Here’s a short recap and some photos from our 2025 Afterbike Southern Utah mountain bike gathering. Afterbike started organically back when the Interbike tradeshow was held in Las Vegas in September. Bike industry people migrating home from the show naturally stopped in Hurricane for a few days of mesa riding and decompression. We added some Southern Utah hospitality with morning coffee and donuts, a Saturday mountain bike ride and a free BBQ. Afterbike ended when the Interbike tradeshow moved to Reno and then died altogether. But a few years ago, we decided to bring it back because fall is a great time to visit Southern Utah and who doesn’t love a good BBQ?
We were worried our 2025 Afterbike mountain bike gathering might not happen this year. We moved the event to October, the weekend before Red Bull Rampage, to see if we could entice some Rampage fans to come ride with us. However, stormy weather in early October had us worried we might get rained out and the week of Afterbike it rained nearly every day. There’s always somewhere to ride here, though. When the mesas get shut down due to snow or mud, we ride Church Rocks or the Boy Scout Trails. But the Afterbike tradition is to ride Little Creek Mesa. Plus, who wants to BBQ in the rain?
Thankfully, the trail gods blessed us. There was no rain on Friday night and Saturday it stayed dry all day. Little Creek was beautiful, with cool temps, pretty clouds and potholes full of fresh rainwater. We had a great group of riders and couldn’t have asked for a better day out on the slickrock. Our 2025 Afterbike Southern Utah mountain bike ride was a success.
When we returned to the shop in the afternoon, OTE HU mechanic Gabe Pendley had meat on the grill and was prepping salsa, beans and a street corn salad for our 2025 Afterbike evening festivities. At 6 PM, when the shop closed, the cold drinks appeared; and around 6:30, Gabe’s famous fajitas/taco buffet was all laid out and people started making plates and chowing down. Plenty of people showed up, both locals and visitors, and everyone had a great time. We even had Afterbike cakes for dessert!
If you missed the 2025 Afterbike Southern Utah mountain bike gathering, start planning for next year’s fall get-together. Traditionally, we’ve had it in September but October worked, too. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram or sign up for our newsletter to stay informed about Afterbike and other Southern Utah mountain biking news and activities. We’ll post the dates about a month before Afterbike. It’s always a great time and you don’t want to miss out.
Scroll down for a 2025 Afterbike Southern Utah mountain bike gathering photo gallery, including our Little Creek ride and the post-ride BBQ. If you’d like to learn a little more about the history of Afterbike, check out our 2021 Afterbike story.
2025 Afterbike Mountain Bike Gathering Photo Gallery
