When Big John lost his balance KB thought it might be in this bag.
It turns our Einmotron just pushed him over.
It is said March comes in like a Lion and goes out like a
Lamb. I began gravel riding almost on a
lark at the end of March and at the time there was much that could be likened
to a lamb. The roads were mellow, the climbs short and we were wearing wool. As
the snow receded from the dirt roads surrounding the Methow Valley KB and I
explored here and there and a passion was born.
When wildflowers took over from snowdrifts I went higher and higher and
farther and farther. By early June I was
going on four and five hour adventures that culminated in the Winthrop Fondo on
Solstice weekend. As the summer has
come and gone I feel more like the Lion of Gravel compared to the newbie I was
six months ago.
I’ve logged about as much gravel time as a guy who works
in the city can manage. I would like to think my season of gravel has taught me
a few things. For the benefit of all, here
are those things:
Just do it.
We all get to define our gravel riding any way we
choose. It doesn’t have to be fast and
it doesn’t have to be far or steep. Like
everything else, you gain experience by doing.
I encourage you to do it and find what you like. This isn’t everyone’s
cup of tea. If you don’t like it that is
fine, we just don’t get to be friends any longer.
Experience doesn’t
come in a can
Riding gravel is how you get good at riding gravel. The
more you do it the faster and safer you become.
It just takes time. A point worth making over and over is your
Cyclocross experience does not translate here.
This is different.
Equipment doesn’t
matter
I started out on a
road bike with 28mm tires and then went to a cross bike with 35mm tires. Both configurations had their benefits and
drawbacks. For the routes I was riding
and the way I wanted to ride them, the cross bike proved the better
choice. Tom Ritchey is quoted as saying,
“I thought all road bikes were gravel bikes…”
You may prefer smoother or flatter gravel roads and a road-ish setup
might be better suited for that task. What is important is that you just go and
do it. Since nearly all rides are a
combination of surfaces and grades any configuration represents a compromise.
Go and do and learn and adjust accordingly.
Road bike on gravel...
If you up the
ante, equipment does matter
As my tastes took me further and further from pavement, I
adjusted my equipment to be more specific to my preferred adventure. At that point fatter tires, flat prevention
and good brakes took on greater importance. The ability to carry more water and
food comes into play. There is a continuum that includes safety that must be
considered if one chooses to get further and further “out there.”
At least right now gravel tires aren’t crazy expensive so
gravel riding is pleasantly unlike most cycling variants in that it does not
have a high cost of entry.
Cross bike and 35mm tires
On gravel Speed
and Safety are on the same end of the spectrum
Speed and safety on gravel are functions of experience
and to a much lesser degree, equipment.
Despite years of racing Cyclocross and a smattering of mountain biking adventures
I was an absolute greenhorn on gravel last March. There is no substitute for experience and I
got plenty this spring and summer. Learning what you can ride over, what you
need to avoid and picking good lines both uphill and downhill just takes time.
After experience the second most valuable asset is terrain appropriate
equipment. Disc brakes and tubeless
wheels are amazing if you ride where I do.
They are not, however, in any way a substitute for real riding
experience. Once you have the experience, upgraded equipment just lets you go
faster and safer.
Small in front,
big in back
Don’t bring a knife to a gunfight and don’t bring a
standard crankset or a standard road cassette to a gravel climb. While you can muscle up something short with
a 39 tooth up front OR a 25 tooth in back your quads with explode and make a bloody,
pulpy mess if you try a sustained gravel climb on either. If you try a climb on a 39x25 you are quite
simply a maroon.
Gravel climbs often go on for miles at grades around ten
percent. Loose surface means out of the
saddle efforts can result in a dangerous loss of traction followed by a stop of
forward movement and an awkward tumble to the side. You need to be able to stay seated and spin
indefinitely. My lowest gear is a 34-32 and I know that the final click between
a 28 and a 32 tooth rear cog makes all the difference in the world. A mountain bike double is worth consideration
if your goals include significant numbers of summits or lookouts.
IF your gravel environs don’t involve thousands of feet
of elevation changes then the gearing isn’t life or death.
If you fight the
washboard you will not win
There are four ways to ride washboard. These rules apply both on uphill and downhill
washboard. The first is to ride slow enough that you just roll over the highs
and lows and you keep your momentum. The
second is to ride fast enough that you just hit the tops and the vibration is
more of a hum. The third is when your
speed is in between one and two and your bike wants to buck like a bull on an
eight second mission and you fight it.
Your grip tightens, you stiffen up and your vision gets blurry. You can’t help but put on the brakes but
because you are holding on so tight your bike isn’t making a lot of contact
with the ground and it takes forever to slow down. The last way to ride is the hardest to
learn. It also takes place at
“in-between” speeds. Instead of grabbing tighter, you open your hands and let
the bike jackhammer while you float and pilot your rig onto calmer
terrain. When you master this you can
rightfully claim your Zen master status.
As the distance
from the pavement increases your bike and repair capabilities must adapt
accordingly
If you are going several climbing-filled miles from the
pavement ends sign your tires need to be robust and your repair kit needs to be
able to deal with broken spokes, chain, and derailleurs as well as multiple
flat tires. Two tubes, levers, a good pump that you know how to use along with
patches, spare chain links, a tire boot, zip ties and a tool that includes a
chain tool and spoke wrench are a good start.
Water purification tablets weigh almost nothing and can make water
potable in an emergency. A Road ID is
always a good idea so when they dissect the bear that ate you your friends will
know that despite having the KOM on the climb you weren’t the fastest mammal
out there.
Food is the currency of long rides and first aid supplies
can keep a bad day from getting worse.
If there is even a slight chance you could get caught in the dark or
rain a light and a layer are worth their weight any day.
Tell someone where
you are going
I typically didn’t tell Hottie where I was going because
I thought the names like Forest Service Road 4225 didn’t mean much to her. Then one day I went on a four hour ride and
wasn’t back five and a half hours later.
She was worried and even though I was okay (albeit totally trashed) I
learned a lesson. I now tell her where I
am going so they at least know where to look.
It sounds silly but I will either write it down or text my destination
so there isn’t any confusion. Road 42,
43 and 47 may sound the same but are in fact east, south and north of us and a
thousand people searching road 42 would never find me if I was on road 43.
Agreeing on an amount of time before people should panic beforehand is a good
idea as well.
GPS can be great
I can plot a course using the Garmin Connect website and
send it to my little device. Then I ride
and the little machine tells me if I am on course or not. Mountains and trees make the device work
harder than it should and it sends out dozens of incorrect “Off Course”
warnings but once you understand and accept that- the works very well.
GPS can be
dangerous
I did load a course once and while on the ride the little
device freaked out and became useless as a navigation device. This was an
anomaly but I do strive to commit key route features to memory before setting
out for unknown environs. You are
already taking your brain and it doesn’t weigh any more when full as compared
to empty.
Baby’s got Base
Without intending to do so I found that my Gravel riding
added up to significant saddle time and I had built up some reasonable base
miles. It wasn’t quite like discovering
that eating ice cream burns fat and builds muscle, but it was an enjoyable way
to get geared up for the Cyclocross season. Just the other day KB commented
that I had built up a good base and I paused as I realized he was correct. Gravel is a great and semi painless way to
build base.
Don’t be afraid to
go big!
If you have built the fitness and can figure the
logistics of food, water and safety- you can tackle some rewarding
adventures. Aside from the “Oh shit- I
am going to be so late” it was awesome to stand atop Starvation Mountain like I
was the king of the world. The full hour
of descending that followed was only part of the reward. Anything with butte, lookout, mountain,
summit or peak in the name is fair game.
The Winthrop Fondo was a chance to benefit from my hard
earned experience and take advantage of someone else handling the food, water
and logistics.
During the Fondo I watched with a wry smile as other
riders gained valuable “experience” learning from mistakes in tire selection,
pump options and what to carry in their saddle bags. About halfway into the
Fondo I recall seeing a Rapha-clad maroon holding his rear wheel and a 25mm
tire that was clearly outmatched lament, “This is my fourth flat tire,” which
he said in a tone of surprise. His comment was only superseded by his follow on
words which were, “and I only brought two CO2 cartridges.” It takes a pretty big ego to ignore so much
good advice in advance of that event.
The powers of denial are strong with this one too.
There are an ever increasing number of these events and
based on my limited experience; they are awesome I had a bunch of fun doing the Winthrop
Fondo and that is part of a series of gravel Fondos which I expect will become
even more popular in 2015.
Explore galore
I’ve been riding road and mountain bikes in the Methow
for over a dozen years and I thought I knew my way around. Gravel riding has opened up more options than
I imagined existed. On the busiest
weekends when the mountain bike trails are crowded and parking lots are full there
are dozens of gravel roads where I can find solitude and amazing scenery and if
I am lucky maybe even chase a cow or two.
Gravel biking affords us the luxury of riding from our
place, as opposed to driving a car to a trailhead with bikes in or on it, which
is way cool. It seems to connect our cabin to the mountains around us in a way
that is hard to explain.
Like so many things you can read all you can find on this
from me and anyone else but it is all translates as “blah, blah, blah,” until
you go and do it yourself.
As El Jefe’s says, “Get
Going!”
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