Wow, I can't believe it's been like 3 weeks since I've written. Yikes! Well, it's not like I don't have anything to say or nothing going on that's for sure. Oh and I'm glad you all found my new site here at Go211 and I hope you like it.
So I just got back from Sea Otter on Sunday and it was the longest 4 days ever! I've been there so many years in a row that I pretty much know the schedule, but for obvious reasons this year was so much different.
When I first decided to go to Sea Otter I thought it was a great idea. I really missed everybody and it was kind of like I wanted to see them because everything for the past 8 months has seemed very surreal. I just missed my riding buddies ya know. However, once I got there it was so much harder than I had anticipated. Watching them with all their new race kit on, riding through the pits getting their bikes ready, and putting their number plates on. It was so hard to see that and I was just sitting there. It was bullshit because I should have been putting my number plate on and getting butterflies in my stomach getting ready for the slalom race.
Instead I made my little home for those 4 days at the Tara Llanes Road to Recovery / Giant for Women booth. Giant had made these really nice banners and posters for the tent and they came out great! It gave people a chance to sort of see where I was and see how far I've come in my therapy. Throughout the day I had so many people come up to me and let me know they were supporting me one way or another. By just letting me know they were praying for me, telling me their stories, by buying a t-shirt/hoodie/tarabalm, or by buying a raffle ticket. We had a lot going on all weekend and it got a bit hectic at times, but it was a good thing. By the end of the weekend I wondered how I was able to sit all day everyday there, but then realized that it was the people that helped me sort of forget the pain for a bit. I met some really amazing people over the weekend that just proved that never giving up can put you back on your feet. So thank you Jackie and Aaron. You two are truly amazing.
Okay, so Saturday was by far the longest day out of all of them. We got there around 9:00 am and didn't end up leaving the venue until about 7:30pm! Oh and by "we" I mean myself and 4 of my closest and best friends. Polly, Missy, Kim, and Jaymie kicked ass and helped me sooo much throughout the weekend. They helped me run the booth, keep things in order, and make sure I wasn't trying to do too much. Also, I want to thank Travis, Tabitha, and Russ from Giant for helping with setting up the booth. Thanks guys! We were at the booth all day and it was SOOO cold that day. We all ended up having wind burn by the end of it!
We all went over to watch the pro dual slalom finals and also to give away all the prizes that were in the raffle. Right when we got there I rolled up near the announcing tent just to watch the racing and also be there when they finished and could then use the microphone to call out the raffle winners. Well, as soon as I went over Larry Longo handed me a mic and just kind of threw me in the mix of commentating the slalom race and I have to say I had a lot of fun doing it. I don't know if I sounded good or not, but it was a cool. Besides it actually got my mind a bit off the fact that I wasn't racing it. Greg Minnaar ended up winning the men's and Sabrina Jonnier won the women's race. Everytime the riders came down and if they happened to win that heat they would get a $20 bill. Well, by the time the race was over I had about 5 or 6 riders come and just give me a wad of $20's as a donation. I was really overwhelmed by that. It just goes to show that we really are one big amazing family and we always want to help in anyway we can. Thanks you guys!!
So we sold a ton of raffle tickets on Friday, but thanks to Eric Carter, Monica from Michelin, and Bob Burnes, they walked up and down the slalom course on Saturday and just absolutely worked it and we had a great crowd for the raffle. I can't thank everyone for participating. From every company that supported me with donating product to every person that bought a ticket. Carlos Cardona from Lava-tours.com in Costa Rica who donated a trip to Costa Rica, Giant bicycles for donating an STP 1 complete bike, Eric Wallace from Thule bike racks for donating 2 racks, Forrest from mtbr for donating the Santa Cruz Nomad frame, Michelin tires, Smith optics, Hayes brakes, and Sun/Ringle rims. I hope I'm not forgetting anybody. Oh and I wanted to post a picture of the winners, but I don't have those pics so if you do please send them in and I'll try and post them. So needless to say the raffle went off without a hitch and I think everybody was stoked.
On Sunday we were all pretty tired. I wanted to get up to watch the downhill race, but it just didn't happen. I heard it was a tougher course this year so that was good. Greg Minnaar won the men's DH and Melissa Buhl won the women's. Jaymie was a champ and finished 22nd on a borrowed 10-inch travel bike, which was a job well done especially when you only needed about 4-5 inches of travel!
Right after Jaymie's race we packed it up and got outta there. We were all exhausted, wind burned, and getting sick off of the kettle korn, but we all had smiles on our faces and were already talking about coming back next year. Of course I plan to be riding by then!
Until next time....
tara
Never Give Up!
