There was a low hum of excitement in the parking lot before the first day of Graveleur's Clarkes Gambit weekend-long gravel event.

(Note that the photos accompanying this story are from the official event photographers, Outer Image Collective.)

Of course, not every rider was an elite-level competitor, there to test themselves in the NSW Gravel Championships. In total, 292 riders fronted the start line for the largest and most enjoyable Clarkes Gambit yet.

Rider Peter Szydlik noted the early morning chill but said, "I reckon there'll be enough hills to keep us warm for sure, once we start."

Of the three courses on offer on Saturday, Peter was lining up with his Trek Checkpoint for the long one. He had modified his bike with some Hunt carbon wheels and some 45mm Schwalbe gravel tires. His frame bag was loaded with fuel for the race, especially Cliff Bars, his favourite.

As Bryn Williams from Ingleside, Sydney lined up, he was worried he would fall behind, as one of the few mountain bikers. His bike is a BMC. It's old he says, yet still so versatile. The only upgrade he has made is to install a dropper seat. (In the event, there turned out to be plenty of other mountain bikes and Bryn did well, finishing 17th on the long course.)

Bryn said his favourite part of long gravel rides is the suffering. Funnily enough, that's also his least favourite part. He said, "The worst is when you're halfway out there, climbing a hill and asking yourself, 'Why did I pay to do this?'"

Stephen Payne was lined up to start with his bike and in a pair of Brooks running shoes. He usually wears cleats, so the flat pedals and running shoes were an experiment for him.

"I just did another race," he said. "We had to walk up some hills, and walking uphill in cleats wasn't fun." (During Clarkes Gambit, Stephen surprised himself by doing better than he expected. He finished 19th out of the 70 riders who did the medium course.)

The Horse, the Knight, the Motorcycles, and the 300 Cyclists

Strangely for a cycling race, a man on a horse was the first one across the start line, and two men on motorbikes were the last.

A tradition at Clarkes Gambit is for Nelligen local Sir Darrell Bossley, on his Friesian warhorse S'Calibur, to lead the riders across the start line. It's quite a sight to see him up there, at least two meters higher than the rest of us, with his leather cowboy hat and oilskin drover's coat. A true Bushranger.

Darrell had just gotten back from an all-expenses-paid trip to compete in a medieval jousting tournament. You know the sport. It's the one where two knights gallop at full speed with the aim of unhorsing the other guy with their three-metre lance. Sir Bossley is an Australian legend and the oldest competitive jouster in the world.

After Sir Bossley, S'Calibur and the 292 cyclists had crossed the line and started the course, that was the moment for Lindsay Ragg and Pete McMahon to make their move.

"We're going to follow the riders on motorbikes and make sure no one gets lost," Pete said. He had inspected the course and felt it was in good shape, so the riders didn't have much to worry about, except...

"Someone could get bit because there could be a few snakes out today." A black snake was most likely, he said, and they get as much as six-feet long. But not to worry, says Pete. "The worst they'll do is kill you." Nothing more serious than that.

The Winners

Many of the top riders were so fast that I wasn't even able to pin them down long enough for an interview.

Professional motorcycle rider Troy Herfoss was the first to complete the long course on Saturday, winning Clarkes Gambit. "The most technical part of the course was the first 20k," he told event MC, Andrew Main. Troy was in the lead with Paul Steckel coming down the final hill, they took a wrong turn and got separated. Troy crossed the line just 42 seconds ahead of Paul.

Jon Odams took third by a hair, just one tenth of a second ahead of fourth-placed Chris Miller. Jon placed third despite having troubles with his seat. It slipped down, and he had to stop to fix it, then chase the lead group to catch back up.

Jon was riding his Giant Revolt Advantage, just one week after winning his 40 to 44-year-old age group in the CX National Championships on the same bike. Before he got in line to buy a beer, Jon offered this advice to beginners:

"It sounds ridiculous, but just have fun and don't be too hard on yourself. To ride like a pro, you have to train at least something like 5 years. It's a big journey to that. So just enjoy it as much as you can."

Maria Ludden was the fastest female rider, followed 65 seconds later by Cynthia Villiger, from Vincentia, NSW. Villiger rocked the race despite Clarkes Gambit being her first-ever gravel race.

"It was completely different to anything I've done before," she said. "I usually do road cycling and triathlons, so I'm not the most technically sound cyclist, but adrenaline took over, and I was very lucky."

Despite being a top triathlete who has taken silver in the Ironman Australia, she says she may ditch triathlons after this year and dedicate herself to gravel riding.

"This event is just so different from triathlons. Everyone's very chatty along the ride. And it's good to be in nature instead of on asphalt."

Glenda Banaghan also put in a top performance, 23rd overall and third for the 60-64 female category in the NSW Gravel Championships. That's a nice result after she took gold in the over-60 female Queensland Gravel Championships last year.

Glenda picked up gravel riding after a tragedy. "We had a friend who got killed in hit and run. I think a lot of us were spooked, and gravel riding you hardly see a car."

Glenda is now planning on attending Graveleur's Marys Mayhem in Mudgee, so she can claim one of the prized Bushranger belt buckles, which are only awarded to those who complete the long course at all three Graveleur Bushranger events, Thunderbolts Adventure, Clarkes Gambit, and Marys Mayhem, in a single year.

Not Everyone Competed for the Podium

Not every rider competed for the podium, but they all have a story to tell.

Alastair Davis placed an impressive 20th on the long course. After the race, he told CycleHub, he felt he had finished strong, especially considering that he went a bit too hard early on.

"I was trying to stay with a front group," he said, "and I was well out of my comfort zone."

Alastair spent the next 50 kilometres licking his wounds and trying to recover. Like many riders, Alastair lost a water bottle on one of the bouncy descents. The best part of the ride for him was the river crossing, which cooled him off.

"I felt so good after that," he said. Despite spending 70% of the ride on his own, Alastair's average speed was 27.51 km/h.

Rob (no last name) also signed up for the long course, but he optimised his day by switching at the turnoff point to the medium course, instead.

"We got to the turnaround point and were like, you know what, let's get back, get a table, get some beers, and get a steak. That'll be good."

Rob's bike was a steel 2011 Cotic hard tail, hand built in the UK. It's his favourite bike. Rob said he has six bikes in total, although technically a couple of those belong to his wife. Because the two are the same size, he gets to ride her bikes too.

Stu Holt said Clarkes Gambit was type 2 fun. "I was underprepared, under-biked, under-fuelled, and under-skilled," he said. "So I was very, very, very happy to get to the finish line."

Simon Hunt had a fantastic ride on both days, doing Saturday's long course and Sunday's medium. "Challenging but quite doable and in beautiful countryside," is how he described them.

Simon knows his riding, as he's ridden New Zealand from top to bottom, right across Australia, and South America from east to west.

"The worst bit in South America," he laughs, "was that you had the world's best barbecue every night, but your body was screaming for pasta!"

One rider showed up at Clarkes Gambit even though he couldn't take part. Sam Heaton injured himself while riding in the Blue Mountains two weeks ago. "I was coming around an s-bend on the trail and misjudged the corner," Sam recounted. "I went straight into the drainage ditch and flipped over, dislocating both my elbow and my shoulder."

As for Clarkes Gambit, Sam said he definitely had FOMO. "I love riding my bike, but I guess you don't have to ride to be part of it."

Sam is already on the road to recovery. He says he will be back on the trainer in a few weeks, and back on his bike as soon after that as he can get his full mobility.

The People Who Make It Special

Clarkes Gambit could hardly have had a better setting than the country near Nelligen, NSW, the same territory the infamous Clarke Gang roamed in the 1860s by rustling livestock, ambushing gold shipments, and robbing traders.

The event's routes take riders from the wide estuarine Clyde River valley up into the surrounding sandstone hills and their eucalyptus forests.

Local Vicki Moorhead is co-owner of Bateman's Bay Cycles (with Kate Huxley) and one of the event sponsors. Their store is definitely the place to get what you need when you're in the area.

Vicki rode the medium course on her Santa Cruz e-MTB and said the trails were in good shape because the Council had been out grading them and the weather's been kind.

While you used to see lots of cars with surfboards in the area, she said, now it's cars with bikes.

"Everyone should move here," she whispered to CycleHub, "but we won't tell them that, because then it would get a bit crowded. It's too nice down here."

The sponsors who supported the event are Easton, Maxxis, POC, SRAM and Pure Nutrition. They generously donated product and time so that riders could better enjoy the Clarkes Gambit.

Steve Whitby, his dog Molly, and his custom event-support van are a fixture at every Graveleur event. The owner of Cessnock Bicycle Company in the Hunter Valley, Steve solved crises for dozens of different riders during the weekend, with jobs as complex as the trailside installation of a new derailleur to just putting some air into the tires.

Steve said replacing shifter cables was the most common problem, but he has also lost count of the number of times he has helped riders who left their batteries at home, on the charger. (Even so, he believes battery-powered drivetrains are 100% superior to the mechanical alternative.)

"My bikes are all wireless," he told CycleHub. "If it wasn't better, I wouldn't have it."

Even with the help of volunteers, sponsors, and people like Steve and MC Andrew Main, events like Clarkes Gambit take so much work to organise that Graveleur Director Mike Israel gets the whole family involved. They make no small sacrifice, and CycleHub will publish a story on their contribution soon.

In all, the 2026 Clarkes Gambit was the biggest in its history. You can find the event galleries by Outer Image Collective photographers here.

So you don't miss the fun at next year's event, sign up for the Graveleur mailing list. They'll let you know when ticket sales start.

See you on the trails.