Last weekend I rode the Hot Taco Bikepacking Race, a unique all-women bikepacking challenge out of Boise, Idaho. I went in expecting hot weather, a hard but not-too-long course, and fantastic community. Hot Taco delivered on all three.
If there’s one place I can always count on for good bikepacking vibes, it’s Boise. The Idaho Smoke ‘n’ Fire 400 (SnF) was my first bikepacking race back in 2019, and I’ve returned three more times in the years since. It’s always a joy to reconnect with the folks there and be part of their vibrant bikepacking community for a few days.
After Tour de los Padres I wanted one more short bikepacking event to round out my season and test the fitness I’ve been rebuilding since having my kid. Hot Taco happened to fit my packed schedule, and had a lot going for it: a nice “short” 200 mile loop, simple logistics once I arrived in Boise, mild nights that encouraged packing light, and a fun group of adventurous friends old and new.
My husband generously agreed to take on the longest stretch of solo parenting either of us has ever undertaken (Thanks E!!! I’m not sure which one of us ended up having the harder weekend…) and I booked a flight to Boise.
I can’t say my training has been ideal. For the last couple months it’s consisted of one weekly ride, usually about 20 miles and between 3k to 5k feet of climbing, plus weight workouts. I hoped this routine, together with Tour de los Padres and our family tour through South Korea would carry me through.
Wait, women only?
That’s right! Doing badass things alongside badass women is a special kind of fun.
To be clear, I love bikepacking amongst guys too. In my experience gender is mostly irrelevant out there, its importance fading in comparison to the immediate experiences we all share. But women are a minority in bikepacking, which is exactly why it’s so much fun to be the majority for once. It’s a different energy.
I’ve spent much of my life working and recreating in male-majority fields, and at times I’ve been conflicted about whether to call out the asymmetry or ignore it. Younger me might not have gone for this event — she would have been glad it exists but not that interested in riding it — but older and wiser me thought it would be a lot of fun.
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About Hot Taco
The Hot Taco Bikepacking Race was started by Smoke ‘n’ Fire alum Connie Strand Hendricks in 2024. It’s closely connected with Laura Heiner’s amazing Idaho Women’s Bikepacking group. Both of these women are fabulous and badass. I love hanging out with them in Boise, and I love what they’re doing to grow the women’s bikepacking scene.
This year the Hot Taco route was 214 miles with 22,800 feet of climbing:
The route is designed to be approachable, not in a patronizing “women need an easy route” kind of way, but in a “let’s lure more beginners into this weird and wonderful activity” kind of way. But let me be very clear: the Hot Taco course is not easy. Though it’s only half the distance of Smoke ‘n’ Fire, its climb per mile is about the same (~100 ft/mi).
Having fought my way through SnF four times (most recent ride report here) I would say Hot Taco has a similar feel. Both start and end in Boise and have roughly 100 feet/mile of climbing. Their routes overlap a bit, but not too much – I loved that Hot Taco felt very different in some spots.
Both races end with a big singletrack descent that will take longer than you expect. SnF also has some tricky sections of singletrack in the middle (like Redfish Ridge and Titus hike-a-bike), whereas HT’s singletrack is all at the end and mostly rideable.
So yes, Hot Taco is approachable. It’s shorter than the average bikepacking race. It has well-spaced resupply (every ~70 miles) and plenty of water sources and camping spots. Mostly it avoids roads with traffic. In July the nights are mild, so you can pack light and don’t need cold-weather gear. For me the cold nights of SnF are a big struggle so I was especially looking forward to this part.
But physically, Hot Taco should not be underestimated! It has a ton of climbing, and the weather in July is HOT: this year temps topped 100 degrees F in the low elevation sections. I hear Connie might change the timing next year, which also has downsides (colder nights, shorter daylight hours), but that’s bikepacking for you… There’s always something!
My ride
Overall my ride went smoothly. I packed lighter and slept less than I ever have before. I thought I executed well — stayed within my intended stop time for resupply and sleep, kept moving efficiently, and managed my body in the heat. My timing estimates were pretty accurate, except that I was consistently on the slower end of them. I think this was partly due to my limited training, and partly the heat.
In the end I met my goal of finishing before dark on the second night, but only by an hour. I was the last finisher across the line by ten minutes, with all five of us finishing within a few hours of each other! Typically some people finish on day 3, but it was a small group this year and the riders at the very front and back of the pack ended up dropping out. I actually didn’t realize how close we all were until the end, because I rode alone almost the whole time.
Day 1: 121 miles, 12.8k feet climbing
At 5am it was already warm. We kicked things off with a 15 mile climb up paved Bogus Basin Road, a reroute from the original gravel due to a fire closure. I felt pretty good on this climb, and really enjoyed the subsequent gravel descent. The gradual climb up Grimes Creek dragged on and was the first place I felt a bit uncomfortable.
In tiny Placerville I took a short 15 minute break for some chocolate milk, then pushed on another 20 miles to Garden Valley. This section was familiar from Smoke ‘n’ Fire, but in reverse I hardly recognized it!
The heat was really ramping up when I hit Garden Valley around 3pm. I gave myself an hour to sit in the air-conditioned gas station and scarf down a Subway sandwich. Usually I have trouble eating in hot weather, but surprisingly the sandwich went down without trouble. At this point I decided to buy enough food that I could skip going into Horseshoe Bend the next day, in case I passed by before the gas station opened (ha!).
The big climb up Scriver Creek took the rest of my daylight hours, and I dropped into a peaceful valley right at sunset. The climbs out of Smith’s Ferry and up Dry Buck took me several more hours. I was nearly to the top when I passed a couple riders bivvied by the roadside, an encouraging sign because I was pretty sure I was in last place. I pushed on toward the top but spotted a perfect hidden camp spot just before, and at 1am I called it a night.
Day 2: 93 miles, 10k feet climbing
I got almost 2 hours of sleep in my minimal bivvy setup (no sleeping quilt needed) before my 3:30am alarm, and was moving by 4am. Part of my strategy for this “short” race — only one night out hopefully — was to push limits on sleep more than I usually do.
The big descent was a nice treat, if a little chilly (I wore my tights and puffy jacket for most of it). Sunrise found me rolling into a lovely valley and eventually the picturesque community of Sweet. The rollers into Horseshoe Bend dragged on forever and didn’t feel familiar, even though I had ridden them back in 2019 during my cross-country Bike Nonstop US ride.
Since I was carrying enough food, I skipped Horseshoe Bend and continued straight to the Harris Creek climb. This was a slog, chunky and washboarded in places, with a fair number of cars kicking up dust. The heat really settled in as I hit the connection point with Smoke ‘n’ Fire, which I knew would be tough going with its steep punchy climbs. I walked a lot through this section, tending carefully to my energy levels in the oppressive heat, or maybe just being lazy.
I was happy when the route diverged from SnF onto different singletrack, something new to keep my mind busy. I hit the start of the Sweet Connie descent right around 6pm, the tail end of my “I can probably finish before dark” window. The trail was fast and fun, but felt like descending into an oven. My eyes watered in the hot hairdryer wind.
Just like SnF, Hot Taco makes you work until the very end. After two more climbs totaling about 1000 feet of elevation gain after the main descent, I finally found myself rolling into town. I was feeling pretty cooked, like literally. Some much-appreciated trail magic in the last couple hours helped to cool me down, as did the setting sun.
At the finish line an enthusiastic group was gathered to cheer me in (the last finisher by about 10 minutes). Among them were some of the women who had finished just ahead — we’d been so close, but yet so far, the whole time. We swapped stories and took pictures before heading our separate ways to clean up, eat, and SLEEP.
Another Boise bikepacking event in the bag! Every time I say “last time” and somehow I keep coming back. I did make a mental note, somewhere during the final climb, to not sign up for Smoke ‘n’ Fire next year, but I’ve said that before. I’m not sure when I’ll next find myself in Boise, but I have a feeling I’ll be back, as usual.
Reflections on what went well:
- Hydration and electrolytes: No cramps this time, unlike Tour de los Padres, despite the horrendous heat. I carried lots of Tailwind, started sipping it early on day 1, and never stopped.
- Staying on schedule for stops: Every time I set a goal — 15 minutes in Placerville, an hour in Garden Valley, 3 hours at camp — I stuck to it. Has parenting given me some kind of time management superpower?
- Moving steadily, if not fast: Toward the end I even had some energy in my legs again. I wonder if I might have felt pretty good had it been about 15 degrees cooler.
- Packing light: This was the lightest setup I’ve ever carried, and I used everything I brought in terms of sleep and clothing.
- Buying enough food: I struggle to buy enough gas station junk food to get me through long days on the bike. This time I counted out 200 calories per hour (plus “dinner” before bivy) and had plenty even though I skipped the last resupply.
- No mechanical issues: I worked hard to carve out time for bike maintenance this year and it paid off (or I got lucky), no issues at all.
What could have gone better:
- Honestly, just stronger and faster riding would have been nice. I’ve had some good results from weight lifting this year and am excited to refocus on that now that the summer’s big bike goals are behind me.
My bike and gear
I rode Stella (flat bar rigid MTB) with carbon fork and Vittoria Mezcal tires, and was really happy with this choice. No suspension needed for all that gravel, and the flat bars gave just enough of that MTB feel to really enjoy the singletrack at the end.
Because the temps were so warm overall (lows in the mid-fifties overnight) I went without a sleeping bag / quilt for the first time ever. My sleep kit consisted of my breathable Borah Gear Ultralight Bivy, Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Uberlite 3/4-length pad, Sea to Summit Aeros pillow, and an SOL bivy for waterproofing and extra warmth just in case (didn’t use it).
I also packed light tights and an ultralight down jacket (Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer) which I slept in and rode in at times during the night. I had one chilly descent along a creek in the pre-dawn, but otherwise was warm and toasty the whole time.
For water I only used about 3 liters of capacity, maybe 3.5 when it was really hot, because the route has plenty of water sources. I managed to fit it all on my bike, which was great (really wanted to avoid the extra heat of a backpack): 1.5 liters in frame bag, 1 liter in stem bag, 1.5 liters (usually not full) on downtube.
Lastly, special shout-out to kLite for their brilliant light design. I’ve been a big fan of my kLite dynamo lighting for years — it really improves my experience of riding at night. The mount snapped in my bike bag during the flight and I was able to zip tie the light onto the mount, zero issues during the ride.
Racing “short”
At 214 miles of mostly gravel, Hot Taco is the shortest bikepacking race I’ve ever ridden. My goal was to finish before dark on the second day, so only one night out. The fastest rider hoped to finish under 24 hours, making it arguably not a bikepacking race at all (though she still carried a minimal bivy setup, because you never know).
I’ve never spent fewer than three nights out in past races. What would this shorter format unlock? A few observations:
Sleep is the most obvious limit to push. With just one night out you almost – almost – don’t need to sleep. A stronger rider might push straight through, but I knew my body would need at least an hour or two of horizontal time. I stopped for exactly three hours, from 1am – 4am, and slept for about two of those hours.
Food is also a bit more forgiving. On a longer ride I have to eat as much real food as I can stomach, otherwise I get sick of sugary processed food and run out of gas somewhere around day 3. For this ride I knew I could squeak by with a junkier diet, no damage done as long as I had enough total calories. This allowed me to skip the second resupply in Horseshoe Bend by carrying a disgusting amount of snacks out of Garden Valley.
Mental game: “You can do anything for two days!” is what I told myself, and it did help. By the time I started thinking “Wait, why am I doing this? This is hard!” somewhere toward the end of day 1, I was already halfway there.
Speed? (not for me): My body is wired for loooong-effort endurance and only has two speeds: slow and slower. Pushing the pace for a shorter effort wasn’t really an option, especially not on the limited training I’ve been able to squeeze in lately. But better athletes could definitely experiment with a harder effort in a race of this length.
Physical toll: I still felt pretty loopy at the finish, partly due to the heat, but definitely less wrecked overall compared to my Smoke ‘n’ Fire finishes. Being out there for twice as long does take a bigger toll on the whole system.
Recovery: Two days later I’m still pretty tired, but I’m hoping the shorter effort translates to faster recovery. This is even more important now that I have a kid, because once I get home there won’t be any leisurely sleeping in or lounging around!
No day 3 high: This is the only negative I can think of. I’ve talked with other racers who also experience this magic: once we push through the first day or two, we often feel really good somewhere around day three (if we eat and pace well). I sometimes say it takes me two days to warm up. With Hot Taco I did all the work of the first two days but never enjoyed the payoff of getting fully into the groove.
The vibes, good as always
As I reflect on the ride, it’s the people and the supportive adventurous vibes that stand out. This is honestly what keeps me coming back to bikepacking races. They’re not always, dare I say it, very fun! But the people are the reason I chose an event, and this one in particular, instead of riding solo somewhere random (been there done that plenty of times).
Thanks to Connie for putting on such a well-designed event, thanks to my Boise friends new and old for welcoming me and spending time with me, and thanks to E for putting in an epic parenting effort while I was away. I’m not sure which one of us had the harder weekend! 🙃
Congratulations to all riders! I hope you’re recovering well, and I hope our paths cross again out there somewhere.
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About the Author
Hi there, I’m Alissa, founder of Exploring Wild. I’ve traveled over 20,000 miles by bike and still can’t stop planning my next ride (and helping you plan yours). Pavement and panniers or singletrack and seat bag, I love it all. On my bike I feel free. Learn more about me here.
Bikepackers: Join me on Patreon for my most current and personal writing, individualized trip prep help, and a community of likeminded supporters.
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