How did “Gravel” blossom into a healthy category of cycling with a full schedule of local (and national) events, specific bikes and gear, and it’s own unique culture?
While there are multiple pathways to the popularity of gravel, some of the roots can be found in road bike group rides of the late 80’s and 90’s in Kansas City (and nearby).
We are sure there are many parallel stories of road riders exploring unpaved roads around the world, but parts of the scene in KC had a significant and lasting effect.
The Special Section.
The Maxine’s Ride was a regular Sunday training ride primarily populated by racers, ex-racers, and shop employees. Some were riding as part of a specific training plan. Some for the social aspects. The ride was generally 3.5-4 hours of riding time. Often longer. The ride took its name from a diner at 31st and Benton on Kansas City’s East Side: Maxine’s Fine Food.
The ride did not start at Maxine’s.
The group rode to the diner. Usually an hour of faster paced/tempo and maybe a sprint point before arriving. For those that used the ride as ‘training’ it was determined that it would be more productive to focus on endurance rather than a multiple hour hammer session (as previous Sunday rides had become). We won’t go into the accuracy of the science here, but it was decided that after that initial hour of faster riding, the group would stop for breakfast. We will mention that the breakfast and hospitality of Maxine’s was a delight. Fresh biscuits and literally rubbing elbows with Super Bowl ring wearing Otis Taylor made the fuel stop very special.
After breakfast, it was time for the endurance part of the ride. Low heart rate, easy zone riding. Exploring.
Even with good conversation, the group, no doubt like others, looked for stimulus to make the saddle time more interesting. The Special Section became a focus.
The concept, partially borrowed from automobile Rally racing and the secteurs of pave at Paris-Roubaix, was to find a difficult (or maybe just wrong) segment. Wrong in that the section would often challenge the rider and the equipment used: Road racing bikes, generally steel, gearing of 53/39 chainrings with a 12-25 rear, and 23mm tires. Urban sections initially involved brick streets and rough pavement.
Some in the group were veteran riders that knew all the obscure alleys, abandoned or near-abandoned roads in the metro. Some in the group were avid mountain bike racers. Before KC’s many mountain bike trails had been developed into today’s extensive system, there were pieces and parts to be explored. Several regulars in the group used USGS maps in this pre-internet time to scout out routes. A love of Kansas City history motivated the riding.
Very Special Sections were found.
From the Village of Birmingham, MO, the remnants of a once public road, a piece of the still in existence Birmingham Road, ran North for a little over 5 kilometers. A challenging mix of rutted dirt and sand, sometimes with standing water. A rough uphill finish with limited lines. This became a classic for the Maxine’s ride and was often paired with other gravel sections near Liberty and Glenaire.
The remains of the rail bed and early West Side single track at Minor Park. Now a part of the BURP system, this was a staple of early mountain biking in Kansas City. There were occasions when a paceline of road bikes would casually mention to mountain bikers that they were passing on the left…to astounded looks.
Railroad service roads. In the pre-911 world, the extensive dirt/gravel service roads along the rail lines throughout the city were fair game. Along the Kaw heading West from the KCK yards towards Holiday Drive was a favorite. That eventually changed, including an incident when the entire group came close to being arrested for trespass, but was let off with a stern warning.
Other delights. Hidden Valley Park, Frisbie Road, Line Creek, and North River Road, offered up sketchy fun. An interesting note is that a fair amount of today’s multi-use trails are built on former off-road tracks.
Super Special Rides.
On Holidays the group might choose a destination ride, point to point, often to a finish in Central Missouri. At 100 miles or more these routes took on some characteristics of the modern version of gravel riding. The Special Sections (gravel or dirt) stretched 5 to 20 miles in length. Often multiples. Some of the roads that were utilized then are utilized by organized rides today.
But the overall mindset of the Maxine’s ride was these were ‘road’ rides. The rough stuff was just a fun interlude. While some of the riders owned cyclocross bicycles, they were not considered the best tool for these.
Let’s emphasize, this was not the only group during that time period to explore broken pavement, dirt, or gravel on road bikes, but it was a regular group. While there is a healthy list of alumni from the Maxine’s ride, none have been more influential to the development of gravel riding than Joel Dyke.
We’re sure many things contributed to Joel’s vision of the ride that he co-founded and became today’s Unbound Gravel, but the Special Sections of the Sunday group rides were no doubt a factor. It’s an item for another story, but Joel and a number of the Maxine’s regulars discovered the Flint Hills Death Ride during this time period. While the Death Ride was billed as a ‘mountain bike’ event, it’s influence on Joel and others who had been exploring unpaved roads was immense.