On Friday, March 14th, natural disaster struck the Mid South gravel race, forcing a cancellation of the event. But what could have been a massive disappointment for the thousands of cyclists and runners who traveled from all over the world to attend became, instead, a celebration of community, music, generosity and yes, even a little dose of incredible bike racing. Photojournalist Erik Mathy was in Stillwater, Oklahoma and writes this report for The Radavist.
The Mid South is renowned as being arguably the most welcoming, community-driven cycling event in existence. Since its first running in 2012, Bobby and Crystal Wintle have tirelessly championed inclusion in cycling. Regardless of race, gender identity, age, body type, or speed, the Mid South crew will make you feel not just welcomed, but wanted. From being one of the first events to have a Non-Binary category to creating scholarships through the “Get Here” program, their focus isn’t on the racing aspect of the event, but on the experience. Put quite simply, they want everyone to have access to the most incredible experience of their lives, on and off the bike.
Whats’s so special about Stillwater, Oklahoma? Bobby Wintle, co-founder and Race Director of the Mid South, says, “This community is fully sold out on this idea of unreasonable hospitality. It’s deeper than retail. It’s deeper than racing. It’s deeper than an event. It’s deeper than even inclusion. When you get to the core values of District Bicycles, Crystal, myself, our staff, all our volunteers, all the businesses, the Visitors Bureau, the Chamber of Commerce, all of our sponsors, the only thing that we are trying to do is elevate every person that comes to The Mid South. That’s our only goal. We actually truly care and love every single human that comes here.”
There are no trophies or purses for the pros. The sole trophy that is officially handed out is a gigantic steer skull for the DFL, or Dead F*cking Last, rider. The DFL party, over the years, has become a massive event within an event in its own right, with hundreds of people waiting to cheer that last rider across the line, no matter how long it takes. And there is, of course, the legendary Bobby Hug that awaits every finisher, no matter when they arrive.
Stillwater, the city in which the Wintles live, has followed suit. The little city in the middle of Oklahoma welcomes the yearly influx of cyclists from all over the world with open arms. Ted King summarized it best, “You know what I love about this place? When you’re out in the middle of nowhere on a bike, typically a white pickup truck is a sign of intimidation. Here every driver of a white pickup truck waves at you. I love it. I’ve never seen that anywhere else. It’s just a super friendly community.”
Enter this year’s Mid South. The stage was set for a gold standard event. A fresh course with more climbing than ever before was laid out. More bands were booked for the main stage. A bigger expo, a new Fuzzy Rabbit recipe (it’s a Stonecloud Brewery/Mid South thing), a Non-Binary Pro class created to follow up on 2024’s incredible Non-Binary sprint finish, each of the Pro race classes got their own wave start and live coverage press vehicle, and a massive DFL party was planned.
Then, late Friday morning, during the run event portion of the Mid South, the winds came. With gusts ranging from 50 to 75 miles per hour, they tore through Stillwater and the areas surrounding it in Payne County. Power lines snapped, setting brush fires. The brush fires, fueled by extreme winds, lack of humidity, and a dry winter, spread rapidly. In the early afternoon, the smell of smoke was apparent at the Mid South start/finish line in downtown Stillwater. By midafternoon pillars of smoke could be seen from just outside of town.
Soon afterward, the wind increased to the point that local authorities declared a state of emergency and issued a shelter-in-place order. Everyone was to seek shelter indoors as the smoke descended and the wind blew over trees, ripped things off of buildings, and broke more power lines. The remaining Mid South runners who were on course were pulled off by event support vehicles. The start/finish line and expo were abandoned. Participants took shelter in District Bikes, the Stillwater Community Center, and Stonecloud Brewing.
And then things got even worse. Over 60% of Stillwater lost power. Entire neighborhoods were evacuated as the fire hit the outskirts of the city. 74 homes burned to the ground in Stillwater alone. In the surrounding areas, hundreds more homes were lost, thousands of people were displaced, and four people died.
That night, at midnight, after continuous discussions with municipal and county authorities, the Mid South leadership team cancelled the bike race. Crazy things aren’t unheard of at the Mid South. It has seen its share of unforeseen circumstances and extreme weather. Mud? Rain? Thunderstorms? Flooding? Snow? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. And yes. But the only thing that has ever shut the Mid South down was COVID in 2021. Even then, it was held virtually – so technically, it wasn’t canceled in the strictest of senses.
That is, until this year, when Mother Nature got a little helping hand from climate change. And then the damndest thing happened: Instead of becoming a ghost town with all the participants leaving for their homes, the Mid South cycling community largely stayed to support the town that has supported them since 2012.
On Saturday, all over town you could find groups of cyclists socializing, drinking coffee, and organizing their own small group rides into Payne County’s superlative gravel and red dirt roads. At Stonecloud Brewing, which has long been a social hub for cyclists during Mid South, the bands who were slated to play during the canceled event set up shop to put on what many people called one of the greatest musical experiences of their lives. Stonecloud Brewing itself announced that 25% of its proceeds from the day would go to the United Way Wildfire Relief Fund.
“When something like this happens, these fires, it’s not even a question of whether to give back. We are deeply rooted in this community. It’s special to us, and we love sharing it with people all over the world who come here for the Mid South. Supporting Stillwater right now is simply the right thing to do,” Matt Sullins, the General Manager of Stonecloud, said.
Chamois Butt’r, a long-time supporter of the Mid South, instantly decided to match whatever Stonecloud raised. Between the two of them, over $10,000 was donated. Ariel Marlow, Chamois Butt’r Brand Ambassador and event organizer, told me the next day, “We’ve come to recognize that the Mid South and Stillwater are really special in how welcoming they are. I use the word ‘rarity’ to describe it. They’re a rarity. When the shelter in place happened, we pivoted to work with Stonecloud to make it a safe haven for anyone who came. It wasn’t just cyclists coming here. There were college students and families arriving as well. Swift Industries brought in the catered food from their Women Trans Femme (WTF) meetup, there was a free raffle, and we just tried to make it as welcoming a place as possible.”
Kara Mathews, the Chamois Butt’r marketing and partnerships manager, concurred. “All I felt was fear when I rode over to shelter in place in Stonecloud, and all I found was joy, mutual support, and an incredible community moment, cyclists and locals alike. When this happened it wasn’t even a question of what we were or weren’t going to do. Obviously we were going to match that donation. It’s a reflection of our deep ties with everyone we’ve met in the [Stillwater] community and ultimately it’s the right thing to do. It’s the least we can do for them.”
Later that evening, the entire bar poured out of Stonecloud to cheer for para-cyclist Jacob Keen. A Mid South fixed gear veteran, he lost the lower part of his leg to a car while riding his bike in April 2024. Bound and determined, he rode the 80-mile Mid South course solo and unsupported. His arrival sparked pure mayhem and joy amongst the spectators and his friends.
Also, on Saturday afternoon, retired World Tour pro Ted King announced that he was going to attempt to set a new Fastest Known Time (FKT) of the 300-mile Mega Mid South course on the following day as a fundraiser for the Stillwater community. Unknown to Ted at the time, another racer named Chase Wark had the exact same plan.
All of a sudden, on a weekend when people were no longer expecting any kind of cycling race drama, a race broke out – or races, rather, as King, upon hearing of Wark’s efforts, challenged him for both the FKT and fundraising total.
King left Sunday morning at 6:03 am with $2000 fundraised. Wark left at 7:00 am with $1000 fundraised. What followed was cycling racing at its finest. With Bobby Wintle livecasting coverage of their efforts from his Toyota 4Runner, King and Wark put on an incredible show of their own. After a grueling and mind-blowing effort, Ted King finished in 17 hours and 18 minutes, crushing the prior record of 22 hours and 38 minutes. All eyes turned to Wark and the clock, awaiting his arrival. 37 minutes later, Chase Wark crossed the finish line with an elapsed time of 16 hours and 58 minutes, becoming the new new FKT holder by 20 minutes.
As of Monday morning the next day, the pair had fundraised another $8000 for the Stillwater Wildfire Relief Fund. Ted King with $5500, Chase Wark with $2500. As of this writing, their efforts are ongoing.
King said after he finished his ride, “Professional cycling is a very selfish pursuit. You’re looking after yourself 24/7, 365 days a year. It’s amazing to be able to give back. I mean, I love riding my bike, but there’s something inherently uplifting about giving back. You feel really good when you can do something that’s beyond you.”
Wark said, “Today there was more of a purpose to the bike ride than just the FKT. I raised money today, but I hope I can continue to raise money because you can’t rebuild a house in a day. If this fire happened to me or my family I would hope that strangers would help however they could.”
As the world seems to get meaner with each passing day and various cycling pundits and publications publish pieces wondering about the “death of gravel”, events like the Mid South are a reminder of what not just gravel events, but cycling, in general, should be: So radically welcoming, so centered on broadening the cycling community that even those who don’t identify as cyclists become a part of it. And when something goes to hell, the first thought isn’t, “How do we get home?” The first thought is, “How do we help?”
So while the Mid South 2025 wasn’t what people were expecting, in my estimation it became something even greater: the best example of the way the world should be that I could ever think of.
Donate to the Stillwater wildfire recovery via United Way of Payne County.