Far Out
Lose the route. Find yourself.
A free checkpoint adventure into the mountains above Boulder: big climbs, hidden books, intentional support, and riders finding out what happens when the day stops being about who gets there first.
Next edition TBA
The story
Hidden books and questionable sunglasses
TGIF's Colorado Signature experience: a noncompetitive checkpoint adventure built around exploration, community, and raising money for mental health awareness and suicide prevention.
Far Out began as an alternative to traditional gravel racing: what if a big day in the mountains felt less like a start list and more like an adventure you stumbled into with a bunch of friends?
So we hid books out in the mountains above Boulder. Riders find them, tear out a page and carry it home — proof you were there, and the only result sheet Far Out has ever produced. No timing chips, no podiums, no winners, no entry fee. Ride hard if you want. Stop for your friends. Help somebody with a flat. Take the long way home.
The rest is 80s weirdness: neon, old jerseys, fanny packs, sunglasses that should not exist. Nobody looks like anybody else, which is exactly the point.
The ride is serious. The culture is not.
Why we ride
Why we ride
A hard day on a bike makes people honest. Somewhere up the climb the small talk runs out, the effort strips away the performance, and you end up saying the true thing to whoever is next to you.
That's the whole equation: challenge creates vulnerability, vulnerability creates connection, connection creates community. Bikes give us space to move, breathe, process whatever we brought with us, meet people, help somebody and let somebody help us.
Every TGIF ride has no entry fee — Far Out included, by choice. Free isn't the emotional centre of it; it just removes one more barrier between a person and a meaningful day on a bike. Some things are easier to talk about on a bike. We’re raising money to create more awareness around mental health and suicide prevention, break the stigma around asking for help, and remind people that they don’t have to carry the heavy stuff alone.
Adventure creates stories. Community gives them meaning.
Choose your adventure
01 · Pick your edition
Pick your date
This edition has passed.
This edition has passed.
Finish
Upslope Brewing
02 · Pick your route — August 29
Compare the routes, then open the one you want. Its profile and map load only when you open it.
Select a route to open its guide, profile and map. One at a time, on purpose.
03 · Explore the route
Route 01
The Radical
Rowdy and rewarding — a proper mountain day with plenty of climbing.
- Distance
- ~50 mi
- Elevation
- ~7,000 ft
Ride with GPS
How we roll
How the day runs
- Format
- Adventure
- To the first climb
- We ride together
- After the first climb
- Self-paced. Riders settle into natural groups at similar speeds — find people you like riding with and pause with them at the tops of climbs and after technical sections.
- Regroups
- None formal. This is not a no-drop ride.
- Support
- Plan to be fully self-sufficient — this can get remote. Aid stations provide water, hydration and snacks, and are supplemental, not a substitute.
- Navigation
- The Ride with GPS maps mark checkpoints, aid stations, dangerous intersections and technical trail sections. Study and download your route beforehand.
- Before the day
- A rider guide is emailed a few days out so you know exactly what to expect.
- The finish
- Afterparty
Schedule · August 29
The schedule as this edition ran.
The on-ride format is Adventure; this remains a TGIF Signature experience.
Before you roll
Before you roll
The mountains above Boulder are big, high and exposed. Detailed event-specific information comes in the rider guide email a few days before the ride.
Your bike
A gravel bike in good working order with climbing-friendly gearing — spin to win. We recommend 45 mm tires or larger for any TGIF ride; more tire and more gearing are your friends. Check your brakes before you show up.
What to carry
Bring the cycling accoutrement you need to keep yourself rolling — food, water, layers, navigation and whatever you need to fix your bike trailside. There’s no team car hiding around the next corner with a fresh wheel.
What to bring
After the ride
After the ride
Both 2026 editions finished at Upslope Brewing. Checkpoint pages come out of jersey pockets, food and drinks land on the tables, and everybody tells the same climb from a slightly different angle.
The ride is only half of Far Out.Coming home together is the other half.
With support from
Good rides take good allies.
RSVP · August 29
This edition has passed — August 29
Far Out, August 29 (Boulder, Colorado) has already run. The next edition is TBA.
This edition has passed.
Trail Marker
Lose the route. Find yourself.
Questions
Before you come
Is it really free?
Yes. Far Out has never had an entry fee and stays free by choice. Donations for mental health awareness and suicide prevention are welcome, never required.
Is it a race?
No. No timing chips, no results, no podium. The checkpoint books are the only thing you take home.
Which route should I pick?
The Radical is rowdy and rewarding. The Gnarly is the more committing day: more miles, more climbing, more mountain. Both are real mountain days and both are real accomplishments — distance and climbing are listed with each route above, so pick the day you actually want.
How do I get the route?
Study the route before the ride. Download it to your device before you arrive. If you don't have a GPS bike computer, download the Ride with GPS app, create a free account, and use turn-by-turn directions on your phone. The map marks checkpoints, aid stations, dangerous intersections and technical sections.
What if the weather turns?
Mountain weather does what it wants. Carry a shell, start with a layer you can shed, and read the rider guide email that goes out a few days before the event.
Why mental health?
Because bikes gave a lot of us somewhere to put the hard stuff, and because a climb is one of the easier places to say the true thing out loud. Far Out raises money for mental health awareness and suicide prevention, to bring these conversations into the light and remind people they don't have to carry it alone.