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| The world seems to be moving on now.... |
As governments worldwide drop pandemic induced measures for masking, social distancing, and other protocols, the world seems to have already left the pandemic behind. One area I have noted this is in regard to gravel events.
First it was the complete lack of any indications that events were going to recommend, much less enforce, social distancing and masking at events. Hints of any proof of vaccination requirements have seem to have disappeared in a puff of smoke. The world, whether good or bad, is moving on. The masks are off and events are happening again much in the same way as they had been operating pre-pandemic.
And I'm noticing more new gravel events. There are more gravel riding clinics. I see more talk of gravel group rides again. Even the local fat tire group ride hits the gravel when the snow is no good now. People who were never giving any thought to riding gravel roads are way into it now. This has fueled gravel event growth again.
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| An event in Minnesota I've not seen before. |
And to be sure, there is a bit of a whiplash effect to all of this. The pandemic forced everyone to sit back and the combined forces of the long, nearly two year wait and the continued popularity of gravel riding has now been unleashed. The result is more interest in the niche than ever before.
Starting in late 2008 and up until March of 2020, I tried to keep a calendar of events up to date which included every gravel event I could find in the World, pretty much. By 2018 this was taking up to ten hours a week to keep track of. As 2019 was rolling along, I was hard-pressed to keep track of it all, and of course, I had competition from other sites. Sites that were well funded and staffed that had more resources than I had. Before the pandemic, I was ready to cash in on keeping up with all of it, as it was just getting way out of hand.
The pandemic was the perfect 'pause' for me and I stopped doing the effort at that time, but it was imminently clear to me, at that time, that gravel events were not leveling off in numbers. Keeping in mind that some people think a course with "gravel sectors" but is mostly paved is a gravel event, (see some Pro World Tour events), I put the number of gravel events at something under 700 at the time of the pandemic's onset.
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| Another more recent addition to the Iowa gravel riding scene. |
With the pandemic being unofficially declared "over", (did you see those crowds at the Super Bowl recently?), the push for more gravel events will likely see additional numbers which will push events on gravel numbering over 700, and perhaps as high as 800 within a couple of years.
Again- this depends upon what you think 'gravel events' are. I see dirt road events being called 'gravel' and events with a few gravel sectors being called 'gravel events'. The sheer popularity of the genre' matched up with a sometimes ill-informed idea of what a gravel road is, make sorting out the wheat from the chaff a bit tougher. Am I being a "Negative Nancy" when it comes to poo-pooing on people's ideas for their events? When it comes to defining 'gravel'- yes. Words mean something, or they ought to, and what is and what is not a gravel event is so loosely defined that you probably will see some media claim that there are over 1000 gravel events now.
But I won't delve into all of that definition of gravel roads here. It's rather plain to figure out, to be honest. It's got more to do with what is popular and pride than reality, in some cases. But the point I'm trying to make here is that yes- There are a LOT more gravel events now, and along with that you are going to see some events trying to piggy-back onto whatever the popular thing to do is currently. Bandwagon events, you might say. Just be wide-eyed and alert to that and you'll find those events that appeal to whatever your definition of a 'gravel event' is out there.
And in the end, that variety of events is what matters. More variations on a theme means that more people will be attracted to riding bicycles. And that's a good thing. Maybe we'll even get people to start thinking about- you know- just riding a bicycle for utilitarian reasons, and not just for events. All this gravel event nonsense would be a big plus if it resulted in something along those lines. Or gravel could just be the next Peloton.
Which brings up the next question people are generally curious about: "When will this gravel cycling thing start to fade away?" I got asked that question repeatedly over the course of the 20-teens. My answer now? Well, an obvious observation is that we are a LOT closer to this all fading away than we were before. The "end" of gravel's popularity is going to happen. People will move on to the 'next' big thing in recreation and what will be left behind will be the folks who have dedicated their lives to the pastime of gravel road riding. Some events will always be there as long as there are bicycles.
I liken what will happen with gravel events and gravel riding to the 24hr MTB endurance scene. Did you know people still ride those events and that 24hr MTB still happens? It does. But you almost never hear about it anymore.
During the mid to late 1990's and up into the mid-2000's the endurance MTB scene was huge. People flocked to the 24hr MTB events and in some cases, (24hrs of Moab comes to mind) the scene was more like a festival than an event for racing bicycles.
The numbers of events were never on the same level as gravel events now, but there were a LOT of 24hr MTB events across the USA and worldwide in the heyday of 24hr racing. There were series you could engage in and even a World Championship of 24hr racing. I just took a glance via Google search for the results of "24hr MTB events" and I counted 13 in North America in 2022.
Thirteen.
Big difference from what I remember for event numbers in the early 2000's when my co-worker, Jeff Kerkove was a sponsored solo 24hr endurance athlete. Who hears about "sponsored solo 24hr endurance athletes" anymore these days? You don't. If you didn't dig into it, you'd be forgiven if you thought that 24hr MTB events were dead.
And that will happen with gravel racing someday too.
Someday- but not today! Now we have what I am calling "The Golden Age of Gravel". It probably will not get any 'better' than it is right now. Not in terms of events. Not in terms of participation. Not in terms of industry support and innovation. This is peak gravel, and the post-pandemic wave of enthusiasm will fill the sails of gravel popularity through the next few years. What then? I don't know.
6 comments:
When it comes to gravel events or the appropriation (sp) of the name, just walk down the potato chip aisle of any grocery. Oh wait, now the aisle is called Chips or Snacks, but the store still contains a candy aisle. So many products that are not even potato or chips. My favorite has to be "plant based chips"?? What is next and how long this gravel thing will go will be obvious when folks refuse these oddly named hard to pronouce brands/models over the big 3 component brands.
You mention the 24 hour MTB events. Can you imagine how the Crit racers felt after finally making waves on video and print media headlines. Then the world was like: "NOPE!- No more mutants, Yall gonna need to distance. How about gravel, flat land bmx, rollerblading, self expressive dancing". Now it seems the world is closing the gates on outside in the outdoors because folks have discovered it accessible by bicycle. I think Crit and small road events will make a return. BMX race classes for the older folks (cruiser class) are having more participants then normal registered.
Huge dollops of my opinion follow: Maybe what drew/draws people to gravel is an unattended canvas. Now we are in that phase where people are "pushing" boundaries while others like UCI want to standardize it. Gravel will survive regardless. The OG Tour De Frances were pretty much gravel. My point is, races will come and go. Racing formats will come and go. Without a creative Race Director and offering something different, events will go stale. Some want a boxed solution, others want unconventional.
i think at least in the midwest (and other areas where there is lots of easily accessible gravel roads) there's a good chance gravel riding's popularity will continue to grow, for a few reasons. One is that more entry level type/price bikes are made for it (current wonky pandemic supply & demand issues aside...) as opposed to several years ago. Another is that there's just so much of it in this region...always something new/different to see and ride without driving far. And lastly, cell phones. Meaning distracted drivers are also one big reason I largely avoid paved roads when possible. I don't come across many vehicles out on the gravels, and when I do, they almost always give a wide berth, slow down, and wave. Maybe the "biggest events" that require a lot of travel for most participants will jump the shark before long, but I'd think / hope that smaller grass roots events will continue to pop up, grow, and thrive.
Clearly the next big thing that's already a thing but gets no attention will be Randonneuring events. Rando bikes will come back! The big manufacturers will spec bikes with quill stems and big front bags and dynamo lights.
One question not addressed, what is the future of gravel roads? I don't see them disappearing anytime soon, but where I live, the distance to access gravel keeps growing as roads near the edge of town get paved over for new business or housing developments. That could facilitate a decline in the number of gravel riders and/or events.
@Carson - Great question. I think it has a lot to do with where you live. Bigger urban areas will be more susceptible to 'urban sprawl', but at some point, when does that concept begin to implode upon itself?
For instance, there already is a movement within big urban areas for the concept of self-sufficient neighborhoods. This is in reaction to how many younger folks are ditching the car and relying upon e-bikes, e-scooters, walking, and other forms of "micro-mobility". City planners are moving toward prioritizing alternative forms of support for transportation. Road building has proven to induce demand, not alleviate it.
As with anything, this ship will take a long time to pivot, but with changes to electrification of automobiles, rising prices, and aging ICE fleets which will not be supported in the near future, I see a big reaction against this- not due to environmental concerns, but based on costs. The vehicles will be prohibitively expensive, hard to maintain, (more proprietary parts/systems, higher maintenance costs, heavier vehicles wearing out tires and brakes more quickly), and therefore will be less attractive to younger folks and the lower middle class/poor. The solution? Don't build more roads, sell less cars, and make more micro-mobility more accessible for urban areas.
All that should- at some point- cut down on our voracious appetite for spreading out. (And this has nothing to say about urban center rot, which needs to be addressed urgently) Due to those factors, I see gravel/dirt back roads staying at a level which should keep us country riders busy for a lifetime.
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