Getting in to riding gravel

[north woods gal]

Oh, yes, anyone who rides gravel knows about the Dity Kanza. Oh, I could ride those roads, alright. We actually have some roads up here that are probably even more treacherous, as in deeply rutted and sandy logging roads. Ride that far in that allotted time, though? Ha! Not a chance, even if I had a week to do it.

The light grip thing is correct, basically the same as mountain biking on rough trails. Basic mountain biking 101. Loose grip, weight up off the seat, lots of flex in the knees and elbows. Same for learning how to handle fishtailing. Not to worry. Fishtailing feels a lot spookier than anything actually dangerous. Just tends to freak you out at first, if you've done all your riding on pavement. Mostly a matter of learning to recognize those soft spots spots and avoiding them. Believe it or not, I actually practice how to handle fishtailing on a very soft and sandy section of gravel in our area. Kind of fun, but, then, I'm also a hardcore mountain biker, now.

To clip in or go flat pedals is totally a personal preference, despite some claims that clipping in has a big performance advantage. That is not supported by actual testing, but since a lot of gravel riders are coming from the road bike world where clipping in is almost a religion, you'll get some very strong opinions. Mountain bikers coming in to the gravel riding scene, on the other hand, are much more likely to be using flat pedals. That's me. A quality flat pedal with pins will give you all the grip you will ever need. Not talking about the cheap recreational platform pedals, here. Talking about a flat pedal with removable and replaceable pins. Here's one of my favorites, https://xpedo.com/product/pedals/spry/https://xpedo.com/product/pedals/spry/ Have them on several bikes.

One of the big advantages of going flat pedals when riding in remote areas is that you can use them with any kind of shoe, especially walking shoes, or jogging shoes or even light hikers. In the event of a breakdown, where you have to walk out, you've got the shoes to do it. Clipless road bike shoes are usually overly stiff and not made for a lot of walking, especially on gravel, not to mention that they are expensive. A long walk out with clipless shoes is NOT fun. (Been there, done it.) For my summer riding, I usually ride with conventional tennis shoes, same shoes I use for light hiking and walking. In winter, I even use insulated pack boots or insulated hikers. All done on the same flat pedals.

Again, not telling you which to use. I use only flat pedals for all my riding, but that's me. I'm a firm believer in figuring out what works best for you, personally, and not what someone else feels is best for you. Okay?