Wente 8-Hour MTB Race

Wente 8-Hour MTB Race Wente is an 8 hour MTB relay race on the finest private-label singletrack in Mendocino. It's camping.

One of the emails we received after Wente came from a 63-year-old racer who spent the day sharing trail with our junior ...
06/10/2026

One of the emails we received after Wente came from a 63-year-old racer who spent the day sharing trail with our junior competitors.

He expected them to be fast.

He didn’t expect this:
“They were quick to say hello from behind, patient, passed cleanly and then said, ‘Have a great race.’ Then they tore off up the hill at a speed I can only dream of.”

We spend a lot of time talking about lap counts, podiums, and results.

But this felt worth sharing.

This year, more juniors lined up at Wente than ever before.

They were fast. Very fast.

But more importantly, they represented themselves, their families, their coaches, and our sport with the kind of sportsmanship that makes us excited about where mountain biking is headed.

To all the juniors who raced this year: thanks for reminding the rest of us how it’s done.

📸 

More juniors lined up than ever before. The podiums belonged to young legs. Camp was full of kids. Lake Winawa got the a...
06/02/2026

More juniors lined up than ever before.

The podiums belonged to young legs.
Camp was full of kids. Lake Winawa got the attention it deserved. And after shaving 90 feet of climbing off every lap, we counted more smiles late in the day than we ever have before.

A few thank-yous are in order.

brought no fewer than 30 bikes back from the dead over the course of the weekend. That’s a lot of races saved and a lot of heartbreak avoided.

poured the post-race beer, and as usual, reminded us how lucky we are to be surrounded by people who care deeply about their craft and this cycling community.

And then there’s all of you.
The families. The first-timers. The veterans. The kids who spent all weekend riding around camp. The folks who understand that Wente is more than an 8-hour race.

📸 Photos are coming soon.
Three photographers spent the weekend chasing you around the woods. We’ll let you know when the galleries are live.

📊 Please take the post-event survey. Tell us what worked.
Tell us what didn’t. Tell us what we should do differently.
We’re also curious if you’d join us for a fall weekend of riding, trail work, skills clinics, and general woodland shenanigans.

🎟️ Complete the survey and you’ll be entered to win one of five 3-person entries.

Thanks for making the 11th edition of the best one yet. This thing truly just keeps getting better.

Results and the survey are linked in our bio.

📸 

05/31/2026

You scream.
We scream.
Ice Cream.

🍦

Some traditions are simply too important to mess with.

05/29/2026

IF IT MOVES.

WE W**D WHACK IT.

It’s a labor of love people…

WENTE IS READY.

Rules for the camp that rules 👇Drive slow. Seriously. The speed limit into camp is 10 MPH, and we mean it. Dust sucks, p...
05/28/2026

Rules for the camp that rules 👇

Drive slow. Seriously.
The speed limit into camp is 10 MPH, and we mean it.
Dust sucks, people are everywhere, and nobody wants to get buzzed by your Tacoma while carrying an ice cream cone back to camp.

No dogs. We love ‘em too.
But Wente says no, so your furry co-pilot has to sit this one out.

And finally: quiet hours at 10:00 PM.
Because at Wente, somebody is either trying to sleep before racing for 8 hours… or trying to recover from racing for 8 hours.

Wente works because everybody buys into the idea that this place is special.

Respect the woods. Respect the people around you.
Keep the vibes high and the dust low.

Wente doesn’t happen all at once.It unfolds.Friday is coolers rolling into camp, packet pickup, and that first deep brea...
05/28/2026

Wente doesn’t happen all at once.

It unfolds.

Friday is coolers rolling into camp, packet pickup, and that first deep breath when the trees finally close in around you.

Saturday is eight straight hours of dirt, dust, cowbells, and trying to remember if that was lap four or lap six.

Sunday is camp coffee, tired legs, and everybody slowly disappearing back into the real world.

Somewhere in there: ice cream socials, lake swims, new friends, old friends, stories you’ll tell for years, and at least one teammate questioning their life choices halfway up a climb.

Study the schedule. Read the field guide. Two days left.

At its core, Wente is simple.Ride as many laps as possible in 8 hours.Do it solo, with a partner, or with a 3-person tea...
05/26/2026

At its core, Wente is simple.
Ride as many laps as possible in 8 hours.

Do it solo, with a partner, or with a 3-person team.
Tag your teammate in. Keep the wheels turning.
Try not to completely detonate by hour six.

But then there’s the bonus lap rule… and that’s where things get interesting.

If you make it onto course before the 4:00 PM cutoff, you’ve got until 5:00 PM to finish your final lap.

Which means this “8-hour race” can very quickly become
a 9-hour life decision.

That’s Wente.

If you want to dive deeper into the details, the Field Guide is ready and waiting for you at racewente.com

Good news for your legs.We took the cheese shaver to Wente and removed about 90 feet of climbing per lap.That may not so...
05/22/2026

Good news for your legs.

We took the cheese shaver to Wente and removed about 90 feet of climbing per lap.

That may not sound like much, but after a few laps those feet start adding up.

Riders could see lap times drop by a couple of minutes.
Everyone else gets a little less suffering and a little more gas left in the tank for later.

The steep stuff isn’t gone. We just gave it a haircut. ✂️
The rest of the course is exactly where you left it.

Want to see the updated route for yourself?
Check it out in Lanterne Rouge, linked in our bio.

Wente is just over a week away. 🌲🚲If you’ve been circling this thing from a distance wondering if you should pull the tr...
05/19/2026

Wente is just over a week away. 🌲🚲

If you’ve been circling this thing from a distance wondering if you should pull the trigger… this is your sign.

A few things before you point the car toward Willits:

→ The course is now live in Lanterne Rouge, along with campsite details and the Best Day loop for bonus adventure.

→ Tomorrow night is your LAST shot at snagging an official Wente shirt with registration. After that, the presses stop rolling.

→ Read the field guide before you arrive. The camp rules matter. The ice cream social schedule matters even more.

11 years in and somehow this place just keeps getting better.

Link in bio to get signed up, check the field guide, and start mentally preparing for the best weekend of your summer.

Address

Willits, CA

Website

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