The Red Wing Classic is a lap-format mountain bike race in Red Wing, Minnesota, run late in the season before the snow flies. At a glance Location Red Wing, Minnesota Discipline Mountain bike race When Fall Format Multi-lap 2014 Results Steve 7 laps, 3:36:20 I am a little late in getting this post out, but … Read more
Kyle and Reid raced the Little Sugar MTB 100K in Bentonville, Arkansas for the first time in 2025. 61 miles of technical Ozarks singletrack, three days of pre-riding, and a lot of lessons learned about tires, sealant, and hydration.
The Cuyuna race is part of the Minnesota Mountain Bike Series — a multi-race summer series that runs at trail systems around the state from June through September. The Cuyuna stop is held at the Cuyuna Lakes trail system near Ironton, which is one of the best trail networks in the upper Midwest. The MN … Read more
The Chequamegon 40 is a point-to-point mass-start mountain bike race that runs from Hayward to Cable, Wisconsin every September, over the American Birkebeiner Ski Trail. It’s been running since 1983 and is one of the bigger mountain bike races in the country. The course is 40 miles of wide grass trails, forest roads, and doubletrack … Read more
The Tioga race is part of the Minnesota Mountain Bike Series and is held at the Tioga trail system near Barnum, Minnesota — a DNR trail network with a good mix of climbs and flow sections that makes for an interesting XC race course. It’s a smaller venue than Cuyuna but a solid race, and … Read more
Epic Bike Fest — formerly the Borah Epic — is a mountain bike race in Wisconsin. Steve raced it in 2017, an under-the-radar event he was surprised more people do not talk about. At a glance Location Wisconsin Discipline Mountain bike race Distance ~25 miles 2017 Results Steve 39th overall I had actually heard very … Read more
The True Grit Epic is a mountain bike race held in St. George, Utah every March. It runs through the red rock terrain around the Santa Clara River Reserve and Snow Canyon area — slickrock, hardpack, and desert singletrack. The riding out there is completely different from anything in the Midwest and the technical demands … Read more
At a glance Location Medora, ND Discipline Mountain bike Distance 100 miles When August Official site mdhtrail.org 2015 Results This was my 2nd 100 mile race Steve (100 mile) 10th in 12hr 5min Bike setups Steve Bike: Felt Edict NINE 3 · Wheels: Sun Ringle Black Flag Pro SL · Tires: Conti X-King · Drivetrain: … Read more
The Shenandoah 100 is a 100-mile mountain bike race held every September in Stokesville, Virginia, in the George Washington National Forest. It’s considered one of the classic American 100-milers — serious climbing, mixed terrain of forest roads and singletrack, and a well-organized event that’s been running since 1999. The Shenandoah Valley in fall is a … Read more
The Mohican 100 is a 100-mile mountain bike race held every June in the Mohican State Forest of north-central Ohio. It’s one of the longer-running 100-milers on the endurance MTB calendar and has a decent following in the Midwest. The course runs through the Mohican area trails and forest roads — it’s not flat, but … Read more
At a glance Location Lutsen, Minnesota (Superior National Forest) Discipline Mountain bike race Distance 99 miles (39-mile option) When June Official site lutsen99er.com Results and Race Recaps 2017 · 2015 · 2014 2017 Results Best finish, but wet and cold race. Steve (99 mile) 42nd in 6hr 49min Bike setup Steve Bike: Felt Edict NINE … Read more
The Wilderness 101 is a 101-mile cross-country mountain bike race held every July in the Rothrock State Forest of central Pennsylvania. It’s one of the original American endurance mountain bike races — been around since 2003 — and it covers genuinely technical terrain with a lot of climbing. Pennsylvania forests are no joke: rooty, rocky, … Read more
The Marji Gesick 100 is a 100-mile mountain bike race held in the Marquette area of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula every September. It’s not a normal 100 miler — the course is brutal, the cutoffs are tight, and the buckle is legitimately hard to earn. You’re riding through the RAMBA trail system and surrounding terrain, which … Read more
The Ore to Shore is a point-to-point mountain bike race that runs from Ishpeming to Marquette, Michigan every August — 48 miles for the long course, 28 miles for the short. It covers a mix of singletrack, doubletrack, snowmobile trails, and fire roads through the UP terrain around Marquette. It’s more mountain bikey than the … Read more
The Copper Harbor Trails Fest is a mountain bike festival and race weekend held every August at the tip of Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. The trail system up there is genuinely world class — technical, rooty, rocky, with elevation changes that don’t mess around. The race has a 30-mile long course and a shorter option, and … Read more
The Mt Kato Mountain Bike Race is a bit of a love & hate thing… Each lap you climb the full front side and the full back side of the ski hill, along with mid lap going about half way down and back to the top again. It’s a hard course and the reward sections are short, but there is something about it that has us coming back most years. If you like climbing, this is your XC race.
The Detroit Lakes Mountain Bike Race is a bit of a drive for us, but we enjoy the venue and the Detroit Mountain trails. I wish more people would make the trip up for it as it’s a great venue for the race
The Woolly Bike Club Mountain Bike Race is our most local race with the trails only being about 10 minutes from our shop and about 30 minutes from home. We know the trails well and although we’re obviously a bit biased, we do think it is one of the better run and organized races in the series for a variety of reasons, such as it’s always well marked, has volunteers and sometimes multiple at any crossing or intersections, the infield (start/finish) area is well setup and they always have an ample amount of porta-jons.
We really like the River Falls Whitetail Ridge Mountain Bike Race. The race has a nice and well rounded course with entertaining singletrack, some challenging climbs and a little bit of tech. The venue is also fantastic for a bike race.
We really like the Redhead mountain bike race course. The race loop has some tough climbs, fast descents and some techy singletrack. The race venue itself is also really good with plenty of parking and a nice infield area.
The Gamehaven Mountain Bike Race is part of the Minnesota Mountain Bike Series and is held at the Scout Camp on the Gamehaven Reservoir trail in Rochester, MN. It’s a nice course for racing with opportunity to pass and a variety of singletrack.