100 Mile Mountain Bike Race? What?

Yes, that’s right. 100 miles on a mountain bike. It’s what separates the men from the boys. It refines and molds a person like iron in a fire.  A race of this caliber is not for the faint of heart.

Like most bikers, it was my biking buddies that first planted the seed that maybe I could do a 100-mile race. The 2015 Lumberjack 100 was my first century MTB race and I still remember signing up at the beginning of January…when you have all the ambition in the world for the upcoming year and it’s so far off that you tell yourself you can absolutely do this. I still remember going online, hitting submit, and having the same nervous feelings as if I was on the starting line (Dear Lord, what have I done). Well that race was everything I expected and more. I was hooked. I ended up doing the Lumberjack again in 2017 on my fat bike and officially as part of Team REMAX.

What does it take to do an endurance race like Lumberjack or the Mohican? Well, you certainly must put in the seat time. There’s no hiding from something like this. You have to put the miles in to get yourself physically ready. This is where being a part of a team really pays off. Having some teammates with you to put in those training rides and to holding you accountable is invaluable.

However, in my opinion, the more important aspect of a race like this is the mental toughness. I know I’m going to suffer. I know I’m going to push my limits. I know I will be hurting. And I know there will be a point (or two) during the race when I’m going to want to give up. However, I also know that everyone else in the race is going to be suffering right there with me. There’s some sort of comfort in that, especially when you know you have teammates out on the course too.

Being able to push through your physical and mental barriers is a work of art and gives such an overwhelming sense of pride and satisfaction. It’s addicting. If you have even a small desire to do a 100 mile race some day, I would tell you this: Whatever you think your limit is, you can go further. You can push beyond your limits. It just takes determination, grit, and discipline (and lots of high quality H2O ?).

See you at mile 100. 

A few 100 miles races for you to check out.
LumberJack 100

DirtwireTV video of the Mohican 100 MTB

Dan DeWaal

2 Comments

  1. Casey on January 3, 2018 at 9:08 pm

    Awesome write up Dan! Great read for someone on the fence about signing up!

  2. Mark Deering on January 4, 2018 at 3:58 am

    Good read!

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