I have tried since the Summer events finished to put into words the transformations I have watched happen. The moments of sorrow, defeat, joy and everything in between. We came into 2025 a team of individuals with lots of personality. Everyone wanted to be a team but what did that mean? The most common question …
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What’s holding you back?
What’s holding you back? It’s a question that popped up when I considered tackling the half double challenge at Gravel Worlds. Simple, yet it left me stumped. The usual culprits—finding time to train, building strength, and wondering what 16 miles on foot would feel like, followed by 75 miles on the bike—had me feeling like …
A weekend I will never forget
Training for a long distance race is no easy feat, and when it comes to the Unbound Gravel, there is no room for shortcuts. As a cyclist, I have always been drawn to challenging myself and pushing my limits, which is why I decided to take on the Unbound Gravel event again this year. I …
Trains, bikes and bears
As avid cyclists, we are always on the lookout for new places to explore on two wheels. And when we heard about the opportunity to take our bikes on the Amtrak train to West Glacier, we knew we had to try it. It’s not every day that one gets to combine train travel with biking …
There is so much more than a podium.
Unbound…..It is special to so many people. If 3900 people ride through the Flint Hills the first weekend after Memorial Day I suspect that there are 3900 different experiences. Everyone has different expectations, dreams and realities that happen on that day. This is my sixth time doing Unbound. Each course, temperature, time and group I …
What have I gotten myself into?
We all ask that question at some point throughout the day. A wise friend once told me “whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, either way you are right!” Title: Mental Preparation for: Conquering Your First Event Participating in any off road event can be a thrilling and challenging experience. It’s especially …
Can you count on you?
We spend all of our time trying to impress those that really don’t care. Yep, I said it! We spend time trying to impress those on social media that don’t care what we do or who we really are. They only know us through the strong filter we put on our life as we add …
Gravel Gals Gone WI-ld
Everyone needs friends that they can say…”That sounds like a bad adventure, let’s go!” We didn’t find one friend, we found five. The weather forecast changed daily and not always for the better. When myself and four fellow Gravel Gals of Eliel left home we knew that it would be cold the night before we …
Perception and the Plan
We all have them…sometimes our perceptions are right and sometimes, well most of the time, they are not. In March of this year we were finishing dinner after Mid South with friends. Upon standing up Mirna said “I think you need to come to Africa with me”. All we could say through the laughter was …
What is Gravel?
What is gravel to me…I was recently asked that and had to think for a second. Yes, gravel is an aggregate that many states use as a road surface. Truly that is what it is to most people. But to me, it is a way to find adventure on two wheels. It is the surface …
Crystal Kovacs 