The Whitney Classic is an 136-mile-long (219 km) endurance mountain bike race that is held in late September or October every year. The ride runs from the Badwater Basin in Death Valley to Whitney Portal. Badwater, at 279 feet (85 m) below sea level, is the lowest place in the North America and Whitney Portal at 8,360 feet (2,550 m) is the trailhead that leads to Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous United States with an elevation of 14,505 feet (4,421 m).