Safe cycling

​What is the single greatest reason to get a Gravel Bike? Distracted Drivers!

​It happens far too frequently. You see drivers tip-tapping away on their iPhones behind the steering wheel.  Cyclists are incredibly vulnerable when sharing the road with drivers. That vulnerability skyrockets when drivers are looking at their phones, and not us. And it's not just talking on the iPhone that endangers cyclists. It's texting. And Instagram. And Spotify. And email. Some studies have concluded that 60% of drivers use their phone from time to time while behind the wheel. I've even seen that number raise to 70% in other studies. Those are scary numbers. So what's the answer?

Well, for me, the answer is to minimize (if not eliminate) my time riding a bike on paved roads. Admittedly, I still love road cycling, so you will see me riding up and down local canyons on my carbon Cannondale Synapse. But wherever possible, I have tried to ride on the pavement TO dirt roads where the bulk of my riding will be on gravel. I figure that the more I can decrease my time on pavement, the more I am decreasing the likelihood that a distracted driver barrels into me.

So maybe gravel bikes . . . really . . . are . . . the . . . . answer!