Putting rides to words: ‘Gravel Poet Society’

Gravel riding veteran Dan Morgan lives and breaths backroads bicycling (here a photo of him I snapped while we shared some miles in eastern Oregon last summer). I hope to profile him in more detail here on the Front Page sooner or later.

For now, I want to share some poems written by Dan’s relatives: Brandy and Kevin Carrelli. Brandy is a freelance writer who lives in Oswego, Illinois. After Dan wondered why there aren’t “gravel poets, like the cowboy and fisherman types”, Brandy responded to Dan’s request for some literary flair that captures the allure of gravel riding.

Brandy wrote a poem I thought you might enjoy. Then she asked her husband Kevin to write one and his is great too. We got their permission to publish them here. Check them out:

Behold!
Rocky trails ‘neath my tires
Mountains point as cathedral spires
Riding long into the night
May every man share my plight
Saddle sores and water waning
Straining arms and legs a-paining
But ’tis worth the struggling force
Not the destination…just the course.
— by Brandy Carrelli

Looking to the mountains, so far
I’d have a tough time, in my car
My bike rattles across a rock
My tires slide, my wheels lock
How will I ever get to the other side?
My legs said they can do it
I’m hoping they had not lied
I push forward to the path ahead
“It will be easy”, no one said
— by Kevin Carrelli