Young Rider

For an early birthday present, Ryan got Ava her first bike. It has no pedals so she can just walk it around or scoot around on it. She hasn't quite gotten the hang of it, but she does still love bikes. And pictures of bikes. And bike videos. And bike races on TV.

There are few things that keep Ava's attention for more than 30 seconds. The only 2 things we've found so far that will keep her entertained are looking through photos (mostly of herself) and watching biking videos, like this one. This also keeps Mom and Dad entertained. But seriously, she'll sit and watch bike video after bike video. Dad has trained her well.

Danny MacAskill is beyond amazing.

Bragging Rights

Ryan won second place in the Frozen Hog mountain bike race yesterday!
He even took a wrong turn and still managed that. The night before, he had said to me, "It will be interesting to see how I do in this race tomorrow, because I'm not super in shape, but I'm not really out of shape either." Guess he was in shape enough! And he got a little red grade-school-style 2nd Place ribbon. Aaaw.
And his friend Todd got first place! Yay Todd!

The ULCER

No, not a stomach ulcer. THE ULCER. Utah Lake Century Epic Ride. Ryan did it last Saturday (it's a 109-miler around Utah Lake). He did well and Ava and I were there to greet him at the finish line. To me 100 miles is a big deal, something to train for. To Ryan, it's no biggie. But I'm still celebrating for him! Way to go!

Century Ride: Check

This weekend I completed my first ever 100 miler (first ever biking event, actually). It was the all-women's Little Red Riding Hood Century Ride. Except for a little collision at mile 10 (no thanks to misinformation from a cop), it went fabulously*. We had a great time riding the scenic route in northern Utah and Idaho. The weather was great too. But despite 3 applications of SPF 50, I still got some funky sunburns. I definitely want to do it again next year (the ride, not the suburn).
Ryan and Ava were there at the finish to celebrate with me. Thanks for coming hon! And thanks Sheri for inviting me to join you guys!

Me, Michelle, Sheri, and Sarah (after the ride, wearing our free tiara's)

*amazingly neither of us was seriously injured, just a couple of bruises for me. Plus a very bent rim and spoke and handlebars, all of which got repaired by the fabulous support crew, allowing me to finish the ride. I may have to replace the wheel, and at least replace a spoke, so I'm glad I decided no to ride my brand new bike which has expensive wheels!
** Sheri and Sarah are hardcore. Sarah just did a half Iron Man, did the century today, is doing a marathon next weekend, is doing LOTOJA in the fall (a 210 mile bike race through 3 mountain passes--Ryan did it last year), and just signed up for a full Iron Man. Don't mess with her. And Sheri hasn't been on her bike in 2 years, and has a 4 month old baby, and still breezed through.

Corner Canyon Ride

Ryan went mountain biking at Corner Canyon (behind the Draper temple) with Jake and Todd, and Jake took lots of pictures. Here are a few of them:And here's Todd hitting a jump and then goofing around:

LOTOJA completed!

So last weekend Ryan and some friends completed the much anticipated 206 mile bike race know as Lotoja. Stands for Logan-to-Jackson, in case you didn't know. It took tons of training all summer and it was a big goal, but they all successfully completed it and had a great time. Ryan said it wasn't actually as hard as he had expected! He did a lot of canyon climbing to train... Wish I had a photo, but at least we've got the sticker now, that will be going on the car rear window! Way to go Ryan, Jake, and Todd!