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Shawn's story: Real West Gravel

BaseCamp athlete Shawn Petersen shared his experience at the 2025 Real West Gravel event in Oregon.


  • 6th (50-59)

  • 24th (men)

  • 25th (overall)


My course splits:

  • Aid2

  • 2:25:02

  • Speed/Pace: 13.5 mph

  • Overall: 24

  • Gender: 23


FINISH (official)

  • 4:33:46

  • Speed/Pace: 16.4 mph

  • Overall: 25

  • Gender: 24


Pre-Race Goals & How It Went

  • Top 5 finish AG (Almost—close, but not quite!)

  • Start in and stay with the top 20 (Nailed it for the most part.)

  • Finish under 4 hours (Nope, but weather was the cause.)

  • Follow key selections (Yes and No.)

  • Be ready to throw down on the final climb (Yes, but I cramped up before it, so I was hesitant)

  • Stay focused—position wisely, separate before final climb if with 125lb climbers (Mostly, but could’ve been better.)

  • Be ready for decisive moves (Some, but missed THE key one.)


Race Notes – Wind, Mud & Lessons Learned

Weather Challenge: First time racing in a sustained 15 mph headwind with 20+ mph gusts plus crosswinds. Learned a ton about positioning and where to sit in a group.


Neutral Rollout (Except, Not Really)

Supposed to be neutral… did 333w for 4:45 minutes just to stay up there with the top 15ish.


First 16 Miles – Hanging With the Lead Group

Stuck with the top 15ish until mile 16, then got popped as the last one dropped (ouch). My buddy Morgan hung on. I soloed for a bit, then latched onto a group of two, and later, we picked up another rider. I just sat on while they worked in the headwind.


Mid-Race Group Dynamics – Hanging With the Fastest Guys

Our little crew reeled in 7 riders from the front, including Morgan. This was the winning age-group group—top 3 guys were here. It was fast, and I was dangling at the back, suffering. The eventual 1st & 2nd place guys were drilling it at the front, and no one else wanted to pull. They both pulled until mile 30


Mile 30 – Chaos & Crashes

Feed Zone Mess-Up: One guy pulled off, I eased up, lost focus for a second, and boom—the group surged. Morgan and I were suddenly off the back. We chased hard but never made it back. Later I heard from my another guy who was in the group that the group attacked itself and blew up anyway, so… who knows.


Insane, fast, technical downhill through slick mud and deep ruts. I was going full gas not knowing how crazy this secti, I threading the needle, basically praying my tires would hold because braking was not an option. Somehow made it. Morgan and another guy crashed. Later heard someone broke a femur here—yikes.


Shout out to fellow BaseCamper Laura Rosema who stopped for a ride in this section that need 911 medical evacuation for the rider with the broken Femur.


Miles 30–46 – Solo & Mechanical Struggles

Shifting issues—couldn’t drop into my easiest gears, so struggled on the climbs. On the hardest climb, dropped my chain 4 times, had to dismount and run up a section. Poured a bit of my bottle onto my derailleur—fixed it enough to keep going.


Miles 46–65 – Solo TT to the Finish

Stopped at an aid station 3 (mile 52) to try and clean my drivetrain. Didn’t help. It was a long descent to the finish. I got stuck and couldn't shift into my biggest gear, so I had to coast instead of hammering as I would spin out.


Final Climb – Small Wins aka I finished

Didn’t have the power I wanted, but still held it together without fully locking up.


Key Learnings & Takeaways

🚴‍♂️ Positioning in the wind is everything. Fighting at the back instead of being in the middle in my group cost me.


⚡ Decisive moves happen FAST. That split at the feed zone! I should’ve seen it coming.


🔧 Mechanical issues can kill momentum. Not sure what I could have done better here?


💨 Riding in a headwind and crosswinds is an art. Still figuring it out.


🧃 Fuelling was decent. No bonks, just some cramping from positioning and tension.


🚴‍♂️ Technical descents = speed. That sketchy downhill I was saved by positioning in the pole position and was able to pick my line.


👊 Big takeaway: I raced with the top guys in my age group, hung in for a long time, and learned what that next level looks like. Definitely feels far away to me, considering the top guys were at the from pulling in the headwinds for 30 miles. Then, they attacked each other on the hardest climb at mile 45ish.


Stoked with my general performance.


Thanks, Coach Brig Brandt, for getting me ready!



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