A cool documentary from Pearl Izumi Films about gravel riding’s growth and increasing popularity called “Gravel – A Love Letter” has debuted to acclaim.
Gravel features Pearl Izumi athletes Hannah Shell, Marley Blonsky and Angela Naeth. The film explores the origins of gravel racing and the impact it has on the communities and people’s lives it touches. Pearl Izumi Films spans a range from tutorials to documentaries.
Gravel riding, also known as gravel biking or just gravel, is nothing new. Many of us grew up riding whatever bikes we had at the time on gravel roads, along with asphalt, sidewalks and the occasional yard, ditch and maybe a flower bed if you weren’t paying attention. I learned to ride on crushed limestone rock in our then-unpaved driveway. Lessons, man, along with skinned knees, elbows and other body parts. You learn quickly when the risk increases of digging out gravel.
As I got older and moved from my “dirt bike” bicycle to a 10-speed, my gravel-dirt adrenaline fix then came from a Yamaha MX-80 motorcycle. I rode that 10-speed all over my small town and loved it. But I never gave up on my cruddy, undersized dirt bike and still, from time to time, would ride with friends in the woods. We had a fun trail in a pine thicket, complete with jumps and so forth. Today, it’s a subdivision. The memories remain, though.
Gravel – A Love Letter hits some of those nerves. We hope you enjoy the film.
