Meet my gravel bike

My new gravel bike, the Liv Brava. All thanks to Liv Cycling and Ayesha McGowan.

I have a new bike, and it’s a Liv Brava.

Remember the Do Better Together rides I posted earlier in the year? I participated in the series hosted by pro cyclist Ayesha McGowan. It loved the idea, and even though I couldn’t get out and ride with anyone (I will next year, now that I have a fat bike, woo!) I still enjoyed everything it represented.

Each series you participated in entered you in a raffle to win a bike. I was beyond shocked to see my name listed there as a grand prize winner when everything was all over in March. Pretty nuts. I’ve won shirts before and a few things here and there. But woah. A bike!

It was a bike up to $3,000 value from Liv. I just got my road bike, so I thought this would be an awesome opportunity to get a gravel bike. My boyfriend tried talking me into a mountain bike, which would have been fun too, but with my allergies and laziness, I didn’t think it’d be right for me.

I don’t really like having to go somewhere just to go somewhere, if that makes sense. I’d rather just head out the door and get to it. Not that I don’t like going on adventures, but just not all the time. I’m a homebody, what can I say. That was part of the annoyance of snowboarding. I’m sure I would’ve gone a lot more if it didn’t take 90 minutes to get there.

Anyway, so I chose the Brava. Size XS. It’s a nice starter bike, aluminum frame, SRAM shifters, tubeless tires, disc brakes. I just know that I’m going to have so much fun with this thing. I want to do some racing, some off-road riding in remote corners of the county, some commuting, some dirty muddy cross races. Woo!

So in the spirit of doing better together, this bike really hits the mark.

It’s kind of crazy looking back on it now, but it was weird to win a bike in the middle of a pandemic. I said several times that I wouldn’t be surprised or upset if it didn’t come. I had the bike shipped to my house, and it took two full months to make it. I was lucky they had my size and request in stock. And I was even luckier that it came.

There were no assembly instructions, but luckily my boyfriend was able to get everything together. I certainly would not have been able to do that on my own. And I didn’t even know what the bike looked like, so it was basically like getting a birthday present (coming up soon, by the way, so perfect timing).

All in all, i am happy, I am excited, and I love this bike so much. It really is a bundle of new possibilities and hope.

The weather may have been crappy today, my toes numb, helmet dripping water … but you definitely could not wipe that smile off my face for nothin’!

Thank you so much to Ayesha, to Liv Cycling (Giant), to everyone who participated in Do Better Together and for everyone out there who welcomes in newcomers. I know it can be hard and frustrating as you watch someone go through all the struggles of learning something new, but we usually get better quick with a little bit of help. Always better together.