Hi, my name is Adrian and I'm...interested in gravel racing. It feels kinda good to get it off my chest, but it still feels so dirty to write.
I still love the road, and I still don't fully trust dirt, but the fact is that every time I ride my CX bike on groomed trails and gravel, I have more fun than just about any other time on a bike. And I did a couple of CX races at the end of the 2019 season that back up both sides of my conflicting opinions on the matter.
On Saturday, December 7, I raced a 4/5 event on mostly grass with huge long straights and came from just about DFL (34th) to 5th, about 8 seconds from the leaders. The course catered to my strengths and wasn't sloppy wet. The very next day I made it about 8 minutes into a 4/5 race before the front wheel washed out on icy grass and I broke a rib. AGAIN (that's 3 now!).
So...I kinda still hate 'cross, but I kinda really want to use my endurance fitness and put it toward something more adventurous than just a frenetic peloton.
That said, I'm probably also going to be chasing the same goals I chased last year: the VA Cycling BAR. I managed to lock up the Cat 3 Omnium, but missing the 2019 Cat 3 BAR by 0.5 points really stuck in my craw. Because chasing that damned goal took a lot of the joy out of this sport, and I was really looking forward to dropping that level of intensity and focus for 2020.
Gravel might give me that chance.
So my thought is pretty simple: go after the BAR, and if things aren't looking hot after the first couple of events, shift the focus to gravel, drop crits, and start running again. That way maybe I end up wanting to do a tri (gross) or I actually end up looking forward to a season of CX. And since it's a condensed season, that might have appeal to my better half, too.
Meanwhile I gotta get this rib to fully heal and find my next unicorn: an ideal gravel wheelset for my QR CX bike.
Lots of excitement planned for the year! I hope I can find time to actually enjoy all of it!
