Starting in 2022, the Hard Coe're 100 will take place the 1st Saturday of May - taking advantage of the great wildflower scenery, longer days, and milder temps than the early October events. The group start time from Hunting Hollow parking lot is at 6:00 AM to coincide with the sunrise. While the 100 mile route is the mainstay of the event, there are also 60, 50, and 40 mile routes one can ride.
About
The Hard COEre 100 is an unofficial 100 mile mountain bike challenge taking place in Henry Coe State Park near Gilroy, California. This is not an organized race or sanctioned event - there is no entry fee, no prizes, no support. It is similar in format and spirit to events such as the AZTR 300/750 and other self-supported events.
All that is provided is a route, a suggested start time and tabulation of "results". There is no race organization, no checkpoints, no support system - you are completely on your own. The route description page contains a few tips with regards to logistics (water etc) and timing (the aim is to finish in one day).
You're welcome to ride the route at any time. We* provide a suggested start date if you want others to ride with/against. ITTs (individual time trials) will be ranked with the current year's results. If you want to be included in the results you need to adhere to the park's regulations and some basic rules of self-supported travel (such as listed here). It is your responsibility to know, understand and follow these rules. We'll observe the honor system (i.e. we'll take you on your word with regards to traveled route, finishing time and such unless we have good reason not to - of course you're more than welcome to send us or post a recorded gpx file). Please contact us here if you have questions or comments.
(*) In case you're wondering: 'we' are a bunch of Coe nuts (Dirk/ElHombre, Patrick/Ratpick and Roy/Plymmer)
There are no rewards for completing this, except for the immense sense of accomplishment you should feel, the fact that you've been able to enjoy the glorious beauty of this vast and underappreciated land and the infinite fame and bragging rights granted to you by having your name listed on this site!
The experienced endurance mountain biker may not be too impressed by the prospect of doing a 100-miler, but this is not an ordinary 100-miler. For starters, it consists of one big loop, with no laps or repeats, most of it in a remote near-wilderness hours away from civilization. It also features over 20,000 foot of total elevation gain (or, about 25% more than the hardest NUE 100 mile races), on terrain and in conditions that can be brutal and unforgiving. The majority of trails in Coe weren't 'designed' or built with mountain biking in mind; they often consist of half-overgrown game trails, rocky creek beds, ridiculously steep fireroads and old horse carriage trails. But there's also plenty of buff and gorgeous singletrack to be found.
E-bikes- Class 1 e-bikes are welcome on any of the Hard Coe're routes (e-COE 100, e-COE 100K, e-Coe 50, and e-COE 40). For the efforts to be ranked in the results page, ebikers must follow the same rules of self-supported travel described above. Under no circumstances should any battery, full or empty, be stashed anywhere in the park (illegal and a fire hazard). You must carry in and carry out all extras batteries. Additionally, the ebike rider must be prepared to walk out, pedal, or push their 50 lb bike should there be a mechanical issue far from the entrance to the park. It is not the responsibility of Park staff to "rescue" any rider (regular or ebike) for non-life threatening situations. Strategy for best overall time will be to balance the speed afforded by bringing extra batteries with the challenge of carrying and riding with a very heavy pack. 2021 saw the first e-COE 40 and e-COE 100K completions - Who will be the first to ride the full e-COE 100?
Finally, if you are local to the South Bay, we'd encourage you to help maintain the trails in Henry Coe. The condition of the trails during the event is 100% dependent on how much work is put in every year by volunteers. The Park does not maintain the singletracks. Trails that currently need the most work include: Middle Ridge, Heritage Trail, Pacheco Creek Trail, Hoover, Willow Ridge Trail, and Rose Dam. Most Coe trail work involves keeping the brush at bay- to this end, lightweight loppers (check out the ultralight Fiskars 15" Super Pruner) and folding hand saw will be the best tools to carry. Please consider putting in one or two "work days" per year.