Three Must-Try Cycling Marathons for Bike Lovers

Long-distance cycling events have gotten complicated with all the options flying around these days. As someone who’s ridden everything from casual 50-milers to gut-wrenching century rides, I learned everything there is to know about what makes a cycling marathon worth signing up for. Today, I will share it all with you.

There’s a difference between going for a long ride and doing a cycling marathon. The marathon has a start line, a finish line, aid stations, and a few hundred (or thousand) other people suffering alongside you. It changes the whole dynamic. You push harder because everyone around you is pushing too. And that finish line hits different when you’ve earned it.

Here are three events that belong on your radar.

The Great Big Bike Ride

This one runs every summer through Funville Park, and it’s a solid 50 miles of gorgeous scenery. I rode something similar my first year getting into longer distances, and 50 miles felt like climbing Everest at the time. Now I look back and laugh, but that first big ride taught me a lot about pacing and nutrition.

The route is beginner-friendly without being boring, which is harder to pull off than you’d think. Rolling terrain, nice views, and enough variety to keep your brain engaged when your legs start complaining around mile 35. And they do a picnic and medal ceremony at the finish, which honestly makes the whole thing feel like a celebration instead of just an endurance test.

If you’ve never done anything longer than a casual weekend ride, start here. No shame in it. Everyone starts somewhere.

The Mountain Challenge

Okay, this one’s a different animal. Seventy-five miles through Adventure Peaks every fall, and a lot of those miles go straight up. The climbs will test you in ways flat rides never will. I’ve found that mountain events attract a certain type of rider — the kind who actually enjoys suffering. I might be one of those people.

What most people miss about mountain marathons is that the descents are just as demanding as the climbs. You’re squeezing your brakes, picking lines around switchbacks, and trying not to think about the drop-off six inches from your tire. My hands were so cramped after my first mountain ride that I couldn’t open a water bottle at the finish.

But crossing that finish line after conquering actual peaks? That’s bragging rights you keep forever.

Probably should have led with this section, honestly. If you want to find out what you’re really made of on a bike, mountain events are where the truth comes out.

The City Circuit

A hundred miles through downtown streets every spring. Thousands of riders. Closed roads. Landmarks rolling by while you’re in the drops doing 20 mph in a massive paceline. The City Circuit is the kind of event that makes you feel like a pro for a day.

That’s what makes urban century rides endearing to us cycling nuts. You’re riding through streets you normally share with taxis and delivery trucks, but for one day, they’re all yours. I did a city century a couple years back and still remember ripping through an empty intersection at speed with a group of fifty other riders. Felt like we owned the place.

The distance is no joke, though. A hundred miles is a hundred miles, pavement or not. You’ll want some training under your belt before you line up for this one. My first attempt at a century, I bonked at mile 72 and spent the last 28 miles questioning every decision I’d ever made. Learned a lot about eating on the bike that day.

Get Out There

Whether it’s 50 miles or 100, a cycling marathon gives you a goal to train toward, a community to ride with, and a story to tell afterward. Train smart, bring more food than you think you need, drink before you’re thirsty, and remember that everyone at the start line felt nervous at some point. See you out there.