The VIBE

Technically speaking, Rexy is a race. As with all ultra-endurance challenges through it really is about the journey – the adventure, the finishing! So yes, if you are a world-class bad-ass athlete Rexy welcomes you with tiny little T-Rex arms and a mouth full of huge teeth. Come out and throw it down! We’ll have amazing awards for the overall winners. Crowing the Queen and the King of the desert as well as age group placers too.

For everybody else, we welcome you not so much with the tiny arms and giant teeth but with the huge heart that it takes to power such a monster! Your competition isn’t so much about you versus Rexy as it is about you versus you. When the sand gets deep, the road goes straight up and the sun goes down we want you to forget about the monster and dig deep inside you, perhaps deeper than you ever have and find within you the strength to Get It Done!

Whichever group you find yourself in we can promise you three things.

1-We’ve done everything we can to provide an incredibly exciting, challenging and inspiring event.

2-Whether you are the first to arrive or the last, when we hang that finishers award around your neck you will absolutely know you’ve accomplished something special.

3-When the dust settles, the soreness fades and the red is finally gone from your socks the memories from your day in our desert will be there for a long, long, long time.

Course Details

This 208-mile route has it all – Starting in downtown Fruita, Co. You’ll head north to the desert and then west into the Bookcliffs and its incredible desert.

The first 40 miles to aid #1 are rolling hills and flat(er) sections, giving you plenty of time to find your groove.

From aid #1 you’ll climb more, cross the border into Utah, and move onto a higher plateau as you head to aid #2 at 78 miles.

From aid #2 you are now far enough west to see the La Sal Mountains near Moab and glimpses of redrock canyon country to the south as you continue your western assault. You will climb steadily to mile 96 at which point you’ll dive straight south to aid #3 at mile 109. Located right of I-70 this is a great spot for crews bringing you smiles and moral support!

From aid #3 it’s west again across Danish Flats (look for antelope). You’ll pass two of our most iconic Desert Gravel features – “Endless” and “Eternal” both worthy of a quick selfie stop. From there it’s a steady climb to mile 128 then a short reprieve to mile 134. Now it’s time to earn Rexy’s respect as you climb the penultimate section at mile 140, at almost 30% grade you’ll feel her teeth! Nice and steadily up to the course high point (just under 6,000′) to mile 144. Then, a very well-earned long downhill. At mile 148 you’ll pass incredible ancient Native American rock art, 6′ tall red drawings, worth a quick stop. Then on to aid #4 at Tompson Springs!

Aid #4 Mile 151 Tompson Springs. Another good spot for crew, complete with a gas station.

From aid #4 enjoy six miles of asphalt to regroup and get set, then a small bit of climbing as you turn north, away from Moab at Cresent Junction. A beautiful jaunt into the bookcliffs for the last time on this trip! On to the final aid #5.

Aid #5 Mile 170 Ruby Canyon Rd. This is it. Your last aid station. A last chance to check your lights and your gear as you likely head off into the sunset or dark… A comfortable wide and steady gravel road for about 14 miles south, southeast until you turn due south, and, you guessed it… Climb. A steady push into the sandstone and desert surrounding the infamous Dubinky well. A picturesque windmill spot in the light at mile 191.  With only 7 miles to go until the timing finish, you might breathe a sigh of relief. But hold tight, immediately after the windmill you’ll likely be introduced to the beautifully challenging red sand of Moab. Rexys last chance to pull you down! Have faith, it doesn’t usually last too long but it can be deep and tough. Keep your eyes peeled straight ahead to slightly left for the lights of the timing finish. Yes, that’s it, at the TOP of the hill!

Official Timing Finish Mile 198. Turn left, into Lone Mesa GROUP Campground and log your official race time. But don’t doddle, you don’t want to cramp up now, it ain’t over, yet!

Catch your breath, check your lights (Mandatory from this point onward, front and rear), and remind yourself race pace is over, now it’s about making it safely to the finish line! Leave the campground and head east a few hundred yards to the beautiful pavement of hwy 313. Time to get your wits about you, you’re close to civilization and will be rolling with car traffic! The good news is that the climbing is DONE and it’s a lot of downhill to the finish! 9 miles hang a right on the bike path, right past the giant dinosaur park, 1 mile up the path to the lights and the party of the official finish line! Mile 208. Done and Dusted. Rexy will be there waiting with the beer, the family, and all your new Desert Gravel friends. CONGRATS – that was one hell of a day!!!

Aid at miles 41, 78, 109, 151, and 170. You’ll find the support you need to take on this rugged monster.

The General Rules *Full details will be provided in the “Racers Manual”

In the spirit of ultra-endurance and gravel racing, an element of adventure and self-sufficiency is required while riding/racing Rexy. In the spirit of the above, desert etiquette and rider safety being paramount riders helping one another and looking out for each other is critically important and encouraged.

Therefore riders helping riders is allowed. Otherwise, riders taking ANY help or aid outside of any of the 5 official aid stations is grounds for disqualification.

We will provide a course sweep to ensure no rider is left to the dino’s and support for hire will be available if you’d like to have additional support at aid stations.

Cutoffs. To be an official finisher you must cross the final, not timed, finish line in less than 24 hours. Corresponding aid station cutoff times will be established to make this schedule for aid station #2, #3, #4, #5 and the timing finish. Course marshall’s determination on these matters shall be final.

Desert Gravel will provide 5 official aid stations. Aid stations will be stocked with water and nutritional supplementation supplied by Skratch Labs. Electrolyte replacement drink and bars/snacks. Aid stations will be crew accessible to receive additional support for specific needs.

Riders MUST carry a modern GPS enable computer with routing capabilities. Rexy will have limited signage and be marked but GPS is the go-to route director. Desert Gravel will provide the current race file GPS for the exact course prior to the event.

Riders MUST have lights front and rear, from start to finish of the race. Everyone will start in the dark and all but the very fastest riders will finish in the dark. Not having lights illuminated during legal dark hours will be grounds for immediate disqualification.

Riders MUST wear a currently approved helmet anytime you are on your bike from start to finish. Period.

The VIBE

We get it. You want to ride the incredible terrain of Desert Gravel. You are down with exciting challenges and something completely fresh and new. You’d love to end up in Moab for Halloween…. You just don’t want to ride 200 miles to get there! We’ve made Moe just for you.

We’ve put a lot of thought into bringing Moe into the world and how to make him fit right into the Rexy odyssey.

The Details

Start, 10:30 a.m. in the quirky little community of Cisco, Utah at the Buzzards Belly general store. Beginning at 10:30 a.m. accomplishes three primary objectives we believe riders will appreciate. 1-Allows friends/family of riders doing the fully 200 mile Rexy to attend the 6 a.m. start in Fruita and still have plenty of time to get to Cisco for the Moe start. 2-Gets Moe riders on course just ahead of the arriving fastest 200 riders. Blending the two groups together mid-race for the 200 riders providing motivation and inspiration for both groups. 3-Allows enough ride time that almost all Moe riders will finish prior to dark.

Format – Point to Point. This means you begin in Cisco, Utah, and finish in the Outskirts of Moab, Ut. This will be easiest to facilitate with the support of family/crew. Your family/crew is allowed and encouraged to support you at your aid stations – leap-frogging along for your support and to meet you at the finish line! One of our primary goals of the entire Rexy format is for you to end up in Moab on Halloween for a beautiful fall weekend. Ample, private parking is available for all Moe riders in Cisco, for those that want/need to leave a vehicle behind. (It is a 55-minute car drive from the finish line to Cisco)

We are working hard to put together a shuttle service from the finish back to Cisco and Moab. It isn’t happening yet but we’re on it!

You have until midnight to be an official finisher. 13 1/2 hours is plenty of time to get this done. All official finishers receive a special award and age group awards are provided for women and men. Refreshments, water, food and cold beer will be waiting for you at the finish line!

Course Details

This 90-mile route is packed with scenery, challenges, and desert gems. Right out of the gate you’ll pass two of our most iconic Desert Gravel features – “Endless” and “Eternal” both worthy of a quick selfie stop. From there it’s a steady climb to mile 17 past a remote, operational ranch. Then it’s fun downhill and rollers to mile 23 where you’ll begin a steady climb to mile 26 and the entrance to Rexy Canyon. As the canyon closes in you’ll sense the gentle nature of Moe giving way to the formidable challenge of Rexy as you hit the penultimate climb of all Desert Gravels events at mile 28-29! Don’t despair – It is steep as hell but doesn’t last long and your reward is incredible views ahead! Nice and steadily up to the course high point (just over 6,000′). At mile 35 you’ll take a one mile out and back requiring two actions on your part. 1- Remove a page from the Edward Abby book (to verify you made it – this will be presented at the upcoming aid station) 2-Take a minute to soak in one of the most incredible views of Desert Gravel! Standing hundreds of feet above the desert floor you’ll have unobstructed views of the spires of Castle Valley, the Majestic LaSal Mountains and the red rocks of Arches National Park. Then, a very well-earned long downhill. At mile 39 you’ll pass incredible ancient Native American rock art, 6′ tall red drawings, worth a quick stop. Then on to aid #1 at Tompson Springs!

Aid #1 Mile 42 Tompson Springs. Just a 24 mile jaunt via I-70 from the start this is a great place for your friends and family to meet you for cheers and support.

From aid #2 enjoy six miles of asphalt to regroup and get set, then a small bit of climbing as you turn north, away from Moab at Cresent Junction. A beautiful spin into the bookcliffs for the last time on this trip. On to aid #2.

Aid #2 Mile 60 Ruby Canyon Rd. Your last aid station. A comfortable wide and steady gravel road for about 14 miles south, southeast until you turn due south, and, you guessed it… Climb. A steady push into the sandstone and desert surrounding the infamous Dubinky well. A picturesque windmill at mile 83.  With only 7 miles to go until the timing finish, you might breathe a sigh of relief. But hold tight, immediately after the windmill you’ll likely be introduced to the beautifully challenging red sand of Moab. Moes last chance to pull you down. Have faith, it doesn’t usually last too long but it can be deep and tough. Keep your eyes peeled straight ahead to slightly left for the lights of the timing finish. Yes, that’s it, at the TOP of the hill!

The finish. Turn left, into Lone Mesa GROUP Campground, and log your official race time.  Done and Dusted. We’ll be there waiting with the beer, the family, and all your new Desert Gravel friends. CONGRATS – that was one hell of a day!!!

The General Rules *Full details will be provided in the “Racers Manual”

In the spirit of endurance and gravel racing, an element of adventure and self-sufficiency is required while riding/racing Moe. Desert etiquette and rider safety being paramount riders helping one another and looking out for each other are critically important and encouraged.

Therefore riders helping riders is allowed. Otherwise, riders taking help or aid outside of any of the official aid stations is grounds for disqualification.

We will provide a course sweep to ensure no rider is left to the dino’s and sag support be patrolling the course.

To be an official finisher you must cross the finish line prior to Midnight.

Desert Gravel will provide 2 official aid stations. Aid stations will be stocked with water and nutritional supplementation supplied by Skratch Labs. Electrolyte replacement drink and bars/snacks. Aid stations will be crew accessible to receive additional support for specific needs.

Riders MUST carry a modern GPS enable computer with routing capabilities. Moe will be marked but GPS is the go-to route director. Desert Gravel will provide the current race file GPS for the exact course prior to the event.

Riders arriving at aid #2 beyond 5 p.m. MUST have lights front and rear.  Not having lights illuminated during legal dark hours will be grounds for immediate disqualification.

Riders MUST wear a currently approved helmet anytime you are on your bike from start to finish. Period.

“Friend” takes on an entirely new meaning once you’ve survived in the desert with someone. That is why we created the Rexy Relay! Whether you are looking to break it down and hammer it out as fast as possible or, better yet, share this incredible route and adventure with your bestie gravelers. The Rexy Relay will not be forgotten.

Before we get to the course here is the low down on how the relay works.

Two team options. you may have 2, 3 or 4 riders on your team.

1 – Women only (You know how we love our “Gravel-Girls” at DG).

2- Any other group of 2,3 or 4 in the “Open” division.

In either case you compete as a team of 4. The rules are simple. You must all check-in and be I.D.d together. You will receive 1 timing chip and 4 number plates. You can only change riders (relay) at any of the 5 official aid stations. You must check into and out of each official aid station with your timing chip and, if changing riders the chip must change with them. Your strategy and who rides what and where is up to you. No rider (other than the one currently racing) or crew is allowed anywhere on the route except official aid stations.

Overall awards will be presented to the top three open teams and top three woman teams. All finishing team members will receive an “I survived Rexy” award.

Course Details