24-Hours of Moab Mountain Bike Race Is This Weekend

Earlier today I posted a video and mentioned how great the mountain biking is in Moab, Utah, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that this weekend also marks the 15th annual 24-Hours of Moab mountain bike race, which has become one of the top endurance riding events of the year.

The event gets underway tomorrow and runs into Sunday, and will feature 550 individuals, two- and four-person teams. As the name implies, they ride for 24 hours straight in a true test of conditioning. Many riders will simply hope to finish, while others will try to rack up as many laps as they can in that time frame. 

The course features some tremendous drops to go along with the big climbs. Each lap features roughly 1360 feet of climbing as well as downhill sections that will have the riders hitting speeds in excess of 40 mph. That's scary enough during the daytime, but think about how fast that can be at night, after you've been riding for 12+ hours already. 

The weather is expected to be quite nice for the race, with temperatures hitting about 70ºF during the day and dropping into the 40's at night. Rain is out of the forecast as well, which means it should be a pleasant day for a ride. 

The 24-hours of Moab begins at noon local time tomorrow and will continue until noon on Sunday.