Gravel Union, as the name suggests, is all about gravel riding. Or at least mainly about gravel riding – we also feature adventure riding and bikepacking too of course. So, if we focus mainly on drop bar away-from-the-road riding, you might wonder what the relevance of this story is? Gravel riders come from a range of different riding backgrounds – some of you reading this may well have come straight into the gravelly world, but others will have come from road or MTB. If you’ve got even a vague love for riding bikes with knobblier tyres, then we think you will approve.

If you’ve been following Gravel Union for a while, you might well have read articles by Jo Burt or seen stories which feature his amazing photographs. What you won’t have seen here however are any of his illustrations. Jo is well known to followers of the UK MTB scene as the creator of Mint Sauce – a cartoon mountain biking sheep which first appeared way back in 1988. Each episode of the cartoon strip, which appear in a print magazine called MBUK, feature the adventures of Mint and a small gang of riding buddies, but the focus of the monthly strip isn’t just about the riding. 

As Jo says in one of the sections of the book “Mint has always been about gently immersing yourself within the landscape and experiencing all of what that may bring. Mud, brambles, rain, the odd glimpse of sunshine, roots, nettles, and very immovable trees. And a necessary stillness. While others might see mountain biking as a way of owning something or smashing it Mint has always seen a ride as a way to disappear, dissolve into the hill and become an intimate and quiet part of the scenery.” So, while Mint, Oonagh, Chipko and Coleman might nominally be riding MTBs, their ethos on life very much fits with the outlook of many gravel riders.

Jo’s book features some of the best moments from the three decades that Mint has been around and for anyone who read MBUK in the past, we’re sure they will bring back many happy memories. For anyone who has not come across Mint Sauce before, the beautifully crafted panels, the poetic text and the very subtle and clever humour are sure to appeal too.

You can buy copies of Jo’s book via the website of the publisher, Isola Press priced at £35 plus postage.

For one lucky Gravel Union member, we've got a free signed copy to give away. All you need to do is to click on this link and we will enter your name into a prize draw. Entries close at 12pm GMT (13.00 CET) on Wednesday 11th December.

T&Cs - Unfortunately, because the book is being posted, the prize is only available to UK-based Gravel Union members. The prize is a signed copy of Jo's book which will be posted out to you in time for Christmas. There are no cash alternatives available. 

Images courtesy of Isola Press.

**UPDATE** 

There were many more Mint Sauce fans among the Gravel Union audience than we thought, which will please Jo immensely! We put all the names of people who were interested in winning a signed copy of the book into a big hat and are pleased to announce that the winner is Glenn Hughes. His prize will be landing on his doormat in the very near future - congratulations Glenn!