This week, James and I are in Tucson, Arizona to participate in the 24th edition of 24 hours in the Old Pueblo, a mountain bike race in the Sonoran desert. Charmingly known as the “Burning Man” of mountain bike races, this race attracts top pros and amateurs looking for a fun day out on the bike. 

I first heard about 24HOP when I got into mountain biking in 2016. I had it on my cycling bucket list but didn’t think much of it until James posted about assembling a crew to participate in 2024.

The Gist

Complete as many laps of the race course as you desire in 24 hours. Participants can enter individually or as a team in a relay-style event. James and I will be participating as part of a 4-person team.

The VIbes

It’s a race! It’s a ride! It’s a party!

24HOP is one of those events that caters both to the serious racer and the more casual adventurist (e.g., see this photo gallery which includes a guy in sandals riding the rock drop with a keg hitched to his bike). The vibes seem to resemble what I would imagine a 24-hour CX race would look like if everyone was camping, there was a DJ, a bike and gear expo and a costume party all going on at the same time.

The race is organized around a makeshift town (known as 24 Hour town) which springs up overnight and sits alongside the course. All participants and volunteers camp in 24 Hour town which during the race will have its own radio station dedicated to keeping folks up to date on the race. 

The event, while physically challenging, doesn’t take itself too seriously. The race starts with a quarter of a mile Le Mans style sprint — which is a very very long distance to run in MTB shoes. 

The Course

The course is a 16.4 mile non-technical mountain bike loop with 8 miles of singletrack. The first 6 miles are net downhill largely on wide jeep track trail. Per the Event Guide, there are a few steep rollers on this section that can be tricky and are to be watched out for.

The main features on the single track look to be some tight and sweeping corners and very narrow cactus lining the trail. However, towards the tail end of the lap it does look like there are some rockier sections that require a little extra focus.

From what I can piece together from rider interviews, it seems like the course is physically unrelenting where you are on the pedals a majority of the time. The fastest riders (men & women) have completed the course in about an hour. 

In line with the spirit of the event, the course offers a few A and B lines as well as different routing options to accommodate a variety of skill and comfort levels. E.g., there is a re-route for riders that do not want to ride the steep rollers mentioned above.

are you afraid of the Dark?

Frankly, yes. At least a little bit. One of the many interesting challenges of the race will be riding the course in a variety of lighting conditions. As the course is unlit, the event requires participants to ride with lights during the night. We are fortunate to have partnered with Magicshine’s lighting systems and will be posting a review on the performance of their lights after this event.

If you want to follow our team, the Ruffy Tuffy Crew, live tracking can be found here. The race starts at 12pm MST on 2/17 and finishes 12pm MST on 2/18.