HTupolev

Dirty Kanza has no long climbs, much of its climbing is pretty shallow, and most of its steep stuff is very short. It also only averages about 50 feet per mile; that's no pancake, but for people who live in places where the gravel is mostly mountain forest roads, 100 feet per mile isn't unusual.

Furthermore, if you're able to use the phrase "I rode DK easily" in a sentence, you're presumably stronger than the typical cyclist. And half of cyclists are weaker than the typical cyclist!
The implications that rider ability has on gearing adequacy are not subtle. To illustrate the point... on a 10% paved climb, a 160lb cyclist on a 25lb bicycle will need to do around 4W/kg in order to maintain about 7mph, which would be a relatively low ~75rpm on a 30-inch gear (such as 34-30 on 700x35 tires). If the same cyclist could only sustain 2.5W/kg on the same climb, then they're only going around four and a half mph; if they're using the same cassette and tires, they'd need to drop their chainring from a 34-tooth all the way down to a 22-tooth in order to enjoy a similar cadence.