Hot air ballooning and the wildflower pedal fest

For Mother day I surprised my Mom with a Hot air balloon ride we didn't go until the end of July

this is looking up inside the hot air balloon

Here is a view of the Heber valley from the balloon

the fire filling the balloon with hot air.

There were a lot of balloons up that day.

Here is our balloon shadow on the ground

There's Mom she is one happy ballooner

Our fearless pilot

The middle of august we did a new ride called the Wildflower Pedal fest it starts in Morgan and climbs up to big mountain and back.  just a short 75miles!

The start time was the butt crack of dawn and it was very cold, I know you would think so seeing Targee in his shorts and flip flops.

Just in time for the ride Debbie got her new Madone!!  

Pretty in Pink!  I love my bike

Tiffany shivering!  It was incredibly cold that morning.

We all sported pink heels tattoos!

There is the tattoo artist Targee, he still looks asleep?

This is him pouring cold water down Tif's sock

Here we are ready to ride
Melissa, Debbie, Tiffany, and Windi

There was a good turn out the 75mile riders got the early start.

Just waiting ready to go!

Off we go!  It was a cold go for the first 20minutes until we got warmed up.  The ride was fantastic up hill the the first half then downhill the second half.  I was very sick that day but rallied my way through it and payed for it later.

Coming into the finish!!  

We were very happy to be done.

August is the time of all our hummingbirds.  so I thought I would share one of our little friends as a final picture.

Pamperfest Challenge July 2012

July

It was a busy month we were getting ready for our relay and just enjoying the summer.

Okay so this was one of the funnier things that happened over the summer.  A squirrel got himself caught in my bird feeder.

This is one of many photos of us changing flat tires.  We deemed it "the year of the flat"  I would say we are experts in the art of flat changing now.

Then came the Rockwell Relay Pamperfest we were feeling ready
(disregard the date stamp on the photos apparently it wasn't right since it was July)

They start us off with a pancake breakfast.  I decided not to go there since I was riding the first leg.

Melissa and Targee getting ready.  Look how pretty snowbasin is in the background.

Heather's kids made us all signs to cheer us on in the race!  

Each of us holding our slogans

Deb, Heather, Melissa, and Windi

My friend Brad and he is the team bike mechanic
go BM cycle....I mean snake farm cycle.

my look says "just hurry up and start this race"

Halfway through my first leg.  I am on the north side of pineview  

coming in the finish in huntsville

It was a good first leg.  I rode hard if you can't tell by my red face.  Now Melissa is off on her first leg.

Here's Melissa heading up trapper's loop (I don't think I would be smiling)

Go team Same Cycle

Melissa cresting the top of Trapper's loop it's mostly downhill after this into Morgan

Deb getting herself ready for her leg (this is the hardest leg on the course

Melissa coming in strong

A quick exchange in Morgan 

Deb heading out her leg will take her to Henefer (she has some climbing ahead)

Tif and Shaun.  She rode the same leg as Melissa 

Deb riding strong just about to Hog's back

The worst climb on the ride (Hog's Back)  she kick butt

Look at one of our hard working support crew

Heather getting ready for her first leg.  It was getting hot at this point (little did we know what was ahead of us)

The umbrella was a great idea

Deb finishing her first leg she rode strong.

Heather off and running her leg will take her to coalville

she rode strong.

her family cheering her on!

Enjoying some time in the shade before my second leg.  It was stinking hot at this point

Heather making it in feeling good.  At this point we all had shaved time off  of our previous year's time.

Off I go on my second leg.  This to me is the harder of the two I ride from coalville to Kamas and there is no good shoulder around rockport and a lot of traffic.  But I found my carrot way ahead of me and set my goal.

I had a sprint finish with another rider so I was a bit tired when I came in.  I had to hold on to Targee just to get off the bike.  It was hot while I was riding but some clouds starting coming in.

As Melissa headed of on her 2nd leg look at the clouds behind Mike and Shae they were getting pretty dark.

Melissa coming back down from the canyon she wet the storm started to come in.

Off Debbie would go into a nasty downpour.  The kicker was the first part of her leg was a dirt road.

I wasn't 10 minutes after this picture she would be in an awful downpour.

halfway there!  Deb had made it through one downpour but there was another one up ahead.

Chillin at the top of the hill waiting for Deb to make her final climb up to the top of jordanelle.

the rain just starting again

Let the downpour begin.  She rode in this all the way into Heber.

Heather on her last leg and the last leg of the race.  She had a terrible head wind enough to make a grown man cry.  She was such a trooper.  But on a nice note the rain finally stopped.

Look at the happy team mates.

It's a fake smile.  No actually she was smiling because she had turned the corner and it was a tail wind all the way to the finish.

Coming into the finish!

Even though we had some interesting weather we still shaved time off of last year.  We were so glad to be finished.

Windi, Melissa, Debbie, and Heather
TEAM SAME CYCLE

One of the fearless support crew.

That's easy to say now we are done.