Moab Century Tour: How It Started and How It’s Going
What Even is a Century Ride?
“Yes, 100.
Yes, on my bike.
Yes, in one day.
No, I’m not crazy.
Yes, I know you don’t want to even drive that far.
”
“A Century” has been a long beloved category of road biking in the America’s - and across the globe - for a long long time. While no one knows officially the origin of the Century ride, it is defined and presumed as the following:
A century ride is a road cycling ride of 100 kilometers or more in metric system countries or 100 miles (160.9 km) or more in imperial system countries, usually as a cycling club-sponsored event.
The origins of the century ride are obscure, but Dora Rinehart did century rides in Denver, Colorado in the 1890s. The TOSRV began in 1962 with two riders. The Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour started in 1972 with eighty riders. The Apple Cider Century dates back to 1974. Source: Wikipedia
Skinny Tire Events Adds Second Event
Skinny Tire Events was formed by founders Mark Griffith & Beth Logan, as a way to put purpose to his cycling soon after the tragic loss of his oldest brother to cancer. He channeled his grief into action in 2000 and created the Moab Skinny Tire Festival (STF) with a few close friends to raise money for local cancer survivorship programs. Twelve riders signed up that first year and raised $1,200.
Cyclists participate in one of the first Moab Century Tours.
After completing a few successful Skinny Tire Festivals, and with the encouragement of friends, family, and STF participants, Mark decided to bring a second event to the Skinny Tire Events calendar.
At the time (2003), The Tour De France was hot in the US, so choosing a more challenging route than our spring event felt appropriate. Mark wanted to add a 100 miler to the calendar, and including the La Sal loop route seemed like the way to do it. The La Sals route was always a personal favorite for Mark when he needed a challenging ride, so this seemed like a great first place to start. We officially add The Moab Century Tour as a 1-day cycling event advertised as cycling the La Sal Loop road ride. This original route started in Moab, then up into the LaSals and down past Castle Valley, making a right out to Dewey Bridge and then back to town for 100 miles.
1-Day Event Turns Into 2-Day
The first year we offered the option for the attendees…you can either do the full 100-mile La Sal Loop route or a shortened 65-mile version (bypassing Dewey Bridge.) We were awe-inspired at the bulk of the cyclists signing up for the 100 miles, though a small percentage actually took the “turn” to add the additional 35 miles when the time came.
Over the next couple of years, the popularity of our event(s) grew with the awareness they were fundraisers for local cancer treatment centers - and with that growth came a wider variety of cyclists, from advanced to very beginner.
Feedback was provided that we make the event more accessible for every type of rider, and with that in mind, we changed the route from the La Sal Mountains, to cycling up to Dead Horse Point State Park, back down, and then along Highway 279. Again a century route at 100 miles, but a slightly less demanding 100 miles, and options to shorten the route if needed.
Sure enough…a few years later….we received an equal amount of requests to bring the La Sal Loop ride BACK! It was then we decided, let’s expand this from a 1-day event to a 2-day event, and on both days offer century rides (100 mi or 100 km), while also allowing for shorter alternatives.
Fire in the La Sals
In 2008 an unfortunate fire tore through the La Sal mountains which degraded a long section of roadway. In addition, many other sections of the La Sal Loop road were falling into unsafe conditions, leading us no choice but to pause the La Sal Loop road route for a few years, until safety and better road conditions could return.
In 2017 we brought the La Sal Loop route back after some repaving was completed, to the delight of our cyclists who enjoyed the clean pavement and smooth descent into Castle Valley.
Knowing many cyclists chose not to add the Dewey Bridge leg of this route to make it an imperial century as in the past, we chose to bring the route back as a metric century. The feedback was positive as the route provides enough challenge and scenery with its staggering 5,440’ of elevation change. And the option to ride an imperial century on day 1, was still an option.
Today’s Moab Century Tour
2022 MCT participant on La Sal Loop road route
For over a decade, the route options stayed the same, and further improvements to the La Sal Loop road were made, making this fall event a staple for those who enjoy scenic routes, colorful mountains, and cooler temperatures in Moab. Year over year we have more and more participants (early numbers show this year is no exception!) making this event a great fall ride.
In the past 5 years, we witnessed a drop to almost 0% of cyclists opting to ride 100 miles on Saturday. Rather, they chose the 65-mile Dead Horse Point State Park option as a warm-up to the challenging day 2 mountain route. Because of this decline, in 2023, we decided to drop the official support for the Highway 279 section of the day 1 route.*
While our Skinny Tire Festival remains our most popular event, we have to admit we think the Moab Century Tour is our best-kept secret. At no other cycling event in the USA can you experience red rock canyons, desert blooms, a mighty river, a 12,000+ ft mountain range, and fall foliage all from your saddle in the same weekend. Not to mention Moab’s summer heat backs off, along with some of the peak tourist numbers. This is truly a bucket-list-worthy event. And while there may not be an imperial century on the routes anymore, we promise each mile you cycle will be challenging and memorable.
Photo from 2022 Moab Century Tour, day 1 route.
Join us in September
The Moab Century Tour is held every September over a weekend, and we would love for you to join us. Learn more about the event at this link, or use the button below to register today.
*While cyclists are still welcome to ride an imperial century on Saturday if they choose, they would do so unsupported the last 30 miles.
