How did I even get here? Well, ever since I became interested in endurance sports in the form of running I have been pursuing challenge. Maybe pursuing challenge is what I have always doing in all aspects of my life, but it has become increasingly obvious since I found running.

First running at all was a challenge. Then run a 5k. 5k became 10k. 10k became a half marathon. Became faster half marathons. Became trail running. Trail running introduced the concept of ultramarathon. 50k, 50 miles, 100 miles. I continued to challenge myself.

Then injury entered my life. Injury through me into cycling more than I ever had anticipated. I had only dabbled until recently. But when I could not run, but I could ride my bike and I went for it.

I would ride longer and longer distances. Then a friend said let’s ride around each of the 11 Finger Lakes in New York. A challenge that would challenge me and build me up to the point where I rode 100 miles. I did not see this coming. But I absolutely loved these bike adventures.

Along the way of this cycling journey the past few years I discovered gravel biking. This year I bought a gravel bike and began to dabble in that aspect of the sport. Gravel biking for me is the same as trail running. I love running period but I would prefer to always be trail running. And cycling is going the same way. I love riding and road riding is where most of my miles are because of convenience, but I would aspire to always be riding on a dirt road or a trail somewhere.

After visiting the local bike shop repeatedly I saw their advertisement for a race series they were a part of. It was all on gravel and dirt roads. It caught my interest. Cameron Crusher was up next. The final race of the series in October.

As we neared the end of the summer of 2025 and the end of the Finger Lakes circumnavigation rides I started thinking about possibly doing the last race in the gravel bike race series. We spent all year building up and would have some big tests ahead of us. But If I could pull those rides off surely I could ride this race too, right?

As I began to look into the details of gravel bike racing end get a little experience doing it I learned how truly different of an activity it is. Very much like the difference between trail running and road running. This gravel race would have many more steep climbs and steep descents than we encountered on our road rides.

The distance of the gravel race I was interested in was 50 miles. I was less concerned about that By the time of the race I would have ridden that distance or close to it 5 times. I would know that I could ride the distance.

The real challenge came in all the changes in elevation. The race course would accumulate a total elevation gain of around 7,000 feet. This was more than double the most elevation gain we had on our hardest rides. And the rides where we had that highest elevation gain were spread out over twice the distance. 3,000+ feet of elevation gain over 80 to 100 miles, not 7,000 feet in only 50 miles.

That meat much steeper climbs with the requisite much steeper descents. This is what really gave me pause. I had gotten to the point where I could struggle through a long relatively gradual climb. And I liked nice even descents. But like trail running for me the climbing is the hardest part for me and really takes the wind out of my sails.

I really wondered if the race was something I could actually do. Would I be able to finish it.

The other wrinkle was that the race as on the same day as the biggest running event in our community, The Wineglass Marathon / Half Marathon. I wasn’t planning to run the race but for the last several years I had volunteered as bike support for the race and enjoyed giving back to the Runnign community in that way. I could only do one or the other, not both.

I really struggled with this decision. But I also think fear made it a harder decision than it should have been. It would be easy to default to a casual ride as bike support over a grueling hard race and I almost did that. But then I began to think there will be many more Wineglass events to volunteer at. There may only be one year where I am fit enough on the bike to even take on the challenge of this 50 mile gravel bike race.

Then came the inflection point. The volunteer coordinator for bike support needed to know for certain if I was in for bike support or not. I was hoping not to have to decide until after we had completed the hardest rides of the Finger Lakes series. Then I would have a better handle on how it would feel to complete a long day of riding even iff it was a totally different type of riding. But due to illness we had to push back our schedule so I had to decide now. Without the valuable insight a real long day of riding would provide.

I started to think seriously about why I do the things I do. What is the reason I like to take on these endurance challenges that I find myself involved in. From running solo 50k’s to Running my first 100 miles to riding around the Finger Lakes. And from everything far preceding these things and things off in the distance future that I cannot even envision right now.

Why do I do it? I think the conclusion I reached is that I do it to see if I can. To challenge myself. To push myself. To get out of my comfort zone.

Do I want to suffer and be uncomfortable? No not really. That is why we train for these things. To minimize it. Will there be suffering and discomfort. Yes. But can I push through the pain and suffering to accomplish a big goal that I have set my mind to and committed time and effort to training for. That is really what it is all about. And one thing I like about endurance sport is that in large part it is all up to you. There are some factors that are beyond your control, like weather, but in large part you get out of it what you put into it. And you can finish what you started. You are in control.

So I pulled the trigger and I signed up for this kind of frightening 50 mile gravel bike race with 7,000 feet of elevation gain. And I did it in large part because it has been a long time since I signed up or committed to anything that I truly wasn’t sure I could do. And I think facing that level of mental discomfort alone was worth it. Could I actually do this thing? I don’t know. The only way to find out is to show up at the start line and do the thing.

And if you never show up you never know. And those are the kind of regrets I don’t want to live with. Trying and failing is ok. Never trying is harder to live with.

I showed up on race day for the Cameron Crusher and tried to just settle in and get my bearings. Did I mention I have never done an organized bike event before in my life? Why not start with he hardest one you can find right?

It was a little intimidating seeing all the other riders there getting ready and looking pretty serious. Listening to the conversations and overhearing discussions of terminology that I did not even understand. It was all a bit overwhelming.

This was like being a newby all over again. Except I was stumping at the high watermark. I “knew how to ride” but did not know hoe to race a bike event. I had zero experience. What are the rules of the road, the unwritten rules, and the etiquette. All of these questions made me nervous on top of just riding the course.

One thing that was totally new to me was just how they timed the course and determined who the winner was. In this event t least, what they did was have the course laid out, then at certain areas you are timed. You don’t win by being the fastest around the entire course necessarily. You win by being the fastest around on the segments that are specifically timed. Then in theory you can relax during the non timed sections which is actually most of the course. However, for myself I had to push pretty hard the whole way just to have a hope of getting done at all in a reasonable amount of time.

The sections of the course are divided up to cover different types of terrain. Riders are timed on 2 or 3 climbs. And the riders are timed on 2 or 3 downhill sections. And there was a timed section of mixed terrain, hills and descents. These sections are interspersed and spread out across the course. You don’t do all the climbs then all the descents. And you don’t climb a big hill and then immediately do a timed descent. The course seems designed to in theory, if you are experienced at least, give riders time to rest.

I really like this format of racing. It would be fun to bring that style of racing to trail running. Some runners can really crush a climb. Other runners can bomb a downhill. But it is hard to be fast the entire way. Trail running is already like a little party. It would be fun to make it even more so with time to relax between timed sections. What would that even be like?

When I looked at the map of the course that showed the elevation profile I was pretty intimidated. Bigger hills than I had ever done just about everywhere on the course. And there was one really long steep climb. The steepness was the biggest concern. This climb was pretty close to halfway into the course. This would be the true test for me.

This 2025 edition of the race had a different starting location. Normally the race starts up on a hill at a nice park. But this year we started out on the flat land down below the park. The event opened with us riding up the hillside to where the race used to start. This made my mouth drop a bit. I was expected some easy riding before having to really dig deep. This climb was long and steep. I was quickly dropping back. And I was getting tired. My legs were burning. I wasn’t sure I was going to make it up this first climb. I was beginning to think I would have to get off my bike and walk right at the beginning of the race. I didn’t even know if that was allowed. Would I be disqualified if I had to get off my bike and walk? This opening stage of the race was really testing my limits mentally and physically. If I had to get off my bike right out of the gate it was going to crush my spirit. And I don’t know if I would recover. Luckily I was able to push through and get over this initial climb. Recovering on the open roads felt really good. I was able to keep in the mix a little with some of the other riders at the back of the pack.

When I ride I enjoy a good downhill, but I am not comfortable going particularly fast. Not nearly as fast as some of the riders at this event were going. For my wife’s sake I will not say how fast I am importable going. But comparatively speaking it is not very fast at all. On several of the downhill sections. I would be ahead of a couple of the riders starting the downhill. And I would feel like I was proceeding downhill at a pretty healthy speed. Although I was judiciously using my breaks. Then One shortly after another the two bikers I was near would shoot past me like bullets. This while I was going what felt like pretty fast to me, especially on unfamiliar roads.

Eventually, I came to the climb I was dreading. The big hill that went on forever. I got to that hill faster than some of the other riders, which I really was not expecting. But that was where just about everyone that remained caught up to me and passed me.

This hill was a beast. It was really steep, especially compared to the roads I have been riding all year. And it stayed steep the whole way. There was not much that let up. This hill broke me down. I really wanted to get up this hill without getting off my bike. I made pretty good progress at first but pretty quickly it became apparent that I wasn’t going to be able to sustain my effort. I stopped to take a break. Trying to catch my breath and recover. I biked and then rested on and off for several cycles. But it became apparent it was going to take forever to get to the top of the climb this way. After seeing a few other bikers dismount and walk their bikes I decided that this was what I was going to have to do. It was a bit demoralizing but I did get to the top that way. I was even photographed walking my bike up to the summit. My fellow trail runners who I have photographed as they slogged up a hill will probably appreciate this fact.

While that particular hill and the other climbs asa well were challenging and intimidating the descents were difficult in a very different kind of way. Some of the descents were on terrain unlike anything I had ever ridden on and especially went downhill on. Big loose bumpy gravel. Like “hang on to your buts” fast, bouncing, challenging terrain. Even on this terrain that at times felt unreal to me I had fellow riders zoom by me at speeds I could not imagine going.

On these very technically challenging downhills it was exciting and nerve racking at the same time. I was really keeping my breaks on as much as possible. But what I have been learning on gravel rides is that breaking too much is like slamming on your breaks in the snow when driving a car. It can cause you to just lose control. The challenge is really in developing the skills and bike handling technique to be able to navigate the terrain successfully and stay in control of your bike. The very technical downhills are like doing a dance for me. Just trying to find balance. A little bit of break here. A little bit of acceleration here. All while keeping locked on the terrain and feeling how the bike is handling and steering it. There was one section of a downhill that was so bumpy that my water bottle flew out of the holder attached to my bike frame. I actually stopped to go back and grab the bottle because I really liked it and it was a nice metal dual wall insulated one I didn’t want to have to replace.

What became a real challenge that I wasn’t expected was the weather. This race was in October in upstate, New York. Not a particularly warm time of the year. However, on this day the temperature rose to over 80 degrees. I was so hot. I drank all my electrolytes and consumed all my fuel. The only thing I would want to be doing less would be running a marathon. Sorry all my Wineglass Marathon friends.

In this format of the race there was no hard cut off. All riders would have enough time to finish the race. But if you wanted to be eligible for awards you had to finish within a specific time frame.

There was a period during the second half of the race where I actually thought I might be able to make it to the finish within that time, which I did not really think I would before starting. But to even have a shot at making it within the time frame to be eligible for awards I would have to push as hard as I could even when not being timed. This became daunting as the heat literally mounted.

Eventually I began to feel as if it was rather push hard to try and finish in the allotted time for awards and risk heat exhaustion or take it easier and just try to get the ride done in a safe manner. I decided that especially with this being my first ever bike event I really just wanted to get to the finish line. I eased off. It was still hot but tolerable. I had to walk a climb or two along the way. But I did eventually achieve my goal and finish the race.

It was really cool to look at the timing results after the fact and see that while I didn’t expect to be fast on any of the timed sections. There were at least a few timed sections where eI was not last. And I will totally take that. As a new person to bike events and really new to this long distance biking I will take not last.

This was such a great mix of fun, challenge, and excitement that I am really looking forward to doing something like this again some time. I am hoping to do one of the races that are included in this series in 2026. Hopefully one of the shorter courses.

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