I found this picture and just love it. When I took the picture in Moab, we were toward the end of the day riding Slick Rock and just having fun. I see the pure joy of Carl in this picture and how much he loved Biking. This was such a great day.
I met Carl in 1983 at Smith’s when he was the Drug Division Warehouse Manager in Salt Lake.
In 1986 he mentioned that he had just ridded a race called the Lotoja a 203 mile race from Logan to Jackson Wyoming and after a few minutes of him describing it I was in. I had no idea of how much that race would become part of our lives.
I told him I was going to round up a bike and enter it with him the next year. I borrowed my brother’s cheap bike and rode Mill Creek Canyon a few dozen times that summer and entered it with him. That year he dropped me early on and I made it just over 100 miles before I quit. (Carl finished every Lotoja he entered)
The following year I bought a new bike that had an aluminum frame with indexed shifting, clip in pedals and trained with him. We could tell that we were pretty evenly matched and that created a competitive spirit between us. We trained hard and we were both talking about how we were going to destroy the other. Aspirin was the popular thing to take back then and so I thought if a few were good a lot must be better. Around 50 miles from the finish, I got dizzy and was suffering from aspirin poisoning. Carl could have easily left me but he backed off the pace and literally nursed me in for my first finish. I could barely ride straight coming into to Teton Village and we were probably going less than 5 miles per hour for the last 15 miles but he didn’t care, he was going to make sure I finished and together we did.
We were both young and serious about giving it a go after that. Carl bought a Specialized Allez with a Carbon top tube and for the next several years we trained hard and rode strong races. Our training rides during the season would be a 20 mile loop from the Salt Lake Warehouse around the Airport every day at lunch and on Saturdays a ride to places like Park City, Kamas, Morgan and Lehi . Together we learned how to train, intervals with a heart monitor, one legged spins, sprints up hills, club rides, spin days and various sport’s endurance and recovery drinks. We got geeky with our equipment. Carl bought his amazing Titanium Merlin, with hollow Cannondale Crank arms. I bought a one of the first Trek Carbon Bikes and we pushed and pushed each other.
There was something about Carl when it came to the day of the race. I might have ridden stronger the last time we rode prior to the race but he never had an off day for the Lotoja, he was not only physically strong but mentally was unbeatable.
One year he had a flat 30 miles into the race and had probably lost 10 minutes to the Peloton. Well I thought this year even if was his bad luck I was going to finally beat him. About 45 minutes later here comes Carl he had bridged the gap and caught us and beat me again.
He said he had his heart pegged at 200 beats per minutes for the final 10 minutes to catch us, incredible. I never heard the end of it, Carl gave me that wry smile and said “you will never beat me in the Lotoja”.
That did it I was determined that next year I would get him. I never trained so hard as I did that year. Carl, Jess Dear and I were in the same category, Bart and Conway two of Carl’s dear friends were in a different category. The three of us were strong and we dropped all but 3 others just past the half-way point. We pushed it hard and I felt strong, this was the year. We were coming into Teton Village with about a mile to go when I took my turn and rotated to the back. All things being equal Carl was the better overall rider but this year I was in a bit better shape and the one thing I could usually do was out sprint him. Well the minute I rotated to the back Carl blasted off. By the time I realized what had happened and went to the front to access the situation he was out a good 400 yards and I couldn’t reel him in. Oh man I thought, I am never going to hear the end of it, but he smiled and said that’s the only thing I could think of to do because you were riding so strong. No ribbing that year just respect for how well we did, first and second place.
We were both excited as we had knocked over an hour off our previous best times and off we went to the Mangy Moose to eat all the things we had deprived ourselves of all season and retell the stories of the day.
Normally we would ride a few rides after each Lotoja to reminisce about the season and take in the fall. I remember after that Lotoja we raced up Parleys and I nipped him to the top. He said he wanted a rematch next spring and I obliged. I didn’t take it to serious but when we lined up that spring to do the rematch I couldn’t believe it. Less than a couple of miles into the race he took off and he steadily pulled away for the entire race. I had never been dropped so hard in my life, he was at least a mile ahead at the finish. When I got to the top I said my heck how hard did you train and he smiled and said not too hard. Well he had actually gone to Bingham’s and they put him on an intense winter training program.
The following year we decided that the commitment to race it each year was so much that we would take a year or 2 off and do what he called rolling picnic rides. Those were fun times and I am sure Marilyn appreciated getting some of Carl’s time back. We got into Mountain Biking and had some great times in Moab. It was Carl’s crazy idea to do Slickrock in Moab at night so we bought some lights and somehow pulled it off.
The Red Dog rides that Carl put on were great, usually around Memorial Day. Carl would provide the sag for the gang and you didn’t have to bring anything but a bike. He would have water, Cytomax, food, tubes, tires everything you would possibly need and when we would get to the Pizza Hut in Evanston it was Carl’s treat.
After I got a new job we didn’t ride together as much and I took several years off from the Lotoja but we stayed in touch.
I remember him calling me in in 2002 telling me that he had been training for a win. One of his training rides was a 350 mile ride. 350 miles I couldn’t even imagine riding that far. He called me the Monday after the race and was so much stronger than anyone in his category that he rode solo the entire race. He was called for an infraction and had a time penalty accessed for his support vehicle crossing over the line (tickey tackey) and still finished with a spectacular time and without the benefit of the Peloton. I think that year he would have finished with the leading Cat 1 racers.
While biking was an important part of Carl’s life, there was so much depth to him. On our long rides he would talk about how proud he was of each of his children, how they were all unique to themselves different but he loved each of them so much. He was deeply religious but respected others views and never pushed his views onto others. If you asked he would open up and share as much about or as little as you were interested in. He was balanced, biking was important, but his faith and family came first including providing for them that he excelled in.
Carl was a strong man, physically, mentally and spiritually, truly loved others and made those around him better. What an amazing person he was and I am so thankful that I got to know him like I did.
I never did beat Carl when we raced the Lotoja.
Jeff Pace
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