Originally Posted by
jayp410
Also use the Garmin Varia radar / light combo. That's an amazing piece of tech for rural roads... wouldn't want to ride without it.
Aside from that, safety is one of the reasons I'm getting into gravel riding more... at least on gravel, cars usually aren't moving quite as fast.
I bought a Varia a couple weeks ago and love it. It provides yet another little bit of interest/entertainment to break up the miles by watching dots move on the screen. But really, I like that when riding gravel I can pick my line and more confidently know that I am not annoying a vehicle behind me if I am in the center of the road. Once a vehicle pops up on radar, I can move over and not slow them down.
Mixed surface rides are what almost all my solo riding is at this point. 5mi of paved roads to hit gravel, then however many miles I want to ride that day, plus 5mi of paved roads home. The gravel roads are quieter, slower, and hillier. Its a win all the way around.