THE BEST NEWS IN GRAVEL, I MEAN UNROAD

I LOVE RIDING MY GRAVEL BIKE.  Everywhere.  Over everything.  As far as I'm concerned, a course with some pavement and a healthy dose of gravel, doubletrack and singletrack...

... show's who is the best rider.

Ya gotta surf the group like a bee,
and glide the dirt and rocks like a butterfly.

If you're a roadie, you have a pretty good idea of how to surf the group.  

Going from wheel to wheel putting out the least amount of energy possible and always being in a good position is a musthave skill to successfully race on the road.

If you're not a roadie, and you're planning to gravel race, find a group to start training with.  You don't need a road bike, your gravel bike is close enough in speed...

... and will make you even more proficient at surfing the group.

If you're a competent mountain biker, you know how to glide over rocks...

... especially those who started off on a hardtail.

If you're not a dirt ninja, go find some dirt.  The gnarly the better.  If you don't have your gravel bike yet, your road bike is surprisingly competent in dirt and can do way more than you think is possible.

It'll be fine.

There is one place where both the roadies and the mtbrs are going to need to up their skills.

Cornering.
At speed.

On gravel, it is very common to have your tires drifting in turns.  Roadies never do this on purpose, and mtbrs will find it a new game on the skinnier tires.

Which brings up tires and tire pressure.

Personally, I prefer to find a tire I like in nearly all conditions and just ride it all the time.  There is so much speed to be gained in knowing what your tires can do.

For example, a couple of seasons ago my friend Eric put on a race at a gocart track and had us go off into the dirt for a short section. 

It was a lot of fun.

Tight, banked turns,
Smoothsmooth tarmac.

Most everybody opted for a road bike since 80% of the time we were on pavement.

I chose my gravel bike.

Here's what I learned.

1. I could cruise and relax on the dirt.
2. If I stayed in the draft I was just fine in the group.
3. I could take the corners muchmuch faster with my fatter, lower pressure tires.

How did it go down?

Once I figured this out, I would let a gap open between me and the rider ahead into all the tight turns...

... then go much faster due to superior grip.

I'd latch on again,
and draft.

Riders behind me had to work really hard to get back on.

It was a war of attrition.

On the last lap we were down to 3 racers.

I came in third.

Way better than I'd have guessed at the start of the race.

Lesson:

Master your tires, and tire pressure.

Which bring me back to the title...

... the best news in gravel, for me, is the BWR Triple Crown next year.

Can't wait to test my skills and bike set up across three very unique courses.

https://www.belgianwaffleride.bike