Tandem "friendly" mountain bike races?

[ebnelson]

I'm putting together a mountain bike tandem and am trying to find a couple of events this summer. All of the races I know of are full or already occurred. I was wondering if someone out there might know about some events. The ones I know of are: Sea Otter XC, Lumberjack 100, Leadville 100, Laramie Enduro, and Chequamegon. I do see that the Leadville Siver Rush 50 is open and has a tandem class. We may go up and preride sections to see what they are like before entering. Any others?

Thanks,
Eric Nelson

[PMK]

FWIW, almost any MTB race can be done on the tandem. For some crazy reason, unless the turns are tighter than the steering lock, (if you run a double crown fork), or there is a lot of big things to drag the bottom tube, off-road tandem often hold there own in most situations. And if gravity assists...well let's just say the singles better hope you have good brakes and know how to use them.

For us, the CFITT bikepacking style race was incredible.

PK

[ebnelson]

I've raced well over a hundred MTB races, so I know the drill. What I'm looking for are races with an "official" tandem class. Of those, I would select fast/flowy courses because they would be more fun on a tandem. The Laramie Enduro comes to mind. Thanks for the tips though, I may end up just signing us up for the Half Growler.

[PMK]

I've raced well over a hundred MTB races, so I know the drill. What I'm looking for are races with an "official" tandem class. Of those, I would select fast/flowy courses because they would be more fun on a tandem. The Laramie Enduro comes to mind. Thanks for the tips though, I may end up just signing us up for the Half Growler.

If you travel, there are some east coast events that should still have open slots. Fools gold is one.

PK

[colotandem]

We have ridden the following races here in Colorado or nearby on the MTB tandem:
Leadville 100 (nearly impossible to get into)
Bailey Hundo (may be full and is coming up soon)
Voodo Fire (already occurred this year)
Desert RATS (in Fruita - fast course and is in a week or two)
Battle the Bear is in two weeks. Tandem friendly, no tandem class and is a lap course, so kinda boring
Laramie Enduro (lottery and full - by the way, this is our favorite! This year will be out fourth year in a row)
The King of the Rockies (last race of the WP series) is a great course, we've ridden the course numerous times, but never raced it. Ther is not a tandem category either.

Feel free to PM me. We're local (Golden) and always looking for more MTB tandems to ride with.

[ebnelson]

Thanks, colotandem. Do you know if Laramie Enduro entries are transferable? We might have a chance to get a couple of entries from other racers if they aren't able to compete? I raced the first Hundo, it was a good course and a very for a hundred mile mtb race. The Desert RATS looks interesting, maybe next year. We are interested in preriding the Laramie Enduro Course sections. I will PM you my email address.