LOGAN —This Saturday, Sept. 12, downtown Logan will have some 2,000 cyclists and their support groups for the 44th annual Logan to Jackson Hole bicycle race. LoToJa is the longest one-day USA Cycling-sanctioned bicycle race in the United States.
Racers will begin at 5:30 a.m. and continue until about 7 a.m. There are supposed to be 31 groups departing at four-minute intervals from 100 East and Federal Avenue in Logan.
Contestants will pedal approximately 202 to 207 miles from Logan to the finish line at Teton Village, north of Jackson Hole.
Typically, cyclists come from 40 states and five foreign countries to participate. The competitors will climb a grueling 7,000 feet from Cache Valley through parts of Idaho and Wyoming to reach the finish line.
Most participants will finish in 10 to 13 hours, and 85% of those who start LoToJa will finish.
Drivers beware, racers start in Logan and head north on U.S. 91 to Preston. From Preston, racers will take Idaho 36 to Strawberry, where there are feed zones along the way. They will head to Montpelier, then north to Afton, on Wyoming Highway 88, and continue to Thayne, Alpine and then to the finish line at Teton Village.
LoToJa started in 1983 by two Logan cyclists, David Bern, a student at Utah State University, and Jeff Keller, the owner of Sunrise Cyclery. The two men wanted a race that resembled the difficulty of a one-day European classic such as Paris-Roubaix or the Tour of Flanders.
Since its early days, LoToJa has continued to grow into one of the nation’s premier amateur cycling races.
The ride attracts a variety of male and female riders, from top-level amateur racers licensed by USA Cycling to recreational cyclists who simply want to cross the finish line for bragging rights.
LoToJa offers 31 different starting groups featuring full-distance, tandem and relay-team categories.
To win or even place in a respective LoToJa category is a prestigious achievement. Some past winners have gone on to professional cycling careers.
In addition to being a bicycle race and ride, LoToJa is a fundraising resource for the Huntsman Cancer Foundation, National Ability Center, Utah High School Bicycle League, Friends of the Bridger-Teton, Golden Moments and Bike Utah.
To date, LoToJa has contributed more than $3 million to these and other community causes from Logan to Jackson.