The cycling industry loves a new category, it loves buzzwords, it loves reinventing the wheel (figuratively and literally).
Gravel is all of these things, but the name has picked up traction, has staunch defenders of the genre, newcomers, and those set against it.
Gravel cycling amongst other categories and sub categories of both cycling and the niche itself, is riding bikes that look like bikes on, and off road.
My first real foray into cycling, away from nailing around grotty suburban woodland on a british eagle “mountain bike” with canti’s and drop bars, was on a budget crosser, effectively mountain biking on skinny tyres and again, drop bars. This is forever making me channel my inner John Tomac, but never quite achieving it.
Following a short stint of only riding road, I turned my back completely on drop bars and rode only mountain bikes for over a decade.
Enough of the this is your life crap, why am I mentioning this? Simply put, when I had my first crosser, and mountain bike, they both had non existent brakes, steep head angles and problematic gearing, either ratios or equipment. Gravel bikes make sense now, it’s a mountain bike (fun), with drop bars (comfortable) and working brakes (useful).
To me, and I don’t think I’m alone in this, I ride Gravel/Gravel bikes because it’s mountain biking with small compromise, and it extends your range. I enjoy being underbiked on the rat runs through the forests and mountains. I like swooping down dedicated mountain bike trails on the drops. I like that I don’t have to fanny around with suspension maintenance. I like that it’s my old crosser, but the brakes work and it’s comfy.
With all that said, below you’ll find a couple of Gravel routes in and around the Peak District, that have churny tarmac bits to link up chunky, techy and/or gravelly sections.
The kit also reflects how, where and why I ride Gravel so much, so if any of this resonates with you, have a read through, you might find something that works for me works for you too.
