We are highlighting the places customers have gone (or are going) on their Velo Studio bikes, in their own words.

Friend and founding member of the STBG Cyclocross Team, Alex shares her new found love of gravel.

When I sat down to write this, I intended to write about our recent trip to Kenya and our mountain bike adventures through forests in Nairobi and tea fields in Limuru. I’ve always run on vacation and toured the streets in the early morning on foot. It was incredible to be off the roads, away from traffic, exploring such different landscape on bikes. 

But my favorite adventures, though not as flashy as Kenya, are had on my Focus Mares, Rosencrantz.

My true bike love. Rose and I have completed Rasputitsa 3 times together and are heading up for our fourth time this April. Rose is steady and true through the gravel, mud or snow or rain, and great on the climbs. Even more important to me is that she brakes like a champ on the descents! (disc brakes are my favorite invention)

We’ve got a few other epic rides planned for this year including Ronde de Rosey, Raid Rockingham, and Vermont Overland. And between the big organized events, we’ll hit the beach road in Duxbury and the gravel trails in Plymouth with friends a whole bunch of times – and these are some of the most fun gravel / mixed terrain adventures.

And then in the fall, Rose and I will be completely happy to race some cyclocross. I drop the saddle just a bit lower and otherwise, the same set up is fine for me for long gravel rides and CX races. Last season Rose and I tried a couple of single speed races. We have developed quite a fondness for a sturdy zip-tie, so this season will definitely have a bunch more single speed CX adventures.

Name: Alex Carleton
Adventure: Gravel, gravel and more gravel
Ride: Focus Mares AX