Wednesday, February 29, 2012

List of Mountain Bike Endurance Races - North America and Worldwide

I finally got it done! As I said with the last list, the format that I chose was designed to make it easier for browsing and general planning. Armed with the name and the location of the race it should be easy to find it online. I did this because races come and go and dates change, and keeping up with all that is not my idea of fun.  I tried to make sure that all these races are still being run. If I missed a race you think should be on the list, make a comment and I'll consider adding it. I say "consider" because I did exclude a number of races because I didn't think they were hard enough, or "mountain bikey" enough, or just didn't think it warranted. My basic criteria was 50 miles or more or 7 hours or longer, but I made some exceptions when they looked cool enough. If you are wondering why Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico are missing, its because they have their own list which I posted awhile back. I will try to include a link to that list as well, but the cross referencing for scheduling purposes is up to you.

I haven't figured out how to install a document on the Blog page yet but I'm working on it. In the meantime, you will have to make do with the pasted list below.


Race Name General Format Date by month
Location Early Mid Late
United States
12 Hours of Temecula #1 Vail Lake, CA 12hr
Jan.
Dirty Dozen Wanda, TX 12hr Feb.
12 hours of Santos Ocala, FL 12hr Feb.
Granite Grinder Conyers, GA 6 or 9 hr March
Bel Monte Blue Ridge Mountains, VA 50 mile
March
Ouachita Challenge Ouachita, AR 2 day stage
March
24 hours of Syllamo Mountian View, AR 24hr April
Dragon's Tail New Castle, VA 40 mile April
Julian Death March Julien, CA 86, 64, or 50 mile April
Cohutta 100 Ocoee, TN 100 mile
April
Austin Rattler Austin, TX 100 mile
April
Dirty Spokes Winder, GA 9 or 6 hr May
Pisgah MTB Adventure race Pisgah, NC  50-80 miles  May
9 Hours of Cranky Monkey Rocky Gap, MD 9hr May
12 hours of Northern Kettles Greenbush, WI 12hr May
6&12 Hours of Stoney Creek Rochester, MI 6 or 12 hr May
12 Hours of Tsali Bryson City, NC 12hr May
Syllamo's Revenge Mountian View, AR 50mile or 125km May
Stottlemeyer 60 Mile Port Gamble, WA 60 or 30 mile May
Skyway Epic Lake Howard, AL 60 mile
May
24 Hours around the Clock Spokane, WA 24hr
May
12 hours of Weaverville Weaverville, CA 12hr
May
12 Hours of Temecula #2 Vail Lake, CA 12hr June
Mohican Mtb 100 Loudonville, OH 100 mile June
Echo Valley 30/60 Chelan, WA 60 or 30 mile June
The Hammerstein Monterey, CA 8 or 24 hr June
24 Hours of Pats Peak Pat's Peak, NH 6,12, or 24hr June
Bearscat 50 Northern NJ 50 mile June
Tree Shaker 12hr Rock Hill, SC 12hr June
Test of Endurance Corvalis, OR 50mile June
Lumberjack 100 Manistee, MI 100 mile June
12 Hours of Cranky Monkey Quantico, VA 12hr
June
Furious 3 Bike Race #1 Fernie, BC, Canada 3 day stage
June
Cascade Cream Puff 100 Oakridge, OR 100 mile July
Tahoe Sierra 100 Soda Springs, CA 100 mile July
Hardcore 24 Naples, NY 24hr
July
Butte 100 Butte, MT 100 mile
July
Black Hills 40 Rapid City, SD 40 mile
July
12 Hours of Humbolt Arcata, CA 12hr
July
12 & 6 Hours of Ithaca Ithaca, MI 12 or 6 hour
July
12 hours of Millstone East Barre, VT 12hr
July
High Cascades 100 Bend, OR 100 mile
July
Laramie Enduro Laramie, WY 111km
July
Tahoe Trail 100 Truckee, CA 100km
July
Wausau 24 Wausau, WI 24hr
July
Wilderness 101 Coburn, PA 101 mile
July
The Coolest 24 Hour Race Soda Springs, CA 24hr Aug.
Pierre's Hole Grand Targhee, WY 100 mile Aug.
Midnight Madness Tioga county, PA 12hr Aug.
Wildcat Epic Stage Race New Paltz, NY 2 day stage - 100 mile Aug.
6 & 12 Hours of Pando Rockford, MI 12 or 6 hour Aug.
Wild 100 Slatyfork, WV 100km Aug.
Hampshire 100 Greenfield, NH 100 mile or km Aug.
24 Hrs of Great Glen Pinkham Notch, NH 24hr Aug.
Furious 3 Bike Race #2 Whistler, BC, Canada 3 day stage
Aug.
Capital Forest 50/100 Olympia, WA 50 or 100 mile
Aug.
Minnesota 24 Red Wing, MN 24, 12, or 6 hr
Aug.
24 hours of kirkwood Kirkwood Resort, CA 24hr
Aug.
Dakota 50 Spearfish City, SD 50 mile Sept.
Shenandoah 100 Stokesville, VA 100 mile Sept.
Fool's Gold 100 Dahlonega, GA 100 mile Sept.
Peak 6/12/24 Pittsfield, VT 6, 12, or 24 hr Sept.
24 Hours of High Cascade Bend, OR 24hr Sept.
12 Hours of Canal Loop Grand Rivers, KY 12hr Sept.
24 hours of Adrenalin- Hurkey Creek Idylwild, CA 24 hr Sept.
Mountain Bike Marathon Nationals Bend, OR 55 mile Sept.
12 & 24 of Hanson Hills Grayling, MI 12 or 24 hour Sept.
Pisgah Stage Race Brevard, NC 5 day stage Sept.
12 hours of Dauset Jackson, GA 12 hr
Sept.
Reveille Peak 100 Burnet, TX 100 mile
Sept.
12 Hours of Bradbury Mtn Bradbury Mtn., ME 12 hr
Sept.
Furious 3 Bike Race #3 Moab, UT 3 day stage
Sept.
6 & 12 of Addison Oaks Leonard, MI 6 or 12 hr Oct.
24 hours of Whiskeytown Whiskeytown Lake, CA 24hr Oct.
Baker's Dozen Endurance Race North Augusta, SC 13 hr Oct.
24 Hours of Rocky Hill Smithville, TX 24hr
Oct.
12 Hours of Temecula #3 Vail Lake, CA 12hr Nov.
18 Hours of Scout's Honor Maidens, VA 18hr Nov.
International
Strathpuffer Scotland 24hr Jan.
Wildside Tasmania, Austrailia 4 day stage
Jan.
Trans Andes Challenge Pucon, Chile 6 day stage
Jan.
Blue dragon MTB Challenge Tasmania, Austrailia 2 day stage  Feb.
Alpine Corral Hanmer Springs, NZ 74km Feb.
Marrik Mountain bike Challenge Kimberly, South Africa 3 day stage Feb.
Kona Odyssey MTB Marathon Victoria, Australia 100km Feb.
Andelucia Bike Race Andalucia, Spain 5 day stage
Feb.
Alpine Epic Mtb Race New Zealand 5 day stage
Feb.
Mountains to Beach NSW, Australia 6 day stage March
12 Hour Night Enduro NT, Australia 12hr March
Yak Attack Nepal 11 day stage March
Capital Punishment Canberra, Australia 100 or 50 km March
Scody High Country Challenge Victoria, Australia 65-200km March
The Mont 24hr race Canberra, Australia 24hr
March
24 Hours of Argentina Argentina 24hr
March
Cape Epic Cape Town, South Africa 8 day stage
March
Gran Canaria Mtb Marathon Canary Islands, Spain 60 & 100 Km
March
12 & 24 hours of Exposure Newcastleton, UK 12 & 24hr solo April
Naseby 12 Hour Challenge Otago, New Zealand 12hr April
Milenio Titan Desert Morocco 5 day stage
April
Port Macquarie 24 Hour NSW, Australia 24hr
April
24 Hours of Cremona Italy 24hr
April
Gorrik 100 Swinley Forest, UK 100km May
Convict 100 NSW, Australia 100km May
Trans Portugal Portugal 9 day stage May
Trans Allgarve Portugal 5 day stage May
Paterson Kona 24 Hours NSW, Australia 24hr May
24 Hours of Finale Ligure Italy 24hr May
Moon Ride Rotorua, New Zealand 24hr May
Ingkerreke Commercial MTB Marathon Australia 5 day stage May
10 Under Ben Scotland 10hr
May
Wild Wombat Gnars, Austria 8 hr
May
Alpentour Austria 4 day stage
May
Trans Germany Germany 4 day stage June
Mountain Mayhem Eastnor Castle, UK 24hr June
Test of Metal Squamish, BC, Canada 60km June
MTB Enduro Super Series Queensland, Australia 24hr June
Black Forest Ultra Germany 43-117km June
Husky 100 New South Wales, Australia 100km
June
24 hours of light Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada 24hr
June
24 hours of Summer Solstice Ontario, Canada 24hr
June
Kitzalp Marathon Austria 45-94km
June
BC Bike race Vancouver, BC, Canada 6 day stage July
Bontrager Twentyfour12 Plymouth, UK 12 & 24hr   July
Trans Czecho-Slovakia Czech Rep. & Slovakia 1000 miles July
10 @ Kirroughtree Scotland 10hr July
Dolomiti Superbike Villabassa, Italy 60 or 110km July
Trans Alp Alps, Europe 8 day stage July
Trans Rockies Canada 7 day stage
July
Mongolia Bike Challenge Mongolia 10 day stage
July
Bull Raid Ireland 12hr Aug.
Deg (10) Yn Llandegla Scotland 10hr Aug.
Grand Raid Cristalp Switzerland 125km Aug.
Trail Masters Wales, United Kingdom 3 day semi stage Aug.
End2End Isle of Man, UK 75km Sept.
Weatern Cycle XC8 Saakatchewan, Canada 8hr Sept.
Kielder 100 UK 100 miles Sept.
Etna MTB Marathon Sicily, Italy 63km Sept.
World 24hr Championchips Canmore, AB, Canada 24hr Sept.
Montane Kielder 100 Kielder, UK 100miles Sept.
Crank the Shield Ontario, Canada 3 day stage Sept.
Trans Provence Provence, France 7 day semi stage Sept.
Fall Epic 8 Hour Ontario, Canada 8 hr
Sept.
Brasil Ride Brazil 7 day stage
Sept.
Relentless 24 Scotland 24hr Oct.
La Ruta De Los Conquistadores Costa Rica 3 day stage Nov.
Timaru 12 Hour Timaru, New Zealand 12hr Nov.

 Charlie S.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Race Video

I am almost done with the race list. I found more endurance races that I thought, and making sure they all still exist takes some time. Then I start browsing the photos and videos and before I know it- it's bedtime.

An example of how I loose time is this video of the Trans Czecho-Slovakia Race which is about 1000 miles long. Turn the volume off if you dont speak Czech. The race just looks like a great adventure.

Charlie S.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Knee Surgery

I had knee surgery last Wednesday and I'm off the bike for a couple weeks, so my ride related posts will slow down for a bit. If you recall, I posted a list that I compiled of endurance races in the four corners states awhile back. In the next few days, I should complete a follow-up list of endurance races from the rest of the country, and from around the world, which I'll get posted.

Researching all the different races was more fun than I thought it would be. I often found myself getting excited as I flipped through the photos and information from all the various race websites. There are some truly amazing events out there, and a frigging boatload of just plain awesome ones. It gets me dreaming about a coast-to-coast road trip- moving from one venue to the next, just racing my way across the country...

In the meantime, I'll leave you with another cool trail pic. This one is from a great network of trails just south of Eagle, CO. which is on I-70 between Vail and Glenwood springs.

Charlie S.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Dropper Seatpost Impressions

2012 will be the year of the dropper seat post! That's my take at least. I don't mean they will become mainstream this year, but I think they will achieve the critical mass necessary for them to truly start getting some attention- from both the consumer and the component manufacturers. I don't think it will be too many years before seat post droppers become yet another desirable component that most mountain bikers "need" on their rigs.

I say this because after riding with them for just a short while; I'm convinced that I want them on almost every mountain bike I own and these things are only going to get better.

I just recently installed a Rock Shox Reverb dropper on one trail bike and a Giant Contact Switch on another. They are both good posts and I'll go into that below, but the important lesson was how much more confident I was on the downhills. Yes, the more technical the descent the more I appreciated the dropper post, but even on fun, smooth, easy downhills I felt I had a greater amount of control. There it is in a nutshell. To me, it is well worth the extra weight that the dropper adds on my trail bikes for the enhanced control and confidence I feel bombing down the trail. Heck, at my heavier weight and modest racing ability, I might even consider putting them on my racing bikes. This probably isn't worth it for many of you real fast guys out there, but as weights come down over the next few years, it might make sense.

The Giant post, like most dropper posts, is a wire operated post. The handlebar mount works just as well on either side of the bars and it has a smooth easy to control action. On the flip side, the Rock Shox is a hydraulically actuated post whose handlebar mount is left or right specific. Designing it for one side of the bars or the other might give it an ergonomic advantage, but if you are like me, I didn't know which hand I would prefer to have operating the post (left, it turns out) and now I'm out the additional cost of the left-side controller (I'm told it exists) which I need to order. The hydraulic actuation is smooth as silk though, and won't be affected by grit like a cable can. It took some trial and error to get the handlebar mount in the perfect spot and one thing I noticed while doing this was the Giant has a much thinner clasp. This made it easier to fit on the bar amongst the grip, brake clamp, and shifter clamp. The Rock Shox mount is very wide and if your bars already feel cluttered, that might be a strike against it.

All dropper posts (with remote cables) create a cable routing issue, and it usually takes some trimming to make it look acceptable. Obviously this is easier with a cable than with a hydraulic line, but it only needs to be fit once. A final issue with dropper posts, particularly with the Rock Shox, is clamping them in repair stands. It is easy to forget that there is a cable along side the seat post and then it gets smashed by the repair stand clamp. This is not good in any case, but it is very bad when the line is hydraulic.

Both these posts are good, I just happen to like the Giant better at this point. Engineers and designers are still figuring dropper posts out. Things will continue to evolve quickly. For instance, Rock Shox has already released the Reverb Stealth where the cable comes out the bottom of the seat post (yes you need a special frame...or a drill) so the clamping issue is gone. There are a slew of other new models to look forward to from manufacturers like KindShock, Fox, Specialized, and Crank Bros, which will undoubtedly bring solutions to some of the current niggles (but will also create new ones).

Dropper posts will be standard fare for trail bikes in a few short years. Weights will come down some but there is surely a bottom limit we are probably fairly close to already. More importantly, price needs to come down- and it surely will. I'll post a long term report during the summer after they have done a few endurance races.

Charlie S.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Continental X-King Protection 2.2 Tire - Early Review

Continental has a history of measuring their tires wrong. For years they have had a reputation for exaggerating the size of their tires. The X-King is no exception. They call it a 2.2 but it just measures a 2.1 on my caliper. This happens to be okay for me this time since I put them on one of my racier bikes that I use for speedier rides, but it's still annoying to not know what size you will actually get. I wish manufacturers would start measuring the bead to bead distance as the tire was pressed flat- once we got used to those numbers it would be simple to know what you were getting.



The tire is pretty awesome though. It's very fast, has great grip, and comes in at about 560gms which is pretty damn good. It is not a tubeless tire but does have a proper tubeless bead and I have been running it as such with no problems. In fact, the "Protection" feature of Continental tires includes an extra layer for durability (hence the "Protection" moniker) and are tubeless ready, but they are doing a poor job of informing the public about that. The casing is one of the thinner ones Ive tried (tubeless at least) and even though it has I am not sure how long it will last before suffering a puncture or rip.  A UST version is available if you want one, but I wouldn't bother in this case. I will let you know if it suffers a puncture or similar meltdown. Regardless, It has already lasted long enough to justify it for racing, or even some endurance events, considering it's low weight, and speedy nature.



In other news, We are all talking about which races we are going to do this year and I want to encourage everyone to register for the 24 Hours in the Enchanted Forest. I'm going to be there and it's a great event. If you can't make that, then check out some of their other events around NM which are all awesome: http://www.ziarides.com/

Below is a photo from the Enchanted Forest Race last summer.

Charlie S.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Albuquerque Mountain Bike Trails

Just a quickie post! I just want to point out again how awesome our riding is here in Albuquerque. If any more of you are thinking about moving away like my friend Alex (he kind of had to though), the pictures below should make you want to stay.



Not bad for February.

I have some reviews on the way. I Should get one up this weekend.

Charlie S.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Randomness

I'm quite ready for winter to be over. I'm tired of getting ready in the parking lot while shivering. Whine whine whine... I drove through Santa Fe yesterday on my way back from Taos and it doesn't look like their trails are too ride-able right now. If you are stuck up north, come down to Albuquerque and get some damn good riding in. I am starting to really like dropper posts and will review the new Giant as soon as I have some real time on it. I will also be posting a new list of other (not in the Southwest) endurance races from around the world that I think are cool. Any suggestions? In the longer term, I will be posting a list of tour operators and guides from all over the world that I have collected over the years.

To usher in the warm weather, I'm posting these two photos of warm days in Durango, CO. Many of my readers have been on the trail in the first photo.


Charlie S.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Handy Little Tool

Don't get excited by the title of this post, its all on the up and up here... That is to say, I'm talking about an actual tool (hardware that helps fix stuff). This thing is more helpful than I thought. Only about half the time for bikes, but I use it often for other stuff. Well worth the few bucks at Lowes.



One side has a hex fitting and the other a square fitting and its magnetic. Just add the required hex head or 1/4 inch drive piece and you turn it like a screwdriver, except it is short and fat so it reaches some hard to get places.

Charlie S.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Maverick BikeTribute

Most of you know that I've been a Maverick American fan since the beginning, so it's about time that I post a little tribute to them considering their demise as a brand (temporarily I hope).

I bought-in to the concept early and ordered a sliver ML-7 back in 2001. The early ML-7's came with a CNC machined strut-body with fox internals, and a custom tuned Rock Shox Psylo fork. It destroyed anything I had ridden to that point. The traction it could deliver uphill changed my riding style and which trails I was willing to tackle. It's downhill ability was awesome too, and was well above my piloting skills at the time. Over the next ten years I owned almost every version of Maverick made (I missed the Resposado and the Matic) and have loved them all. They became the bar that I judged other bikes against. They still are actually. Eleven years of product development have gone by and the same basic design still kicks ass. I still haven't ridden a bike that does everything as well as a Maverick (although there are quite a few that are close or maybe equal these days). I know there are a few areas where it falls behind, like the front shifting and out-of-the-saddle climbing, but the the whole of the Maverick was truly greater than the sum of its parts. If you have any doubts, come ride with me on my trails and I'll loan you a Maverick for the day. You will come away converted, or at the very least appreciative of all their abilities on the trail. The design is so good I can't believe it will die. I am sure someone will resurrect it in the years to come, and if they have a deeper pocket for research and development, a new golden age for the design will emerge.

I want to send a extra special thanks to Ethan from Maverick for everything you have done over the years. I hear Ethan will be continuing to service Maverick bikes on his own. If you need his services you can email him at mavericksuspension@gmail.com or call him at 303-918-5414. He has set up shop at 999 Vallejo St., Unit 2, Denver, CO. 80204.

My original ML-7 with current upgrades. Still a fine trail bike by anybody's measure.


 Lets Gets, France

 Elliot Barker & South Boundry trails, Taos, NM


 Breckenridge, CO.
If I had the money, I would contact Paul Turner and buy the Maverick brand today. Alas, I don't have the funds. I'll continue to ride them and hope for the day they rise from the ashes. Cheers!

Charlie S.