Red River Gorge MTB 100

This race takes you through most of the best backcountry dirt and gravel roads in the area and samples the growing network of singletrack. The climbs are tough. The paved road sections make the course fast. But it's really the scenery and the camaraderie that make this race unforgettable!

Multiple creek crossings exist on this race course. The Daniel Boone Backcountry Byway is a legal, public and promoted loop route connecting old dirt and gravel county roads with paved sections of the Red River Gorge Scenic Byway. Respect private property along the route. There are few services along the way.

If you ride this course other than on race day, plan on being self-sufficient for long stretches. You can detour the private property by taking Old Fincastle Road to exit Walker Creek Road (old KU Railway).

The short section between miles 62 and 63 includes private property that can only be ridden on race day. Please respect private property and do not trespass so we can continue to use this part of the course in future years!

The Red River Gorge MTB 100 begins and ends at 4 Guys RV Park / The Barn at the Gorge in Nada, Kentucky. The Barn is typically a wedding venue, but we discovered it works really well for a mountain bike race as well! From 4 Guys, the race rolls out in the fog toward the world famous Nada Tunnel.

From the tunnel, the real race is on as riders bomb into the Gorge and turn west along the Red River for a few miles where the course then picks up the Daniel Boone Backcountry Byway, a motorized off-road route, which it then follows to mile 51. From there, it skips over to pick back up the Walker Creek section of the DBBB for 6.0 miles along an abandoned historic railroad through the backwoods of Wolfe and Lee Counties before climbing out (on private property) to gain the partially graveled Shoemaker Ridge Road before dropping fast into Hell Creek and then immediately out of Hell Creek.

The course then crosses to the west side of KY 11 and descends into Bald Rock Fork of Big Sinking Creek, winds around on some trails, and finally heads on out to Big Sinking, turns upstream, and climbs to the headwaters at Leeco after passing through the ghost town of Fixer.

From Leeco / Standing Rock, racers cross over a scenic ridge along Barker Branch Road before turning back onto dirt, crossing a ridge, and dropping into Red's Hollow for the final dirt / gravel section of the race. After Aid Station 5 at mile 90, racers have a grueling section along Pilot Road before a leg-killing climb to the apex of High Rock followed by a fast descent to the flats of the last couple of miles to the finish.

Numerous historical consideration, too many to list.