Wilderness 101 Mountain Bicycle Race
| Date | Variable, late July usually |
|---|---|
| Region | Bald Eagle State Forest and Rothrock State Forest, Pennsylvania |
| Nickname(s) | W101 |
| Discipline | Mountain Bike |
| Type | 100 Mile Ultra Endurance |
| Race director | Chris Scott |
| First edition | 1991 |
| Editions | 18 |
The Wilderness 101 Mountain Bicycle Race is an ultra-endurance 101 mile (162 km) mountain bike race held annually in late July. The race is commonly called the W101, akin to a first year college course, such as Physics 101, at the nearby Penn State University.
The race was first held in 1991 and been held continuously since 2001. The W101 starts and ends in a small village Coburn, Pennsylvania near Millheim, Pennsylvania. The W101 course is a single loop covering roads, forest roads and trails. The total climbing in the race is approximately 12,000 feet (3,658 meters.) The majority of the course is within the Bald Eagle and Rothrock Pennsylvania State Forests. The event is organized and run primarily by Shenandoah Mountain Touring (located in Harrisonburg, VA) and has been one of the stops of the National Ultra Endurance Series since 2006.
The Wilderness 101 was first held in 1991 organized by a bicycle shop location in State College, PA (The Bicycle Shop). The owner of the Bicycle Shop, Randy Moore, the shop manager, Michael Hermann (current owner of Purple Lizard Maps) and James Bryant (a local attorney) put together an off-road loop of 101 miles, with the specific goal to be longer than a 100 mile race. They also wanted to do the loop as a point-to-point ride because the early off road century races were lap races, most held at ski areas. Moore and Hermann were among the early east coast mountain bike pioneers who discovered the trail riding in Rothrock and Bald Eagle State Forests in the late 1980s. The same group held the W101 again in 1992 and 1993 and then stopped holding the race simply because it was getting big, and they decided they didn't really want to be race promoters. In addition to the 101, they held a 30 mile mountain bike race that started and finished in Coburn, PA annually. Moore and Hermann were involved with Grove Innovations at that time, a local well respected handmade mountain bike builder. The races were held to promote the new sport of mountain biking, the unique trails they had in Central PA, and as a fund raiser for the local fire departments. Moore and Hermann weren't interested in being race promoters as much as they just liked to ride. Mountain bike racing was growing in popularity and many other race events were happening on the east coast, and they decided to stop promoting the Coburn race and the 101.
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