Two Great Gravel Camps. Two Different Experiences. Which One Is Right for You?
Lincoln or Stowe? Performance or adventure? The good news is you don't have to choose between getting better on the bike and having a great time doing it.
One of the things I love most about gravel cycling is how many different experiences it offers. You can challenge yourself in a race, spend a day exploring beautiful backroads, work on becoming a better rider, or simply enjoy a few hours on the bike with good friends. And sometimes, the best rides combine all of those things.
That's the thinking behind our two BaseCamp gravel camps in 2027: Gravel Worlds Camp in Lincoln, Nebraska, in May, and Stowe Gravel Camp in Vermont, in September.
Both bring together great riding, experienced coaches, practical education, and the BaseCamp community. But we've designed them with two different purposes in mind. Lincoln is about developing your performance and building skills in an environment where you can really focus on becoming a better gravel rider. Stowe is about the adventure of gravel cycling, using beautiful terrain, great routes, and shared experiences to help you grow as a cyclist while enjoying everything that makes a destination cycling camp special.
So, which one is right for you? Let's look at what makes each experience different.
Lincoln: Build Your Skills, Improve Your Performance, and Have Some Fun
May 19–23, 2027 | Lincoln, Nebraska
If your goal is to become a better gravel rider, Lincoln is where I'd start. We designed our Gravel Worlds Camp around a simple idea: Better performance comes from more than just having a bigger engine.
Fitness matters, of course. But so does how you handle your bike, how efficiently you ride, how you approach different terrain, how you fuel, and how you make decisions when you're tired. These are skills that can make a real difference, whether you're preparing for a major gravel event or simply want to feel more capable and confident on your next ride.
Lincoln gives us an ideal environment to teach those skills.
The gravel roads around Lincoln offer rolling terrain, open roads, and a variety of riding conditions without the sustained climbing and technical challenges you find in more mountainous destinations. That matters because it allows us to create a more focused coaching experience while accommodating a wide range of rider abilities. For experienced riders, we can work on performance details like pacing, efficiency, race strategy, group dynamics, and how to handle the demands of faster gravel riding. For newer gravel riders, we can spend more time on the fundamentals: bike handling, cornering, riding on different surfaces, building confidence, and developing the skills that make gravel riding more enjoyable.
And because the terrain is generally more forgiving, newer riders can concentrate on learning without feeling like every climb is a fitness test.
This is an important distinction. Lincoln isn't just a camp for racers or someone doing Gravel Worlds. It's a camp for anyone who wants to become a better gravel cyclist.
Serious About Learning. Not Too Serious About Ourselves.
While Lincoln is our more performance-focused camp, don't confuse that with a high-pressure training environment. One of the things we've learned over years of coaching is that people learn best when they're comfortable, engaged, and having fun. Our days will combine structured coaching, group rides, equipment discussions, and practical education. But we'll also have plenty of time to relax, share stories, laugh about the day's adventures, and get to know the people we're riding with.
We're staying at the Graduate in downtown Lincoln's Haymarket District, giving us a great home base for socializing, group meals, and spending time together away from the bike.
And our partnership with Lauf Gravel Worlds adds another dimension to the experience. There's something special about being part of a bigger gravel community, connecting with people who share your interests, and getting a closer look at one of the sport's great events.
You'll leave Lincoln with better skills, a clearer understanding of how to improve your performance, and some new cycling friends.
That's a pretty good combination.
Stowe: Great Gravel, Beautiful Mountains, and the Adventure of Riding Together
September 14–19, 2027 | Stowe, Vermont
Now, if Lincoln is about developing your gravel performance, Stowe is about celebrating the experience of gravel cycling.
And Vermont is a pretty special place to do that.
The Stowe area offers an incredible combination of quiet gravel roads, rolling farmland, beautiful mountain scenery, small towns, and the kind of riding that makes you want to stop occasionally just to take it all in. But it also offers a different kind of challenge. The terrain is hillier, the rides are more physically demanding, and there's more climbing throughout the day. While the Stowe area generally doesn't have the same consistently steep pitches we encounter farther south in Vermont's Green Mountains, a solid base of cycling fitness is important to really enjoy the experience. That's part of the adventure.
Unlike Lincoln, where we'll use the terrain to create specific learning opportunities, Stowe is more about using the rides themselves as the centerpiece of the experience. We'll still coach. In fact, good coaching is an important part of what makes a BaseCamp camp different from a typical guided cycling vacation. You'll learn about riding efficiently, pacing climbs, improving your gravel skills, managing your effort, and getting more out of your equipment. We'll have rider meetings, practical discussions, and opportunities to learn directly from our coaches.
But the education is woven into a bigger adventure rather than driving every part of the day.
The goal in Stowe isn't to turn every ride into a workout. It's to enjoy great rides, learn along the way, and share an exceptional experience with other cyclists.
The Experience Doesn't End When the Ride Is Over
This is where our Stowe camp will really shine. We've built the schedule to give people time to enjoy the destination as much as the cycling.
We're staying at Outbound Stowe, with opportunities to relax, explore town, enjoy group meals, and spend time with fellow campers and coaches.
Some of my favorite memories from BaseCamp camps aren't necessarily from the hardest climb or fastest descent. They're from the conversations afterward. Sitting around a table, hearing someone's story, talking about the ride, or laughing about something that happened along the way.
Those moments are a big part of what makes a cycling camp memorable.
Stowe is designed to create more of them.
We'll ride in groups suited to different abilities, share meals, explore the area, and create plenty of opportunities to connect. It's an experience that combines the enjoyment of a cycling vacation with the support and knowledge of a professional coaching team.
And if you ask me, that's one of the best ways to experience gravel cycling.
The Common Thread: The BaseCamp Community
While Lincoln and Stowe have different personalities, there's one thing that will feel familiar at both camps.
The people.
I've said many times that one of the best things about BaseCamp is the community we've built. We have riders with different backgrounds, fitness levels, goals, and experiences, but they share a genuine enthusiasm for cycling and a willingness to support each other. Our camps bring that community to life.
Yes, our coaches are there to help you improve. But they're also there to ride with you, answer questions, share their experience, and be part of the adventure.
And some of the most valuable learning happens between campers. You might pick up a great tip from another rider, discover a new event you want to try, or make a connection that turns into years of riding together. We work hard to create an environment where experienced riders feel challenged, newer riders feel supported, and everyone feels like they belong.
That's true whether we're working on gravel skills in Lincoln or sharing a long day in the Vermont mountains.
Which Camp Should You Choose?
Here's how I'd think about it.
Choose Lincoln if:
You want to become a better, more confident gravel rider.
You're interested in improving performance, skills, pacing, and race strategy.
You're newer to gravel and want a supportive place to learn.
You're preparing for Gravel Worlds or another major gravel event.
You enjoy riding, learning, and socializing with people who share your goals.
Choose Stowe if:
You love destination cycling and exploring beautiful places by bike.
You have a solid base of cycling fitness and enjoy a climbing challenge.
You want great riding with useful coaching and education along the way.
You value the combination of adventure, community, and time away from everyday routines.
You enjoy the social side of cycling as much as the riding itself.
Neither camp is necessarily better. They're simply designed to deliver different experiences.
Or Better Yet, Why Not Both?
Here's where I think these two camps really complement each other.
Lincoln is in May. Stowe is in September. That gives you a nice progression through the cycling season.
Start in Lincoln, where you can work on improving your gravel skills, efficiency, confidence, and performance. Take what you've learned and apply it throughout the summer, whether you're racing, riding with friends, or exploring new gravel routes.
Then come to Stowe in September and put those skills to work in a completely different environment.
You'll encounter longer climbs, different terrain, new challenges, and a more adventure-oriented riding experience. And you'll have the opportunity to reconnect with people you met in Lincoln while making some new friends along the way.
Think of Lincoln as the place to build your gravel toolbox and Stowe as the place to take those tools on an adventure.
Together, they offer a more complete cycling experience: focused learning, meaningful progression, challenging terrain, great destinations, and plenty of fun with people who love riding bikes.
That's exactly what we want our BaseCamp camps to deliver.
Great Riding. Better Skills. Good People.
At the end of the day, I don't think most of us ride bikes just to become faster or stronger.
We ride because we love the experience. We enjoy the challenge, the places it takes us, the people we meet, and the feeling of accomplishing something that matters to us.
Getting better makes that experience even more rewarding.
So whether you're looking to improve your gravel performance in Lincoln, explore the mountains of Vermont in Stowe, or make both part of your 2027 cycling season, we'd love to have you join us.
Come ready to ride, learn something new, make a few friends, and have some fun.
That's what BaseCamp is all about.
Explore Our 2027 Gravel Camps:
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