said yes, and asked me to be his support car.  i thought it over very quickly and also said yes.  we marked saturday, september 6th on our calendars as a very special day.   
we drove up to logan on friday night after david got home from work.  never had i packed so much for an overnight trip!  we had a food bag, a bike gear bag, a bike tool bag, the overnight bathroom bag, sleeping bags, pillows, and ruth rode with us, so we had all of that x3.  we stayed at one of my friend's (who fortuitously moved to logan earlier this year), while ruth and david hit the sacks early, i stayed up talking to cindy.  we were at the starting line by 615am (our start time was 634), with ruth taking the first leg from logan, ut to preston, id.  we would meet at the support team area, they would switch the timing chip, and david would be off to ride legs 2-4, first from preston, id to montpilier, id.  in montpilier we would meet him at the support area, trade bottles, fill his pockets with food, and then drive off and meet him in alpine, wy, where they would switch the chip again, and ruth would finish the last two legs from alpine, wy to jackson hole, wy.  they would each ride about 100 miles, ruth doing all the flats, and david doing all the climbs.  david's total was about 96 miles, with 50-ish being uphill climbing.  he estimated it would take him 6hrs to do his legs of the race.  that was the plan...here's what actually happened:    
we decided to have some fun...after ruth took off from logan, we stopped to get breakfast.  both of our pants were falling down, so we made hillbilly belts from bungie cords david had in the car.
isn't our support car cute?!  we made it to preston and waited for ruth to come in.  we found her, david was ready to take off, they switched the chip, and we were ready to go--next meeting place, monpilier, id.  david hit the road about 815 or so, and we hit the road around 830.
ok, so here's where it got interesting. the cars ride on different roads from the bikes for probably 50-65% of the race. the support cars are kind of blindly driving off to the meet points, hoping they get there for their riders in time.  from preston to montpilier, the cars wove through farmer's fields on a gravel country road.  there were a ton of cars mecca-ing to the next town, lots of dust, and it was slow-going.  the race is supposed to text the support team's cell phone when the rider passes a certain point entering the meet zone, but the text messages weren't working properly.  along the way we stopped to use the little girl's room and get some sandwiches.  we made it to montpilier by 11am.   
here's the crossing line in montpilier, where we thought we were waiting for david.  as soon as we got to montpilier we asked the officials if rider 9501 had crossed yet.  they said they had no record of this rider.  so we waited.  and waited.  and waited.  we asked the officials a total of 4-5 times to find our racer, and they had no record of him crossing the line.  around 1230 (4 1/2 hours after david left preston), we were extremely worried something had happened.  david is a strong rider, and there was no way he would have taken over 3 hours to make that trek.  then we heard there was an accident with lots of bikes down.  we more urgently asked the officials to find our rider.  they asked us if we had received a text.  at this point in the race i didn't know we were supposed to gets texts about our rider's location, i was told we would be called if something went wrong.  so...i didn't have my phone on me...so i ran back to the car, found my phone, and found a text message.  david had actually crossed the montpilier line at 1021am, 40 minutes before we'd even reached the town!!  that means david did the first leg (including a 20 something mile climb) in just over 2 hours.  that is amazing!!  now here's my question: if we had received a text on time, wouldn't the officials have had a record of david when we asked them?  here's my other question: we were in the car at 1021, and my phone did not go off to let me know i'd gotten a text.  maybe it beeped when we were at subway buying sandwiches?  maybe it came through much later, when we'd already reached montpilier and i'd left it in the car.  either way, i felt incredibly guilty, and like i was the worst support crew in the world.  

anyway, we'd been sitting in montpilier for a total of 2 1/2 hours after david had crossed the line--and at this point we had no idea where he was.  he could have been on the road to afton, or in afton already, waiting to switch the chip with ruth, or he could see his awful support crew not meeting him again in afton and deciding to continue on to alpine.  there were "neutral" feed zones along the way where riders could fill up on water, gatorade, food, and energy packets, so we knew he'd be ok on that end of things.  but we weren't sure if we should drive to afton to find david, or drive straight to alpine to meet him there.  we decided to try afton first, since we hadn't gotten a text about that crossing line, yet.  the official told us it would take us about 45 minutes to drive to afton.  ruth knew it would take longer--along this leg of the race the car route and the bike route meet up and ride on the same road into afton.  we were stuck in traffic with all the other support cars trying to get to their riders while also trying to merge into car and bike traffic.  there was quite a car line.  

ok...speeding, passing cars, giving the riders the road, stressing out over david...and not having cell phone reception.  somewhere between idaho and wyoming in the black hole of the american wild west we lost cell phone reception.  so there we were stressing out again--what if david makes it to afton and we don't know because the text doesn't come through, will he stay there, go on?  once we made it maybe 3-5 miles outside of afton, david's cell phone went off with a message, and then mine.  it was david calling and his message on both of our phones went like this, "hey, i'm in afton, i hope i see you soon."  no number came through on my cell phone, and no time when i'd missed the call.  great.  so when did david get to afton?  was he going to stay there?  would he keep going if he waits over a certain time?  is he now on his way to alpine?  was he already in alpine?  oh, man.  i think only female readers would understand the stress i was under as his failing support crew.  male brains just don't race like female brains do, stressing out over all the possibilities.  anyway, we finally made it to afton AND FOUND DAVID!  the first thing i said to david was, "david, i love you and i am so sorry!"  and started to cry from the stress and relief.  the first thing david said was, "michal, i know exactly what happened, don't worry about it, and don't feel bad--i was having the time of my life out there and i love you!"  so here he is, after his 96-mile-with-50-ish-uphill-miles leg.  doesn't he look awesome?!!  david gave ruth the timing chip, she took off, and david told me his side of the story along our drive. click here for the race map.
here are some random riders in star valley while david and i were driving from afton to alpine.  ok, so david took off around 815 or so from preston.  he began the first climb feeling amazing, riding the strongest he's ever ridden.  you start the race in waves so you'll theoretically stay with your group, but david was climbing with the cat3 guys (the official licensed professional riders).  he also began passing the recreational racers.  hundreds of them.  on the uphill climb.  he joined a group riding in a huge 100-person peleton, like in the tour de france, and he was clipping along very comfortably between 30-35 mph.  in a huge group like that it's easy to go fast without putting much effort into it.  a race official came along and broke up the peleton into their subgroups (cat 1, 2, 3, relay racers, etc), and david hooked on to a cat2 or 3 group.  they were riding along in a paceline, each one taking turns being the leader at the front of the line for a few minutes, then falling to the back, and rotating to the front again.  this was david's first time riding this strong, with such good riders, and in such a professional paceline.  he said he finally felt like he belonged somewhere in this sport!  by the third climb david said he was gritting his teeth and feeling the climb, but he made it to the top, and then spent about 10 or 15 minutes at the feed station refueling.  he did his whole 96 mile leg in 5 hours and 5 minutes--yes, i'll say that again--5 hours and 5 minutes!!!, and was waiting for us in afton for about 30-45 minutes, the timing chip ticking away all the while.  he knew he'd ridden well, and he was done with his leg, and he was going to wait for ruth to finish it out.    
david was nursing his crampy leg in the car in alpine when i met ruth at the feed station.  she's the one in the light blue jersey on the right.  from there we headed to jackson hole!
the finish line!  we waited about an hour for ruth to come in.  she hit her peak and energy crashed about 20 miles outside of jackson hole.  but the trooper brought it in to the finish line!

here they are--the two-person relay team wonders!  they finished in a total of 12 1/2 hours, finishing in one day, crossing three state lines, and completing 206 miles!!  yay team!!  as we were driving away through jackson trying to find a place to eat, there were still riders coming in, some stopped on the side of the road to install lights on their bikes so they could keep riding in the pitch black 8-9pm night!  crazy!!  (and very unsafe!!)  we also drove back to orem that night...ruth and i both crashed in the car after eating dinner, so david was left to drive home all by himself.  we arrived at 2am.  we had stake conference on sunday, and after the 2 hour session came home and slept the rest of the day!  

ok, so here's what we learned for next year:

1. david's anaerobic threshold is great, but he really needs to train his aerobic threshold.

2. david is going to register as a licensed rider, starting in category 5.

3. david is going to train all year to do the race solo.

4. michal is going to make david ride with his cell phone and tire tools and extra tubes (this year david took off his utility pouch because he wanted to weigh less...michal was very mad at david, especially when they saw all the other experienced riders with their utility pouches).

5. michal is going to drive straight from logan to montpilier.  david won't need a support crew after just 30-35 flat miles from logan to preston, and he'll be able to ride straight through.  after montpilier the next meeting point will be alpine, then the finish line.

6. we won't need a "food bag".  david said there was soooo much food at all the neutral feed stations that all we need to pack is extra bottles to switch out because it's faster than filling them up every time.

7. try to get the friday before the race off work so we can drive to logan earlier, and get more sleep the night before the race.  

8. stay the night in jackson hole.  it was way too much driving home the same day as the race.   

the plan was to leap frog david along the road to get some really good photos of him...that plan obviously didn't happen.  the race took professional photos along the route, so we'll get some of david and post them once they come in. 

too much of a good thing is wonderful

welcome to our vacation album!  we spent a week at the casa del mar resort in la romana, dominican republic.  this was david's first time out of the country, my mango fix, and a much needed doing-nothing-on-a-beach for both of us.  eddie, david's mom, joined us on vacation, and we had a super time relaxing together!

our flights there were all great, and it began raining while we were in puerto rico on a layover waiting to fly to the d.r.  the rain stopped momentarily while we were going through customs in the d.r., but as soon as we stepped foot on the resort it came down in buckets...and then the wind began.  after escaping to our room we turned on the weather channel and learned were were in the middle of tropical storm fay.  before we left my mom had warned us a storm was coming, but i told her not to rain on my parade--if i didn't know about rain, my beach would stay perfectly sunlit!  ahh, ignorance is bliss.  according to the weather channel, it was supposed to stay cloudy and rainy for the next three days.  we unpacked and then sat in bed watching seinfeld re-runs in spanish.  i was imagining returning to the states looking as white as when i'd left it, getting wet while walking in the rain instead of in the ocean, and spending hour after hour watching tv instead of fish.  i was not a happy camper.  but we woke up the next morning and voila--sun, ocean waves, humidity, and more sun!!  let the vacation begin!! 

on sunday david and i grabbed a taxi and ventured in to the city of la romana for church.  i wish i'd taken a photo of the building.  it reminded me of brasil--the wall around the building, barbed wire, grates on the windows, etc.  and the people were just as warm as brasilians.  the spanish on the island is "lazy"--i had a hard time understanding it and translating into "portunol"--a mix between purtuguesa e espanola.  it was a fun outing, and we're glad we went. 

(photos are in no particular order)  here's the clear water.  nothing like the brown atlantic of delaware and bethany beaches where i went growing up.  we spent a lot of time snorkeling and saw not only a ton of fish, but 2 octipus (octipi?), a family of squid, eels, stingrays, and clams.  the water was churned up from fay, but there were times of the day (probably coinciding with the tide) where the water was clearer. 
we went on a day trip to a neighboring island, catalina.  these were little boats on the beach before we boarded our speedboat to take us to catalina.  we also did a pit stop on a river boat and a little village on a hill.  the village is actually a resort, and was originally built as a movie set!  
i love those modern art paintings of shades of greys and blues striped across the canvas.  i don't think i captured the same feeling here with this photo, but i tried.
the view from our resort alcove.  i love the white boats on the water.
you know you're somewhere good when you see palm trees around you!
david and eddie snorkeling the morning of our last day there.  they wanted to try and see one more octipus.
here's the view while we were kyaking.  
eddie found this spot for a beautiful photo.  this is at the city/set from our day trip.  i know it doesn't seem like it, but we both have pretty good tans at this point:.)
eddie overlooking the river from the city/set.
on the boat ready to leave catalina island.

overall i'd say our vacation was a hit.  we did a lot of reading, snorkeling, sitting on the beach, and enjoying the sun.  our ride home wasn't as smooth as the ride there.  our flight leaving the d.r. was delayed about 2 hours, so we missed all our subsequent connections.  we were supposed to have arrived home friday night at 1130, making it in time for the triathlon saturday morning.  fate would have it otherwise.  once we finally made it to puerto rico, we got re-routed to bwi and dulles.  the earliest flight coming back to utah would land at 10am on saturday.  so we flew from puerto rico to bwi, got a shuttle to dulles, and my mom picked us up at 2am so we could sleep at her place before catching our flight to slc the next morning at 745.  my dad was visiting byu for education week (and stayed at our place while we were gone--thanks for taking care of our birds, dad!), so he picked us up on saturday and we visited until he left for his flight around 230.  

we were really disappointed that we missed the tri, but really glad to have finally made it home.  now we are spending this week "reacclimating" to life. 

2nd place citizen standing

david participated in the sundance hill climb yesterday!  this is a race for licensed cyclists competing for a cash prize, as well as recreational riders classified as "citizen riders".  david has worked really hard this year to get in shape, and getting back on his road bike has been his favorite part.

the race began at the entrance to sundance canyon, right off the highway, and the riders climbed a total of 8.2 miles and 2,800 vertical feet of elevation to the top.  david completed the climb in his best time of 55 minutes.  he won a 2nd place medal for his age category (recreational riders don't get cash prizes).

there were a couple of official teams racing--it was really neat to see them in matching jerseys and riding shorts--and they all had shaved their legs!!  david felt left out as one of the only guys without shaved legs.    

my little brother: an amendment requested by my mom

my mom commented to me by email* i didn't post enough photos of me with my little brother in my post about my brothers.  "don't you remember you were like his little mother?"  she asked.  i doubt jon erik checks our blog (i know, it is pretty lame), but here's an amendment post just for him!

jon erik was born 5 days before i turned 3.  my mom had him at home, in her bedroom in our townhouse on _____ way in ______ virginia**.  christian and i were present for the whole labor.  my grandparents were there and kept shuttling christian and me to the bathroom to wash our feet because there was newspaper all over the bedroom floor.  my mom was so focused during the whole labor--my dad made me go over and rub her leg in support and love, but i remember feeling very embarrassed to do so as i was a very, very, very shy child.  but i did, and i don't think my mom noticed--she was too busy breathing (she has since told me she does remember me sucking my thumb and giving her support).  as far as my almost-three-year-old memory goes, the whole labor was pretty quick, and i remember feeling like we were a part of something exciting and special (i think due to that experience my parents never had to field a "where do babies come from" question).  i was so amazed with the whole process and loved my little brother the minute he made an appearance into the world.  the midwife cleaned him up and wrapped him in a blanket and put a sock hat on his head.  the first thing i did was give him a kiss on his head.  christian told me i shouldn't do that because i might hurt him.  i immediately dubbed jon erik my pseudo baby and as my mom said, i became his little mother.  we did everything together growing up.    
while christian was at school, jon erik and i played school at home.  i think this was actually when i was in am kindergarten, but after i got home i taught jon erik everything i learned that morning.  this must have been a "music day" when we made our very own guitars and strummed like rock stars.  i have always loved jon erik's sense of individual fashion--he was born with this fashion gene and always put things together no one else would think of.  here's an example:  duck suspenders and flannel plaid.  in the summer it was a bathing suit and the 80s moon snow boots.    
here we are in the early spring or fall of 84, i think.  my mom always kept my hair cut really short growing up (to help diffuse the confusion that i was in fact a girl with a boys name?...just kidding...i LOVE my name--maybe some day i'll devote an entire post to my name...wouldn't that be exciting?)--this was the first time i could put my hair up in pigtails.  there i am, holding on to jon erik like always.   
in our spare time we played dress ups.  jon erik was a good sport--from barrettes to shoes.
after the townhouse we moved into a house with a long private drive that was perfect for playing on.  we shared the drive with our nextdoor neighbors, whose part of the drive went up a tiny hill/incline.  the neighbor girls had the coolest 80s toys (my little ponies, strawberry shortcake big wheels, frogger mini-arcade game, he-man and she-ra toys, glo-worms, light bright, etc)--jon erik and i loved taking the big wheel out for a spin.  he'd latch on to me like a sloth and we'd start at the neighbor's garage at the top of this incline, and see how far we could go down the hill without pedaling.  ahhh, those were the days.  

* the irony of this is that my mom doesn't believe in blogs--she thinks it makes it easier for terrorists and stalkers to find us.  maybe i should privatize the blog?  i don't know...i don't think i have enough presence in the world to make the bad guys want to find me.  

**mom called and told me i shouldn't put places and names on here.  so i deleted them.

happy 4th

david and i had our four year anniversary on june 19th, but the 4th of july weekend was our first free weekend to do something fun to celebrate it.  we had a gift certificate to the blue boar inn in midway burning a hole in our pockets, so we spent it in style.  friday night we had a very fancy dinner at the inn, went to the midway memorial hill to watch the fireworks, and then back to the inn for cream puffs and a fancy room for the night.  the next morning we got up early for a hot air balloon ride over heber valley.  our digital camera's batteries died in the middle of the fireworks, so we had to use a disposable camera for our balloon ride.  i picked up a "highly versatile" camera, thinking  it would cover all lighting, indoor/outdoor, etc....david later told me "versatile" is the marketing way of saying "not specialized in anything"...in other words, the photos are grainy, and obviously not digital.  ha! oh well!

stretching out the balloon to get it ready to inflate.  we had a total of 10 people riding in the basket!  the pilot brought his wife and two kids, a couple that were friends of the pilot, another couple going for the ride, and us.  

inflating the balloon with a fan to get it open enough to add the gas.





up in the air!  david and i are both kind of iffy when it comes to heights, but the ride was so smooth, and the pilot so competent we felt safe.  pilot's tip: look out, not down.



while we were floating over the valley the pilot told us the history of ballooning.  it started in the mid-18th century with a duck, a sheep, and a rooster.  scientists at that time weren't sure if there was oxygen 50 feet straight up, so they decided to test the first official balloon flight with these three unfortunate guinea pigs.  fortunately, they survived, and the ballooning continued.  here we are at around 1,000 feet! (and still breathing)




here we are coming in for the landing.  you can see our shadow over the buildings.  it was interesting--we would float one way at one altitude, and another way at another altitude.  the pilot definitely knew what he was doing, and we landed exactly where he had planned.



getting the balloon dropped down to he ground, and getting the air out of it.  it's called "milking" the balloon.

this was definitely a great way to spend an anniversary!  we are very excited for our plans over the next year and feel very blessed to be working together to move forward.  we love our life together!