LOTOJA: A 22-year tradition begins in Logan
They came and went.
Before most students opened their eyes Saturday morning, LOTOJA Classic, one of the longest single day bicycle races in the country, took off in downtown Logan.
At 6 a.m, in front of Sunrise Cyclery, 138 N. 100 East, riders prepared themselves for an entire day of road cycling through Northern Utah, Idaho and Wyoming.
The first pack of 50 racers started at 6:30 a.m. Every four minutes, another pack of 50 took off and by around 8 a.m. most of the racers were well on their way.
After 188 miles of hills and canyons, the race finished in Alpine, Wyo., about 50 miles south of Jackson.
While some racers left their hometown, some racers were returning.
“I’m on my way home,” Drew Gillingwators, a resident of Jackson, said before starting.
Gillingwators said he is an avid racer, but this is his first time in competing LATOJA.
“I think it’s a great event. It’s very well organized,” he said.
The annual LOTOJA bicycle race, in its 22nd year, has become more popular each time and for the first year has capped off at 1,000 racers. Last year, the number was just over 860.
“Register early,” Brent Chambers, director of LOTOJA, advised to those interested in racing next year.
The race might become more popular, but the amount of racers is set.
“The cap is 1,000 racers on the road at one given time,” Chambers said. “The reason we won’t raise it is basically we have 22 starts and no one group can be greater than 50. We can’t go earlier than 6:30, because it’s dark and if we start much later than 7:54, those people who start with the last group don’t finish before dark.”
And simply to make it by dark isn’t that easy. To finish in 12 hours, the rider must average at least 15 mph, at the same time negotiating the elevation gain.
Salt River Pass in Wyoming is the highest point of the race at an elevation of 7,630 feet.
But winning isn’t the goal of all 1,000 participants.
“I’m just hoping to finish,” said first-time racer Eric Peterson the night before the race.
For training, Peterson rode three-four hours a day and six hours on weekends. He said he’s joining the bandwagon of bicycle racing.
“I guess now, Lance Armstrong is making it popular. Everybody’s starting to get into it,” Peterson said. “As you get older, you try to find things to do to exercise.”
To race in LOTOJA, one doesn’t need to complete the entire 188 miles on their own. Some compete in a relay.
Gretchen Dennison and Clair Martin split the race in half. Training to race the entire 188 miles is a too time consuming, they said.
Martin said in order to race it all, “you would have to quit your job.”
Throughout the race, there are different feed stations where support crews pass out food and beverages on the way to fuel the cyclist.
Ogden residents Sam and Carl Westergard supported their brother and dad.
Their brother, Jessie Westergard (119) from North Ogden, won the entire race in 8 hours, 33 minutes and 38 seconds. Last year, Jessie won fourth place.
Carl said that for training this year, Jessie biked to work everyday and rode 200 miles every Sunday.
The brothers said they enjoy supporting their family in the race.
“I think it’s fun,” Sam said while at the Montpelier feed zone. “It’s just as much fun for us to come and hang out for the day as it is to race. It’s kind of like a mini vacation for our family.”
The LOTOJA Classic finished in Alpine Saturday night. Previous years, the final destination has been everywhere from Swan Valley, Idaho and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
However, since it began in 1982, LOTOJA has always started in Logan.
Chambers, who has been the director for seven years, asserts that the race will stick with tradition.
He said about Logan, “There is total, 100 percent support from city officials, to the law enforcement, to the radio communication groups and to everybody we work with. It makes it an enjoyable place to start a race.”
Logan Mayor Doug Thompson also gave his approval of the race.
“Sure it fills hotels, helps restaurants, but more importantly it’s establishing us as a great sports city,” he said. “We’ve got some great organizers in the valley who can put together great events and it just gives people a chance to see what a great valley we have.”
Thompson said he plans to give LOTOJA a try for himself next year – at least, he said, for a 50-mile section in a relay.
For complete 2004 LOTOJA Classic results, go to http://results.milliseconds.com.
-joelfeathers@cc.usu.edu