Registered first thing this AM….did it last year and really enjoyed it. Great route and organization.
Will race a bit differently this year and let the group go earlier, probably. Held on to ~mile 35 last year and then struggled from mile ~40-60. Bounced back a bit after that, but no need to dig that deep again in a fruitless effort to hang on to the front.
I’ll pass plenty of people in the last half of the ride, especially if it is hot (which it almost certainky will be).
Massachusetts!
Another vote for d2r2! The 113mi loop has almost 13k elevation 
Mixtape in mid-April is also fantastic
Also from PA and would agree on Iron Cross and unPAved but would have added Keystone Gravel.
I haven’t done it but have heard great things about it. It’s been going for a few years now and sells out each year.
Utah - in alphabetical order:
BWR
Crusher in the Tushar
True Grit
Of course there are other races and fondos, but the bonus event I’ll add is where I live - the Wasatch All-Road Bicycle Race
Those are the four that come to my mind as well. Not sure if BWR is returning in 2023. Planning on trying Crusher next year… seems like a brute.
Please do this!! I would love to have a list of races that I could access and if i find myself with some extra fitness and some time off I could go and race them!!
Texas - Some of my favorites:
Gravel Locos -Hico
Texas Chainring Massacre
Red River Riot
Renegade Rambler
In Alabama, I’d recommend the Standard Deluxe Dirt Road Century in Waverly (https://www.terrafirmacycling.com/ ) and Shake and Brake in East Alabama. (Wrote about that one, here: I had pre-riding gravel courses all wrong - by Rick Swagler)
And in Virginia, one of my favorites and most scenic is Gravista (ridegravista.com), 65 miles with 9,000 feet of climbing in the Blue Ridge Mountains. (Wrote about that one here: The spirit of gravel or just the spirit of Gravista?)
And beginning Saturday, Jan 7, is the 4-race Mississippi Gravel Cup. GC Index — Ordinary Epics
First time racing this one but everyone I know who’s done it loves it.
If you’re willing to come up to Canada, close to Montreal, there’s two incredible gravel events; one of which was won by Guillaume Boivin 2 years ago:
Big Red Gravel (Up North in the Laurentians)
100B7 (In the eastern townships not too far away from the US border)
Big Red: 140km with 2,200m climbing. Mostly short punchy climbs, a rock garden section where most people have to walk it, a few single track sections and an “oasis” of mud section.
100B7: Really fun non competitive event with timed sections as oppose to the whole event. 100km with 2,000m climbing. Again mostly short punchy climbs except for one 10-15min climb. one single track section. Can do this without unclipping if you’re just decent at Gravel or technical.
I’ll pipe in for Wyoming… though I’ve only done one gravel event there.
Dead Swede hundo in Sheridan, WY. 2023 will be my third year and my first riding the full 100.
Others I’ve heard about:
Bad Medicine Ride. Same group that does the Dead Swede. I eventually plan on riding this if it returns as it takes place right in the middle of the Bighorn Mountains (which is my favorite mountain range).
Wyo 131 in Lander, WY.
Fistful of Dirt in Cody, WY.
For California I will add
Rock Cobbler in Bakersfield.
Mammoth Tuff starts at about 8000 ft, has a bit of a chance to go up a little bit, does some rolling down to 4000-4500 feet or so. Then CLIMBS all the back up to 8000 feet with some rolling.
I did Rock Cobbler back in 2019. I’m sure it’s probably fun normally, I just happened to get a day of torrential rain that made it pretty cold and miserable. Miserable because the rain made the course really difficult turning the gravel to mud, which I didn’t have the tires for.
Here is the list so far - I’ve tried to add registration links and dates where available:
Alabama
California
Colorado
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Massachusetts
Michigan
Mississippi
North Carolina
Ohio
Oregon
Pennsylvania
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Wyoming
Non USA Postings:
Happy to keep this list updated periodically as new replies come in. Thanks all for the awesome inspiration for your hometown/state/country favorites.
North Dakota:
Badlands Gravel Battle - It’s in a really beautiful area, and it’s a quite challenging route. Badlands Gravel Battle
Virginia has Dirty Kitten Gravel and the 1725 Loudon Gravel Grinder (not a race) are awesome. I would include the Stokesville stuff but it appears the locals complained enough that the races aren’t happening this year.
For Virginia, this site is my go-to for events and registration info.
Bryce Resort is another great resource for routes, rides, and races.
Maybe edit your original post to move the list to the top. That would make finding the list much easier for folks
For Vermont, I’d say:
Rasputitsa - super fun early season race in late April. Nice bit of Class iV roads but nothing too chunky, wildly variable weather. It’s April in VT - could be 10 degrees and snowing, could be 35 degrees and muddy, could be 60 degrees and sunny.
Vermont Overland - very chunky gravel, with large stretches of Class IV roads that feel more like 90’s mountain biking. They lowered the rider count from 1500 last year to 1000 this year after the Sule Kangani tragedy, and I suspect will have much more visible warnings of sketchy areas coming up.
For a third, I would’ve said Rooted Vermont, but that’s not happening this year. Barring that, I’d probably say the Muddy Onion out of Montpelier. It’s very early season, not a race, and they added a 55 mile loop this year that takes you through a really beautiful section of Central VT with lots of lakes, ponds, and big, rolling hills. My house is also on the course, so you may get cheers from my kid.
Also, The Ranger out of Tunbridge, the Raid Lamoille, and definitely The Grindstone out of Barre (pronounced barry), which is during foliage season and has the extra bonus of starting 15 minutes from my house.
Good idea & done!
