Anyone else doing HC100? I’m had limited riding experience in Bend and I’m wondering and tires. Aspens? Dubnitals? Pack or bottles? Any/all advice is welcome.
I’ve done it the last two years and live in Bend. The moon dust is real, but that makes it so you can run about as fast of a tire as you want since you aren’t really on firm ground anyways. Last year I was on the grey sidewall Barzo/Mezcal and this year I’ll be on either the new race version of the Barzo/Mezcal or the Schwalbe Rocket Ron/Racing Ralph. First year I did Vittoria Syerras but I was gun shy after multiple flats on some Kenda XC tires and was new to XC tires in general. Run what you’re comfortable on and doesn’t flat at the first sight of a rock. Course should be a decent bit slower than last year due to a higher percentage of singletrack, more climbing, and almost certainly hotter temps.
I’ll be using a pack, but that is largely because I’ve got a bike that can only fit a single bottle. Probably will be doing my drink mix in the pack, with a spare bladder as a drop bag and just refilling the bottle with water at the aids as needed. If your bike can fit two bottles you’re never all that far from an aid station (5 aids, last one around 20 miles to go) so you can definitely make that work.
Can’t give you a ton of good advice other than I’m also doing the HC100 this year. I’m planning to ride 2.4 dubnitals front and back, but we’ll see if I feel the same after a pre ride later this month.
My bike holds two 750’s which will probably be fine assuming I stop at all aid stations. On a race this long, that seems like a fair call. I’ll have family at some of the aid stations they’re permitted so may pick up a pack with like 1L water if there’s any longer segments.
Do let me know how the Dubnitals feel. I’m running them right now and they somehow feel much slower than my older Racekings or Aspens.
Good to hear you can get by on bottles. That’s my preference whenever possible.
I raced this on Aspen 2.4s in 2024 and was happy with that decision. Where I struggled was with the heat. The early morning start will be cool and it’s easy to forget to hydrate early/often. I didn’t run a pack. You can make and label your own drop bags and the race will transport them to the corresponding aid station – that said, the aid stations are well stocked. I enjoyed it and can’t wait to go back!
Anyone that’s ridden it before - how technical is the terrain? Are there many obstacles that can’t be rolled over?
I’m not thinking it’s super technical, but am expecting it to become much more challenging to navigate items once the fatigue has set in the last several hours.
People finish it on gravel bikes, the trails are pretty smooth by and large. Pulling up the course map there are probably about 5 spots I can say I’m reasonably likely to have to get off the bike and each of those are specific obstacles and I’m back on the bike within about ten feet. In almost all of those cases getting on and off the bike is probably more energy efficient . If you’re coming to town to preride, doing a shuttle up to Dutchman and riding the back half of the course probably would cover most of the spots I’m thinking of and would be a fun ride in and of itself. If doing that I’d cut off from Mrazek down Farewell and Tumalo Creek and make your descent more fun.
I will be doing the race… I just did the NUE ulta.. Mohican in Ohio 3 weeks ago. What I found worked was with nutrition and hydration. I wore a USWE pack with 2,400 mls of water mixed what worked out to 60 g of carbs per 600 mls. (along with some LMNT) I also had 2 empty bottles pre loaded with the carb mix. This dropped weight and like Cascades there is a big road section before the first trail so I took in a lot of water prior to hitting the trails. (I find it hard in aggressive single track to use bottles) I filled the bottles at stations I knew were before gravel sections. My goal was to stop only once… to refil my pack around the 60 mile mark. Other than a mechanical it all worked to plan.
Headed to Bend Friday to pre ride with a couple buddies who are also doing the race. Tentatively planning a big day Saturday and shorter day Sunday. We’ll They shore up the exact plan later this week. They released the latest course today. Looks like some sections are currently closed due to logging so will have to re route around that.
Planning on the 2.4 dubnitals this weekend but not confident that’ll be my race tire. I’ll have a much better idea afterwards.
I watched a couple HC100 videos today and read a few articles. Some people mentioned walking a few technical parts. Any idea if these are marked during the race or easy to identify? I’m a fairly decent rider but after enough fatigue I may aim to be a bit more conservative.
I don’t think they’re marked in the race besides maybe the Tiddlywinks rock roll, but that also has a new ride around as of this past year. They’re otherwise easy to identify as shorter rockier sections that are tricky to pedal through. I would not worry about the technical parts of this race. The trails that are closed are largely double track and non-technical so you are not missing much besides a switchback that sometimes catches me up on Tumalo ridge. I’d recommend doing a shuttle from Dutchman back to town and just covering the back end of the course on one of the rides. That will expose you to most of the most technical bits and you can form an opinion for yourself.
Pre-rode 46 miles of the HC-100 last weekend. Terrain is so much different than our SW Washington rainy/green stuff. Tons of fun and way less hills than I’m used to on a MTB, so that will be great.
The last section, Tiddlywinks? Has some major jumps towards the end. They nearly all have ride arounds or are table tops, but they could get a bit dicy at the 85-90 miles in. They were a blast at 40ish miles in, however!
I swapped the front dubnital for a trinotal and it was a good choice. Those turns are SANDY. You definitely want good bite up front. My buddy I pre-rode with (way more skilled as a bike handler) went down on one turn getting a bit too on the loose embankment. Fortunately the sand was soft.
Some of the rock gardens were pretty iffy and did walk a few. Some I think are probably impossible towards the end, but pretty short in length.
Hopefully the course is well marked. With all the turns at that sort of speed, looking at the GPS frequently could be a major slow-down.
Pretty pumped for the race. We’ll see how 100 miles goes. I don’t know that I have a ‘strategy’ other than don’t blow up.. I have no idea if it’ll take me 8.5 hrs, or 10.5 hrs…
It will be well marked, I use my GPS more for elevation profiles and pacing guidance than directions. The sand traps will get worse in the next few weeks, they can be hard to see when the dust gets thick in the air, going from bright sun to deep shade, etc. There are indeed a few techy bits that some will ride but between fatigue, race adrenaline, and tire damage potential, I’ll jump off and run. Heat has been a major issue, especially in 2024, when they shortened the race because it was over 100 degrees.
Question for the group… glasses… clear lenses or ones for full sun or shade?
If you have 'em, I’d go with photochromatic changing lens. Early morning start favors a clear lens including some shade through out the day. Otherwise something with medium to light shade. All the dirt and dust kicked up will just add layers too so bring a small soft microfiber cloth instead of using your jersey.
I’ve seen some videos of people wearing the neck buffs for the dust. Is that necessary? During our pre ride with a couple others it didn’t seem overly terrible.. I’ve raced Cascade Gravel in nearby Sisters and it didn’t seem necessary.
No not necessary but if you’re in the racing pointy end with a pack early on, that sand and dirt you noted on your pre-rides will be much more significant. First half or so of the race, pull it off and put in your drop bags at the aid stations. It will be too hot to have and use and by then the race will be thinned out.
Even being behind a few riders can raise a lot of dust, and than can happen at various points on the course. It seems the worst in the trees (no wind), especially twisty sections with lots of berms. I haven’t worn one in the past but it isn’t a bad idea, especially before it gets hot, as you said. The trails also get notably dustier in the weeks before the race. It has been cool so far, so maybe this tear will be better. Yes, I just jinxed us all, sorry.
@Jonathan - I recall in a podcast you mentioned doing this race. Is this still the plan? Any update on your goals, setup, strategy, etc?
not super technical, but a few places you’ll dab and a few you’ll walk, but in total if you’re a decently technical rider this will amount to probably 100 feet of the course or less. I live here and have done the race twice, these trails are my backyard.
photochromatic changing lens is a great idea or swap if you can, morning low light and trees shading the trails makes it really tough to see rocks, especially since they’re covered in the dirt/moon dust and are effectively camouflaged.