I am a road cyclist, at heart. Even when I’m in a car, I’ll daydream about riding the same road I’m driving. I’ll imagine how the tarmac might feel as my wheels carry me across it, the wind, the smells in the air. I’ll imagine how my lungs are expanding and contracting, cleansing me a little with every exhale. In my mind’s legs, I’ll feel the pressure building as I imagine myself rising out of the saddle to power over a pitch. I know I would feel the pain of such a ride, but I can’t really imagine what it would feel like. I can never really imagine pain.
The paved road is where we are the closest we will ever be to achieving flight. To restrict ourselves to tarmac, however, is to restrict ourselves to those places in this world which are most travelled. The most beautiful places do not lie at the end of such roads; they are hidden away, where those with some element of imagination might venture to look for them. A two-lane dirt track, perhaps, or a forest road that winds off beyond the damp forest and on to places unknown.
On gravel and dirt, we find a completely different sensation from that on the road. Certainly, many of the elements are still there, but the terrain demands a different kind of harmony; we dart along from one side of the road to another, looking for the best bits where the holes are smaller and the gravel is held together more. The dust or mud kicked up by our tires hovers in the air about us and covers our lips, teeth, and tongue. Suddenly, we taste the road as much as feel it.
Being away from traffic and in the wilderness awakens something primal in our spirits. The smell of damp dirt, moss, and bark or the baking scent of dry pine needles flushes the city from your senses and immediately awakens a calmer Self. My soul is at peace when I return home from such a ride.
The road is where my heart lies, but gravel is where I find my soul.
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Probably a good job you didn't try them over the winter or even last summer - I can just imagine how deep the mud must have been. Added to that, with a good soaking that South Downs chalk clay has a lower coefficient of grip than a wet bar of soap.
@Teocalli
Not quite sure how I managed that but that was supposed to be in reply to @motor_city and the South Downs pics.
My first post as I have discovered the Velominati. A great article that I will share. As a marathon runner turned road cyclist I am still enjoying tarmac and all the potholes and variety of surfaces it brings. And I am lucky enough to cycle in remote North Pennines in the UK. Sometimes not seeing another sole and occasionally for a minute worrying what might happen if I come off as I 'fly' down a descent. Immense freedom, immense pleasure, loving every moment.
Every bike has the potential to be(come) a gravel bike. Free your mind, and your bike will follow.
question, why did @G'rilla replace is Van Dessel G&T as his main cross rig? That frame is top of my list for a cx rig of my own some day.
@frank
There are a lot of routes in different directions but after around 10KM i can join the South Downs Way which is a famous 160KM / 4150M^ off road trail that can be cycled - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Downs_Way
There is a fairly hardcore MTB challenge to tackle the whole route in one day so I'm going to investigate further to see how achievable it would be on a cx / gravel bike. It could make an epic cross-cogal.
@Teocalli You are probably right about the weather, perfect for it this year but it must get sketchy at times.
@frank Oh believe me, I think people who can shred singletrack on drops are totally metal. But, alas, I am a mere mortal.
@RedRanger
You'll have to check with him, but his new rig is a fully custom TI dream rig. I'm not sure there was a good reason to relegate the G&T to the pit position other than that it was a bit heavier and there were a few things he didn't like about it (I remember him saying he didn't like the HT angle or the ST angle or both or one or the other. I don't know, he talks so much, you have to zone him out after a while.)
@EricW
Talk about Rule violations. The only Rule Jacquie didn't violate was Rule 5.
Not to bring attention back to dirt, but Merckx, this video makes a strong case for a full suspension downhill bike.
Talk about a different kind of harmony.