Texas Showdown Series

10/13/2026

10/04/2026

At mile 482, roughly halfway through the Death Loop, our 23 Showdown racers may finally be able to let out a small sigh of relief.

From here, it’s all downhill. Well…mostly.

The Llano River and Castell, Texas, are waiting at the bottom, with only 27 miles standing between the riders and the finish line.

The Death Loop also doubles as the course for our Gravél Throwdown 60.9. It trends upward through mile 33, where riders are rewarded with a sweet 2 mile descent into Pontotoc. From there, the roads begin meandering down toward Castell.

The first 23 miles can deliver loose, deep sand, or become extremely muddy when conditions turn wet.

Either way, the Death Loop lives up to its name during the first half. But there’s a pretty sweet payoff waiting just over the next hill.

We’ll be waiting for you at the finish line.

Presented by Old Man Mountain

09/30/2026

The Texas Showdown Series travels through three very different regions of Texas. Each one leaves its mark on us, and keeps us coming back year after year.

This fall, Bikes or Death and the Texas Showdown Series are teaming up with the Big Bend Trails Alliance and Big Bend Ranch State Park to return the favor.

Join us November 13-15 for a weekend of trail work, camaraderie, and a little bike ridin’ in the place we’re fortunate to call home for the West Texas Showdown.

As people who enjoy these wild spaces, we share a responsibility to protect them, preserve them, and leave them better than we found them. If not us, then who?

Whether you’re registered for WTS and want to become better acquainted with the region, you’re simply curious about Big Bend, or you just enjoy playing in the dirt, you’re welcome to join us.

Participants can also earn Dirt Work Credits toward a future Texas Showdown Series event.

Let’s give back to Big Bend as a small thank-you for everything it has given us.

More information and registration:

https://www.bikereg.com/big-bend-trail-work-weekend

09/25/2026

The 7th edition of East Texas Showdown rides again on March 26th, 2027.

REG OPENS TODAY AT HIGH NOON 🔫

If you like riding through trees, on gravel roads that are a bit too sandy, and getting chased by dogs in the rain, we think this race is for you.

Come get some!

https://www.bikereg.com/77899

09/23/2026

We’re one month out from our biggest Central Texas Showdown yet, and we can’t wait to welcome y’all back to Castell. A picturesque Texas town on the banks of the Llano River.

Home to only 13 residents, it’s about as small-town Texas as you can get. But race weekend is going to look a little different:

• 150 racers registered across the weekend
• 129 taking on the main CTS events
• 21 Showdown
• 59 Slowdown
• 40 Lowdown
• 9 Super Lowdown
• 22 riders pursuing the Triple Star in the same category
• 60 main-event riders planning or considering Sunday’s Gravél Throwdown
• 34 women racing

We’re shaping up for one hell of a weekend in Castell.

One month to go. Who else is joining the party?

October 23–25
Castell, Texas

p/b Old Man Mountain

📷 Maxwell Johnston / Nathan Khalsa / Hi-Vis Productions

https://www.bikereg.com/75669

09/19/2026

Why is Meg Hackinen smiling?

I dunno, but look at that beautiful East Texas gravel road 😍

6 days till ETS ‘27 reg opens
6 months till we take over the Bullet Grill House
6 friends riding their damn bikes in East Texas

If 666 is your angel number — this is your sign to register for ETS year 7.

📷 Maxwell Johnston / Nathan Khalsa

09/18/2026

Registration for the 7th editions of East Texas Showdown opens in 7 days!

No matter how you ride your damn bike, we’re gonna be here at the finish-line to celebrate the hell outta you!

Reg opens Sept. 25th @ HIGH NOON 🤠

Link in bio.

The trees are calling.

09/14/2026

The Showdown community has lost one of our brightest stars, fiercest competitors, and most positive role models.

In 2024 Kerry Snow-Alley came in 2nd place in the 400 mile East Texas Showdown. A few days later, she learned she had stage 2 breast cancer.

Never one to quit or dwell on the negatives, she made a conscious decision to maintain an active and healthy lifestyle. And for her, that meant riding her damn bike.

In 2025 she trained for another attempt at the 400 mile East Texas Showdown while undergoing chemo. During the race, she maintained her chemo regimen — which she playfully called “Chemo Doping.”

She rode through 2 nights without sleep alongside her good friend and training partner fitzmaegan, crossing the finish line together around 3am and claiming 2nd place women and 10th overall.

She was determined not to let cancer stop her from going after her goals, and when she finished 6 hours behind her 2024 time, despite being in an active battle for her life, she was still disappointed she didn’t perform better.

This is just who she was — a fierce competitor and a fighter to the end.

Kerry wouldn’t have wanted cancer to have the last word in her story. Now the community she poured her heart into has an opportunity to show up for her.

Funds are being raised to help cover medical expenses and care for the person who spent these last years caring so deeply for her:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/honor-kerry-snows-memory

We will honor her at every East Texas Showdown with the Kerry Snow Award, given to the most inspirational rider and voted on by the community.

Most importantly, go on a ride, keep a cheery attitude, help others along the way, and keep a little Kerry in your heart when you do. We may not be able to ride with her in person, but we can carry her with us and honor her by living up to the example she set.

Ride in peace, Kerry.

With love, Patrick

09/05/2026

You don’t need a big boulder. You need thousands of little pebbles consistently.

We’ve got yer pebbles.

ONE State.
THREE Showdowns.

p/b Old Man Mountain

09/04/2026

Quiet country roads. Long stretches alone amongst rolling hills. Water crossings galore. And all the limestone you could ever want.

These are just a few of the things that make the Central Texas Showdown unique.

Eventually, all those Texas Hill Country miles lead back to one hell of a community.

Registration is open. 🤠

p/b Old Man Mountain

📷 Maxwell Johnston / Nathan Khalsa / McKenzie Barney