5 Days at Summer Camp - Oregon Trail 2025

Words By Chris Mehlman - Photography provided by Adam Lapierre

I just returned from summer camp. Instead of hand-fashioned wooden spears, bug-spray-saturated clothes, and memories of swimming competitions in the lake, I walked back through my front door with five days' worth of dirty cycling kit, exhausted legs, but memories that will last longer than those from sleep-away camp as a child.

In other words, I just raced the Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder. For those who read my first piece about the race, you already have a sense of what the race is about, but for those uninitiated to the lore of OTG, the event is a five-day stage race around central Oregon. Starting and ending in Bend, and visiting three other communities in the area, the race features punishing climbs, sandy roads, technical descents, views that’ll make you pinch yourself, and camp fun that would make any sleepaway camper jealous.

The Race: An Overview

The 2025 edition of the Oregon Trail brought the introduction of separate starts for pro men, pro women, and amateur racers, along with a small but stacked list of elite talent. On the men’s side, Unbound 200 winner Cam Jones faced off against Unbound XL winner Rob Britton, Life Time Grand Prix stalwart Payson McElveen, newcomer Skyler Taylor, and the likes of Griffin Easter, Michael Van Den Ham, and Mattia de Marchi. On the women’s side, current Life Time Grand Prix leader Sofia Gomez Villafane lined up against third-place Grand Prix rider Cécile Lejeune, Sarah Sturm, Leadville podium finisher Michaela Thompson, and Europe-based riders Morgan Aguirre, Danni Shrosbree, and Cassia Boglio.

Beyond the pro field, almost 300 riders lined up to take on either the Pioneer distance (350 miles with 30,000 feet of climbing over five days) or the non-competitive Settler option (250 miles with 15,000 feet of climbing over 4 days, with an optional rest day in the middle of the race). Out of 168 starters in the Pioneer category, 127 made it through day five, with 19 dropping down to the Settler distance and 22 “dying of dysentery,” Oregon Trail lingo for DNFing.

Day 1 from Bend to Gilchrist featured about 75 racing miles in power-sapping sand and washboard that the area south of Bend is known for. With gradual climbs adding up to only 4,200 feet of gain total, the race was a day for the power riders.

Stage 2 brought over 4,000 feet of net descending throughout 94 racing miles, with empty forest roads and long descents affording riders incredible mountain views as the race transitioned from the “sand pit” of Gilchrist to the blue-stone gravel to the west in Oakridge.

The 3rd stage was an “enduro day” around Oakridge, featuring three timed segments that allowed riders to test themselves against the clock while enjoying more time at the same camp as the previous night. Segment 1 was a 6.5-mile uphill effort with about 2,200 feet of elevation gain. After the suffering of the 1st segment, the next offered a similar length stretch of twisting road with a few sustained descents and a final climb that stung. As a reward, we hit a 4.5-mile downshill segment at the end, where those skillful enough (or foolish enough) could try to gain time. 

After the relative rest of the enduro day, stage 4 was the queen stage, with 81 racing miles and 8,400 feet of elevation gain. The smooth bluestone gravel, similar to that found on the popular carriage roads of Acadia National Park in Maine, helped make the endless climbs slightly more bearable.

The last day brought a new addition to the race, the paved McKenzie Pass, followed by soul-crushing washboard gravel and a rowdy, sandy descent to the line after 77 miles of racing and over 8,000 feet of climbing.

Each day featured a unique profile, distance, surface type, and even vegetation, making for a race that always kept you excited and on your toes. My two favorite courses were stage 2 and stage 5, but my favorite day was stage 3 because, while hard, the shorter day meant we had more time for the main event: camp hangouts.  

How the Women’s Race Unfolded

The women’s race brought close, tactical racing with Sofia Gomez Vilafane and defending champion Cécile Lejeune going 1-2 in a sprint on day one, repeating the outcome on day 2, and showcasing their relative strengths in a close battle on stage 3. Lejeune put 30 seconds into her rival on the climbing segment, but Gomez Villafane descended to the 4th fastest overall time (including men) on the final segment to put 30 seconds back into Lejeune. The decider came in the 2nd segment, where the Specialized rider opened a 40-second gap to Lejeune. Stage 4 saw Gomez Villafane put almost 2 minutes into Lejeune, and complete the clean sweep on the final day in a sprint, with Sarah Sturm rounding out the podium overall. What on paper seemed like a dominant win for Gomez Villafane – 5 stages and the overall – was really a close tactical battle. Lejeune, doing her first full gravel season, described her experienced rival as “canny.” With four races left in the Grand Prix, she will be looking to continue challenging Gomez Villafane. 

GC Results:

Sofia Gomez Villafane

20:09:14

Cécile Lejeune

+2:35

Sarah Sturm

+13:00

Morgan Aguirre

+43:08

Danni Shrosbree

+1:15:41

How the Men’s Race Unfolded

Like the women’s race, the men’s race was a close battle between the top two riders, Cam Jones and Skyler Taylor. Jones took the first stage in a sprint before taking an unlikely solo win on stage 2. After stopping to assist a rider who had crashed, Jones closed a 2-minute gap to the front before dropping his rivals and holding them off on a 20-mile flat run to the finish. The enduro day saw Taylor come out on top over Michael van Den Ham by less than a second, with Jones rounding out the podium in third. The queen stage brought a new rider to the front, with Griffin Easter taking the win ahead of Van Den Ham, Jones, Rob Britton, and Taylor all within 30 seconds. With a 2-minute gap to close on Jones and a long descent to the finish suited to the skilled New Zealander, Taylor faced an uphill battle on the final day. He came out with the stage win, but was barely able to dent Jones’s lead, with the Kiwi taking the overall.

GC Results:

Cam Jones

17:21:59

Skyler Taylor

+2:18

Rob Britton

+10:16

Payson McElveen

+19:13

Griffin Easter

+25:56

Full results for all categories here. 

Off the Bike and Tangents

Enough with the numbers. The real reason people come to this race, pros included, is for the atmosphere, and that was no different in 2025. There are 24 hours in a day. At a race like this, maybe 5 hours are spent racing, 3 hours preparing, and 8 hours sleeping. That leaves 8 hours to hang out with friends. Unless you are in cycling media, you’re probably not working during this race. If the race really wanted to, they probably could charge extra to set up a workspace with WiFi, but trust me when I say that NO ONE wants that. This is the ultimate use of vacation time. You will leave feeling refreshed mentally, even if you are empty physically. It is increasingly hard to find ways to escape the daily conveyor belt that is life. This is one.

I don’t particularly enjoy going and spending a week crammed into a house with lots of friends, but Oregon Trail is the type of experience that makes being around people 24/7 energizing, not draining. Camp is relaxed, and no one is above anyone else. 

This year, Jones Unbound 200 winner and Oregon Trail race leader, lounged all afternoon in a Hawaiian shirt and smiled and laughed with anyone he met. In an era of gravel where numbers, marginal gains, and high-profile race results have become increasingly important, Oregon Trail was about more than that. Pros sacrificed their precious recovery time because the overall Oregon Trail experience was as important as the race itself. We played cornhole, swam in the river, held a Quoc sandal vs. Croc sandal running competition on the McKenzie track where we were camped on day 4, ate amazing food, and spent hours discussing bikes, work, life, and everything in between.

My favorite memory was relaxing at the Argonaut Cycles tent. I race for what you could consider a rival brand, but the Argonaut riders and staff welcomed me and anyone else in. This, and the entire camp experience, was the perfect reminder that everyone gets into cycling because it’s fun. 

What we take seriously (often too seriously) is really, to most people, a strange, niche sport. Oregon Trail was a good way for us riders to return to where we all started. 

For more information on Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder visit:

https://www.oregontrailgravelgrinder.com/