Endurance mountain biking… this is not something I normally do, opting instead for casual day rides around the Wasatch Front where I can have a post-ride beer at the trailhead and sleep in my own bed at a reasonable hour. So why the hell did I coerce my friends into joining me for the sufferfest known as 25 Hours in Frog Hollow? Because it’s the kind of endurance event that is more about the fun of riding bikes than how long or fast you can go.
25 Hours in Frog Hollow is Utah’s premiere 24-hour mountain bike race, and is considered to be the “longest one-day race in the world.” Why is it 25 hours instead of the standard 24? Because it takes place on the autumn daylight-savings time change. In the middle of the race, at 2 a.m., the clocks fall back on hour, making the 10 a.m. start and finish a total of 25 hours long.
Our 4-person male team, consisting of myself, Mason Diedrich, Sean Zimmerman-Wall and Adam Symonds, was uncreatively named “UtahOutside.com.” Three of us trained all summer riding an average of three days a week with long rides happening on the weekends. Adam, however, only rode once and was considered our “weak link.” Hell, we were afraid he might only have one lap in him.
Race day arrived and we set up camp about as far away from the starting line as you can get. Our spot on the outskirts was part of the tent city known as “Frog Town,” and this pop-up community of mountain bikers had a very cool vibe. Kids rode around on little bikes, dogs chased each other in the sand, and all riders met and shared the stoke of mountain biking on a beautiful, autumn desert weekend.
At 10 a.m. (9 a.m. Frog Time) the air horn went off and the first riders ran to their bikes in a classic Le Mans start. Sean was in the very front of the pack, sprinting to his bike so fast that he was the first one to ride to the top of the initial hill. According to race organizers, the average time to ride the 13-mile loop is 1 hour, 25 minutes. But the first rider to complete the loop did it in around 45 minutes! Sean was not far behind, however, crossing the transition point in just over an hour. He handed me the baton (actually a clothespin with our team name written on it with a sharpie) and I took off for our team’s second lap.
The 25 Hours of Frog Hollow loop was fun and full of variety. It started off with a few miles of dirt road that undulated over a couple of low-grade hills. This was easy riding and an ideal way to start as it’s a good warmup. Then the loop turned left onto a double track that wound through washes and mini-ridges before becoming actual singletrack. As the trail climbed to the start of the JEM Trail, it alternated between singletrack and double track. It followed dry creek bottoms and old jeep roads. It climbed slowly with the occasional steep grinder to keep your legs honest. But overall the climb was not real technical or difficult. Once at the JEM Trail, the real fun began.
Anybody who has mountain biked outside Hurricane has probably done the JEM Trail, and if you have, you know what a blast it is. This classic descent began with the “JEM Drop” a technical, loose and chunky downhill that most riders (myself included) chose to walk. Personally, I didn’t want to crash and injure myself with 24-hours of laps left to go. After The JEM Drop, the trail was nothing but fast and fun, with lots of curves, turns, and enough of a grade to keep up speed.
Beyond the singletrack, the loop turned back onto a dirt road for a very fast and smooth descent down to where the loop connected with the Hurricane Rim Trail. This section was the most technical part of the ride with lots of steep, punchy, rock uphill sections consisting of steps and boulders. I called these “tire stoppers” because if you don’t clear them with your front tire, you’d stuff your wheel into the step and completely stop, forcing you to dismount and walk. After the tire-stuffers, another section of singletrack descended back down to Frog Town where a final push through the tent city took you to the transition tent where you handed off the baton to the next rider.
Personally, my favorite part was the night laps. Pedaling in the darkness, with nothing but the circle of your head and handlebar lamps lighting the way, was a surreal experience. I felt completely alone when nobody was trying to pass me, and the course was silent. All I could hear was the sound of my tires rolling over the dirt. The air was cool, and the moon peeked out from bluffs and cliffs from time to time as my only companion. I wish I could have had more than two night laps, because they both were divine.
Everybody in our 4-man team completed five laps, (Adam included) and our times were good enough for 13th place out of 19 teams.
As someone who doesn’t do endurance rides, I found 25 Hours in Frog Hollow to be a blast. The event was far more than just a bike race – it was an experience where the mountain biking tribe got together and celebrateed that thing we all love most – riding bikes.
For more info or to keep track of when registration begins for next year, visit 25hoursinfroghollow.com