T.J.'s story: Angry Horse

BaseCamp athlete T.J. Morton shared his experience at the 2025 Angry Horse gravel bike race in Idaho.

We have a local gravel adventure ride/race called the Angry Horse. The woman who started it sold the event to one of our local bike shops that has since closed down. A friend of mine kept the event and now uses it as a fund raiser for East Idaho Bicycle Cooperative non-profit, which he started in the aftermath of the bike shop. A couple of years ago, I helped come up with a new course that explored some of the less-traveled dirt roads in the hills southeast of Idaho Falls.

I convinced Bee Kickel to drive over to the low-rent side of Idaho to ride it with me this year. We had almost perfect weather for the ride with no wind. The spring has also been pretty mild this year, and we've had more moisture than normal. The hills were still very green for this time of year.

So Bee and I got up and to the start line about a half hour before start. I would've liked 15 or 20 more minutes, but we didn't have to scramble to get ready and get on the line. The course starts with a mostly downhill paved section of about 8 miles before turning onto the dirt road. I didn't feel like it was worth my time trying to keep up with the fast folks as I knew there were some serious climbs still to come. The drawback to that is that I was isolated shortly after turning onto the dirt and rode the remainder of the race solo. I managed to keep on the gas for most of the race even though I wasn't so motivated to "race." I took enough fuel for 75 g of carbs per hour with a mixture of liquids and solids.

The first big climb is about 13 miles and gains roughly 1,200 feet. At first, it's a steady climb up to a ridge. But once it gets to the ridge, it turns into a bunch of false summits that you can't see until you crest each one. It's been a few years since I have ridden that segment, and I forgot how many false summits there were. Even knowing they're coming, they can still be a little soul sucking! But once at the top, I was rewarded with great views of the Tetons, some wildflowers, and a nice long descent back into the valley. I tried to stay in my tempo zone, though the temperatures were climbing, and the lack of shade made for lots of sweat. At mile 52-ish, the last aid station let me refill bottles for the last climb before the finish. Once at the top, there are about 4 miles of rollers left to the finish. I kind of came mentally unraveled at that point. I swore a lot and wondered why I was doing it to myself. But, then, I saw the tent at the finish and heard Bee's voice. I survived, and I beat my goal time by almost a half hour.

68.6 miles, 6,900 feet of elevation gain, 81 degrees at the finish.