A former competitive road cyclist discovers the world of gravel racing and finds himself pleasantly surprised at the difference between the two sports. Find out why he ranks his gravel cycling experience far above his road cycling experience.
PC: @frontrangemedia
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last few years, you no doubt have heard of gravel riding/racing, and you may very likely have participated in gravel rides/races. Well, for me, a few weekends ago was my first experience doing a gravel race and it was a very eye-opening experience for several reasons. However, before I get into why it was an eye-opening experience, it might be helpful to add some context as to why this experience was so interesting to me.
I’ve been a cyclist most of my life. I was a pretty competitive junior cyclist in my teens and minus a slight detour to run collegiate track and cross-country, I continued to race bikes into my 20-30’s. Then something happened… I started to hate it. I’m not sure if it was because I was living in NYC and training there is not exactly ideal, or if I just wasn’t into it anymore. I transitioned to running races to get my competitive ‘fix’ and really enjoyed it.
Fast forward to my late 40’s and now living in Colorado, I started to get in a few rides and shockingly, I didn’t hate it anymore! With a vast network of bike paths so I don’t get run over by cars, low humidity and mostly sunny days, I felt invigorated to ‘get back’ into cycling.
As a fairly competitive person, it has always been hard for me to exercise without having something to ‘train’ for – I just need that motivation, for whatever reason. Having bought a gravel bike a year or so ago, I figured that dipping my toe back into the racing world with a gravel race seemed like a not-so-idiotic way to get back into racing.
It’s Fun!
PC: @themollycameron
The gravel race I chose to do was the FoCo Fondo. The race started and ended at the New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado – so as you can imagine, the vibe was quite chill and fun… quite a departure from the seriousness of most road races or criteriums.
It’s Hard!
I’m not sure what I expected from the gravel race, but I did have a goal to do as well as I possibly could, so I lined up in the first few rows of riders. With 537 riders in my race, when I looked behind me, the rows of riders seemed to go on forever and it was very cool to see all of the participants. When the gun went off, surprisingly it was really fast, and it stayed fast the whole time! I was shocked at how hard it was but as I noted above, it was also quite fun. After downloading my computer at the end, I was a bit shocked to find my average heart rate was 166 bpm!
No Pretentiousness
PC: @themollycameron
I don’t think it’s a secret that a lot of road cyclists (i.e., roadies) don’t have the best reputation for being friendly and if I’m being completely honest, a lot of them have a very elitist and snobbish attitude toward not just non-cyclists, but also toward other cyclists as well. It is my personal belief that a lot of this elitism stems from the categorization of riders as per USA Cycling’s rules. As a new cyclist, you start off as a category 5 and through experience and results, you can increase in category, with category 1 being the top level and more or less considered ‘elite’ level. While a sweeping generalization, it’s my belief that these categories fuel the ‘unfriendly’ atmosphere often associated with road racing as often higher category riders look down on lower category riders.
However, in gravel racing there are no categories. All abilities start at the same time, and it is up to the riders to self-select where they want to position themselves at the start line. In my opinion, this format is more inclusive and creates a more friendly and fun environment.
Like a Running Race
Just as in a running race where you are competing more for a set time or doing as best you can, and less against the competition, I found this to be true of the gravel race. While I was trying to get as high of a placing as possible, I realized that at the end of the day, the course and pace of the other riders would determine where I was going to finish.
Yes, drafting is a thing as well in gravel racing but it’s much less of a factor than in road racing due to the reduced speeds. Therefore, I found myself riding with a small group of riders that were going about the same speed as me.
People are Nice
Perhaps what shocked me most during the race is that all of the other competitors were nice… actually, really nice. As each of us in our small group took pulls at the front of the paceline, the other riders would say things like, “Great pull,” or “Looking strong!” Compared to road racing where this almost never happens, I was pleasantly surprised by the camaraderie of the group of riders. It almost felt like after riding together in a group for 10 miles or so, we were actually friends, even though I didn’t know their names. As noted above, I wanted to get as high of a finishing place as I could, but when we got close to the finish line and I started to put in an effort to break away from the group, I actually felt bad for leaving my ‘friends.’ This feeling NEVER happened to me in a road race. That’s when it hit me… gravel racing (at least at my age-grouper level) is less about the competitiveness often associated with road racing, and more about having fun, enjoying the camaraderie, and challenging yourself against the course rather than competing against other riders.
Another example of something rarely seen in road racing is helping out other riders. My group came across a rider by the side of the road that had a mechanical issue and some of the riders in my group asked him if he was OK and if he had everything that he needed to fix the mechanical issue.
After the race was over, the other riders in my group all chatted and congratulated each other on the race. Very cool!
Summary
I’ll admit, when gravel riding/racing first started to become ‘a thing,’ I largely dismissed it as a passing trend and a way for bike manufacturers to make more money by creating a new type of bike that wasn’t really needed.
Well, I stand corrected.
I now totally get the allure of gravel riding/racing and how it is quite different from traditional road racing. Many things that I didn’t like about road racing are remedied with gravel racing and I’m here for it!
So, if this old, former road racer curmudgeon can find joy in gravel racing, you likely can to! Now I just need to figure out how to get my average heart rate below the mid-160’s!!
