News

Hey GRiT campers,

You made the smart call — roll in Friday night, wake up at the start line, and make a full weekend of it. Before you point the rig up USFS Road 54, here’s everything you need to know.

First things first: know where NOT to camp

Camping is first come, first served, and we won’t have anyone at the gate directing traffic — so it’s on you to park in the right place. Please keep the race operations area clear. That’s the zone we use to run the event (start/finish, staging, and setup), marked in red on the map below. If you camp there, we’ll wake you up and make you help us set up the course before you can get your coffee—nobody wants that.

Camp anywhere in the green “Ok to camp” areas — the long gravel lots. Stay out of the red “No camping” zone.

The camping details

• Arrive Friday after 4:00 PM. The lot isn’t open for overnight camping before then.
• It’s a gravel lot — no grass. Plan to sleep in your vehicle or bring a very thick pad. If you are a Sasquatch you might be ok without a pad.
• Self-contained only. No hookups. Grey water must be contained and packed out.
• Pack it in, pack it out. Leave your spot cleaner than you found it — the Forest Service is watching, and we’d love to do this again next year.
• Pets welcome, messes not. Clean up after your dog.
• First come, first served. We can’t guarantee specific spots or how close you’ll be to the start line.
• Bring your receipt. Have your email camping-permit receipt handy as proof of purchase.

That’s it. Find a spot in the green, keep the red clear, and settle in.

See you at the Summit.

— the GRiT crew

You’re not in Kansas anymore.

The big day is almost here. Here’s everything you need to know before you roll out Saturday — give it a read, then get back to waxing your chain.

Safety first — always
This course is open to motorists, and you’re always responsible for your own safety. This is gravel, so watch your speed on the descents — especially the corners. We’ve got course marshals out there looking after you, but keep your head up and obey all traffic laws. Ride smart so everyone gets home safely.

Packet pickup — fast and easy
We pre-assigned your number and RFID chip this year, so pickup should be quick and painless. Packet pickup opens at 7:00 AM. Grab your stuff and go.

Your RFID chip — read this part
There’s a yellow RFID chip in your packet. Use this one — even if you already own a chip. If you’ve got your own, take it off beforehand so it doesn’t confuse our timing system.

Wear the yellow chip flat on the top of your helmet.

We collect every chip at the finish line, so swing by even if you don’t finish the race. No exceptions — that chip has to come back.

Food — Taco Cortex + cake + Best Day
Taco Cortex starts serving at 10:30. Ride hard, earn your tacos. We’ll also have cake, fresh watermelon and plenty of Best Day beer. 

Course details & maps
We trimmed the Lost Lake out-and-back a bit this year thanks to road conditions. Still plenty challenging — just a touch shorter. If you haven’t downloaded the map in the last day or so, please download it again so you have the latest.

Watch for color-coded signs and ribbon marking your course:

• Primus — yellow
• Velox — green
• Fortis — blue
• Maximus — red

Please download the course on your GPS device (or phone) before race morning. If using your phone, we recommend using the RideWithGPS app. Here are the routes:

• Primus
• Velox
• Fortis
• Maximus

Want the full details?
For everything else check out the below Tech Guide.Want all the details for the GRiT? Check out our tech guide. Print it, then when you are done, use it to light your campfire.

The GRiT 2026 routes are new — and we think you’ll love them.

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We went out to inspect the course this week for the first time this season. We were ready to confirm everything was in place, do a little flagging review, start thinking about aid station positioning.

That is not what happened.

A massive atmospheric river rolled through in December — heavy rain on top of snowpack — and it triggered serious erosion throughout the entire area. The kind of erosion that moves boulders. That redirects drainages. That turns a rideable forest service road into something that looks more like a riverbed.

Two of the key loops that have made The GRiT what it is were completely impassable. Not “rough” or “more technical than usual.” Impassable. The roads we’ve been riding for years are technically abandoned by the Forest Service — they don’t maintain them anymore — and this winter, the mountain took some of them back.

We stood there in the once-road-now-creekbed and looked at each other.

Then we got to work, on creating some new courses.

Some photos from the damaged roads:

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What’s Changed

The four courses are still here, with distances and climbing in the same ballpark as before:

• Primus — 20 miles / 1,400 ft of climbing
• Velox — 30 miles / 2,600 ft of climbing
• Fortis — 48 miles / 4,900 ft of climbing
• Maximus — 64 miles / 7,200 ft of climbing

What’s different is how you get there.

We’ve rerouted every course — some roads are the same, others are new, all of them knit together differently than before. The terrain is the same North Cascades wilderness you know. The challenge is real. The suffering is included. But the specific roads, the turns, the climbs, the descents — these are new.

We’ve been out there. We’ve ridden them. We’re excited about what we found.

The new courses are already up on our website. See the routes, maps, and details here.

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What Hasn’t Changed

Everything that makes The GRiT what it is.

The start and finish are still at Crystal Springs Sno-Park, Exit 62 off I-90. The cloverleaf structure that lets the same aid station serve multiple loops — still intact. The community, the volunteers, the watermelon at the finish line, the people who show up and suffer beautifully together in the Cascades — all of it.

The mountain changed the roads. It didn’t change what we’re doing out there.

If you haven’t registered yet: Register for The GRiT 2026

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The GRiT Adventure Gravel Ride Saturday, July 18, 2026 Crystal Springs Sno-Park — Exit 62, I-90

You’re not in Kansas anymore.

We are excited to see you at The GRiT this Saturday! We have some important changes to share.

Summary of Changes:

• New Start/finish location – Crystal Springs Sno-Park
• Courses revised with the new start/finish. Please update your GPS device.
• All start times are at 9am. 

Details…  

1) The start/finish location is now at Crystal Spring Sno-Park, near exit 62 on I-90. This is just down the freeway from the original start/finish location. Here is a link to that location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/6G18v41cgY8hhWP98
 
2) Courses updated. Because of the venue change, the courses have been revised, please update your GPS tracks! Gone is the WA-906 section between Summit Central and Hyak. We are going to ride the first hill & Palouse to Cascades backwards. The three major climbs are all exactly the same. New courses are posted on our website at https://thegrit.bike/course-details-grit-2024/
 
3) All races start at 9:00am. Finally, we are going to combine all three course starts into one wave at 9:00. The reason for doing this is to move riders through the descent of the first climb (the one we are reversing) quicker. This will lessen the impact on traffic and keep everyone safer. It is really important that you stay on the right side of the road on this and all the descents as the road is open to traffic.

So, what happened? 
We needed to move the venue because of some insurance requirements that surfaced very recently. We worked closely with all parties to get the changes in place, but there just wasn’t enough time. Thankfully, we had a backup venue in our pocket! We actually think this will be a better venue and make for better courses, avoiding that soul-sucking two mile road climb at the end of everyone’s ride. We apologize for the late change and any inconvenience this might cause.

Also, don’t forget that if you registered on/before 6/29 you get a cool GRiT pint glass that we will fill with a beverage of your choice, if you pick up your packet at Dru Bru on Friday night. Details here: https://thegrit.bike/event-details-grit-2024/
 
Sorry about this late change and thanks for your understanding! We look forward to seeing your sweaty, dusty, faces on Saturday. 

The Off Camber Team 

We are planning another gravel adventure in the Cascades this summer. Join us on July 20, 2024 at Snoqualmie Pass, WA for a gravel event that could be the most fun you have on a bike this summer.

Details to follow…

Hello GRiT community,
We are very sad to announce that GRiT 2023 is canceled and refunds are being issued. Details below.

We are planning two informal rides and some fun social vibes in the Teanaway on June 24 and at Snoqualmie Pass on July 29.
 

What happened?

When we opened registration in December for the GRiT Teanaway we didn’t expect any problems given that we were doing the same course with the same plans as last year. The most important permit we were seeking (covering key sections of the course) was with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) going through the Teanaway Community Forest (TCF). We worked all winter to secure the permit but ultimately were turned down by the DNR.

We are disappointed and we are very sorry for this cancelation. We are hopeful that the GRiT Teanaway will return next year. If you have inroads with the DNR and would like to help, please let us know.

Join our mailing list or follow us on Instagram or Facebook to stay abreast of the latest.

 

The GRiT, a bad idea that just keeps going, is back for 2023! This year we are going to make a bet that spring isn’t so cold and move up a couple of weeks to June 24th. We are also moving to Saturday so that folks can

1. Enjoy their epic accomplishment and party in town
2. Spend more time in the beautiful central Cascades

We hope to offer some further course improvements and rest stop fun. The course markings will be dramatically better as well.

Stay tuned for details. We didn’t learn our lesson and we hope you didn’t either!

Thanks for coming out and riding the first annual GRiT Ride!

You can find the results here.