Touring for sport

On foot, a marathon is just over 26 miles. On a motorcycle, it’s bit longer.

Apparently, a “motomarathon” reaches 1,600 miles. At least, that’s how far riders participating in next month’s Centopassi Motomarathon will be asked to ride, no matter how numb their butts may get.

The Centopassi (Italian for 100 passes, although there are not really 100 involved here), is the inaugural event in the Rocky Mountain region’s long-distance sport-touring motorbike season. Organized by the Motomarathon Association, the series consists of several four-day rides in and around the Rockies.

This first event, held June 25 thru 28 at a pace of about 400 daily miles, will begin and end at the Peleton Community in Boulder, Colo. The routes to be ridden are kept sealed, to be distributed to riders the night before each leg. At the end of the day, participants must submit digital pictures as proof of having been at each set checkpoint along the way.

Event sponsors include Ducati North America, Aerostitch and Wolfman; representing bikes, motorcycle clothing and bike luggage, respectively. Ducati North America CEO Michael Lock says these kinds of long distance sport-touring events are perfectly aligned with the spirit of Ducati’s new Multistrada 1200, a four-riding-mode motorcycle the company is now rolling out to rave reviews.