Little Apple Gravel Race 50K – Race Report

August 3, 2025 – Manhattan, IL – 50K Open Division

Results: 50K Open – Male: 24th out of 40, no official time listed

Watch data: 30.68 miles – 1:53:20 – 16.2 mph/ave.

I completed my first bike race today! Well, kinda sorta. Although I’ve raced my bike in numerous triathlons, this was my first cycling-only race, a 50K gravel race on a great day. There were 48 registrants in my division – the Open 50K, with many others doing longer distances, some requiring a license that I lack, and after today, have no desire to obtain one. Those people are in a different league.

I arrived early enough to find a good parking spot under a shady tree and picked up my number placard, which goes on the front of your bike. There was a table next to the pick-up area that had some fun trinkets and a sign near some stickers that said something like Team Dog or Team Cat – Choose wisely. I chose Team Dog and stuck the sticker on my number.

Even the dog thinks this might not be a good idea.

Looking fairly fresh just before the start of the race. Somehow, I missed my friend Jim’s call for a pre-ride group photo, but I still had a chance to get in a shot or two with people I had no idea who they were.

The course is billed as 88% gravel and runs through the farm areas of the southern Chicago area. The start is a neutral roll-out, where there’s no racing and is designed to get the group going without any incidents. A little after a mile, the race is on. I saw Jim and another friend, Dan, just before they started their 100K ride. Dan wished me luck and advised me to “stay between the ditches.” As we got rolling and started racing, we came to the first turn and the first section of gravel, and that is when I saw my first crash. The guy went into the turn a little too hot and wiped out. I was surprised to see him at the finish later on, looking good and in one piece. It looked to be a bad wipeout.

The gravel section is hard enough, but the course started heading uphill and into a headwind. It was at this point that I realized the packs of riders ahead would be tough to catch, and I found myself riding pretty much on my own, which I didn’t mind. This section was about five miles long, and I just kept focused on keeping a good cadence and finding the best line, usually the car tire-packed-down area of the gravel road. There were plenty of bike tire tracks to use as a guide as well.

I was finally catching up with some other riders and caught my friends Chris and Kristin, who had started strong, but I was finally able to pull them in. Chris rode on my wheel for a while, but then I pulled away. We were three Chris’s for a mile or two.

I had ridden the course a little over a week ago and remembered which areas to be cautious in. Someone nicknamed a section of very soft gravel the “Devil’s Gravel,” and that section had some white knuckle moments. Around 23 miles into it, I saw a second rider who had just passed me and another rider go down around a corner. His helmeted head hit the ground hard enough for me to gasp, but the gravel was so soft there that it didn’t seem to phase him. I saw him later on as well, and he advised that he was fine.

Right after the guy went down, I chatted up “Matt” and we started working together to get to the finish, and by together I mean, I got on his wheel and tried to hold on. When we finally got to a paved road again, it was I who took the lead and let him hang on for a while, but he was a little faster going up the hills. As we turned onto the final straight to the finish, we both pushed pretty hard, trying to catch the guy ahead of us. Somehow, I finished ahead of Matt, but I’m not sure if he was happy to let me go, knowing that there really wasn’t anyone challenging us from behind, or was out of gas and had no sprint finish left. Well, I gave it my best effort regardless.

Pretty dirty at the finish.

In all, it was a day of riding hard, being cautious, and enjoying a great race for the first time. I may have to do this one again!