IronM

I was racing masters on local team; one by one we slowly got into gravel. A lot of that had to do with loss of good road riding with the unchecked urban sprawl of Atlanta. It's also because there's such good riding (both road and gravel) just to the north in the mountains. Many of the guys also raced CX in the fall, so gravel wasn't a huge leap. When I got my gravel bike, a buddy wrote "Shoot, lost another one to gravel." Same buddy just bought a gravel bike this past winter!

At least around here in north Georgia, the growing cycling segment seems to be gravel.
Myself, I'm probably 75% road (just closer and easier, especially mid-week), but my long weekend ride is usually gravel. Very seldom the same route- just too many options to explore.
Life if good, even at 55.

flieger

I'm 72 and just got back on two wheels about nine months ago. I have to ride a couple of blocks to be on gravel or in the open desert. I enjoy the solitude. My only bike is a Kona Wo with 4.8" Schwalbe Jumbo Jims, so I guess it isn't a gravel bike. But it sure works on gravel. I'll try to link a video in the pictures thread.