Opinion: Rider Safety And Media Coverage

Image credit: Wally Kilburg

NOTE: Large doses of "my opinion" will be handed out in gloppy dollops today. You've been forewarned.....

Today I am going to dive into the subject of media coverage of gravel events. As my long-time disclaimer above indicates, this is my opinion. But first, I want to get into the most recent incident of interference of media in a cycling event on gravel. This was an incident where no one was injured, thankfully, and one of the affected riders, the leader at the time, won the event. So the rider's final placing was not negatively affected. However; things could have very easily gone the wrong way. 

You may have already seen the evidence posted on Instagram or Facebook. It happened last weekend at Mid-South. There were two riders affected in the women's Pro field who were off the front slightly from a larger chase group. From the video I saw, the two leaders, Paige Onweller and Sofia Gomez Villifane, were about to enter a 90° left hand turn when a side-by-side ATV came up from behind them at a higher rate of speed than the two riders. The ATV split the two riders, nearly hitting Villifane, and then over correcting and almost hitting Onweller. Audio from the clip revealed a bit of angry and fearful yelling from one of the riders. 

From another social media post by @ministerofgravel on Instagram, commenters identified the offending ATV as being driven by people from Orange Seal (or the vehicle was sponsored by the brand) , a brand which sells tubeless sealant products. Commenters also pointed to this same ATV causing issues the day previous during Mid-South's running event and on the course for the cycling event elsewhere on Saturday. These accusations are not verified, as far as I can find, but these comments are noteworthy and interesting in light of the video evidence from the near-miss of the two Pro women riders. 

A still from the video posted on Instagram. (Image credit @colinsigers)

This unfortunate incident is not alone in cycling. I read about near-misses and collisions between media motos and Pro road racers every single year. Team cars are also involved in many incidents and seem to be a year after year issue within Pro cycling. 

So, why do event organizers allow these vehicles and the people who drive them out on courses. Drivers which endanger riders and often interfere with the racing action, at the least, and cause injury and death at the worst? 

Well, it has something to do with money, doesn't it? We have to have media coverage and team support during events or..... Or what? We cannot race? This seems out of whack to me. Riders are human beings. We should be willing to sacrifice convenience and marketing opportunities to provide these riders - professionals or not -  with conditions on course not being affected by cars, motorcycles, or ATV's. 

Specifically to gravel events, I would posit that there be no vehicles on course besides the race director's vehicle. None. Zero. Observers should be stationed at critical points to make sure the riders are safe, not cheating,and to quickly address emergency situations. Media can be parked along side the road with cameras and can be allowed to travel to different points along the course, if possible, along roads/trails not on course. If this is not possible for media. too bad. Really. The whole media coverage of gravel events during the race is unnecessary. 

Mid-South's statement regarding the incident. (Click to embiggen)

I know that is unrealistic, so if we have to indulge ourselves in videography of gravel cycling events, then perhaps a bit of drone action is okay. I'm not a big fan of this, and the weather would probably play into whether this is a feasible solution for most cases. But moving vehicles, be they ATV's or whatever, cruising alongside Pro riders going all-out to win and make money, gain/maintain sponsorships is not a good mix.We see the outcome go negative all too often. 

The other point I'd like to make concerning this would be environmental. Gravel often times equals dust. Vehicles kick up a ton of dust when going down gravel roads. Obvious, right? Most people do not want to breath the particulate matter from gravel dust, do they? I would suggest they do not. Especially Pro athletes who train diligently to squeeze out every ounce of effort during a race. Certainly they do not like to breath in dust, do they? And besides, it makes it harder to see. Right? 

So, again, why do we put cars, trucks, ATV's and motos on courses with riders? All riders deserve good air, not dust-filled air from course vehicles. It's bad enough at times just being around other riders and dealing with the dust coming off the bicycles. Do we really need to add to this? 

And while we're at it, can we quit spewing champagne in rider's eyes the second they cross the finish line? Let those guys and gals do that on the podium. They earned the right.  

There has to be a better way. Gravel event directors should be searching for solutions, not waiting, hoping everything will work out because "this is how races are produced". Even sponsors should want this. I mean, look at the ATV which interfered with the two women riders at Mid-South. I'm sure that is PR that the company who was responsible for the incident would rather not have out there. Maybe doing the same thing over and over again is not the best plan. 

I also will say this to close out my thoughts. Many of you may not know I used to put on a gravel event because the last time I did so was seven years ago. But I understand the challenges behind the scenes and I know what racing on gravel roads is like from both sides - as an event director and a participant - so I feel as though my opinions are not just random ranting. I just honestly don't understand why we think gravel racing has to be the way it is, because it clearly doesn't work like it should on this level as seen at Mid-South and other events on gravel. The default event production methods are not the only way to do events on gravel. Events on gravel do not have to be live streamed. We went many years without live streamed gravel events and the segment grew and got along without it just fine. 

And I get it. Money talks. My ideas are probably not going to see the light of day at any "big time" gravel event. But I'm not going to sit here and let it go either. That's my take. Hopefully for the riders the event directors will find better ways to do things in the future for the good of all riders on gravel. 

Repairs

The life of a bicycle mechanic is one of constant diagnosis and figuring things out. There are simple repairs, which for a seasoned bicycle mechanic are like a school child repeating the addition of 2 + 2 and understanding the answer without a second thought. In fact, many repairs are done so quickly and with such instinct that many mechanics cannot tell you how to do what they just did where you'd understand. 

Then there are the really challenging jobs. The ones that make you cuss, but when you overcome and make a bicycle work again, you crow about it, sticking your chest out and strutting around like some greasy version of a rooster.

I was out riding around on the Honeman Flyer last week getting acquainted with these new Ergon bits I have in for review. As I pulled up to the house I heard a strange noise and I discovered a broken spoke. The sort of "everyday repair" a good mechanic can whip out done in a jiffy. 

When you work in a retail setting you must learn time saving tricks to get things done and out the door quickly. I was employing all of these as I went about trying to replace the rear spoke which had broken. 

Now one of the more important parts of this repair concerned the spoke nipple. It would be imperative to keep the nipple from backing into the rim cavity and falling inside the rim. 

And - of course - this is exactly what happened. 

Now this simple repair just became a big hassle. I would have to take the tire off, the rim tape off, and fish that nipple out of the rim cavity. And the tire is set up tubeless. So......sigh, I went to work on it. 

And when I peeled off the Ritchey SpeedMax tire, I discovered there was almost no sealant inside. So, actually, it was a good thing. But now I'd have to do the tubeless sealant injection dance later. Before that, I had to take the nipple I fished out, replace it where it belonged, thread it on the spoke, and tension it up. After truing I then fished around in my tape drawer for some tubeless tape. 

This DT Swiss tape is really nice.

I found a bit of this DT Swiss tubeless tape. I don't remember for certain how I got it. It wasn't a full roll and I know I've never used it before. I thought I'd use it up on this repair. 

It turns out it is excellent tape. Maybe the best I've used. It certainly was the easiest tape I've applied. Just stretchy enough and tacky enough. It laid down nicely with no weird folds or trapped air bubbles.  

It certainly is not cheap! But I may try some more of it since it was so impressive. I have some of the tape everyone was crowing about from U-Line which is similar to this DT Swiss tape, but it is not the same stuff at all. That tape is thicker, less pliable, and doesn't lay down as nicely. 

Anyway, after a bout of wrasslin' with my tubeless sealant injector, I was done with the job and the Honeman Flyer is ready just in time for a blizzard! Fantastic.... (Update - It wasn't a blizzard, but it did snow)

It'll be 1°F Tuesday morning here and swinging to a projected high of 50°F on Wednesday.  Welcome to Spring in Iowa. 

Two Things

Image courtesy of Salsa Cycles

Make It Make Sense:

The trade paper, "Bicycle Retailer and Industry News", reported recently that Giant, the Taiwanese based bicycle manufacturer, and brand, of course, saw 22% lower revenue for January than it had a year ago. Trade import numbers are down a record amount to levels not seen in decades. 

So, when a new bicycle gets introduced and you see the price tag increase approximately 2K from a similarly spec'ed previous generation model, it doesn't quite compute. 

Maybe you've seen this advertisement from Trek pop up while scrolling social media. It was an ad with the heading "Whoops! We made too many!". In the ad were about five fat bikes and all the rest were electrified bicycles, some with prices slashed by 50%. 

Brands keep pumping out halo-models with high end, 100% human powered designs while some trade papers are saying electrified bicycle imports are higher than normal bicycle imports for the beginning of 2026. I see every electrified "bicycle-shaped-object" you can imagine being motored up and down my local streets and none of these are bike shop brand e-bikes. 

I received a call at the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective the other day from an e-bike owner. His hydraulic brake needed service. Obviously, this is not within our purview, but this person, a Waterloo citizen, has to go to Cedar Falls (admittedly, not that far, but...) to find a full-service bike shop, and then there are only two independent ones. Additionally, if this customer's e-bike is not "the right brand', those two shops won't touch it. 

Oh, and Waterloo is a city of about 70,000+ people, and it doesn't have a bicycle shop. 

Make it make sense. 

Image courtesy of the Wilder 100

Feedback On The "Numbers Not Adding Up" Post:

First of all, a hearty "Thank You" to all who read the article last week and especially to those who took the time to comment. There were great thoughts shared in there. 

One of the thoughts shared is that perhaps gravel cycling is going through a "correction" in terms of participation. This is also something N.Y. Roll and I discussed in our latest podcast. (Spotify link HERE)

Another thought was the social factor isn't there anymore. Another point we spoke about on the podcast as well. But I think what was even more interesting was the comment I read regarding how many do not feel valued, or even seen, because so much focus is on the Pro field these days at gravel events. 

It is true at the "big" events where infrastructure, investment, and  outside media/industry attention is solely focused on elevating the Pro aspect of their events. The comment I found sad was "...in many cases a feeling like "we" aren't even who the event is for anymore." This Pro-focus of events and media/industry seems to be alienating many folks. 

There was an enlightening view expressed that due to how event directors see racing venue design, many events seem too similar. I never thought about this before, but now I can see this and it makes sense. 

On the positive side it seems series events are seen as a way to attend a smaller event without Pro influences and to be able to connect with many of the same folks at each event throughout the season. This also makes sense to me. 

The longer nature of event in some cases was seen as a detriment to continued support from riders in terms of attendance and a barrier to entry. It just takes so much effort and time to train for a longer event. 

And someone hit on the obvious rise in costs. Saying, in contrast to spending a lot to go to a bucket-list event,  "But at now over $200, plus hotel, food, etc. and roads/scenery pretty similar to what I can find close to home in Iowa for free." And this is kind of a killer when it comes to sustainability for these halo gravel events. Once the cycle of folks has had their crack at it, they likely will not come back if they feel alienated, find little social interaction, and had to spend a gob of money to participate in anonymity. 

Of course, it is not all bad news, and many an event will thrive in today's scene, but I would say there are some things changing which give me pause. 

Thanks again to all who read Guitar Ted Productions. 

Bonus: I have a new article up on my Substack, in case you'd like to take a look. 

The Path To Discovering Gravel Grinding: Part 3

The start of Trans Iowa v2 in 2006

 This is Part 3 of a mini-series of posts telling the story of what it was like to attend events in the early days of the Modern Gravel Era. In today's post I want to take a look at how it was to organize and produce an early gravel event. In this case, Trans Iowa. 

As a rider I had to do a lot of research and figure out what worked best for this new style of racing. But I also was an event director at the same time. There was no shortage of research and lessons learned on that side of things. 

We did a lot of research before we ever even announced Trans Iowa in late 2004. Jeff Kerkove, my co-creator of this crazy ultra-distance gravel road event was well connected to the endurance racing community. So there was a great amount of feedback from event directors and racers at our disposal. We also were able to tap into the experiences of Richard "Deke" Gosen, a bicycle shop owner, but more importantly, an early event promoter of racing on gravel. He also was a person who challenged us and made us better right out of the gate. 

But despite all the fantastic resources at our fingertips we stumbled and made mistakes in those early years.  We didn't have a clue about how to place volunteers, and during the first Trans Iowa, we pretty much did not have anyone to help 90% of the time, and Jeff was racing as well! 

I felt terrible at times for what I saw as failing. But ironically the participants and the tiny gravel community was immensely supportive. By the time v3 rolled around Jeff had said I was ready to take the event on as my own. I did not want this, nor did I believe him. However; despite all odds and despite all the failings, the event evolved and got its feet underneath it. 

Learning things like writing cue sheets, planning a course with refueling options, and plotting roads through interesting and less traveled terrain were all things I worked hard on. I didn't do this right before an event. This work lasted all year long. It consumed me at times. 

There were also the times when event directors would talk to each other. They would share ideas, advice, and just generally encourage each other. This lasted only a few years, but it was a very important facet of getting gravel events into a groove where individual style was fostered. Codification of rules was rejected. Every event had its own set of guidelines on how to do a gravel event. Some had hardly any guidance beyond telling the riders to play nice and not be mean.  

Events grew to have their own flavors due to this. It became fun to attend different events just to see how things might be unique, and therefore worthwhile to travel to and experience. Everyone was cooking up their own homegrown versions of a gravel event. It made going to new places to ride gravel an adventure. 

We've lost a lot of those things, but there are still events out there which hold to a form of how things started out over twenty years ago now. While top-tier racing doesn't resemble "gravel" racing from the late 2000's at all, the formats used today have facets of those old ways of doing things yet. At times this has caused friction and debate, and it still does. 

Event production is a lot different in 2026, that's obvious, but what maybe isn't obvious is how those early gravel events had to write their own scripts to go by. Just as there was an era of discovery for riders, there was one for event production and promotion as well. 

Friday News And Views

Image courtesy of Neuhaus Metalworks

The 32" Watch: Neuhaus Metalworks Nova 32" Rigid MTB:

Another new production 32"er has hit the marketplace in Neuhaus Metalworks Nova 32. The bike is designed as a rigid MTB with a carbon fork. Quad-butted steel alloy is used for the frame tubing. 

The Nova 32 comes in three sizes recommended for Medium/Large to XL folks. The current availability is for frame/fork only, but rolling chassis can be ordered up now as well. Completes are coming soon. 

Comments: We had a nice chat with Sam of Singular Cycles about 32"ers and geometry experimentation is still happening around this wheel size. One thing which isn't completely nailed down is bottom bracket height/drop. 

Sam was of the mind 32"ers should be equivalent in physical height from the ground as a 29"er to help prevent sky-high seating which would inhibit users abilities to ride such bikes to some degree. In his opinion this would result in bottom bracket drops longer than 100mm, and closer to 110mm. I see the Nova 32 is in the 90's for bottom bracket drop. 

Something to consider.... 

New Podcast Episode:

The latest episode of the Guitar Ted Podcast is out now. Our show can be found on most podcast platforms, but here is a link to the latest episode which is on our Spotify home page.  

In this one we yak about some 32"er gearing issues, how road bikes are becoming gravel bikes, and whether or not gravel cycling is in a state of decline. 

There are probably a few other odd bits in there as well. One thing I missed and it relates to the episode's numbering. 

I mistakenly say it is episode number 98 when in reality it was episode #99. This means the next episode is number 100. 

Maybe we should do a special episode with celebration and whatnot. I know we have a special guest coming on, (you'll have to wait and see who it is). There could be some other surprises as well. Or....

Maybe not! We will see. I expect to have this next episode out by the end of next week, so you'd better get on this episode toot-sweet or you'll get behind! (Just kidding) Thanks for checking out the podcast if you do.  

Image courtesy of Teravail

Teravail Offers Gen 2 Gravel Tires:

Teravail has updated versions of their popular gravel tire range available now. Models included are the Cannonball, Rampart, Rutland, and Washburn tread designs. 

These four models are now all built on 120TPI casings. The size ranges have been streamlined as well. 

Rampart - 700c x 35, 40, and 45mm

Washburn - 700c x 40, 45, and 50mm

Cannonball - 700c x 40, 45, 50, and 55mm

Rutland - 700c x 40, 45, and 50mm

 The previous size range was 38mm, 42mm, and 47mm. There is also now a special limited edition Mid-South Updraft tire available as well. Finally, some of the MTB tires are also part of the Gen 2 updates. See all the gravel tires on offer from Teravail HERE. 

Image courtesy of Wolf Tooth Components

Aero Headsets Avaialble From Wolf Tooth:

A new aero headset offering is now available from Wolf Tooth Components. 

Featuring Wolf Tooth's triple seal system and Enduro stainless steel bearings, the aero headset also comes in an array of anodized colors. 

The Semi-internal head set (official name) goes for $179.95 and you can check out the details on them HERE. 

Comments: Internal routing is a curse. I mean, it complicates things, makes changes in your cockpit of your bicycle more expensive, and the head set here is not cheap either. The whole ruse just to gain a watt or two and look "cleaner" is bonkers when it really just doesn't matter in terms of how fast the average person will ride. 

And when you stop to think about this, what is being routed internally anymore? The rear brake. That's all. Everything else runs by wireless or through the front fork. Can we just stop with this sort of internal routing of a rear brake cable? It's just dumb. It is an example of how racing affects the average person negatively. 

Mid-South Weekend:

This weekend is the Mid-South events in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In fact, there are things going on as you read this on Friday, March 13th. 

The expo was yesterday and today there are running events, music, and more. Tomorrow is the big day for the ride for amateurs. There is a free feed to see the Pro field. (Which is happening today) Just check out the Mid-South's website for more on this. 

I attended and rode the 50 mile course in 2024 and it was a lot of fun. The weather looks like it will hold up for this year, so I suspect it will be one good time again for everyone in attendance. Here's a tailwind wish and safe travels to all who are gathered in Stillwater for Mid-South this weekend. 

That should do it for this week here on Guitar Ted Productions. As always, thank you for reading. Now, get out there and ride your bicycles before Winter comes back!

Gravel Grinder News: Salsa Announces Flway Gravel Racing Bike

Flyway DLX Red XPLR

 Note: All images and information in this article were provided by Salsa Cycles. Comments are Guitar Ted's and are his own.

Today Salsa Cycles has released information and images for the replacement model for the Warbird called Flyway. It is an evolution of the previous Warbird models using an updated version of the Class 5 VRS vibration reduction as in the past, but with an updated feature set for 2026 and beyond. 

Here are the main talking points for the Flyway.

• 5th Generation Design
• Six Sizes: XS, S, Med, ML, L, XL  
• 70.5° Head tube angle
• 425mm Chain Stays
• 76mm Bottom Bracket Drop
• Two Levels of carbon fiber layup. With the DLX frame you save 150 grams over the other models in the range. The separate frame set on offer is the DLX layup, by the way. 
• Class 5 VRS now 20% more compliant than before.
• Tire Clearance - Up to 50mm tires.
• Geometry accommodates 40mm suspension forks only.
• IS52 head tube accommodates internally routed cabling.
• UDH compatible, no mechanical 2X set ups. 2X can be used if electronic. 
• T-47 Bottom Bracket
• Fork: 420mm Axle to Crown, accommodates up to a 700 x 57mm tire.

Flyway DLX Force XPLR

Cargo Capacity: 

It's a Salsa, so you know cargo carrying capacity has been addressed. The Flyway features several ways to carry your stuff. 

• Main Triangle Bottle Mounts: 2 on XS, and Small. Three on everything else. 
• Two sets of Three-Pack Mounts on the fork
• Direct Mount compatible with custom frame bags.
• Top Tube Mounts
• Rack Compatible with Salsa Rack-Lock or Post-Lock
• Low-rider Front Rack Mounts

Model Range:

The top two models in the Flyway range have the DLX, lighter carbon frame. They both are SRAM equipped 1X drive trains with XPLR. Then the new suspension fork equipped model comes in with a SRAM Rival drive train matched up with a Rock Shox Rudy fork and a dropper post. Next up we have the Flyway Apex Eagle AXS with the last model in the line having the lone Shimano drive train offered in the Flway GRX 610. 

Prices:

•  Flyway DLX RED: $11,999 USD, $16,999 CAD
• Flyway DLX Force: $7,999 USD, $11,299 CAD
• Flyway Rival Sus: $5,499 USD, $6,999 CAD
• Flyway Apex: $4,499 USD, $5,499 CAD
• Flyway GRX 610: $3,499 USD, $4,299 CAD
• Flyway DLX Frameset: $2,799 USD, $3,999 CAD

 

Flyway Rival Sus

Flyway Apex

Flyway GRX 610

Comments:

The Warbird was long overdue for a refresh and the name change isn't a big surprise given how QBP has been sanitizing its brand's nomenclature over the past several years. The good news here is that what the Warbird was has been evolved into a better bike in most ways. (Still not a fan over internally routed everything) 

This bike works in several ways in my opinion. It has race bike capabilities without foregoing adventure/fun based riding. Too may times we are seeing racing gravel bikes coming out with nothing more than a few bottle mounts. Kudos to Salsa for sticking to their heritage formed in adventure based cycling.  

Some may bemoan the lack of big tire clearance in the rear. However; it should be noted that Salsa has an updated Cutthroat coming out (announced today as well) and that bike handles up to a 700 x 2.4" rear tire with the capability of mounting road/MTB hybrid drive trains. Technically speaking, any bicycle with a road based design,(read most gravel bikes) shouldn't have wider than 50mm tires because comprising drive train efficiency to squeeze in MTB rubber with a road bike drive train is going a bit too far, in my opinion.  

Finally, there is no other way to say this, but prices for the new generation of Salsa gravel racing bikes has ballooned. Previous models with similar drive trains were much less expensive.  Are we blaming tariffs, higher shipping costs, or just a general uptick in inflation? Whatever it is, you'll have to lean on that electronic transfer of funds a little harder to be able to obtain a new Flyway. 

Note: Apologies for the image quality in this post but these images are from the resources Salsa sent me to use. Also, a new Cutthroat was also dropped today but I decided to focus on the new Flyway here. No news on a Fargo today, but I've been told by a trusted source that the new Fargo is due late Summer/early Fall. See Salsa Cycles website for the latest details. 

Two Things

PSA: Gravel Grinder News Today At 9:00am:

Just a short note for you early morning blog readers. There is an embargoed announcement being released at 9:00am CST this morning, so please check back for this. (Hint: Salsa Cycles related)

Embargoed information is a sore topic with some folks involved in cycling. Dealers get information with "Respect the Embargo" stamped all over it. They can face some stiff reprimands for showing stuff to the wrong people. Meanwhile internet sleuths dig up images all the time and post them on social sites like Reddit with source material sometimes alongside which may have been shown to someone in confidence. No one ever gets their hand slapped for it, and dealers get shafted by the process sometimes when it devalues current inventory. 

I used to see issues with this all the time when I worked retail. You had customers you could sell the new thing to on the side, but "embargo", so .....? Meanwhile they see it on some subversive's post and wonder why you didn't say anything to help them out and now you are the "bad guy". 

And, of course, you can immediately be blackballed out of sharing PR if you slip up and post something before the embargo, or get greedy to be "first" on a story. 

My stance is that - if the press release is relevant to my focus here - I will post the information when the marketers want me to post it. I'm here to help. I don't care about being first or whatever, and I make zero bucks either way. So.... I'm here to help. But some brands don't see it that way and so I do not hear from them, or I get "second tier" treatment. Whatever.... It doesn't do anything to me. It only hurts them.  

March False Spring > March Snow > March Winter > March Spring:

And the weather! Wow, what a roller coaster we've been on here in Iowa. One minute it's nearly 70°F and then a couple days later it is snowing. 

This makes it hard on me and my schedule is not lining up with the "good days" either. Riding has been limited. 

I know sooner or later this will straighten out, and to be honest, generally speaking we'd still normally be melting off Winter snow pack yet at around this time. So, the teasing of this warmer weather is what has gotten me all turned around. 

And then on a short test ride around the neighborhood the other day I came home and discovered an unpleasant surprise. I picked my Honeman Flyer up and reoriented it for entry into the portal for Guitar Ted Headquarters. I heard a strange noise, looked down and saw a rear spoke dangling in the breeze. 

Great!

Now I have to remove the tubeless tire, tubeless tape, and fish out a nipple banging around inside the rim. Fun times! Maybe I'll do this when it is forecast to be only 24°F this coming Monday. Hmm..... I wonder if the tulips will survive a day of that? 

Welcome to another Spring in Iowa.......

The Numbers Are Not Adding Up

From CIRREM's social media post

The numbers are down. This is the common report being quietly communicated across several disciplines of participatory sporting events. Gravel cycling is not immune to this. 

Despite a robust growth in numbers from around 2015 until just after the pandemic, it now seems we are experiencing a downward trend developing in participation across gravel events. 

Events which once had to turn away would-be riders are now posting messages trying to entice registration. One may not care about this, but I wondered why this might be occurring at this time. As with most issues involving humanity, this is not an easily answerable issue. It's complex. 

I did a little - admittedly light - research into possibilities for why gravel events, and events in general, seem to be having more trouble getting people to commit to participating. This is not an exhaustive list of reasons, by no means, but it is interesting to consider where we are in terms of the gravel scene. 

Well, at least I find it interesting! Your mileage may vary on that. 

Is it fun to pay to do the same course year over year?

Been There - Done That:

First of all, I think there is a bit of fatigue relating to gravel events which may be a factor here. I think this is especially true if an event uses the same course year after year. 

You see the same things and it is not like the first time you saw those things. The discovery phase is exciting. The "here that hill comes again" phase is.....boring. 

Same with event venues, formats, and overall experiences. There are 'discovery" elements to any event which may keep things fresh for a time, but after a while, things get stale and then you have......

Rising Costs:

Probably the number one factor I saw in comments on this issue. Rising entry fees, housing costs, travel, etc. It all adds up to a larger obstacle to attending events. Unless there is an overarching reason to go to an event beyond the high cost of entry fee, lodging, and travel, I would have a hard time making a decision to attend. Of course, having friends there makes it a bit more enticing which leads me to.....

Events have gotten so big we've lost the ability to have intimacy.

The Social Facet Of Gravel Is Becoming Rare:

Finding any social benefits to attending gravel events is becoming harder to find these days. It's no wonder when events have grown to having thousands of participants. 

I hear a bit of complaining about how people finish events and then pack up and head home with no time for relaxing and connecting afterward. This is harder to do when you are simply part of a crowd which is there, really, to support the career choices of a few individuals. 

It was not always like this, and in my opinion, the social side of gravel events was one of the big attractions to attend events like CIRREM, The Gent's Race, and even Gravel Worlds back in the early 2010's. Odin's Revenge had possibly one of the best, intimate social facets to an event that I can point to. But now days? Yeah......why would you stick around? Everything is geared toward being a big time production with a big crowd of people around and things just get too hectic and crazy. 

We went to gravel races for the calm atmosphere, the bucolic scenery, and to connect with a few others doing something we loved. Not to be a cog in a wheel for some LLC that needs to turn a profit. 

Changing Culture:

Much of my research turned up the way younger generations see events and what they like in their entertainment choices. It seems anything with a start to finish time of three hours or less is okay, but anything beyond this time period seems to lose younger audiences. This also goes for participation in events. 

Many younger folks also are tied to digital means of entertainment which they find more engaging. Opinions on this may vary, but it is a factor in why younger folks don't gravitate to outdoor activities or physical exertion. Obviously, it takes an effort to do a gravel event and usually these events are longer than three hours. 

Trend Cycles:

Finally, trends and movements have cycles. The typical long-term cycle for a sport, or fashion, or cultural trend is said to be around 20 years. Gravel cycling, in its Modern Era, has reached the 20 year threshold already. Could it be we are experiencing the natural ebbing of a once growing sport? 

In my opinion, I could see this coming in 2019. The pandemic threw a wrench in the cycle, I think, and extended things for a few years afterward. But I feel as though we are back to a descending  part of the wave of gravel cycling. Of course, I could be all wrong about this, but everything I see is indicating to me we are on the downward slope now. 

Those are my thoughts and what I found in my limited research. What is your opinion? Is gravel suffering from a long list of ills or are we still on the upswing? Maybe things have plateaued a bit? Let me know in the comments.