HOODOO 400 OVERVIEW

Brief Route Description
Generally speaking, riders follow the 1st 150 and the last 196 miles of the Hoodoo 500 route – starting in St. George, and traveling through Hurricane, Colorado City, Coral Pink Sand Dunes, Carmel Junction, Antimony, Panguitch, Cedar City and back to St. George. It’s a loop course on mostly wonderful, well-maintained, quiet roads with little traffic and breath-taking scenery. 40 hour time limit.

 JUST SOME OF THE REASONS WHY THE HOODOO 400
IS A PERFECT WAY TO GET INVOLVED IN ULTRA DISTANCE CYCLING

The Hoodoo 400 is a courageous step up from a double century or our Hoodoo 300; but less daunting than the whole 500 shebang. Learn to work with a crew; or fend for yourself in remote locations. Meet the 500 riders. Ask them questions, hear their stories, get inspired. It’s a great event on a great route surrounded by the most wonderful group of new friends you didn’t know you had.

The route is a perfect loop, with its start/finish in beautiful St. George, Utah. Same logistics, covers the same route (but not ALL of it, obviously), same super-friendly relay team rules as the Hoodoo 500. Your ride. Your strategy.

Rider check in, meeting, start and finish lines, and after party/banquet are all in one central location: Best Western Abbey Inn.

St. George is about ninety minutes from Las Vegas and only a five to six hour drive from most of southern California. You can fly directly to St. George or take an inexpensive shuttle from Las Vegas. Rental vehicles are readily available in either location.

Divisions and Entry Fees
Earlybird Entry – Thanksgiving Day to March 31:
• Solo (with crew): $ TBD
• Trekker (self-supported): $ TBD
• 2-Person and Tandem: $ TBD
• 4-Person and 2-Tandem: $ TBD

STANDARD ENTRY – April 1 to July 31:
• Solo (with crew): $ TBD
• Trekker (self-supported): $ TBD
• 2-Person and Tandem: $ TBD
• 4-Person and 2-Tandem: $ TBD

 

Important Registration Information:

  • Entry fees are non-refundable; but if you let us know 90 days before the race, you may defer a portion of your entry to the following year. That said, sometimes life gets in the way, so your best bet is to purchase for a nominal fee during registration the event cancellation insurance. More information about the cancellation insurance and cancellation policy here.
  • Registration closes July 31st.
  • Relay Team and Tandem Team entrants:  If one person registers for all team members, please make sure you have accurate information for each (email and mailing address at minimum). Teams must choose a team name to be used during the race. Please use good taste, as Race Directors have discretion to veto team names. 
  • Flexibility regarding relay team rosters:  Each team must enter with two or four riders. If one or more of the team members gets hurt or cannot start, substitutions are allowed to the team roster until 5pm Friday before the start.
What's Included With Entry?

Included with your Hoodoo 400 entry:

  • LIVE Tracking includes your GPS SPOT tracker rental.
  • Tech t-shirt. Shirts for your Crew may be purchased during registration.
  • Official Finishers receive a custom medal and cycling jersey.
  • Awards ceremony and breakfast banquet: One ticket per rider plus two crew tickets. Extra crew tickets may be purchased with registration. Your banquet ticket is also a raffle ticket. Lots of fun prizes up for grabs!
  • Podium awards (if you’re a top finisher in a division with more than 5 competitors).
  • Event Book, Route Sheets, Registration Forms (electronic copies) and access to route RideWithGPS files for download.
  • Entry and passage through Snow Canyon State Park, Dixie National Forest and Cedar Breaks National Monument.
  • Included for Trekkers only: Drop bag service to Panguitch time station.

Hoodoo requires a year-round organizational effort. In addition to the items above, we also provide these all-important non-tangibles:

  • An outstanding, scenic and incredibly challenging course through Utah’s beautiful color country.
  • Festive and professional start/finish line.
  • Live and active weekend webcast with updated time-splits and active Facebook feed.
  • Year-round access to a live person who will answer emails within 24-hours and help you prepare for the experience of a lifetime!
  • Access to historical data and event records for each division and category.
  • And so much more!
Route

Click here for a RideWithGPS map and elevation profile of the 400-mile route. Please note: RWGPS is showing a dirt section beginning at mile 65.5 which was paved several years ago. We promise you, there are no dirt roads on the route!

Please stand by for RWGPS maps for crew, time station to time station.

Generally speaking, the 400 route starts with the 500 route and is the same until the roundabout (traffic circle) where 500 mile riders go straight towards Escalante and 400 racers turn left towards Antimony. The courses meet back up near Otter Creek State Park, and stay together until Veyo Pie shop. The 400 route takes the long way back to St. George because we needed more miles. 

Please note: With a route this distance, it’s simply impossible to not have some traffic-y miles without a great shoulder. Some of the less great roads have no other option. Whether racing or riding in our local communities, we take some risks while cycling. This is no different. 

Click here to see some photographs of the route.

Riders interested in seeing the entire course at a leisurely pace (a week), in full daylight, should check out our Planet Ultra Tour of Southern Utah.

Rules

The sole purpose of Rules is to strive for safety (although road cycling is inherently dangerous), ensure competitive fairness and to comply with various permit requirements.

We trust that every racer and every crew member understands that the consequences for breaking or even bending a rule is less a measure of time (even if you get a penalty) than a measure of personal integrity. So if it were possible to have just ONE rule, it would be this: Don’t be a jerk. That actually covers quite a lot.

Everything we put in the Rules seemed important enough to put in writing. For anything else that comes up, we (Event Directors) will attempt our best to do what is right and what is fair, and not be jerks about it. That said, we may at any time alter the Rules or invent new ones. We have final say over Rules, their interpretation and enforcement. If a rider or crew plans to do something not explicitly covered by the Rules, they are encouraged to inquire in advance.

That said, click here for the Official Rules.

Trekker (self-supported) Info

For the more experienced endurance athlete, Trekker division allows you to participate without a support crew.

No request/resume for entry is required.  However, Trekkers must sign a detailed information and waiver letter identifying specific rules and requirements, including an acknowledgment that if he/she abandons, he/she is solely responsible for transportation back to St. George and/or lodging somewhere on the route if a long stop is needed.

Trekker racers must understand that this is a very challenging route with the potential for extreme weather changes. For rookies, we highly recommend racing the first time with crew. To attempt the Trekker division, your cycling experience should, at the very minimum, include completion of at least a 400k brevet or similar self-supported event within the past two years.

Hoodoo 400 is a super tough ride through very remote areas. You absolutely must be willing to put a rack and bag on your bike, as well as carry a camelbak. You absolutely must be willing to carry everything you could possibly need to make it through many hours of a long, dark and cold night. There are long stretches with no services, especially in the last 85 miles. There is NO SAG or other on-course support for Trekker racers other than one drop bag to the Panguitch Time Station. 

Click here (coming soon) for Trekker-specific Rules. Please take this division very seriously. This division is intended for riders with significant experience in self-supported long distance riding / bike-packing, and who are willing and able to take the time and effort to plan for the challenge.