Gravel Cycling: Why it’s Exploding

The lead pack heading out through high altitude cattle country at the SBT GRVL event. Photo by Wil Matthews.

Last month I traveled to Colorado with my client Canyon Bikes to ride and learn at the inaugural SBT GRVL race in Steamboat Springs. What I saw was a category that is growing stratospherically. Gravel is providing a boost to bike brands that they have not seen since the introduction of the mountain bike. And participants are flocking to the events. The SBT race sold out in just a few days.

Here’s why gravel has become the hottest category in cycling:

1. It’s Fun. Traditionally, cycling is a sport that’s taken itself way too seriously. I would know, as I raced bikes in high school, college, and as a masters competitor. Although I have always loved my time on the bike, the USA Cycling sanctioned racing events have been all about showing up, riding your event, and driving home. Social is not part of the equation, and most of the participants keep their game face on all weekend. Gravel racing, in contrast, is entirely about fun and building a culture around the sport. The events are still competitive, but the post-event small batch IPA is more important than one’s age group placing. I heard this over and over in Steamboat. Veterans of the sport find the gravel culture refreshingly fun, and newbies appreciate the fact that they’re welcome to hang out and enjoy the scene. Not much of this happens in traditional racing.
2. It’s inclusive. Women, in particular, are super excited that the gravel scene is not biased against them. Here’s an example of how the traditional road riding culture discriminates against women without even realizing it: I go out with my big Sunday group ride here in West LA. It’s called the Nichols Canyon ride, and it’s been leaving from the same place (Westwood Blvd @ La Grange Avenue) at the same time (Sundays, 8:00 am) for over 50 years. It’s an institution. It’s also very competitive and very fast. Lately, I’ve been counting the women who show up. On a typical Sunday there are about 95 men and 5 women. Imagine that you’re a female thinking about getting into the sport. There’s no way you show up for that. In contrast, the finishers at the SBT event were 30% female, and there was equal prize money paid to male and female pro winners. The event welcoming women was the single most prevalent talking point I heard the entire weekend. The next frontier for gravel will be to include more minority participants, and they still have a ways to go there.
3. It’s safe. You don’t have to spend much time on social media to see consistent mentions of cyclists getting hit by cars, particularly in urban areas. As cycling and bike commuting get more popular, there are more and more bikes on the road. At the same time, the bicycle infrastructure — bike lanes, enforcing the 3' rule, holding drivers accountable for adherence to the law — has not kept up. I rode last weekend on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, and the Malibu Triathlon had the right hand lane coned off in both directions for many miles. I had a glorious 10–12' all to myself without having to worry about cars coming up behind me. The experience highlighted for me how vulnerable we are as cyclists, riding in a near constant state of anxiety while on busy roads. Gravel is an antidote to this. While most gravel cyclists also ride on the road, even occasionally riding on dirt is a huge relief safety-wise.

Expect the gravel category to grow rapidly with more events, lots of bikes being sold, and more and more participants. And, if you can make it to next year’s SBT GRVL race on August 16th, 2020, you will not be disappointed.

My day: suffering but having fun in the 100-mile SBT Blue event. Photo by Wil Matthews.

The expressions of Sarah Max and Bryan Ogle sum up how they feel about their weekend at SBT GRVL.

Contrast the view on Coast Highway in San Diego with the one from the SBT event. The white truck in the background had just tried to side swipe us.