My First Gravel Race Went Better Than Expected. Here’s the Gear That Got Me to the Finish Line.
Over the last few years, I’ve fallen in love with gravel biking for the sense of adventure it gives me. I’d much rather spend a day exploring rugged, remote roads that wind through nature than going head-to-head with competitors at a starting line.
But this year I pushed myself to try a new challenge: my first-ever gravel bike race. I signed up not to compete with other riders but to prove to myself I can do hard things. For my debut, I chose the 34-mile “Short Haul” route in the Cow Pie Classic. Held every June in Ionia, a small town in western Michigan, this gravel grinder lives up to its name: Biking along gravel roads through working farmland and rolling fields, you’re more likely to see cows than cars.
Intimidated doesn’t begin to describe how I felt. Having never entered a race before, I had no idea what to expect. At the starting line, endurance athletes outfitted in tight spandex bibs and shiny clipless bike cleats finagled their way up to the front while I took my place at the back of the pack.
Thankfully, I’d spent the months leading up to race day dialing in my gear, testing what worked and ditching what didn’t. My refined gravel biking kit turned out to be one of the biggest reasons I made it through 34 miles of farmland and bumpy roads in one piece.
From a budget bike to a tubeless repair kit, here are ten gravel biking essentials I used on race day, and the gear I now recommend to every beginner gravel biker I meet.
The post My First Gravel Race Went Better Than Expected. Here’s the Gear That Got Me to the Finish Line. appeared first on Outside Online.
About The Author
