Part 1 - Chase the Chaise - Birth of The Chaise

One of the most beautiful things about gravel riding is the chance to break away from the predictability of everyday life, to journey through a parallel world. Instead of manicured lawns, we see crops and kudzu. Dogs become cattle. Traffic noise and diesel fumes bleed off into silence and manure.

And sometimes, there’s furniture hanging out in the road, just begging you to stop.

In our early days of showing up to gravel events, we noticed that many people drove way out to the middle of nowhere, spent a few minutes together at the start, often rode solo most of the way, and maybe hung out at the finish for a bit. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But we knew there was something special in gravel culture, and we wanted to nurture it by building stronger connections among us and the riders.

So, with our heads together, we arrived at a way to embrace the “unexpectedness” of gravel: A surprise mid-course break where riders could relax, chat with others, and ride off with a unique memory and new friends, feeling like they were part of something greater than the ride.

The plan was simple:

• We’d place one luxurious chaise lounge on course (always toward the end of the course; our motto would come to be, “If you can make it to The Chaise, you can make it to the finish.”).
• We’d show up at five different gravel events.
• We’d have a photographer on hand to capture it all.
• Every rider would get a patch and free access to their portrait.

We thought The Chaise would be a fun way to connect with a few riders at gravel events around the country, but it ended up being much bigger than that.