Saša: Cannondale Topstone Carbon

Saša was my first gravel bike, bought in January 2020 after some years of resistance to this silly new-fangled trend. I think it's fair to say that Tristan (now my partner 💚 I have great taste) was part of the reason. He seemed to be having great fun with his Specialized Sequoia. And oh. my. God. Saša was a revelation. After decades on all sorts of bikes, in all sorts of environments, it felt like I was discovering a whole new dimension of cycling. It was so exhilarating! It was fast, both on- and offroad, and there were no limits!

Before, gravel (and cross) bikes had seemed to me like "the worst of bold worlds" - not as fast as a road bike on tarmac, and not as comfortable as a MTB offroad. But, in fact, the combination is great fun on all surfaces! Okay, there is no denying that a full suspension MTB is a smoother ride on a bumpy surface. But turns out I didn't mind that so much; in fact, I kinda enjoy feeling the terrain under me (it's all about mindfulness, you see). And the versatility of a gravel bike is just perfect for the kind of riding I do. I wanna see everything! I wanna try that tiny path, I wanna go down those steps, I wanna fight my way through that overgrown track with my bike on my back. But I also wanna dash through traffic, rush home when I am late, and so on. And my beautiful, sexy, dreamy gravel bike did it all. I absolutely and totally fell in love with him at first try. (I'd tried a different brand first and didn't feel it at all.)

I have by now replaced Saša with Yasha after nearly 30,000km, but he still holds a special place in my heart (and is still somewhat functional, haha).