Tour de St. George

We all sat in "Ah" as we watched Lance Armstrong win his 7th straight Tour de France. Maybe some of us watched those moments and thought, "What's the big deal?" Well friends, let me tell you, I experienced what the big deal was on February 23rd. Myself, Kyle (My Brother), Brady and Chase (My Brother-in-laws), and Jeff (My Wife's cousin) all headed down to St. George to ride the "St. George Century." This is a 100 mile bike ride from Bloomington Utah all the way to the mouth of Zion National Park and back. Last year I attempted this ride and was unable to finish, and so this year I was not going to let that happen again.

We started our journey that morning with great anticipation of what the day would hold. With excitement, we went to the alleged starting gate and found that no one was there. We were in the wrong place. So with some quick scrambling we found ourselves back on track, but just a little late.

We dismounted the bikes from our trusty Sport Utility Vehicle (OK, my mini van) and quickly scurried on our way. We were fresh, our legs were ready and our spirits were good. And then...tragedy! Our resident expert cyclist, Jeff, went down on mile three due to some wet roads. As he lay there I thought, "Maybe this is our out...we won't have to finish the ride. Man Down!" But to no avail. Jeff gallantly rose from his incident and saddled himself back on the bike and began to lead us back up the road. It was truly a feat of bravery! Well done Jeff!

The ride was going well until we hit mile 54. We had just experienced an excruciating climb and were headed into Springdale, UT when I felt myself "Hit the Wall." About this same time my brother-in-law Brady was in the same boat. We looked at each other as if to say, "I'm comfortable laying my bike down and snuggling with you if you are comfortable with it!?" But no, we kept riding. As we continued, the fatigue and pain continued and there were moments where I felt delirious. It was in those moments I believe I saw my deceased ancestors running along side me pushing me up the hill. :) But we kept riding. Mile 58 brought a much needed rest stop to eat some food and pop some ibuprofen. With nutrition and drugs surging through my system, things were looking up. We had reached the half way mark, and our most debilitating climbs were behind us. And then mile 97 hit! Now at mile 97 you think that you are through the worst of it. At mile 97 the motivational music starts playing in your head. At mile 97 endorphins kick in that create a sense of accomplishment that you have achieved the unachievable. But no, at mile 97 we were faced with ANOTHER CLIMB! At that point I thought of getting off my bike and throwing it at the side of the hill, only to never cycle again! As I started the climb, I recognized that this was going to be much more mental than physical at this stage. The mind plays funny tricks with you as you go through an exercise like this. It is in these moments that you appreciate athletes who have overcome obstacles to achieve greatness. All I could think about was not quitting! I didn't want to be the only one to not finish. I didn't want my kids to see me not finish.

We overcame the hill and road to the finish where my sister-in-law (Heather)had her two daughters (Krissy and Kendall) and my two kids (Parker and Maddie) were waiting for us. It was liberating to finish. It was as if nothing in this world could stop us. These are the events in our lives that define us and give us hope. It is in these moments that we define who we are and what we are made of. This transcends the event and defines the character. We experience what we are made of, and in that we define who we are!

Lance, this was a big deal and thank you for inspiring us all. I'm out! -E

"What would life be if we had no courge to attempt anything?" - Vincent van Gogh