About March’ wasn’t an official or advertised event, but Shimano Gravel Alliance rider Ibai Fradejas was still joined 30-plus people, a passionate cohort of riders that felt the same way about gravel, for a recent weekender in Espinosa de los Monteros, Burgos, Spain.

The group chat, which someone had appropriately named ‘About March’ was pinging. From the morning through to evening, it was clearly the place to be for the plotting and planning before we hopped on trains and in cars to meet somewhere in the Las Merindades area. Most of the people in the group hadn’t been there before, but it’s well known for its road cycling and I’ve got a holiday home there, so often take my road bike up there to train. 

But the gravel riding there? That was mainly new to me. 

We had two single day routes and accommodation booked at the hostel in the village - this is where most of the group based themselves and served as the start and finish for each ride. As it was only a weekender, a friend and I chose to stay in a caravan so that we could disconnect from the Monday–Friday even further. 

It was a weekend without any major mishaps beyond the usual mechanicals and number of punctures you’d expect from such a large group. Two new days in the mountains, brand-new views and a whole lot of stories. With cheeks sore from laughing, it was time to say goodbye until the next meeting.

Even though we’re all from different parts of Spain, we’d found ourselves in this WhatsApp group after bumping into each other repeatedly at various gravel events. A trip like this you usually turn up to with no expectations, but often come away with some new friends. The About March group will probably get a name change fairly soon, maybe something like About August.

In the meantime, I’ll be working on the official events that I run: Deiadar Gravel and two editions of XPLORE Experiences. 

And who knows, maybe we’ll ride together somewhere and I’ll get you added to the group.