Gravel racing is a rapidly growing field whose attraction is its focus on restoring the unsullied, authentic essence of bike racing before big money, ego and status permeated it. Cynics will say “You can’t go home again,” and they may be right. But at mile 81 of the Almanzo last week, my inner curmudgeon went quiet and I could see the race for what it was. Shouldering my bike and fording the second of two icy streams, I realized that a genuine love of the sport pervaded the entire event, from the welcome packet to the course design. Almanzo’s organizers don’t proselytize, but they have a clear vision of what bike racing has lost, and what it can become. Being able to take part in that vision was an enormous privilege.
Read the rest of this review over at Rouleurville.