Loveletter to Gravelcycling (1year Retroview)

Today It has been one year since I started Gravel Cycling.

Usually dont post anything, sorry its gonna be long. Ive put everything into Segments if you wanna skip to something specific:

1) about the pics

2) Stats

3) Journey & Experience (the actual "Letter")

1) it was hard choosing just 10pics from the hundreds I made.

The first one is one of the very firsts. The second was taken shortly before this anniversary and shows how the bike looks after all the changes.

I did paint the frame myself and failed. Although i do like the top and headtube doodles. What do you think?

2)

Total KM: 8425 (average km/Week is about 162km but this started smaller and increased over the year)

Total Elevation: 132.700m (so 1575m/100km on average)

Longest Tour: 186km (1338m Elevation)

Most Elevation in one Tour: 1940m (109km)

Terrain: 50/50 Road/Offroad (had to guess this, but most of my tours are evenly split in this regard)

3) Prior to Gravel I only did MTB for a year, not intensely, but regularly (like 1,5 times per week). Before that I didnt do any Sport, just because nothing ever hooked me beyond the get-to-know phase. From deep winter to insanely hot temperatures, I never skipped a week and always did at least 2 rides.

But I feel like I fell in love with a sport for the first time. And in this time, there were many smaller first-times. From going tubeless to completely wearing out a chain, having the first multi-day Trip, the first century (both metric, then imp), the list could go on and on…there simply always is something to get excited about! Its also the first sport I actually feel like I dont suck at, or at least only a little.

Gravel (for me) is Adventure and Meditation. It is beautiful landscapes and a stop at a coffee shop. It is fast road descents, empty stretches of farm roads and some flowy MTB Singletracks. It is riding in mud, snow, rain, dusty dry heat and Walking through hip-high rivers. I got to know so many places that I didnt know even though they were (somewhat) close to me.