Gravel Events And Thinking Outside The Box

Who said you had to have number plates, timing, or categories?

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

Recently, a "Velo News" article authored by Betsy Welch came across my radar here and some folks in the gravel cycling community were marking it as a 'good read'. So, I took a gander. 

I had to stop a minute at one point, because there was a huge assumption made which the rest of her veiwpoint pivoted on. Points which I do not agree with, and I think her take is a bit too far up inside a "box" that defines an entire world of traditional cycling events. Points which many folks assume are true, even when there is ample evidence at hand which points outside that box in terms of gravel and back road events. 

Here is the quote first:

" Not only must event organizers provide a worthwhile experience for professional athletes, but the races should be challenging for age groupers, non-intimidating for newer cyclists, and fun for the party in the back. Add in affordability and priority given to underserved populations, and that’s a lot to put on one plate. "

What is ironic to note is that the context here is that new event promoters have a lot to learn from past promoters. I think that had the author spent some time digging into the history of gravel and back road events, that this quoted paragraph would have looked a lot different than it does. 

There are many assumptions made about what constitutes an "event" here. What says "event organizers (must) provide a worthwhile experience for professional athletes'? Sheesh! It would seem as though you cannot even have a gravel event without professional athletes.  Hmm.....we must not have gotten the memo here in the 2000's when we were running our gravel events here. 

GT at the 2011 CIRREM event- Was it an event if we had no Pro racers?

Okay, so maybe the author is not being 100% inclusive of all types of gravel events. That could be. But whatever. The next point was one concerning challenge, non-intimidation for newer cyclists, and about fun for all. 

Challenge is up to the promoter, and it can be "intimidating", because if it is not intimidating, is it a challenge? I mean, that's kind of a prerequisite for something to be a "challenge". It has to 'push your boundaries' and that is, in fact, a bit intimidating. What makes the experience so enriching is finding out you can overcome the challenge, go beyond what your preconceived notions about what your limits were, and then NOT be intimidated anymore. 

The experience of doing the thing- the challenge- is what brings about the overcoming of those feelings of intimidation. (Amongst other good things) Besides, there are more than one kind of gravel/back road events today. Newer cyclists and experienced cyclists have a plethora of event types to choose from, many of which do not even have Pro racers at them, (which in itself can be intimidating in a negative way) with varying distances and terrain types. I figure that there has to be around 650-700 events on back roads and gravel these days. Surely you can find something without looking all that hard to do that is acceptably challenging and fun.

Oh yeah, the fun factor. A lot of that is inside the individual rider. You bring it with you. Promoters can (and often do) provide the venue and the means, but if you bring a crap attitude, well, then who is at fault there if you didn't have any fun? And again- pick yer poison- carefully. Research the event. Most events are not happening in social media vacuums anymore. All that you need to know can be found out in ten minutes of internet searching. 

Almanzo 100 2018: Affordability? How about free entry, free food, and free fun?

Now on to affordability. This is one near and dear to my heart, because as you all know who regularly read this blog, I have run several events for well over a decade which had zero entry fee. Nada. None. 

Is that "affordable"? 

Maybe it is, but here's what I think now, and it also ties into the "under-served communities" as well. Don't stop at free entry. Go further. Bring those people to the event for free, lodge them for free, and take them back home again, for free. That's breaking down barriers. Especially today when we have high gas prices, high food and lodging prices, and people are just barely keeping their heads above water. Find those folks who may want to try out a back road event,and don't make them pay a thing. The big, high priced events could have this service for sure. But again- sometimes you are best going to the under-served. Put on a back-alley event. Make it comfortable for them, close to home as possible. 

And of course, all that is predicated on individuals wanting to do this. I can knock on a thousand doors, but until someone wants what I offer, I am simply wasting time. Not everyone wants to do gravel. And that's okay.....

Which brings me to my final take on the article, which is the overriding idea put forth that these gravel events have to cater to everybody. Says who? While events like the Mid-South are lauded for how the event director treats everyone the same, there is only so much of "Bobby Wintle" to go around, ya know? Someday he is going to reach his limit, and then what?  Hinging any event's success on being all things to all people is not necessarily a good thing. 

Maybe catering to specific groups would be better. An all women's ride. Why not? Have a gravel event exclusively for LGBTQ+ folks. Again- why not. Sometimes folks just want to be with their "tribe". Gravel events could do well to cater to that desire. You don't have to be all things to all people, and maybe that should be where these bigger events go with their satellite events. 

 Have gravel event promoters got a lot to learn and a lot to think about? Yes! Without a doubt they do. However; reading that article I was left with vision so narrowly focused that it reminded me of why many of us promoted gravel and back road events in the first place- To get outside the box many were in regarding how to do events in the first place. Just remember- You don't have to do a gravel event to please everyone, or in any certain way. That's what made gravel events attractive for the first 17 years of this modern day gravel thing. Let's not codify how a gravel event is done now. Keep it weird, keep it fun, and you do you.