[Event] ROAD TO DESOLATION

[Community Connect]

Event Name: ROAD TO DESOLATION
When: 26/09/2026
Where: Vallei van Verlatenheid, Eastern Cape
Category: Gravel

Ready for the original gravel race in the Great Karoo? The Road to Desolation is back for 2026, and we're inviting you to be part of a cycling experience that's all about raw grit, stunning scenery, and a welcoming community. We've stay true to our grassroots roots, focusing on the ride and the people.

Due to our unique setting inside the magnificent Camdeboo National Park, spots are strictly limited. When you sign up, you're not just entering a race; you're directly contributing to conservation and local development projects in Graaff-Reinet.

We've got a challenge for every kind of rider:

• The Original 180km: This challenge is open to all entrants; however, it remains a brutal test of endurance. Due to the extreme terrain and required sustained effort, successful completion is strictly recommended only for highly trained athletes who have a proven foundation in long-distance gravel cycling.

• The New 130km Race: For those looking for a significant challenge without the full-day commitment of an elite race, this is your event. This new 130km route with 2000m of elevation is a serious test. It’s designed to be a rewarding ride that takes a fit rider about 5-6 hours, culminating in the same epic summit finish.

• The 66km Experience: Prefer to take it a little easier? The original 66km route is still available. While it's an untimed experience, it’s an incredible journey that still rewards you with that spectacular finish at the top of the Valley of Desolation.

The Road to Desolation is so much more than a race day. We're a weekend-long celebration of the Great Karoo. Join us on Friday for a community shake-out ride, and get a feel for the area. Your entry also includes a celebratory dinner after the race—the perfect opportunity to share stories and honor your achievements at the prize-giving ceremony. It's your chance to push yourself, connect with fellow riders, and give back to the community that makes this all possible. RTD is organised by Community Connect.

Go to Event Page.

[SSCC]

It's great that the race is making a comeback in 2026!

When you guys signed up to be part of the Gravel Earth series I knew immediately that it was a mistake. Remote, Karoo locations cannot afford the costs they or the UCI charge. You'll never get the numbers or the sponsor to cover those costs which are substantial. 

Having an elites only race is another mistake IMO. The beauty of gravel races are that the age groupers and elites all race the same route. It's that way at Unbound or Trakka and every race I can think of. Having an elites only race sends the wrong message. If you are concerned about total race time for slower riders have a cut off time that eliminates people.

I've done a race in the States that had multiple distances that shared some parts of the same route. If people didn't hake a certain point in the long race by a certain time they got diverted onto the shorter route. It's much more inclusive then having a elites-only race.

[Community Connect]

Thanks for the great feedback! It really helps to get input like this, and we appreciate you taking the time to share your perspective.

The cancellation was not about the Gravel Earth Series fees. In fact, that was a favorable, initial deal that we were able to negotiate. The reality is that hosting a quality cycling event, especially in a remote location like Graaff-Reinet, is not profitable if you want to charge reasonable entry fees that allow locals to participate. We made a conscious decision to partner with cycling-specific brands to stay true to our grassroots DNA, but when that main sponsor pulled out, we simply couldn't recover the funding on short notice. Yet we are very passionate about the area which is why we are back for 2026. 

Regarding the elite-only race, we understand your point about the beauty of gravel racing, and we love that aspect, too. However, the Great Karoo is so vast that a shortening of the 180km main course just isn't possible. We also had to recover a lot of riders who weren't realistic about their fitness, which made them miss out on the highlight of the route, the Valley of Desolation. The new 130km route is our solution—it offers an epic, serious challenge that is still harder than most other courses in the country, but in a more manageable time frame. If you can show that you can finish the 180km course in a reasonable time we are more than welcome to admit you the the Elite field. Our fit age groupers and ambitious amateurs would most definitely qualify. 

As for the cutoffs, that's a tough one. As organizers, we feel a deep responsibility for the safety of every rider, and in such a remote area, cutoffs are difficult to enforce. We want to ensure that every participant makes it safely to the finish, and the new format helps us manage that responsibly.

[Bub Marley]

19 minutes ago, Community Connect said:

Thanks for the great feedback! It really helps to get input like this, and we appreciate you taking the time to share your perspective.

The cancellation was not about the Gravel Earth Series fees. In fact, that was a favorable, initial deal that we were able to negotiate. The reality is that hosting a quality cycling event, especially in a remote location like Graaff-Reinet, is not profitable if you want to charge reasonable entry fees that allow locals to participate. We made a conscious decision to partner with cycling-specific brands to stay true to our grassroots DNA, but when that main sponsor pulled out, we simply couldn't recover the funding on short notice. Yet we are very passionate about the area which is why we are back for 2026. 

Regarding the elite-only race, we understand your point about the beauty of gravel racing, and we love that aspect, too. However, the Great Karoo is so vast that a shortening of the 180km main course just isn't possible. We also had to recover a lot of riders who weren't realistic about their fitness, which made them miss out on the highlight of the route, the Valley of Desolation. The new 130km route is our solution—it offers an epic, serious challenge that is still harder than most other courses in the country, but in a more manageable time frame. If you can show that you can finish the 180km course in a reasonable time we are more than welcome to admit you the the Elite field. Our fit age groupers and ambitious amateurs would most definitely qualify. 

As for the cutoffs, that's a tough one. As organizers, we feel a deep responsibility for the safety of every rider, and in such a remote area, cutoffs are difficult to enforce. We want to ensure that every participant makes it safely to the finish, and the new format helps us manage that responsibly.

If this is the case, then I personally think the main race should just be 130km then. I think you’re going to find it difficult to persuade people to join this event if they’re not going to be allowed to complete in the main event. 130km’s is still more than enough distance to make it a hard race. 

[Skubarra]

10 minutes ago, Bub Marley said:

If this is the case, then I personally think the main race should just be 130km then. I think you’re going to find it difficult to persuade people to join this event if they’re not going to be allowed to complete in the main event. 130km’s is still more than enough distance to make it a hard race. 

I think the organisers just need to be clear about the criteria? From what I understand from the answer you would be allowed to ride if you can show you can complete the distance (I assume having finished a similar 100 miler type of event should be sufficient?)

Not sure if I would be able to do this race next year but I really like the concept, will try to make a plan 😀

[Kylie]

I have no problem entering the 130.  It still sounds like a proper big day out and ticks all the boxes for me. I've done the 180km once, and have maximum respect for how tough a day it is. I don't have the time to put in the training necessary to make that fun 😉

[Mamil]

I'm definitely in. Was keen for last year and went to Graaf Reinet anyway when it was cancelled and rode around there and visited Mountain Zebra and watched some Freedom challenge riders coming through.

Also unsure about how to show that I big enough to ride the 180 and don't see anything immediately apparent on the website that tells me how to do that.

Race results? I no longer post most of my rides to Strava.

Edit: Ah I see the cutoff is 4pm - giving about 8 hours - 8 hours for that would be a very good day for me. Pity because I have ridden harder and longer than that just slower.

Edited September 15, 2025 by Mamil

[SSCC]

19 hours ago, Community Connect said:

The cancellation was not about the Gravel Earth Series fees. In fact, that was a favorable, initial deal that we were able to negotiate.

Isn't the Gravel Earth fee 5,000 euros or about R100,000?

[bleedToWin]

18 hours ago, Mamil said:

Ah I see the cutoff is 4pm - giving about 8 hours - 8 hours for that would be a very good day for me. Pity because I have ridden harder and longer than that just slower.

Course record is 6 hours. Some really strong riders could not go sub-7 in 2024...

[Bub Marley]

19 hours ago, Skubarra said:

I think the organisers just need to be clear about the criteria? From what I understand from the answer you would be allowed to ride if you can show you can complete the distance (I assume having finished a similar 100 miler type of event should be sufficient?)

Not sure if I would be able to do this race next year but I really like the concept, will try to make a plan 😀

Yeah it is confusing. When I read Elite, to me that means you need an Elite Racing Licence. Although that’s probably not applicable to off road? Not really sure myself. Or perhaps it means, you have experience of starting in an elite group or something. 

[SSCC]

1 hour ago, bleedToWin said:

Course record is 6 hours. Some really strong riders could not go sub-7 in 2024...

I think your'e looking at the 180km results. 

The 130km is a new route and 8hrs should be plenty of time.

[Mamil]

I wonder how big the market is for riders who can easily ride 180km but would take between 9 and 10 hours.

I'll definitely enter the 130 but will cast wistful glances at the 180 riders -- I might revise that view to one of relief and gratitude at about the 100km mark ....

[Bub Marley]

1 hour ago, Mamil said:

I wonder how big the market is for riders who can easily ride 180km but would take between 9 and 10 hours.

I'll definitely enter the 130 but will cast wistful glances at the 180 riders -- I might revise that view to one of relief and gratitude at about the 100km mark ....

It’s weird because I actually prefer 130km to 180km. But like if there’s a 180km option, then it feels like im chickening out by doing 130km.

[Community Connect]

Hey everyone,

Thanks so much for all the feedback! This is exactly the kind of discussion we want to have, especially since we've still got plenty of time before the event. We're totally open to changing the entry conditions for the longer route if that's what the majority of you want. We just want to make this the best possible weekend for everyone.

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The 180km Route

We want to be clear that our goal isn't to be exclusive, but to set riders up for success. The pro riders who have attended before love our original route, and we really don't want to lose it, but at the same time, we don't want you to suffer for hours on end and miss out on enjoying the valley.

The reality is, a DNF on this course is a serious logistical challenge for both you and us. It’s a big loop with very few places to safely recover riders unless we're following the race course itself. That's why we thought asking for some proof of performance on Strava or in similar races like the Gallows, Stanford 100, or Ceder245 when entering would be a good way to determine which route is best for you. 

We're trying to ensure you can make the 8-hour cutoff, which is at the bottom of the final climb. The last stretch up the mountain can take a pro about 25-30 minutes, but for most people, it's a solid hour. That means you should be able to complete the first 173km in about 7 hours.

An alternative would be to enforce a very hard cut-off just 75km into the race, since that's the only logistically sound place to circle you back to Graaff-Reinet. We really don't think that's the best idea for anyone.

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No Route Is "Easy"

 

To be clear, none of our routes mean you're "chickening out!" Even the 66km "Taste of Desolation" is a serious challenge depending on how you ride it, and the 130km route is really exciting and will seriously hurt. It will take a pro around 4 hours and most riders 5-8 hours. Anyone who has done one of our previous events knows how tough they are. It's simply more fun to give it your all and feel strong at the finish than to run out of steam. The mountain-top finish is brutal no matter which route you choose. If you haven't done our route yet - think of the end of the Gallows  

If you have a better idea of how we should phrase our entry conditions, please let us know! It seems like you all understand what we're trying to achieve—we'd rather you have a fun 6-hour race than a grueling 10-hour suffer-fest. 

Finally, regarding the Gravel Earth Series fees: we were nowhere near the costs that were mentioned, and a confirmed sponsor unfortunately had to back out, which made things difficult.

[KieserJ]

Looking forward to this one, one of the best bike weekends you can have. The team really put on a good event and Graaf Reneit is such a cool host town. The route is also hard to beat. Pumped