Rider Q&A: Jo Burt

Posted By Gravel Union On 12 November 2019

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Gravel means many things to different riders. Some of us are really into the social riding scene, some of us head for organised gravel events and some of us are into exploring and use our gravel bike as the perfect tool for getting away from it all.

But what if you’ve explored all your local trails, you’ve tried riding your favourite loops the other way around, you’ve pushed the limits of what’s ‘do-able’ on a gravel bike? Then what? As much as we love riding from our door and keeping it local, there are times when either we want some better weather, or a bigger challenge or just the thrill of riding somewhere out of our comfort zone.

This is where a guided gravel trip might be the answer. With gravel riding growing at an incredible rate, a raft of specialist tour operators have recently sprung up, offering you the chance to get off the beaten track and discover something new. We chatted with professional gravel guide Jo Burt, to get the inside scoop on gravel riding holidays (and why it’s acceptable to eat marmalade in the middle of the afternoon).

Jo Burt

Brighton, UK

Kinesis Tripster AT

Further (mixed terrain bike packing event in Ariège, south-west France)

Strade Bianche (white roads) of Tuscany

Torino-Nice or the Tuscany Trail.

700c

Happy with either, but probably mechanical if I had to choose.

Double macchiato, lemon Fanta and whatever the local equivalent of a ham/cheese panino is.

More. Gravel riders are moving away from the perceived risks of road riding. They love the ability to ride straight from the door, linking up sections of trail with sections of road to make a proper route. Gravel riding encourages adventures, makes your old mountain bike trails seem less boring and is the ultimate ‘bit of everything’ riding.

It wasn’t really planned – a couple of friends thought I’d be good at it. I’m pretty unflappable, a decent rider, am patiently tolerant with people and can do pro-level roadside bodge repairs. I also work freelance [as an illustrator and journalist] which means I can fit guiding around my other work. And it means I get paid to ride my bike, which helps enormously with being patiently tolerant with people.

Where are my shoes? This normally happens in the middle of a trip, when the customers are starting to relax and are used to being a little pampered – their concentration levels tend to drop and they get a bit forgetful – I always make sure I’m the last person to leave the café stop/restaurant and I do a quick scan to see what they’ve left behind. The other common question is about the length of the next climb - people like to know how much energy it's going to take and knowing the exact gradient has bizarrely become a new constant query - they can get a bit miffed if we’re not 100% accurate with our information about what’s next or we just say to keep pedalling until they reach the top.

The most obvious difference is about pre-warning the clients about what’s coming up next - what the conditions are like, good gravel v bad gravel etc. By pre-warning them about the surface and offering some advice on appropriate technique, it helps with group safety and also manages their expectations a bit. In terms of kit, we always carry more spare tubes on the gravel trips.

A Dynaplug (or equivalent) has become the recent game-changing quick and easy way to fix punctures in tubeless tyres at the side of the road - I can see this being super handy as more people are running tubeless on gravel.

With a group of customers, you can get a really wide range of abilities. You have to check constantly that everyone is OK, which is surprisingly tiring – you’re concentrating all the time – really focusing on making sure everyone is OK and they’re having fun. Sometimes you pick up on problems that customers don’t notice about their own bike. We do a pre-ride check every day before we set off, which makes your day easier as a guide, but we still find ourselves diagnosing problems on the fly. With customers, we spend a lot of time fighting group faff, we might need to reach the finish by a certain time for accommodation and food so we try and keep the group rolling as much as possible and we know the tricks to make this happen – but it's always a balancing act between clients having a nice time and making progress. It varies with each group and from day to day, depending on how they’re all feeling - some days are really like herding cats.

We always reccie/pre-ride the routes, so we know where the real highlights are. We keep quiet as we’re heading towards them – for example an amazing view – and then soak in the group emotion as we get to the spot. Sometimes even something as simple as knowing where the perfect café is can be a real highlight.

Don’t be scared – do your research and read up on the trip [and the company running it] in advance but try not to worry – you’re probably a better rider than you think you are. Everyone needs some mental hand holding once in a while and that’s what the guides are there for. Ask questions and if you’ve got a problem, let the guides know.

I’m a bit old school, so I love two by. There’s a psychological boost of reaching the summit of a long climb and shifting into the big chainring as you crest the top and head onto the descent. Pushing a bigger gear can sometimes help with “floating” over gravel surfaces. Two chainrings means less gaps in the rear cassette too, which can help smooth out the ride experience.

Big wheels. So far, anyway.

Marmalade. Particularly as a mid-afternoon snack. And why did nobody tell me about Rhubarb and Ginger marmalade before now?

Yes, as long as they’re a tailored fit. No pockets though. And the fabric has to be quiet – no rustling.

Lots more guiding for RPM90 – I’m really looking forward to heading back to Slovakia next year – it’s the perfect mix of east and west, a bit edgy, but super friendly people, amazing scenery and it’s close [at least from the UK]. But also, I’m going to have another crack at the TCR – I’ve got some demons to banish with that race.

Tuscany’s Strade Bianche could well be the perfect destination for European gravel riding - check out RPM90’s trip:

Images by breakawaydigital and orangetrikemedia