The reason I bought a gravel bike is so that I could easily hop a curb, cut across a grassy field, or ride on a rough surface when the roads aren't safe or practical. I live in an urban setting and always see painted white bike memorials strewn across the city for cyclists killed on the streets. I now see the roads merely as a way to ride to my off-road trail destinations where I can then worry about being attacked by a mountain lion or brown bear on a secluded trail!