2025 Unbound by Mark Miller
In my mind, Unbound Gravel has always been an event that you need to ride to understand what all the excitement is really about. It’s the same bike riding you can do in probably most states - simply gravel roads for the most part. There might be longer stretches or a more concentrated amount of those roads - but they are still just gravel roads. If you can ride gravel roads in your hometown, you can ride gravel roads in Kansas. What sets Unbound Gravel apart from so many other events to me boils down to the sheer number of people who make that same pilgrimage, for the same day, to do the same thing - and that’s riding those gravel roads together.
I’ve been coming to Emporia, Kansas now for 3 years. My first year of Unbound was 2023 for the 100-mile. That was the year of the infamous 5-mile Mud March. I still see YouTube videos or stories in Unbound articles that recount that day. For my part, I was able to finish that 103-mile day in 11:54:01, but it made me question if I’d ever return. When I started to look back at the trip, though, it was just an amazing experience. My wife, Mary, my youngest daughter, Lauren, and my 3 dogs rented an RV to drive from Ohio. We met Crystal this year too - under a different team banner. We met Tyler Pearce, Jeremiah Bishop, and Katie Kookaburra. We learned how to make our way through the packed schedule of events. We met people who shared the same passions and found excitement in trying to do something that’s maybe a little hard, or something that pushes into a chance to fail - but you do it anyways just to try.
2024 was a little different - I knew some of the mistakes I’d made in 2023. My wife, Mary, was able to ride the shakeout ride with me but, I picked a really insane (cough ENVE cough) group that threw down a blistering pace right from the start. Don’t do a serious shakeout with pros warming up was the newest lesson.
We saw Crystal and Nic that year too. Crystal had sent Mary a care package during a really tough time (more on that later) and absolutely made such a lasting impression on both of us. I rode the 100 again but on the north course. I took what I learned or what I thought I knew and had an amazing 55 miles - roughly half of the race is the problem. The other half was not so good!
The empty water stop issues of 2024 meant no bottle refills. I think I convinced myself at one point around mile 99 that I could just live in Americus forever now - and somehow that would be better than riding to the finish line. But the unofficial aid from the folks who live on the course, and my wife who somehow was Uber-ing a DNF back to Emporia, after meeting me at the official crew spot - I bonked my way to a 108-mile finish in 11:07:38. There’s probably five different stories in that day alone!
Finally, though, 2025 was a change of plans. I wasn’t going to ride the 100 mile this year. I’d somehow managed to plant the seed of riding Unbound in my wife’s mind. She might say she decided it herself, or was convinced by my constant asking, but really, I think she saw what Unbound was like from the sidelines - and needed to get into the madness herself. But it’s complicated for Mary. Her story is complicated.
I’ve written this before, luckily, because it’s hard for me to write. Mary has metastatic breast cancer, and she’s been through a lot. Diagnosis, surgery, chemo, radiation, reconstruction, recurrence of the disease, a broken pelvis, a broken femur, another round of chemo, and treatments every 3 weeks. She’s lost her hair - twice. That’s been a lot to manage for Mary. Despite all the obstacles, she’s on her bike and wanted to do her best at Unbound. We decided, together, to do the 50-mile route. It’s one of the few times we’ve erred on the side of caution and didn’t just dive into a bigger bite for the 100 mile. A funny thing happened though: Mary said what she really wanted was a podium spot. So why not go for it? FYC.
Crystal knew we were coming to Unbound again and really made us feel like she was rolling out the red carpet for us. I mentioned before when Mary was pretty sick, in treatment, that Crystal sent her a huge care package of cycling gear. I’ll never forget that kindness. Something that might seem small in the doing can really mean a lot when you’re down.
Crystal invited us to the Hall of Fame dinner, which was such a unique experience. We met Amanda Nauman Sheek, who gave an amazing HoF acceptance speech. Crystal invited us to dinner the next night at the Dirt Squad team house, where we had a great, home-cooked meal prepared by another teammate, John Diniz, whom I met in 2024. Amanda Sheek joined us for dinner, and we had a super casual Q & A after dinner. It was very cool to meet more teammates from Dirt Squad.
There’s such great diversity in the team— literally a mix of podium winners or contenders like Buddy Mixon, 200-mile buckle holders like Caroline Worrall, a bunch of die-hard weekend warriors (maybe myself included), and first-time enthusiast adventurers. It’s easy to fit in, and there’s someone on the team you can relate to. We met a bunch of the team for lunch at the Daily Station the following day for some amazing Mexican food. One thing is for sure; you won’t go hungry in Emporia.
Race day morning, we managed to find Crystal and Brandon Currier at the start line. We had already talked about a “plan,” but it was amazing that all the plans had somehow shifted towards one goal for all of us - get Mary to the finish line in a good position. Sometimes when I say a good position, that might mean upright, walking, and lacking new scars. But I really believe in my heart that the real goal had somehow become making sure Mary succeeded in her best effort.
We rode with Crystal and Brandon out into the Flint Hills. The weather and the gravel were perfect. With rain several days before the race, it was questionable how good the roads might be. The pace was high for gravel - we were averaging 18.26 mph through the first 12 miles. Somewhere before the creek crossing, I started trailing the group, but I assumed I could chase back on. When I crossed the creek, I realized I had a rear flat tire.
As I’m carrying my bike through the river, Mary called me on my cell- and cell coverage out there isn’t always guaranteed. She asked me if the group should stop and wait for me as they had just crossed the creek a few minutes ago. No way I wanted to slow them down! I knew I’d finish, and they needed to go! I fixed my flat tire easily enough and got back to riding. Crystal and I had sort of talked about separation scenarios. Do we stop or do we wait? I think it was almost unspoken in some way. Collectively, I think we all at some point decided the most important thing was Mary finishing well. The selfless support from everyone on the team was really touching.
I found out later that Mary crashed at about mile 40 after the Kahola Lake climb, but Crystal and Brandon stayed with her and got her back on her feet and back on the bike. They messaged me that Mary was fine and pressing on. I was too far back to catch back up to them at this point. I was relieved in a weird way - every time I crested a hill and didn’t see them, I knew the odds where they were moving towards the finish.
Crystal had some tech issues a few miles outside of the finish line but encouraged Mary to go solo the last five miles to chase the podium. Mary pushed hard to the finish and crossed the line in 2nd place with a time of 3 hours and 28 minutes for 55 miles. Huge result for her for Unbound. The idea that she’s even out there with metastatic breast cancer is hard to believe even for her doctors. She shared the podium at the Emporia Granada Theatre with Crystal who managed to still hold on to 3rd place despite her technical issues. Crystal’s a former 1st place female too at Unbound.
We wouldn’t have had the same experience without the friends we have in the cycling community. Everyone we’ve met with Dirt Squad has been just straight up, good people - friendly, encouraging, supportive, awesome folks. Even just knowing people are rooting for you sometimes is enough. I still finished the race but that’s not important. The why and how of the story is important. Taking chances and believing is important. You can’t just go to work, and pay bills, and sit around and wait to do something - even if you’re already old like I feel sometimes. Take the risk. We’re only here for so long folks. Make the most of it.
