It’s that time of year, the clocks rolled back an hour this weekend, the Nats won the World Series, and the chair lifts aren’t moving yet on the east coast for one to be distracted by skiing. It’s time to start planning for your 2020 epic bike events. This week we’ll look at a few epic events that should be contenders for your calendar in 2020. I’m only looking at MTB and gravel, mostly because they are the most interesting. We’ll start with the multi-day epic events.
Epic events for the EpiCurious
Of course the biggest one out there for the most adventurous among us is the Tour Divide race, which starts at 8 AM on the second Friday in June. This super epic event criss-crosses North America’s Continental Divide over 2745 miles and 200,000 of vertical feet from Banff, Canada to Antelope Springs, NM on the Mexico border. Those who participate hope to finish, those who can finish, hope to do it in less than 30 days, and then there’s the impressive top tier riders who finish under 20 days (the record time for men is 13 days, 22 hours and for women it’s 19 days, 2 hours). Brent Goldstein has written an interesting book about the experience (Divide and Conquer) or watch the documentary (Ride the Divide) if you want to get a sense of the experience. The best part? It’s free to enter! It’s on my list of things to do.
If you’re super epiCurious and you want to travel abroad, check out the The Cape Epic. A challenging 435 miles, over eight days - a prologue and seven stages. The course for this race changes every year and has been called by some elite racers as the, “Tour de France of mountain biking.” Held every year in South Africa since 2004, racers compete in teams of two, with both UCI elite racers and amateurs alike riding the same course and staying in the same village on each stage. If you’re looking for a bigger challenge in South Africa, check out The Munga, a single stage, 620 mile MTB race across central South Africa. It’s not too late to follow this years event as it runs from November 27 to December 2, 2019. (Summer in South Africa).
There are no shortage of epic events these days but the mythology of La Ruta sits looming on my calendar. Who wouldn’t want to ride a bike across Costa Rica? I’ve ridden through parts of Costa Rica, but on a supported trip, riding a road bike, sleeping in hotels every night. La Ruta has deep historical roots following the path of the Spanish Conquistadors crossing the continent from East to West and will live up to its 20 year reputation as a challenging muddy, steep climb, epic event. As one of the first MTB stage races, the 150-ish mile route crosses 5 mountain ranges that force you to climb a cumulative 29,000 feet. It has a technical rating of a 10. If there was an eleven rating, it would be an 11. The good news? The 2019 race started last week, so you have lots of time to plan for 2020.
Ok, now to events a non-elite cyclists like me can realistically do in 2020.
At the top of my list is a challenging MTB route from Harrisonburg, VA to Roanoke, VA. Known as the Rockstar VA, this event travels through the George Washington National Forest and covers 270 miles of Virginia’s best single track with 36K of climbing. Or you can do the gravel version at 255 miles and 23K or climbing. The race departs Black Sheep Coffee in Harrisonburg at 7 AM on April 20, 2020. Set up in 4 stages, riders travel from campground to campground until reaching the finishing point at Texas Tavern in Roanoke, VA. It’s a relatively new event and riders last year, after getting caught in a late season snow storm, dubbed it a truly epic event. The entry fee is either volunteer work on local trails or donations to local trail advocacy groups. The two questions you must answer for yourself-- race or tour? Gravel or MTB?
Another multi-day epic option in Virginia is the TransVA, a 550-mile mostly-unpaved, unsupported backcountry cycling route that traverses the state of Virginia from D.C to Damascus, VA. The route offers 45k of climbing and an amazing exposure to the Shenandoah Valley and rural Virginia. Unlike some of the other events above, TranVA is not technical as it covers mostly unpaved, low traffic, roads. It fits nicely between classic road touring and multi-day MTB events and provides a solid test ground for would be Tour Divide hopefuls. Riders can choose between 3 pre-planned itineraries, a 9 day camping itinerary that covers about 60 miles per day, or if you want to lighten your load, riders can opt for the cabin/hotel approach, or the longer 13 day version. There are two ‘grand departs’ each year, spring and fall. For 2020, expect a mid May and mid October departure.
Transylvania MTB Epic is a 5-day race in Pennsylvania’s Rothrock State Forest over some of the toughest, most technical terrain the east coast has to offer. In its tenth year, the Transylvania Epic offers a 3-day and 5-day options. Racers can expect to ride about 30-40 miles per day and climb a total of 16K during the race. In 2019, former pro Jeremiah Bishop, won the men’s 5-day race in 10:43 last year with the women's’ top finisher at 18:09. The men’s 3-day winner finished in just over 6 hours. Registration is open now for the 21-25 May 2020 event.
Here are a few other interesting multi-day events for the 2020 season:
Want to plan an epic ride and head out on your own? The Carson Continental Divide Epic might be up your alley. This route is a sampler section of the CDT, covering the northern section of New Mexico in the Carson National Forest. Recently rerouted and converted to single track, this 95 mile section could be a great self guided supported route though NM’s high country with paved access to many of the campgrounds along the route.
Another MTB multi-day race option is the Breck Epic. A challenging MTB stage race over 6 days held in Breckinridge, CO 16-21 August, 2020. Amazing mountain views and epic climbs. You have the option to sleep in a comfy bed every night at Beaver Run Resort or do the more rugged camping option.
So this should start you thinking about 2020 while the days get shorter and temperatures start dropping. Look for my next post on the 1-day epic events for 2020.
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