After three consecutive years of racing solo at the 24 Hours In The Old Pueblo ("24 HOP"), I called for backup. Three other retired PCSO Officers answered the call, none of whom have witnessed, let alone raced, a 24 hour mountain bike race. In fact, two have never even raced a mountain bike, at all. Not deterred by a little headwind, we formed a four man relay team shooting to each ride a Saturday afternoon lap, an evening/night lap, and maybe a Sunday morning lap. See, 24 HOP - Old Dogs New Tricks.
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| An idea hatched over coffee and donuts. Four man relay team at 24 Hours In The Old Pueblo. Craig Groseth, Dave Rubins, Mark Steele, Trent Fliginger, Tim Malone (L-R). Four riders + Trent, who will be cruising elsewhere. |
To help those teammates prepare for such an endeavor, I broke down some of the logistics. Next up was our approach to Race Day, setting our rider rotation and expectations.
For a behind-the-scenes look at our relay team preparing for a 24 hour mountain bike race, I reproduced here the communication "Race Day" that I sent out to the team.
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"Race Day at 24 Hours In The Old Pueblo!
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| Early morning Race Day at the 2024 24 HOP. |
Solid Breakfast & Final Clothes/Bike Prep For Your Lap. It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of Race Day. And that's really good. As long as you remember to make sure that you, your clothes, and your bike are ready for your upcoming lap. And remember to eat a solid breakfast and stay hydrated.
On Race Day morning, I often wander around the campsite to connect with neighbors that I met the day before and to meet those I had not. Again this year, I will track down fast friend Jesus Corona, and his support crew of Juan (his Dad) and Victor (his brother who is a CO in San Diego). They are the epitome of the joyous, generous, infectiously friendly people drawn to this event. You will feel their positive energy.
Not to temper enthusiasm, but also remember that this is a long race. Stay fed, hydrated, dry, comfortable. Most importantly, get off your feet, whenever possible.
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| Victor Corona, Jesus Corona, Juan Corona & Craig Groseth. Celebrating another year at 24 HOP and saying goodbye until next year. (image by unknown volunteer) |
First Lap Rider's Bike Drop-Off. On the way to the 10:00 Pre-Race Meeting, Tim (our first lap rider) will drop off his bike at a designated area at the end of the LeMans start. I like to stage my bike at the beginning of that area, rather than hunt for it while running into the mass of hundreds of spectators and bikes further along. That means Tim having his bike (and him) ready to roll and in place well before 10:00.
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| My Jones 29+ staged for the first lap of the 2025 24 HOP. |
Pre-Race Meeting (10:00) - Mandatory for Team Captains and encouraged for everyone. The promoter introduces the event and venue, generally explains the racing/camping rules and expectations, and lays out the upcoming schedule. It's a high energy crowd right in the middle of Gear/Expo Area. It's fun, but does go on a bit.
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| Pre-race meeting in downtown 24 Hour Town at the 2025 24 HOP. |
First Lap Rider Check-In (11:00) - After the Pre-Race Meeting, Tim will go into the Transition Tent to log in for the team's first lap and pick up the team baton (a small wooden dowel). Yes, this relay race still requires each rider to carry a team baton during the lap. Make sure to secure it. When you complete your lap, you must show the baton to the Race Marshall and then hand it to your team's next rider.
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| First lap riders gather for the LeMans Start at the 2024 24 HOP. (image by SportoGraf) |
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| Star Spangled Banner at the LeMans start of the 2025 24 HOP. |
The LeMans Start. At about 11:30, the team will go to Tim's bike that has been staged at the end of the run. He can re-set his bearings on where it is, now that hundreds of other bikes and people have filled that area. Tim will then walk about 500 meters up the dirt road to the LeMans start, all of which is well marked.
Most teammates and crew gather at the staged bike of their first lap rider, but some go up the course and even up to the start. Your option. Since I've been to that start the past three years, I'll stay by Tim's bike, to cheer him on from there and to help him actually find it in the chaos.
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| Postcard map of the course, showing the Start/Finish and proximity to the Whiskey Tree. (postcard by Epic Rides) |
Second Lap. After Tim rides out on the first lap, we can walk a couple hundred meters over to the Whiskey Tree (about Mile 9 of the 16.7 mile course) to watch riders fly by and to cheer for Tim. It's quite a scene on that first lap. (see the attached course/venue map and my blog post 24 HOP - Whiskey Tree). Tim will probably ride by at about 12:30-12:45, or so. Then, we head back to the campsite.
I anticipate that Tim's first lap will be somewhere between 1:45 and 2:00, but I really don't know. It could be much faster. So, at about 13:30 or so, the Second Lap rider (Dave) will stage his bike outside the Transition Tent and wait inside the Transition Tent in a designated area (like Court Staging, but with helmets instead of cuffs).
When Tim comes in, he will go to the appropriate table for our Team Number, state his team number and his name, and show the baton. Dave will approach the table, identify himself to the Course Marshall, secure the baton from Tim, and amble out to his bike to start his lap.
This is a 24 hour event. We don't have to rush through this transition. Tim will have just finished his first ever lap at 24 HOP and Dave is about to go out on his. Enjoy the shared experience. Stoke the fire.
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| You never know who you'll see in the Transition Tent. Here, at the 2024 24 HOP, I ran into Conor Johnson, Captain of Chill Team Ride and member of our Tucson Spoke of ChristianCycling. I later connected with Mark Berghoefer and Jovan Fritsch from our Colorado spoke, both of whom I last saw over 20 years ago. (image by Conor Johnson) |
Subsequent Laps. Now, it's just Rinse & Repeat. Tim, Dave, Mark, Craig. Tim, Dave, Mark, Craig. With each completed lap, we'll know better when to expect the teammate out on the course to finish.
Our goal is to have the next rider inside the Transition Tent, ready to roll, when the teammate comes in. If something happens that no one is ready to ride the next lap, we'll plan to have someone there to tell the incoming rider. If no teammate is inside the Transition Tent when you come in, you can choose to go out for another lap or just return to the campsite. We'll connect and figure it out from there.
No rule requires a team to have a rider out on the course at all times.
Lights. Race rules require all bikes starting a lap after 17:30 have lights. For us, I'd push that back to 16:30, since I expect laps of around 2 hours apiece and it's dusk by about 18:30 and dark by 19:00. That gives us a larger margin for contingencies, like close encounters of the Cholla kind. Most likely, Mark will start Lap 3 (his first lap) well before 16:30 and won't need to install his lights for that.
I will have lights on my bike for Lap 4 (my first lap), which likely will be the sunset lap. And everyone will have lights on their bikes for their second lap. Yeah, baby.
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| Teammates and spectators await the first lap riders running to their bikes. Orange Finishing Arch leads into the large white Transition Tent. 2024 24 HOP (image by SportoGraf) |
Between Laps. After completing a lap, return to the campsite promptly. Immediately change out of those riding clothes into riding clothes for your next lap. The temperature drops with the sun, so add appropriate layers overtop while you hang out. Give your bike a quick look, especially tires. Lube the chain. Refill the water bottle and snacks on the bike. Find some food and drink. Get off your feet. Relax. Your next lap will come around a lot sooner than you think.
Sunday Morning Laps (if any). Our team approach to this event is for everyone to ride an afternoon/evening lap on Saturday, a night lap, and then see what happens. There are no expectations of anyone riding more than those two laps, although there certainly will be opportunities for anyone wishing to do so.
For me, Sunday morning laps are magical. The rising sun paints the desert landscape and sparks an otherworldly energy surge. Temperatures rapidly rise. By mid-morning, the course dramatically empties, as many teams call it good, leaving a few hard-charging racers competing for personal goals and some slow, stubborn plodders squeezing every bit out of the experience. It's a stark contrast from the day before.
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| Another shot of the start, with 24 Hour Town in the background. 2024 24 HOP. (image by SportoGraf) |
To be an Official Finisher of 24 HOP, our last lap MUST FINISH after 12:00 noon Sunday. It doesn't matter when that last lap started. It simply must finish after 12:00. So, we'll figure out our Sunday morning during the event. One of us will finish a lap after 12:00 noon Sunday. 😎
Aftermath. Most teams pack up on Sunday morning, whether a rider is out on the course or not, and 24 Hour Town empties quickly by early afternoon. Others pack up after the event officially concludes and leave later Sunday, or even Monday.
I've left 24 Hour Town on Sunday afternoon and I've stayed until Monday. Whatever works. I currently don't have a plan, but I'd likely stay until the last of us leaves.
So, that's my take on an outline for Race Day at 24 HOP."
1 minute video overview of 24 HOP,
by promoter EpicRides.com
