RoadMike

So I gone and done it. I registered for the Wilderness 101. I've never done a MTB race before. I race road and I ride long distance frequently on the road. I can ride century+ distances on a whim on a road bike, and my longest MTB ride is around 70 miles of which about 40% was technical single track. My goal for the race is to finish without being pulled. The time cutoffs work out to about 15 hours to complete the race without getting pulled if you have lights, 14 hours without. Any reason I should be worried about this? It's a supported race with five relatively evenly spaced aid stations. I'm kind of freaking out because I registered for such a huge challenge one month before the race. I kind of got talked into this by a few friends. I've only been mountain biking for about 3 months. I'll be doing the race on a Giant XTC 29'er hardtail with a 100mm travel air fork.

Tips and tricks for survival are much appreciated. I've got a grip on nutrition and the like, but little stuff that you guys have picked up from experience like maybe not so obvious tools and spares to carry, what not to bring, rig set-up, are all stuff I could use advice on.

Fat Boy

I just did something similar, and I'm a similar roadie-type. I think nutrition and hydration is huge. Eat and drink more than you need to. If you've got that dialed, then it's just a matter of turning the pedals and staying vertical. I bet you do just fine.