In 2020 I’ll be jumping head-first into the gravel scene – with Panaracer/Factor p/b Bicycle X-Change, I’ll be racing questionable surfaces from California to Oklahoma, all the way up in Utah and way down in Texas.
I’m nervous, of course, seeing as I am a seasoned roadie. I’m supposed to like skinny tires and smooth roads; gravel scares me, and rocks…those are for hiking only. But that was a long time ago, when I was still a clueless Junior who’d never before ventured onto a groomed bike path, let alone bouncing across a gnar-bar in the Flint Hills of Kansas. I like dirt, gravel, and other slippery surfaces. I like losing a little bit of traction in the corners, especially when on knobby tires that I trust will keep me upright.
The extreme distances don’t intimidate me. In fact, they’re actually exciting. Finally, I can compete in a race that is more about survival than speed, a challenge that is more mental than physical. My favorite rides include long, 5-7 hour slug-fests. My fondest memories often are born out of these horrible, horrible days. This all sounds quite counter-intuitive, but therein lies the challenge of endurance sport – and gravel racing which toes the line between endurance and ultra-endurance. There is a moment during these events which I long for, an experience that is like no other: when the mind conquers the body, and I keep on riding.