Originally Posted by
marty.rheaume
It might depend on where you live. I'm in rural Michigan and surrounded by literally hundreds of miles of gravel roads as soon as I get out of my driveway. I enjoy the exploration aspect of riding gravel because my options are more limited with road bikes. It has opened up new routes for me and it's lighter and faster than a mountain bike.
My brother used to live near Ypsilanti and his house was surrounded by gravel roads. They looked great, a lot like strada biancha in Italy. I think a gravel bike would be perfect on those roads. Sure, they were smooth enough to underbike on a road bike, but why? If I were to get rid of all my bikes except one, the gravel bike would be the winner.