I’ve worked with a lot of race directors over the years.
Different regions. Different disciplines. Different goals. But one thing always stands out to me the moment I show up on race day: Every race has a personality.
You can feel it before the start. Some races feel more grassroots and raw. Others feel polished, sleek, and fast. Some are quiet and community-driven. Others feel like a full-on festival or party.
However, there is a problem.
Too often, races don’t translate that personality to social media.
What better way to welcome a New Year than a gravel ride that included brewing coffee outside with our new travel pouches? That’s exactly what we did on January 1st. It was cold, drizzly, foggy, muddy, and the perfect weather to ride and test drive our new travel pouches. Here’s what happened …
I’m always looking for different ways to brew coffee, whether at home, on the trail, or on a gravel road. When I go gravel riding, I usually bring along a different way to brew coffee. Why? I’m not only trying to dial in my favorite, but I like using other brew methods.
I suppose there’s no such thing as my “favorite” way to brew coffee as I love mixing things up. Maybe what I’m looking for is the most convenient? Simplist? Easiest?
As much as I love riding my mountain bike on trails, I have to admit I equally love exploring the backroads on my gravel bike. Every now and then, when I get bored riding the same local and regional trails, I’ll switch it up to ride the endless ribbons of gravel roads around Oregon and Washington. At the same time, I’ve been experimenting with different brew methods while gravel riding. That brings me to the Ortlieb collapsible coffee dripper.
Like you, I love hand-built trails with tabletops and bermed corners. Gravity-fed flow trails are one of the wonders of the world. And so, I regularly hit the same trail systems repeatedly. But with gravel, whole new worlds open to me that I don’t see or miss by riding on enclosed trail systems. Oregon is packed with endless miles of gravel or dirt roads that take you on adventures that leave you whoopin’ and hollerin’.
One of the topics I want to hear more about is thinking through more sustainable ways to access trail systems than simply driving. No, I am not anti-car or anything like that. I sometimes think about the absurdity of endless shuttled runs and all of the gas wasted, time wasted, and of course, CO2 emissions emitted. Maybe that is why I have been thinking of gravel riding a lot more of late.
