In the wee hours of the morning, Nov. 2, during the 25 Hours in Frog Hollow single-track bike race, Jasperite Ryan Gardiner hit a drainage ditch and pitched over his handlebars.
Gardiner had been riding essentially non-stop for almost 20 hours. The last several of those were in darkness, and his brief loss of focus was enough to plunge him off the course.
鈥淚t surprised me. I was kind of in one of those dazed, just-kind-of-riding-along moments and my concentration kind of went away a little bit, and I just went off the course and crashed,鈥� Gardiner recalled in a Nov. 10 interview.
As soon as he hit the dirt he heard the air hissing out of his tire, so he lunged for the rubber and jammed it back onto the rim. Luckily it re-sealed, and Gardiner would go on to make the podium in the Solo-Male category.
A look at the official race results shows 鈥淐orporal punishment鈥� in third place, completing 18 laps in just over 24 hours.
Andrew Bovard, another Jasper local, was also in Hurricane, Utah for the one-day bike race. He competed in the Solo-Male Single Speed category, and managed to snag a fourth-place finish, despite having to call it quits after about 20 hours.
In the world of marathon bike racing, 25 Hours in Frog Hollow is unique. The race is held during the switch back from daylight savings time, allowing race organizers to squeeze an extra hour into the race day.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of torture-y,鈥� Bovard joked Nov. 10.
He explained that most 24-hour races run from noon to noon. But along with adding an extra hour, Frog Hollow also starts at 10 a.m., throwing a wrench into the mental timetable most marathon racers are accustomed to keeping.
鈥淭wenty-fours are always tough; they鈥檙e definitely a game of survival,鈥� Bovard said. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 just go in there, you鈥檝e really got to think of everything.鈥�
On top of the weird schedule, the race was a brutal one this year, because the unpredictable desert weather took a nasty turn early on.
Bovard explained that shortly after the race started, the dry conditions gave way to bitter cold wind and a constant drizzle, mucking up the course and chilling participants. Gardiner said there was even hail at the highest elevations of the course.
鈥淲ho knew the desert could just let loose with rain and hail?鈥� he asked with a slight shrug.
It was those brutal conditions that forced Bovard to drop out around the 20-hour mark. He explained his hands were so frozen he couldn鈥檛 feel them anymore.
Gardiner managed to beat the chill by changing into some of his winter riding gear, and pumping up the intensity during the coldest parts of the night.
He and Bovard both rode self-supported for the race, which meant no pit crews cheering them on, helping them through equipment changes or keeping them fed and hydrated.
Gardiner said he was proud to have finished the race self-supported, which requires even more mental focus than what is normally required in a 24-hour endurance race.
Both Gardiner and Bovard said riding the race was a treat, especially since it gave them a chance to ride against a competitive field, including some top-notch talent from Europe. With Gardiner planning to ride in the world championships next year, he said it鈥檚 always good to have another race under his belt.
Trevor Nichols
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