Grassroots Gravel: Back for 2026!

It’s been another rough year for wildfires in Colorado. At one point in July, three of the 20 largest fires in the state’s history were burning simultaneously. The worst of those blazes, the Aspen Acres Fire, has consumed more than 100,000 acres in Pueblo, Huerfano, and Custer Counties.

So it was great to get the news that Pueblo-based Grassroots Gravel is still on for October 9-10, 2026. Founder Adam Davidson reports that all of the event’s four main routes are ready to go, though riders on the two longer courses will definitely see the burn scar first-hand.

Says Adam:

This community has been through a ton, and you’ll see it in the landscape on certain sections of the course. You’ll also see the friendly faces Pueblo is known for, as well as incredible resilience in both these places and these people. We’ve spent the past month doing what we can: volunteering in relief centers, leading fundraising efforts, and leading groups doing recovery work up in the Beulah Valley.

We’ve prepared an awesome event for you as always. This year will feel even more powerful. The joy you bring to this experience will lift people up, and there will also be direct opportunities to support the agencies that respond to huge events like the Aspen Acres Fire.

Now in its fourth year, Grassroots Gravel feels like a close cousin to FoCo Fondo and KowTown Gravel. Independent, family-run, well-supported, and welcoming to riders of all types and abilities. In other words, it’s the kind of gravel event I like best.

The four courses have two key things in common. There’s really never anything approaching technical gravel on any of the routes, and each is mostly uphill on the way out and mostly downhill on the way back. This is not a day for your fattest tires:

• The Mild (15 or 19 miles): A non-competitive ride on well-maintained dirt roads. This is the right choice for newer riders or families with younger kids.

• The Lil Chile (39 miles): Known to locals as the Red Creek Rally, this timed out-and-back ride is a nice upgrade from The Mild for slightly more ambitious riders, or a smart option if you’re after a fast, two-hour race.

• The Half (75 miles): Continuing on past The Lil Chile’s turnaround point, The Half heads into the tall ponderosa pines for a healthy 3,900 feet of total climbing.

• The Whole (113 miles): The day’s longest course doubles The Half’s total ascent, including the addition of “Twelvemile,” a grueling but gorgeous climb out of the Beulah Valley. You’ll scale 3,400 feet in just a dozen miles before reaching the summit.

(If you’re wondering, “The Half” and “The Whole” refer to what I consider to be one of Pueblo’s greatest achievements — the Slopper, an open-faced cheeseburger smothered in green chile. Typically, the half is a single patty on half of a hamburger bun, while the whole is two patties on both halves of the bun.)

The rides are the centerpiece of a two-day festival featuring food trucks, live bands, a cycling expo, and a bike-washing station manned by firefighters from the Pueblo Fire Department.

It all happens in the heart of downtown Pueblo, a gritty and unpretentious city I’ve grown to love. And not just for inventing the Slopper. Pair Pueblo with some spectacular nearby gravel riding and you’ve got a destination that’s worthy of a full-blown Gravelogue treatment of its own. It’s in the works, I promise.

For now, though, I’ll point you to just a few spots, all close to the Grassroots Gravel festival site, for your pre- or post-race fueling:

• 3 Birds is my favorite coffee shop in Pueblo. A roastery as well, it’s a regular stop for sandwiches and beans on our drives between Denver and La Veta. The breakfast and lunch items are excellent.
• If you want something more old-school, head around the corner to the Pantry, which has been serving top-notch diner food for more than 50 years.
• For something in between, try B Street Cafe, which offers a somewhat hipper take on traditional comfort food.
• Solar Roast Coffee is an eco-friendly favorite. It’s a solid option if you’re parking on the north side of the event site.

And for lodging, you’ve got your pick of affordable hotel choices within blocks of the start.

My Ride

Pueblo is only an hour from my home base in La Veta, CO, so it wasn’t a big deal to get up early and make the drive north on the morning of the race. I got there in plenty of time to grab coffee at 3 Birds, pump up my tires, and roll down the hill to the start.

My plan for the day was simple: Build on the success I’d had a few months earlier at the FoCo Fondo. I hoped for another good age-group placing, and, even though the 39-mile course was a bit longer, an overall faster pace.

The event’s downtown starting location means that we had to ride almost five miles before reaching gravel. Officially, the paved section is considered a neutral rollout, but I’ve gotta tell you, it was anything but. (Lest you think I’m even softer than I actually am, no less an authority than Strava agrees with me; it labels the segment “Neutral Start My A55.”)

When we finally turned onto the gravel, I was already a little winded, so when everyone around me hit the gas, I was afraid to follow. That was a mistake. I might have burned a few extra matches in those early minutes, but staying with the group would have been far easier over the course of the day. Instead, I was left to spend the first half of the race chasing — all by myself, fully in the wind.

All four courses head out of town on Red Creek Springs Road West, which, aside from a few early tight turns and an easy water crossing, is mostly a straight shot up a very gentle incline. The terrain is classic Colorado high desert with the Wet Mountains filling your field of vision in the distance.

No one was passing me, but I wasn’t getting much closer to the front group. Because this was an out-and-back course, I knew I’d have a chance to eyeball the leaders as they whizzed by after the turnaround. How many were there? And more important, how many looked like they might be in my age group? I lost count after 20.

After the turnaround, the breakaway began to shed riders, which gave me a new strategy. Spot someone ahead of me and try to catch them. Lather, rinse, repeat. The road was now slightly downhill, but that only made it faster, not any less painful.

My routine was interrupted after a few miles when I began to notice riders up ahead repeatedly dodging something in the road. This wasn’t your usual rock or pothole. No, they were avoiding a dozen or more brown tarantulas, who had begun their annual mating migration and were scrambling across Red Creek Road. I was so deep in the pain cave, however, that I didn’t even think to stop to take pictures. I will always be sorry for that, dear reader.

I crossed the finish line seventh in the men’s 60-69-year-old age group. I honestly can’t say for sure that I passed that many fellow geezers. It could be that I’m just not a very good judge of people’s ages, especially when they’re wearing helmets and I’m oxygen deprived. Either way, I succeeded in riding a half-mile per hour faster than I had at FoCo, while averaging 21 more watts. So not entirely what I was aiming for, but all in all, a very nice outing and a memorable way to end the 2025 season.

Just a few months ago, I stood in front of my home and could see smoke from the Aspen Acres fire engulfing Greenhorn Mountain, just 40 miles away. That firefighters now have it under control is nothing short of a miracle.

As of this writing, registration for 2026’s Grassroots Gravel weekend is still open. If you can make it, you’ll be supporting communities in need, and I can pretty much guarantee you’ll have a fantastic day in the saddle. I hope to see you there.