LANDER, Wyoming (June 11, 2024) — The 8th annual WYO-131 gravel race will take place on September 7, 2024. The event is hosted by the Lander Cycling Club and is best known for its rugged 131-mile course that starts and finishes in Lander, WY. Additional courses include 13, 45, and 75-mile distances to suit riders of all abilities.
The 131-mile route is a classic bucket-list gravel ride and embodies the small-town, friendly Wyoming spirit. The course is known for challenging riders while highlighting the diversity of Wyoming — from rolling sagebrush hills and sweeping vistas to pine forests and snow-capped peaks. The route features hoodoos, steep and rolling hills, subalpine lakes, and breathtaking views of the Wind River Mountains backdropped by the emerging fall colors. Following the event, there will be an after party and vendor fair with live music from the Low Water String Band. Local BBQ will be available from Bunk’s BBQ and beer will be provided by Push Root Brewery.
New for this year is a kid’s Push-Bike Race for ages 2-6. Youngsters will have a chance to feel like mom and dad and race their balance bikes around the park. The 1-lap course will have obstacles to navigate as well as a mini aid station. All participants will receive a finisher medal.
Registration is currently open for all distances, although the club expects the event to sell out prior to race day. Registration is already at an all time high, as the race continues to grow every year.
Although the race has seen tremendous growth over the last 8 years, the event still feels like an intimate small-town gravel race- in all the best ways. “Registration has more than tripled in just the last three years,” says race Director Gwen Robson who has been directing the race since 2020, “It’s great to see gravel growing in our town, but there’s a certain max capacity we just won’t exceed. We want to preserve what makes this place special. Riders will feel it when they get here. They’ll feel like they’re part of something special.”
Robson might be onto something. There aren’t too many races that still feel intimate. But Robson is right, you feel different in Lander. Riders leave the traffic and crowds of the city behind and are immediately immersed in the spell that is Lander, Wyoming. Ranked as one of the best outdoor towns in the U.S, Lander feels equally like a time capsule of the old west as well as a modern mountain town – complete with art galleries, bike shops, and the best ice cream west of the Mississippi. But the quaint shops along Main Street are really secondary to what Lander actually has on offer, and that’s access to the outdoors. Experiencing that by gravel bike at the WYO-131 feels like an easy yes.
2024 Event information
September 7 — WYO 131 Gravel Grinder, Wyoming Gravel Grinder Series, Lander, WY, Step back into the Wild West and immerse yourself in the high desert, historic mining towns, and breath-taking views at Wyoming’s premier gravel ride. This is the ultimate bucket-list gravel ride. This rugged ride is well known for its 5 STAR gravel in the most remote and least densely populated regions of the West. The 131 mile distance is one of the toughest gravel races in the U.S. with over 10,000 feet of climbing, minimal support and podium prize money! Two other distances, a 40-mile and 80-mile course, offer riders a shorter and equally gorgeous gravel experience., Gwen Robson, 307-330-3002, [email protected], http://wyo131.com
