This week’s last ride marked an important milestone for me. I’ve ridden over 1000 km on my gravel bike since last year. Except for the difficult conditions of Munich in the winter times, I was on it once every two weeks on average. During this time, I enjoyed many things; routes, rural side of the city, summer and winter conditions, sceneries of the Alps, healthy routine, and doing regular sports. It gave me a satisfying tiredness at the end of each ride and helped me to refresh my body, thoughts, and mood as well.

Strava showing over 1000 km ridden

Passing 1000 km on Strava.

My first day on the gravel bike

The first day with my gravel bike.

Gravel was a new category for me. I had been riding a road bike in the past and did not know much about gravel. Last year, when I was going to buy a new bike but could not decide where to ride, whether on the roads, or in the beautiful parks of Munich, and also I could not decide about the maintenance costs of a road bike due to more sensitive wheels, I’ve considered gravel. Its geometry looked similar to road and the tyres were ok for both going on dirt roads and asphalt, I wanted to try it.

Gravel looks like a road bike, but it is very different in many aspects. First of all, the most similar part is its body at first look. However, it’s also different. Gravel bikes have shorter body length and also a taller head tube compared to road bikes. It means that on the same size gravel and road bikes of the same brand, gravel rider stands more upright while road bike rider leans more forward and stands more parallel to the ground. The other point is gearing. Gravel bikes usually come with wider and easier gearing that helps the rider while climbing uphill, and also riding on the asphalt with small or no slopes. Gravel can easily climb and also go fast. The other point is tyres. Usually they come with all round tyres which are wide, with a smooth center that rolls reasonably well on the asphalt while it has a very good grip on dirt roads.

Taking a break during a gravel ride

Taking a break along the way.

Gravel trail along a river

Out exploring the routes around Munich.

Gravel also gives you the comfort of mind about the durability. There are almost always bike lanes on the roads. However, they are not always in as good condition as asphalt, and I have many times seen that road bike cyclists ride on the roads instead of the bike lanes. On the other hand, gravel bikes don’t make it a big problem for you.

I’ve been riding on many different routes. I almost always go out with a plan, mostly using Komoot to plan my ride and follow that, but when I feel that I will discover something then I immediately change my direction, or when I don’t like the road I’m cycling on.

While most of my routes are in fact on roads, it is very comfortable to go in and out of parks, dirt roads, and even sometimes very narrow grass paths. Gravel gives you the freedom of being spontaneous on the road and enjoying the scenery that you did not even think of. I’ve ridden many routes around Munich, from city to Starnberger round trips, Ammersee, south of Munich, Dachau, in the direction of the airport and so on, in every direction. I’ve completed many round trips where the longest one was 80 km so far. It was also one of the fastest rides, since most of it was outside the city without traffic and traffic lights, my average speed increased.

View of the Alps from a gravel ride

Scenery of the Alps on a ride south of Munich.

However, there is only one downside of a gravel for me and that’s the speed. No matter how fast I’m going I feel I’m slow. Probably with the impact of e-bikes I sometimes feel I’m behind and that makes me miss a road bike. This is a cost of all other advantages of a gravel bike and my trade off is so far on the gravel side since there are many adventures and discoveries that I plan with gravel trails. Beyond that I have never had a chance to use other capabilities of a gravel such as camping or making multi day trips.

Riding a gravel trail in autumn

An autumn ride on the trails.

Looking back at these 1000 km, gravel gave me an experience I’d never had before. It gave me a sustainable routine, the feeling of being pleasantly exhausted after a long ride, and the way it cleared my head and lifted my mood every time. Gravel took me through parks, lakes, and agricultural areas I’d never have seen otherwise. There’s still a lot I haven’t tried, and I’m looking forward to it.