Evan's story: Allen Clark Hill Climb

BaseCamp athlete Evan McGregor shared his experience at the 2025 Allen Clark Hill Climb bike race in Vermont.

The App Gap! I've done the Green Mountain Stage Race before, and the Queen Stage finish at the summit of the App Gap has been my favorite race finish I've done. So doing a hill climb race up the east side of the App Gap just sounded like so much fun. Also, I agreed with my wife a few months ago that the ol' n+1 was going to change to n-1. Meaning, the road bike is being sold. It's listed and on the block. It's my dream road race bike, but there would be no more fitting of a send off than one more race to the top of Waitsfield, VT.

There was the usual pre-race drama for me. Double puncture from road debris during my warmup. Plugging, pumping, and praying minutes before the start, and breathing to control my heart rate before my first ever hill climb race. There's not much more to say about the race for me...I'm proud of my effort. I raced a good race. If there's more I could've done, it wasn't much. I went fast. The plugs held and I did my bike proud. I did the best of which I was capable on this day.

But before I move forward, in a previous race story, I mentioned my bike as the element of water.

The bike. There's a reason I ride and race. Every turn.. most terrain... When my mind is in tune with my bike - and I have that lovely balance of bike & body separation - we move with intent and purpose. Every pedal stroke in-time, in rhythm. Pushing tempo, holding time, sitting in the pocket. Through the various skills camps with BaseCamp, I've learned more and more how to be in consonant harmony with my bike. Today's race-winning moves being both up and downhill show that harmony developing in beautiful counterpoint. It's music. It flows. It's joy. The next move will be bringing that beauty in form with my whole life. We move forward.

I have to say that those words from a few months ago hit a bit more now. It's a bittersweet farewell to my road bike. Until today, I had never podiumed with it, but there has been so much joy on this bike. Today I didn't look at power, heart rate, speed, time, or any of it. I listened to my body and my bike working together and getting in rhythm. We were in sync, flowing uphill, against the current, aligned in purpose and intent. We rode through the dark and the dawn, valley to summit. We expressed passion, grace, and strength with each pedal stroke. Goodbye.