There’s a new addition to the #StoryOfMyBike series of videos on RIDE Media’s YouTube channel. Have a look at the custom painted Cervélo Caledonia that Jennifer Kay has created for what she calls ‘Champagne Gravel’ riding…

 

– A video by Rob Arnold

 

 

“I came to cycling through road,” says Jennifer Kay when explaining her bike collection. “I went directly into cross-country mountain biking. And now I’m edging back towards road in this sweet little middle ground which is gravel off-road adventure bikes.”

She has told the story of her bike before, but that was a rim brake Specialized Tarmac that was customised with a pink paint scheme, complete with inclusion of gold leaf in the graphics on the frame.

For her second #StoryOfMyBike, Jennifer talks us through the reasons why she has used a Cervélo Caledonia frame for her ‘Champagne Gravel’ adventures.

“Champagne Gravel is like princess gravel,” she says by way of explanation of a genre in cycling that she enjoys doing. “It’s a type of gravel that everyone wants to ride on – so it’s soft… well, when I say ‘soft’, I mean it’s hard.”

She laughs while trying to find the words to articulate the idea that the gravel is hard but the riding is relatively soft, certainly in comparison to some of the extreme riding that you can do thanks to this exciting new-wave of cycling that has blossomed in recent years.

“It’s not too loose. It’s in the bush somewhere. It doesn’t have huge ruts or corrugations. And it is generally pleasant to ride… because,” she concludes, “no one has to prove anything to anyone.”

 

Her bike spec includes 32mm Panaracer Gravelking tyres, that are about as large as she could get and still fit in the Caledonia frame. There are also gravel-specific handlebars from Profile Designs and Shimano’s GRX groupset, complete with SPD pedals.

 

Click ‘play’ and find out more about Jennifer’s cycling and the bike she’s riding when she wants a little more adventure than what a traditional road bike offers.

 

– Video by Rob Arnold

 

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