18 Hours of Fruita is a mountain bike endurance race that is both a competitive event and a fun party in one. 2010 is the sixth year of the race and the course this time around was lengthened to around seven miles as it winds around Highline Lake just north of Loma, Colorado.
Although located just over the border in Fruita, Colorado, 18 Hours of Fruita is a race that always sees an impressive showing from Utah teams, including Over the Edge Sports in Hurricane, Utah Mountain Biking.com and the team I was part of, Lung Butter.
18 Hours of Fruita 2010 started at midnight on Saturday, May 7th on the beach at Highline Lake State Park. The race began at a LeMans style starting line where bikes were left in the sand and racers lined up to wait for the countdown. When the “white rabbit” (actually a guy in a diaper) ran across the beach, the mayhem began as racers scrambled for their bikes to jockey into a front position.
In the hours before dawn, the course was lit up by the head and handlebar lamps of hundreds of bikes. The nighttime laps were cold as temperatures dropped into the mid-thirties, but hard riding kept everyone warm until the sun rose over the horizon.
As the light filled Western Colorado, the landscape revealed itself and the lake that we all could hear in the night could now be seen.
The race course starts out loose with a fine, talcum powder like consistency. After pedaling frantically up the first steep (but short) hill, the trail levels out with views of the lake, sharp corners and bumpy singletrack where a new section of trail was added to the loop.
One of the best parts of the 18 Hours of Fruita experience besides the race itself, was watching all the different teams, as each was flamboyant in their own way. Along with our team, Lung Butter and our mascot, Mike the Headless Chicken, there was also the Dam Beavers, Booty Maintenance, and the Moustachio Nuts just to name a few.
As the course worked around the lake, a slalom-style, bobsled section added a whole lot of fun to the ride before it reached a few paved sections and the final push up some switchbacks after the Highline Lake Dam.
It was here, as the riders came back into the campground, that the cheering section amped riders up as they cheered, rang cow bells and guided exhausted competitors to the finish line.
For the bulk of the 18 hours, the finish line was simply where a fresh rider took over (unless it was a crazy soloist). But on the final lap of the day as everyone anticipated the free taco bar and New Belgium beer, the finish line became party central. 18 hours of testing everyone’s endurance came to an end at 6pm on Saturday and the race was over.
Team Lung Butter came in 7th place out of 12 coed teams. Considering it was our first race ever and we were more concerned with drinking beer than riding, we were proud of our result and had a hell of a good time getting there. As a mountain biking experience, 18 Hours of Fruita proved to be a chilled out and relaxed event where riders of all ability levels could come together and enjoy something we all love… riding bikes.
For more information or to prepare for next year’s event, check out 18 Hours of Fruita at www.emgcolorado.com
Also, check out the video below.
18 Hours of Fruita 2010 from Utah Outside on Vimeo.