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gravel rides lake district. andrew barlow. vertebrate publishing paperback 102pp illus. £15.95
i have been at the forefront of offering disdain for the current fascination with all things gravel, a genre that provides, for me at least, more questions than answers. and author of this particular publication, andrew barlow, has, perhaps unwittingly, added yet another couple of questions to the list. firstly, in his introduction to the book, he states, "Gravel riding has boomed in the last couple of decades, following its revival in the early 2000s in America." i like to think of myself as well-versed in the intricacies of velocipedinal life, but i know not of the revival of which he writes.
i'm afraid i am blissfully unaware of any gravel riding paradigm that existed prior to the current one, unless he has somehow confused cross country mountain biking with that of gravel? in 2007, at the behest of daniel wakefield pasley, and supported by chris king components and continental tyres, rapha america fostered the compulsive adventures of the rapha continental which saw a group of riders traverse lengthy stretches of american gravel aboard handbuilt steel road bikes riding on 28mm road tyres. to the best of my knowledge, the rise of the gravel meme only took place subsequent to this gravel initiative.
i'm really not sure that gravel, in its current sense, has been with us for more than the last twelve or 13 years. two decades seems a bit of a stretch. unless he refers to the rough stuff fellowship.
the second question that raises its ugly head, concerns the tyres employed in the pursuit of ultimate gravel. according to the author, writing under the heading of 'the bike', he states, "...my Salsa Fargo allows me to fit up to a 3-inch (75 millimetre) tyre, allowing me to have a slow but super-plush ride." tyre widths such as that suggested is surely more the province of mountain bike riders, suggesting that mr barlow and those he seeks to enthuse, might be better aboard something other than a gravel bike. and since mountain bikes have been around considerably longer than so-called gravel bikes, i believe a point may have been missed somewhere along the line.
though admittedly riding on the road, yesterday's bike ride to and from port ellen distillery aboard a specialized crux cyclocross bike, fitted with 33mm challenge grifo tyres, was hard enough on such rubber; the thought of riding 75mm scarcely bears thinking about. and his contention that these lake district rides can be ridden aboard, "...any half decent gravel bike" is somewhat undermined by his later statement, "Extremely efficient gearing is important when riding in the Lake District", advising that he runs a smallest gear of 30/42t, where we really are in mountain biking territory.
i am, of course, leaning very heavily towards cynicism with these comments, none of which bear any disparagement of the routes included. there is indeed great joy to be gained from riding gravel, particularly over parcours that have been curated for your personal delectation. how long this particular reinvention of the wheel continues to hold the mindset of the many remains to be seen, but presumably only as long as it takes the industry to 'invent' the next big thing.
mr barlow's book of 15 lake district gravel rides is, however, well intentioned and well organised, commencing as it does with advice on rights of way, a brief appraisal of bikepacking, and a reasonably comprehensive list of items you may wish to consider as necessary augmentation, both mechanical and apparel wise. this precedes section one: 'easy routes', followed by 'straightforward' and 'challenging routes'.
this pocket sized volume features a minimal, yet informed layout for each ride, commencing with the overall distance in both imperial and metric, a written introduction set above a graphic displaying the ride profile along with map references and other pertinent documentation. this is followed with the route overlaid on an ordnance survey map, step by step directions and several quality images from the ride. nearby bike and coffee shops are also highlighted. the culmination of this gravel crescendo is a 270km ride, wending its circular way north from the start in kendal.
opening gambit aside, this is a welcome addition to the growing number of books featuring gravel rides across various parts of the uk. pocket-sized in format, it slips easily into a jersey pocket of perhaps a chest pocket within your gravel-specific waterproof jacket. if gravel is something to which you are in thrall, your next holiday is already taken care of.
wednesday 20 march 2024
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