Evan's story: Mid-State Gravel Grinder

BaseCamp athlete Evan McGregor shared his experience at the 2025 Mid-State Gravel Grinder in Pennsylvania.

The Elements

The challenges and rewards of cycling, whether it's the wind pushing us forward, the sun's fiery energy fueling endurance, the stability of the earth grounding us and building our resilience, or water's fluid, guiding flow.

The Mid-State Gravel Grinder weekend presented a blossoming challenge in my life: my role as husband and father fitting more in balance with my competitive nature in cycling. The whole weekend embodied the Elements of racing, but with a push towards that harmonious balance...

The lead-in to the race wasn't smooth. Resurfacing issues with my knee and hip, nearly crippling self-doubt, our toddler girl struggling being in new surroundings and repeatedly getting carsick, and last-minute mechanicals. I went to the starting line feeling already defeated, regretting putting my family through the trials of the 24 hours we experienced before the start. In my head, I already finished dead last.

Today's race

All of the struggles and doubts faded away as the race started. I started to get out of my head and reacquainted with the bike, ready to accept whatever the day would bring, whatever the other racers would bring. We got to the first descent and I took the lead down it, the concerns melted away and all that remained was the joy of racing, the intensity of it, and my love for my family. I wanted to win this for my little Aoife who had struggled so much over the weekend, for my son who was such a great big brother, and for my wife who holds us all above ground.

One of the teams led out to the first climb, their team leader attacked, and I went with him. It was a trio of riders for most of the rest of the way. I was focused and determined. Throughout, I saw that I was the most confident and skilled descender of our group (on the day, at least), and my pre-race plan took hold. Stick in, help keep the pace relatively high, and when we get to Tram Road, go for it. I took the lead on Tram into its climb and from there I pushed a high pace to discourage any attacking, but without going over the line. On the descents and corners, I went hard to keep a lead spot. Over the top, I put in another dig.

The last bit of Tram has a really rough section of embedded rock. I've done races here before, and my first memory was of Tim Cusick dropping me on the chunkiest part of the descent as I got nervous and uncertain. Today, I opened up on the roughest part. I saw the lines to take, where I could pedal through, and I took almost 3 minutes off of my descent time from that first visit. When I got to the base today and looked over my shoulder (arm locked, chin to shoulder) to see if I got any gap, I didn't see any of my trio.

I drove on, and with ten miles to go, committed to going full to the line. I saw one of the other races maybe 30 seconds behind, and just tried to hold that gap and hopefully get out-of-sight, and out-of-mind. I stayed smooth on the final climb, and then I just tucked in, head down, and kept the pedals turning over with the hope of holding Aoife up on the top step. Hope realized.

I've had good results and race wins before. Usually my race-winning moves have come on climbs, generally short and sharp punches or late race climbs. Today, I was with riders who were more powerful than I was. Upskill. The BaseCamp gravel camp, and now the recent road skills weekend, have paid dividends. I attacked over the top and down a descent to get the gap. I wasn't the strongest, but I was the fastest to the bottom, and held onto my 30+second gap to the finish. A year ago, I would've been chasing and hoping to hold on to a podium position. Upskill.

The winning finish was filled with joy. I want to say that winning made all of the challenges worth it, but that wouldn't be quite true. My kids would still love me no matter how I finished. Amanda would support and be proud of me as long as I gave my best. So the next step really is balance. Be a dad who deserves their love. Be a husband worth taking pride in and supporting. Express an aspect of that through cycling and its elements.

Cycling, like the earth, is grounded in persistence and resilience. Just as the earth supports and sustains, every pedal stroke on solid ground builds strength and stability. When we embrace the steady support and progress, we'll find ourselves forging a path to new achievements and lasting success.

My wife, Amanda, is the earth. She keeps me grounded and helps me bounce back from these moments when I feel the lowest. She changes that rock bottom to a spring that helps me bounce back on my feet. She stabilizes the family, and gives us all the support we need to move ever forward.

Cycling, like fire, is a dance of control and intensity. Push too hard, and we risk burning out, but when harnessed wisely, this explosive power grows with every pedal stroke, driving us to new heights, fueling our journey, and leading us to victory.

My son and daughter, Calum and Aoife, are fire, the inspiration who help give me that intensity of spirit when I'm racing to push as hard as my body will allow. Before them, every pedal stroke was for me. Now, every time I turn over my legs it's the thought of them that pushes me up the next climb. That's why they're up there on the podium.

The speed of the wind, like cycling, is a balance of resistance and momentum. Sometimes it pushes us forward, and other times it demands we push harder, always teaching the art of moving with or against unseen forces.

The wind I fight is self-doubt, a feeling of inferiority. Before the start, all I could think was that at the last race, Camp Michaux, maybe my legs weren't that good and that's why I lost; maybe I'll have another mechanical today that I can't just leg out for a podium; maybe I'll have a cramp right when someone attacks and I get destroyed. My mind was telling me that I wasn't good enough, healthy enough, fast enough, or focused enough.

The wind at my back is the desire to be the best version of myself. Competition is essential to me. My background as a performing musician, where I had to make sure I could "win" the performance, get the gig, keep it, and just do my best, helped me move into this phase of my life with competitive cycling. Cycling allows me to show my family the value of hard work, perseverance, and determination to succeed in set goals. The drive.

Cycling, like water, flows with a rhythm that adapts to every turn and terrain. When we align with its current, it carries us forward effortlessly; if we resist its flow, it can slow us down. When we harness its power, it guides us smoothly through challenges, propelling us toward our goals with grace and strength.

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.