5-16-07 // Online Exclusive: An 18 Hours of Fruita Brief

Rolling down I-70 again to escape the never-ending winter of the Colorado high country. The last three weekends have seen the treads on my tires leaving prints in the dirt in Fruita and Moab. This weekend I will not be riding as much as assisting a friend who is literally coming off the couch to warm up with an 18-hour race. People like her can do that.

Arriving at the race site we are greeted by Troy Rarick (Over The Edge Sports fame and race organizer) with wine, beer and a Pooh bear in the tent that will serve as home for the next 24 hours. We partake in the said beverages and eat imported cheese and soft bread. This is the kind of race I can get into. The clock says it is 5 hours until the midnight start time, sweet!

Registration for the race is full with about 250 riders out to test themselves and their equipment for 18 hours. Smaller than many races, this one has a feel of friends-on-friends racing to be the first back to the keg. But of course there are about 27 soloists that are taking it very seriously. Each one hoping to show they can outlast the others and still be able to walk to the awards ceremony.

Rain that starts and stops more than a $5 Rolex, intermittently cakes and then washes the riders all night and through the 12 hours of daylight. Cold and shivery riders take their appointed rounds like sour medicine. Some ride with boas, some with friends, some on singlespeeds and some with every piece of gear they brought. This is a good test of a mountain biker.

Winds blow the trail dry in minutes after the rain, only to get soaked in another two hours. The trail keeps with Fruita tradition, it is one of the most fun ribbons of singletrack you have ever seen. It even holds up well to the many laps and dowsing it receives all night. Only a 6.6-mile course, it keeps the support crews on their toes as the fast laps take between 25-30 minutes.

The race, of which I miss a few hours by climbing in the tent to get some shut-eye, grinds on through the afternoon. With a break in the weather and the sun threatening to actually warm me, we all do a couple laps with our solo friends and enjoy the singletrack with smiles all around.

Winding the race down with a big cheer for the last rider for each respective team the beer starts to flow. My home team, Spot brand’s Cristina Begy finishes in first for the women and Derek Fish (Fruita local) gets the top spot for the men. They prove out both their toughness and the viability of singlespeeds by riding them to victory over many geared solo riders. Rain cranks up again right as the awards ceremony starts, just another FU from Mother Nature. That’s ok, we huddle under the Magura tent and all have a sip of the Prosecco that Troy has given the winners. Ahhhhh I love racing!