Tony's story: Truckee Gravel
BaseCamp athlete Tony Powell shared his experience at the 2026 Truckee Gravel bike race in California.
Decided to start gravel riding this year, and this was my first gravel event. Truckee is north of Lake Tahoe in California, about a 3-3:30 hour drive for me. I was able to find a hotel in Truckee a few miles away from the venue and rode my bike to and from there instead of driving.
The organizers had a shakeout ride the day before the big event. Glad I went on this ride, because it was good to see part of the course, as well as seeing how my body responded to riding in the 6000-foot elevation. All went well on this ride, other than getting rained on for a while. It was pretty cold and windy on both days, as well, but we had nothing but sun on the event day.
The main event has 3 courses (long, medium, and short). With this being my first time, I chose the short course, which ended up being 29 miles with an elevation gain of almost 2000 feet. The course is a mix of paved roads, gravel roads, double track, a little bit of single track, and a little bit of sand. I've ridden enough of the gravel trails in my area to feel comfortable on the gravel roads and in the sand. However, I really struggled in the areas of the course where there were double tracks with some pretty big rocks. I took my first fall when my right pedal clipped the side of the rut while another rider was coming around me. Banged up my left knee and got a couple of cuts, but nothing serious, so I was able to continue without any issues. My bike survived really well, too. My second fall came near the end, where we were supposed to head up a small single track hill to loop around a field and back to the road. Just as I started, I panicked a little, and for some reason went too far right again and ended up falling on my right side. Some more cuts on my right leg and banged my head pretty good. Between having a good helmet and a hard head, didn't have any issues there. As I was getting up and dusting off, the rider behind was walking his bike up the trail, and that's what I ended up doing until I got to the top. Should have thought of that instead of trying to ride up that narrow trail. Definitely exposed my gravel and trail-riding skills that I need to work on.
Overall, really enjoyed doing something different like this type of event. A lot to learn along the way!
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