Bruce's story: Battenkill

BaseCamp athlete Bruce Bunn shared his experience at the 2026 Battenkill bike race in New York.

The Battenkill cycling race. Rode the Full Gran Fondo on Saturday. This is an American classic race to celebrate the return of road racing in the northeast. You can pretty much mark the calendar for rain that day, as it almost always does. Conditions at race time were 48F with moderate to heavy rain throughout the race. 62 miles and lots of steep climbing. The trick is that 23% of the roads are gravel/mud, including one of the toughest climbs. When you say it's a "gritty" race, it's literal. Every time you reach for a drink, you get a taste of the local mud from the top of the bottle.

I was really happy with my performance riding with many of the best riders on the northeast in my age class. 6th place of 40 in the 60-69 group and 34th of 196 overall. I beat my previous year's time despite the more challenging conditions. Kudos to BaseCamp rider Jan Bunn (yes, my wife, and she is tough) for efforts in the Mid Fondo on the day as well. The Battenkill always leaves you with a life experience that you will never forget!