STORIES OF MY SUFFERFEST.: 25 Hours In Frog Hollow!

This was my second ever solo 24 hour event. This race falls on the day of time change so we "fall back" an hour and the race is actually 25 hours long. The race was in Hurricane, Utah. The course was freaking awesome! Pure desert mountain biking. The course was a 13 mile loop with about 7 miles of double track(which was mainly climbing) and the rest was singletrack. The singletrack was a treat every lap. The "jem trail" was a fast and flowy downhill that had me grinning like a kid every lap no matter how bad I was suffering. It is now seriously one of funnest downhills I've ever done. I would say the last 10 minutes of the lap was the most difficult of the course, it has short and steep full effort climbs and several rock gardens that required alot of energy use and it seemed like I would barely crawl through that section every lap at 3mph, I probably would have been better off to walk like most others were.

I didn't have huge expectations for this race. I was expecting good competition however in endurance events like this, you are your competition. ANYTHING can happen and I challenge everyone who has never raced a solo to do so and live one of the best experiences you'll ever have on two wheels. Riding through the day, watching the sunset, cruising through the peaceful night then having the incredible sensation of the powerful sunrise to brighten your spirits, it is truly a spiritual event riding your bike all day long. After all, most no one does any activity for a solid day.

My friend and BOSS Jonathan Davis let Richie and I take his Ford Transit down to the race. He has this rig so pimped out. Sleeper on top, Sleeper inside along with a cook station and full electricity. It was a luxury and a huge aid to our pit camp. I wasn't sweating the race too much once we arrived, I was calm and collective. I prepared my bottles in the morning over breakfast, made sure I had plenty of food options near our tent and I hung all of my clothes on the railing of the tent for easy access at night. My only goal was to keep moving, I wasn't wanting to waste much time pitting but it's needed fo sho.

The first lap was a little faster than I initially probably should have been going. Everyone was smokin' fast so I found a comfortable pace, studied the course and settled in. My heart rate was super high, so I knew I was well rested and I knew it was going to be a good race right off the bat. Richie(who was racing DUO with Josh) said it best and I caught myself saying this over and over all night in my head, "24 solo's are an eating contest, not a bike race". Eating isn't as much of a problem for me as much as downing liquids, I had an idea to remove a bottle cage from my bike and carry one bottle in my pocket. I absolutely HATE bottles in my pocket. So that was the demon on my back the entire race to remind me and to force me to drink and get the weight off my back! It worked well. First lap time was 52 mins, one down, 24 hours to go!

My second lap was 55 mins long, my third 60mins including a short pit stop. By the third lap I was up into 3rd place. The other two guys ahead of me were killing it. Almost XC pace, I reminded myself to not get caught up in the ego trip, save the juice for nightfall when everyone else get sleepy and grouchy. My first mistake came just at sundown, I went out on a lap(lap 8, I think) thinking I could beat the dark. WRONG! I got caught in the dark about 3 miles to the pits. I literally almost rode off the mesa before the last downhill and totally would have died, it was some scary shit but I survived. FYI, the sun sets fast in the desert. And when it does, it gets cold fast!

Luckily, I love night riding, so I was anticipating nightfall. By 1am I was in 2nd place and had already traded a few attacks with 1st place but he was faster than me in the rocks. Around 3am I ate some veggie soup and I swear it made me a new man, I turned two 71min laps back-to-back after that soup. I was able to catch and fly by the 1st pace dude. I was now in control of the race.

I had extra motivation knowing he'd be gunning for me and chasing me for the win. I was eagerly awaiting the sun to rise. As it peaked over the mountains and the clouds lit up blue I wanted to stop. It was such a beautiful sight. This is a damn amazing world we live in and I cannot believe some of the things I get to see because of a bike ride!

After sunrise, I was full of energy and with the possiblity of setting a new course record, I was cookin'. It was going to come down to the wire and that it did. At the end of my 20th lap(260 miles down!) I had to do my next lap, including pit time in under 66mins. I rode a 56 min lap, 60min with a pit stop). It literally destroyed my body. I was out of the saddle on every climb, constantly pushing that extra gear I didn't think I had. But I knew I could do it. Solo's are all about believing in yourself. I wrapped up the win with that effort and the 22lap was up for grabs if I wanted the course record. No other solo rider made the cutoff time of 25 hours. I cruised an easy 22nd lap to end a total race time of 26:18. 286 miles later, I was done.

I was in such a deep zone in that race it's difficult to look back and reflect on much other than the drive I had to race as hard as I could. I feel so blessed to be able to ride how I do. This race was dedicated to my Uncle Roy. I used to love riding bikes with him as a child. Roy was mental challenged. He was my best friend and he was my motivation to beat that record.

Thanks to everyone who made this event happen, I know it cannot be easy and it must take hella organization. To sum up an amazing weekend, my teammates Richie and Josh won the mens open duo race as well. They freakin' smoked it, no one was even close. Way to destroy it 92FIFTY'!!

The course was crazy dusty and my throat is taxed from huffing all that desert air.

Check out the condition of my bike.