Salida 76: The GVR Survives Tough Climbs and Rowdy Descents
Top photo by Aaron LaVanchy.
Salida 76 might be the most beautiful gravel race in Colorado. I participated in the first edition in 2022, and I knew immediately that it was destined to become a gravel classic. With amazing views, welcoming vibes, tough climbs, and outrageously fun descents, it's the perfect place to test yourself or experience gravel racing for the first time. When people ask for race recommendations in Colorado, Salida 76 is easily in my top 3.
This year, I came in fitter than ever, and I was riding my new Obed GVR, so I wanted to score a nice PR on the full 76-mile Banquet course. I stuck to a simple plan and ended up riding with a friend and rival that I had encountered in a previous race. We battled up Salida's steep gravel climbs until one of us finally cracked. You can catch my full race recap here:
The Salida 76 Course
Going up the first climb
The full 76-mile "Banquet" course doesn't ease you in. Right out of the gate, riders face a 2,400+ foot climb that sets the tone for the entire day. After a chill ~3-mile neutral start, you get a proper gut-check that thins the pack early and rewards riders who show up with real fitness. But that early suffering buys you access to some of the best terrain I've ever experienced while gravel racing.
Halfway up the initial climb, the course stuns with sweeping views of the Salida valley and the surrounding peaks. As you climb higher, you start rolling through aspen groves and high-country pasture where wild cows wander across the road as if they own it (they might).
The gravel itself is the kind that locals will brag about. The majority is smooth, fast "champagne gravel" that doesn't beat you up, but it's punctuated by moments of chunk that keep the excitement high all day. For every tough climb, you get rewarded with a long, fast, and flowy downhill. The descents here are genuinely some of the best that I've ever ridden. They're the kind that make you forget how much that first climb hurt.
While 76 miles is "short" in the grand scheme of American gravel races, if it still sounds like more than what you're after, the 76 km "Lite" option serves up the same amazing scenery and race experience in a shorter, more approachable package. Either way, you still got to conquer that first climb!
Salida 76 is More Than a Gravel Race
Part of what makes Salida 76 special is that the race is only half the experience. Salida itself is one of the best outdoor towns in the country. It's a hub for mountain biking, whitewater kayaking, rock climbing, fly fishing, and gravel riding. Here, world-class trails are just a few minutes from downtown.
It's full of small-mountain-town charm, with a strong local food and coffee scene, plenty of breweries, and plenty of lodging options from hotels to campgrounds. If you're coming in early or sticking around after, the natural hot springs nearby are the perfect way to recover after a race.
Salida 76 is also just one piece of the larger Salida Bike Fest, an annual weekend cycling festival featuring gravel and mountain bike racing that benefits local non-profits like Salida Mountain Trails and the local high school mountain bike team. It's run by Shift Events, a non-profit that operates on a simple but powerful premise: bikes build better communities. I love that Shift donates a substantial share of their earnings directly to community improvement projects. I've done several of their events, and every single one, from the Bailey Hundo MTB race to the legendary Triple Bypass road event, has been a true classic.
The GVR: My Ultimate Weapon for Salida 76
If there's a bike built for a fast and climby course like Salida 76, it's the GVR. That opening 2,400-foot climb, and every ramp after it, is where the GVR's light, stiff, and efficient frame really shines. It's actually the lightest gravel bike I've ever owned! Also, I'm a normie who doesn't make many watts, but every watt I do produce feels like it goes straight into forward motion. It's truly how a race bike should feel.
I've also dialed in my setup specifically for climb-heavy days like this one with a 40t chainring, a few teeth smaller than I used to run, paired with shorter 165mm cranks. I've been training on this setup for the past couple of months, and I feel like it allowed me to spin up Salida's relentless gravel climbs more efficiently instead of grinding them out. Paired with a Wove Mags saddle, which is designed to give me a much more forward riding position over the bottom bracket, I felt much stronger on the climbs than I have in the past.
For me though, the biggest advantage shows up once the road points down. The GVR's handling is sublime, to the point that it feels almost telepathic underneath you. That gave me a serious edge on the long, fast descents, where most riders were managing fear instead of carrying speed. Good handling all comes down to good geometry, which our lead designer Brad DeVaney has spent countless nights tweaking and perfecting. I'm not sure I've ever had a gravel bike that has given me as much confidence to push the front end into loose terrain as the current GVR.
The 2.2" tire clearance certainly helps too. Bigger rubber helped soak up the rough, chunky sections, letting me straight-line through it all without hesitation. It turned what could've been white-knuckle moments into some of the most fun descending I've done all year.