Not even a close encounter with a porcupine could stop Blair from his date with the annual race between Logan, Utah, and Jackson, Wyo.
Blair, 51, will compete in his 19th consecutive LOTOJA when the 22nd annual running takes place Sept. 11. He hopes to avoid another roadkill experience and keep his 100 percent completion rate intact.
I already had four flats that day and I was just trying to catch the pack. I was looking down and getting ready to stand up [and peddle harder] when I hit it, said Blair, who has also ridden over a dead dog and a crushed cat during the race. It [the porcupine] was already dead and it looked like other riders had clipped it. I had quills stuck in my front tire. It sounded like one of those kids riding around with cards in his spokes.
Although Blair has won his age category several times, crossing the finish line first is not the 51-year-old's goal.
It is kind of a head game, he said. I train well and tell myself that I am not quitting no matter what happens.
Event organizers say Blair's perfect completion rate is a record in LOTOJA history.
[Training] has become a way of life, Blair said. I know I have to train all year long. The years I have won my category, I had done about 8,000 miles of training. The years where I just finished, it was closer to 6,000.
LOTOJA was born in the early 1980s when David Bern was getting ready to graduate from Utah State University and wanted to lose a little weight.
I had been working as a cook and had about 15 or 20 pounds of extra weight. I wanted to get in shape and do something really awesome, Bern said. The idea just struck me to do a ride from Logan to Jackson Hole.
Bern wandered into Sunrise Cyclery in Logan and shared his vision. He remembers six or seven riders showing up for the first race in September 1983, although records show nine participated.
The racers met for breakfast the day after the race and talked about the future.
Everyone agreed the race had huge potential so we kept it going, said Bern. I had no idea it would turn into the 1,000 we will see this year.
Bern remembers 30 riders the second year and 60 or 70 the third year. He credits organizer Brent Chambers of Epek Sports for building the race to its current status.
The field for the longest one-day United States Cycling Federation (USCF) event in the country has grown 500 percent in the past six years, with 74 percent of the riders in 2003 participating in their first or second race. Most riders come from across the United States, with a sprinkling of international riders throughout the years.
With the number of riders increasing so fast (860 took part in 2003), race officials were forced to cap this year's race at 1,000 riders.
"The decision was made for safety's sake," Chambers said. "We talked with our community partners, law enforcement agencies and the USCF and it was agreed that number was as much we could handle safely. With that many people on the road and support vehicles, it gets pretty congested."
Groups of 50 riders each will take off every four minutes, beginning at 6:30 a.m., with the last group leaving at 7:50 a.m.
"If we went any later than that people would not be able to finish due to darkness," Chambers said.
For years the race route went from Sunrise Cyclery to Grace, Idaho, through Freedom, Wyo. and up the Snake River Canyon to Jackson. The course has been altered several times in recent years because of road construction. The past two years, the race ended in Swan Valley, Idaho, for a distance of 184 miles.
This year, the race runs 188 miles from Soda Springs, Idaho, to Alpine, Wyo. Road construction on the traditional route is expected to be completed in time for the 2005 race.
USCF officials mandated that the riders not be subject to stoppages due to construction. The name of the race remains the same because the starting point hasn't changed and plans call for returning to the traditional course.
Chambers said about 70 percent of the riders are licensed through USCF and the remaining 30 percent are classified as citizens. The licensed riders are looking to improve their category standing in USCF rankings and are considered more serious competitors.
Tour de France and 2004 Olympic rider Levi Leipheimer is among the big names who have competed in LOTOJA during its 22-year history.
The citizens riders are more likely to be dedicated touring riders, like Blair.
"I use to race competitively, but I promised my wife I wouldn't do that anymore. Now, I just race for fun."
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