The Biltwell 100: California’s Gnarliest Grassroots Desert Race
The Dudes
Event Spotlight
Desert Racing
Ridgecrest CA
Every April
April 2026 • Words by The Dudes at LiveTheGnar
Every April, a few hundred motorcycles of every shape, era, and displacement charge into the Mojave Desert outside Ridgecrest, California. No factory rigs. No corporate polish. No pretension. Just bikes, dirt, and the kind of weekend you talk about for years. This is the Biltwell 100 — and there’s nothing else like it.
The official 2026 Biltwell 100 event poster. April 11–12, Ridgecrest, California.
The desert outside Ridgecrest doesn’t care who you are. It doesn’t care if you’re pinning a number plate for the first time or you’ve been racing the Mojave for twenty years. It’s going to give you sand washes, rock gardens, and rain ruts all the same. The Biltwell 100 built an entire event around that truth — and the result is one of the most unique weekends in American motorcycle culture.
A single lap is roughly 25 miles of Baja-like terrain — fast, lightly whooped, not particularly rocky, and completely unforgiving if you’re not paying attention. Classes run one to four laps. Modern Expert Men go the full four for a true 100-mile race. Saturday and Sunday both have racing. Saturday night is a desert party at the Start/Finish. BYOB. Bench race with strangers. Sleep under the stars.
The Official Motto
“Good times.
Not lap times.”
Jordan Graham (Fasthouse Ducati Desmo450 EDX) — 2026 Overall Winner. Photo: Cycle News
Who Is Biltwell Inc.?
Biltwell Inc. started in a garage in San Luis Obispo making chopper parts — handlebars, risers, exhaust, pegs — with a no-BS attitude that became their entire identity. Over two decades they grew into one of the most respected names in motorcycle helmets, luggage, and riding gear without ever losing the garage-built soul that made them. The Biltwell 100 is an extension of that same soul: raw, inclusive, community-first, and completely free of pretension.
The brand behind the race. Shop all Biltwell at LiveTheGnar →
How the Race Works
Rubber-band Grand Prix start — fastest classes first, each releasing in waves. Every rider is scored only within their own class. Men and women in the same class may start together but are scored separately. Randomized numbers at registration. One rider, one bike. No class changes at the gate.
Every class gets medals for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. There’s a special award for finishing both days. Total entries capped at around 350 racers. It sells out every year. The Start/Finish is right off Highway 395 — accessible for everything from choppers to RVs, no 4x4 required.
The Classes — Run What You Brung
This is where the Biltwell 100 gets interesting. The class structure is one of the widest in off-road racing. From 5-year-olds on minis to 60+ legends still sending it in the desert. Straight from Biltwell’s own race page:
Modern Dirt Bikes
Expert, Intermediate & Novice by age: 18+, 30+, 40+, 50+, Legend 60+. Men’s & Women’s. 4 laps for Expert.
Hooligan
Any Harley over 750cc. Street bikes. In the actual desert. Against other Harleys only.
Factory Scrambler
Triumph Scrambler, Ducati Scrambler, Royal Enfield Scram 411, Honda CL500, Yamaha SCR950, Indian FTR 1200 Rallye & more.
Electric
Open (1 lap) and Endurance (2 laps, battery swaps allowed). Any 100% electric motorcycle.
Vintage & British Iron
MonoShock Expert (1981–1995). Vintage pre-’80. British Desert Sled 1980-and-earlier. Early Iron Endurance pre-’60.
Otto’s Junkyard Challenge
Build the cheapest pile you can. Race one lap. Anyone can claim your bike for $750 after. New for 2026.
Shop all Biltwell gear at LiveTheGnar →
Watch: 2025 Biltwell 100
Words only go so far. Watch the 2025 race to actually feel what the Biltwell 100 is — the rubber-band start chaos, the desert terrain, the energy of a few hundred riders all doing their own thing at the same time in the Mojave.
LiveTheGnar Was There
We didn’t just cover the Biltwell 100. We raced it.
Owner Josh raced his Ducati Desert Sled #422 in the Desert Sled Expert class, led his class through lap one, and blew his rear shock in a gnarly rain rut. Good times, not lap times.
Read the LTG Race Recap →Get Race-Ready
Shop Biltwell Gear at LiveTheGnar
Helmets, gloves, and accessories from the same brand that built the race. Show up to next year’s Biltwell 100 in gear that means something.