Washington Enduro Challenge
Brought to you by our very own NMA Members!
775 Miles, 173,000 Vertical Feet, and 7 Days of Washington’s Best Singletrack.
Do you have what it takes?
Overview
The NMA Washington Enduro Challenge (WEC) is a self-supported, multi-day backcountry ride designed to test your endurance, skill, and determination. This 775-mile route runs South to North up the Cascade Range, from Randle to Twisp, climbing over 175,000 vertical feet through some of Washington’s best and most rugged singletrack.
This is not a race—it’s an adventure. You’ll ride on your own or with a small team, carrying everything you need, handling your own mechanicals, and making it to the finish within 7 days. There’s no outside support, no sweep crew, and no trophies—just bragging rights, a spot on the finisher list, and an epic experience you won’t forget.
While riders tackle the route independently, we’ll be cheering you on. Riding groups will share live tracking and post photos of challenge points in the WEC Facebook Group, to share the stoke along the way. If you’re in, be ready to ride hard, stay smart, and embrace the challenge.
And just so we’re clear—this route is hard. While most of the individual trails aren’t extremely difficult, the full route is long, demanding, and relentless. Most riders who attempt it will not finish. Expect to spend ~10 hours in the saddle each day, covering rugged terrain while managing fatigue.
You are entirely on your own out there—you need to be highly competent with GPS-based navigation, covering technical terrain efficiently, on-trail bike repair, and self-rescue. You’ll also need to arrange transportation to the start and end point of your ride. We’re publishing a GPX track, but we can’t guarantee it will always be accurate or up-to-date. Trail blockages, wildfire activity, and other unexpected changes are possible, and you’ll need to be able to adapt if and when they happen. Ride smart, be prepared, and know what you’re getting into.
1. Who Can Participate?
To take on WEC, you must:
- Be an active Northwest Motorcycle Association (NMA) member.
- Complete 4 hours of documented trail work documented through the NMA Track it Forward account, or donate $50 to the NMA Trail Stewardship Fund.
- Signup on the NMA WEC Signup page by July 1st.
- Ride a street-legal dirt bike capable of difficult single track, with a minimum fuel range of 140 miles.
- Have a Garmin (or similar) tracker with live public tracking enabled, so others can follow your progress.
- Ride solo or in a team of up to a max of 5 riders.
2. The Route & Time Limit
- The route includes 6 days of riding and must be completed within 7 consecutive days (allows one rest day). The riding window for the WEC runs from July 15 – October 1.
- Riders must follow the official GPX route—no skipping sections or taking easier alternatives. The final GPX route will be shared with teams no later than July 1.
- If a trail closure forces a reroute, you must make up equivalent mileage and difficulty later in the ride.
- No outside vehicle support, trailering, or gear drops—this is a self-supported ride. Purchasing gas, gear, food, and lodging in towns along the route is permitted and encouraged.
3. How to Prove You Did It
- You must enable live tracking on a Garmin, or similar, GPS device, for the duration of the ride. Live tracking links must be posted to the WEC Facebook group by your start date.
- You must take photos of your team at 4-6 designated “Challenge Points” on each day of your ride. Photos must be posted to the NMA WEC Facebook Group by the end of each riding day.
- Your GPS tracks must be recorded and submitted for verification at the finish; tracking should be a min of 5 min granularity.
- Any trail maintenance performed during the ride must be logged on the NMA Track it Forward account.
4. Ride Smart & Respect the Trails
- Follow all local laws and trail regulations—don’t be the rider who gets trails shut down.
- Leave No Trace—pack out what you pack in, stay on the trail, and respect other trail users.
- You’re responsible for all your own bike repairs and maintenance.
- If you need to quit early, post an update in the Facebook Group so we know you’re safe.
The NMA Washington Enduro Challenge is about self-reliance, adventure, and pristine singletrack. You’re going to ride hard, push through tough miles, and cover some of the best trails in the state. Meanwhile, the WEC community will be watching your progress, cheering you on, and sharing the journey. If this sounds like your kind of challenge—gear up, hit the trail, and earn that finisher spot.
Route Details
The route includes 6 days of riding and must be completed within 7 consecutive days (allows one rest day).
Sign Up Form
Registered Teams
Team Name:
Members:
Start Dates:
Recommended Gear List
In addition to challenging the skill and endurance of riders, the WEC demands high-performance, reliable equipment that can stand up to six consecutive days of difficult riding. As a baseline, WEC riders should be on street legal trail bikes (e.g. 300s, 450s – not adventure bikes) that will last through a week of non-stop riding with minimal mechanical issues. Riders must be prepared to handle a variety of challenges on the trail, while balancing the total weight of their kit. There’s a lot of good equipment available, but the WEC founders have a few recommendations that have proven reliable for difficult multi-day rides. GoldenTyres (GT333 Rear, GT216AA Front) are excellent trail tires, DOT approved, and will last the full 775 miles of the tour. We recommend pairing with a Neutech Tubliss setup, along Stan’s tubeless sealant and a DynaPlug Tubliss repair kit – this is a reliable setup that will help you avoid pinch flats, and won’t require carrying extra tubes. We’ve had success with Acerbis extended tanks (3.2 gallons or more) and LED headlights. We also recommend Molecule Moto Wrap-Around hand guards – these offer similar protection to traditional wrap-around hand guards at less than half the weight.
For navigation, we recommend using a smartphone with Gaia GPS; the GPX tracks were built using the Gaia Topo base layer. To mount your phone to handlebars, we recommend the RMS Handlebar Clamp Mount, paired with a RAM Mount Quick Grip XL. We’ve never dropped a phone with this setup, in thousands of miles of technical riding (and many hard crashes). We recommend the Garmin InReach Mini as an emergency GPS unit – this also allows you to text from your phone in areas without cell reception.
In addition to bike equipment, it is important for riders to carry warm clothing (you’ll likely be riding early mornings and/or late evenings), extra food, and several liters of water. We highly recommend carrying a water filter, a quality hand saw (we use the Silky Big Boy), and a robust tool and spare part kit (including replacement levers and bearings). It may be worth investing in lightweight tools (such as the Rolling Mavericks Combo Tire Levers) to reduce the weight of your kit. We highly recommend packing efficiently and consolidating your gear, clothes, food, and parts into a backpack (we use the Klim Nac Pak), and avoiding saddlebags.
This is some of the gear that has worked for us, but we’d love to hear other recommendations in the WEC Facebook page!
Founders
Brandon and Ryan Gratias grew up adventuring in Washington’s Cascade Range – climbing, skiing, and riding. They’ve completed a dozen difficult multi-day rides in Washington, Idaho, Colorado, Utah, and Europe (including the 2200-mile Tour of Idaho), and have spent the better part of a decade refining the WEC route. They believe Washington has one of the world’s best trail networks for long, continuous, mountain singletrack routes, and are excited to see more riders experience the challenge of the WEC.
