Tennessee Gravel

PURPOSE

To be clear, all of the routes we offer at Tennessee Gravel are free, just as there is no charge to ride in the national forest. With our time trials, we are simply taking a few of our hardest routes and turning them into an organized challenge that we hope adds a little more fun and inspiration (and perspiration!) to the experience of riding in the woods. While the time trials are geared towards individual accomplishment, the Fall Invitational bike race and party offers the opportunity to come together with other cyclists who have taken on these challenges and ride together in a one-day race followed by good food, tasty beer and endless stories of epic adventures in the beautiful Southern Blue Ridge Mountains! Click here for more info about the Three Rivers Time Trial Series.

WHAT

The Death March Revival is an individual time trial (a timed solo ride) covering 93 miles with over 12,000 feet of climbing. The course is close to 100% gravel and runs deep in the woods of southeast Tennessee and northwest Georgia.

WHEN

As an individual time trial, you're free to ride whenever you want. Just make sure you submit the Verification form (below) after your ride so that we can track you on our ITT Leaderboard and reward you for your effort!

HOW MUCH

Riding the route is free anytime, but you need to submit your ride to us using our Verification form in order to get on the leaderboard. Once we verify your ride, we'll mail you a patch commemorating the accomplishment. We'll also hook you up with a t-shirt at the Fall Invitational race & party the first Saturday in November. There is a modest registration fee for the Fall Invitational, which helps cover our costs for putting on the time trial series.

PARKING

The route starts and ends at Thunder Rock Campground. Parking is free next to the campground (do not park in designated campsites), and pit toilets are available. Click here for more information about Thunder Rock Campground.

COURSE VERIFICATION

After you complete your ride, submit the Verification form to us along with the required pictures and the link to your ride on a tracking service like Strava. We'll then verify that you completed the course in its entirety and put your time on the leaderboard.

SUPPORT & WAYFINDING

The Death March Revival is a self-supported individual time trial. It is imperative that you familiarize yourself with the route prior to attempting the ride and that you prepare a nutrition & hydration plan. Please note that there is almost no signage on the route.

BIKE CHOICE

The Death March Revival can be ridden with either a gravel bike or a hardtail mountain bike. Because there are some rough sections of forest road on the route, a hardtail mountain bike seems to be the most popular choice. Check out our DMR Bike Gallery to see bikes that have been used for the challenge by past riders.

FALL INVITATIONAL

Everyone who registers and completes the time trial prior to midnight June 30, 2022, will be invited to the Fall Invitational bike race & party the first Saturday in November!

CHAMPIONS BELT BUCKLE

The rider with the fastest time at the end of each season (July 1st thru June 30th) will be rewarded with a custom Death March Revival Champions Belt Buckle!

The ITT Series

The Three Rivers ITT Series is comprised of the Dirty 130, Death March Revival, and Tellico Highlands individual time trials. In addition to rewards for completing each ITT, we also have prizes for riding all three! Click here for all the details!

SOCIAL

Stay up to date on who's attempting the ITT, course conditions, and other Death March Revival news by following our Instagram page!

BIKEPACKING

If you're not interested in racing the course, the Death March Revival also makes a beautiful bikepackiing adventure! Click here for a couple of bikepacking versions of the route - "The Revival" and "The Death March"

RIDE REPORTS

To a get a sense of what it's like to take on the Death March Revival, check out all the firsthand accounts on our Ride Reports page!

Click on the map above to see the downloadable Ride With GPS file.

Current Standings 2021-2022

In keeping with DMR tradition, we will be awarding finishers with either a sunset or lunar patch. To earn the coveted sunset patch, you must finish under 10 hours!

Tater Roe 9/12/21: 12h-44m

2020-2021 Results

The 2020-2021 route was roughly 88 miles with 12,500 feet of climbing.

James Dunaway 3/12/21: 6h-37m (fastest known geared time)
John Wiygul 12/19/20: 7h-13m
Randy Kerr 12/11/20: 7h-33m (fastest known singlespeed time)
Bruce Stauffer 11/7/20: 8h-18m
James Ebert 11/21/20: 8h-23m
Nicholas Breaux 5/16/21: 8h-37m
Austin Sullivan 11/22/20: 8h-40m
PJ Terry 5/16/21: 8h-42m
Benny Birau 5/16/21: 9h-03m
Carey Lowrey 11/27/20: 9h-11m (fastest known women’s time)
Jeremie Hoff 10/25/20: 9h-18m
Stephen Lebovitz 11/14/20: 10h-06m
Ali Whittier 11/14/20: 10h-48m
Monica Desjardins 11/14/20: 11h-09m
Amy White 8/22/20: 11h-28m
Michael Rasch 11/14/20: 11h-40m
Canaan Barrett 11/14/20: 11h-42m
Audrey Tangye 11/14/20: 12h-15m
Jennifer Braddock 11/14/20: 12h-17m
Justin Shealey 11/14/20: 12h-30m
Jason Vance 6/29/21: 12h-43m
Chad Ponvelle 11/14/20: 12h-55m
Claire Colbert 6/27/21: 13h-11m
Bill Mondock 11/14/20: 13h-48m
Susan Burkley 10/31/20: 14h-08m (singlespeed)
Jennifer Davenport 11/14/20: 15h-04m
Sheena Sheffield 12/11/20: 15h-13m
Whitney Stanley 11/14/20: 15h-17m
Ryan Smith 6/29/21: 15h-42m
Nani D' Ettorre 12/11/20: 16h-55m

Individual Time Trials are all about self-sufficiency and a level playing field. To be eligible for a recorded time and placement on the Leaderboard, you must abide by the following rules:

1. You must take a picture of your bike computer right before you start and right after you finish. The pictures need to show the time of day and the mileage.

2. The route must be ridden in one unbroken stage.

3. No drafting at any time.

4. No stashed caches along the route.

5. No sharing supplies between riders.

6. No outside assistance with navigation.

7. No motorized transport or hitch-hiking. You must complete the route under your own power.

8. You are allowed to leave the official route at any time as long as you return to the route within 100 feet of the point that you left the route.

9. No support crews. You can only receive support from local businesses on-site during their normal business hours.

10. You must have a contingency plan in place before you start the ride in case of emergency or if you need to quit. You are responsible for your own safety and well-being out there.

TRAIL MAGIC: Trail Magic is an unexpected occurrence that lifts a rider's spirits and inspires awe and gratitude. During an ITT, obtaining an item from another person can only be unsolicited and accidental, otherwise, the receipt of assistance or supplies by individuals when it's not available to all riders reflects a lack of self sufficiency which renders an effort not self-supported. In short, you can't ask for Trail Magic. You can only pray for it!