One such event is the 'Gent's', (a shortened moniker for what once was "The Renegade Gentleman's Race"). Thinking about the name, it isn't very representative of hip 2021 social fashion, but whatevs.... The name continues to get contracted from what it once was, so who knows? Maybe in the future it will become "The Renegade Human's Race". No.......that's even too long. Probably more like "Human's 12.0".
Sorry! (Not sorry), I couldn't resist. More 'not resisting' follows. You've been forewarned.
We aren't even 'renegades' anymore, because, well, Gravel® is EVERYWHERE in cycling now. You're just one of the herd of sheep now if you are doing "Gravel®". The 'renegade' bit set sail long ago. Not that anyone should care. Go ride your bike, or not. I'm just making observations. It's what happens when humans get a hold of any trends. The natural evolution of any trend is for it to become absorbed into the mainstream and then just be a 'thing' with a little less, (or a lot less, depending) impact upon culture as it had when it was recognized as something 'new' and 'cool', whatever that means. Gravel riding has not escaped this transformation.
And neither has "Gents", (I just noticed they even dropped the apostrophe....weird.) It has become a thing we get together and do, and it is fun, but it is no longer the event it was. Neither bad nor good- it just is. Evolution and all. This will be the 11.0 version. Now, I realize that last year was well......let's just say Gents didn't happen. I could go on about last year, but we're all very tired of that. So, anyway, last year was supposed to have been number 10.0. Last year did not happen, so instead of this year (possibly) being 10.0, it is 11.0? I'm bad at math, but this strikes me as being not right. Maybe it's Gents math. Could be..... I mean, it is 'Gents 11.0', not Gent's 10.0. Big difference there, I guess.
Okay, now seriously, I love this event, so I jest. But here's the thing- they moved the date from the first weekend of April to the third weekend in June. That would be pretty close to the solstice, so long days, nicer weather, you'd think anyway. That's supposedly playing into the hands of the organizers as they work to make social distancing work and have everything outdoors.
I said earlier that I'd only consider two events for 2021 and this "gents" thing is one of them. (I mean, why not go lower case? You've already contracted the name this far. Ha ha!) The other is Gravel Worlds, and I'm signed up for that. Stay tuned.... COVID is still happening. Anything people plan is very tenuous right now, no matter what hype they are putting out, or how badly they want to have things happen. If things are not looking good to me, I will pull the plug. Whether or no the events cancel/postpone.
Stay tuned.......
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