5 Things I Learned About Gravel and Women in Cycling from Amity Rockwell

I was excited to talk with Amity Rockwell, the 2019 Dirty Kanza winner, for the podcast. Unlike previous DK winners, she seemed a bit more under the radar and younger in her career. I was curious about how someone so young had the discipline for the ultra-endurance miles and how the events of 2020 are affecting her as she comes off a stellar 2019 season.

Here are five things I learned from our conversation with Amity Rockwell

Winning isn't always flashy. A persistent, steady effort pays off in long-course racing.

Amity came in 20th place at Dirty Kanza in 2018, and in 2019 she sat at 13th place until well into the race, only taking the lead closer to the end of the race. After I had a chance to chat with her, I realized it's very much her personality to do her thing, enjoy the ride, and see what happens.

Training your mind for boredom is important.

Amity is the child of two ultra-runners. Her parents were okay with boredom. They would tell them to go outside and find some way to entertain themselves. For Amity, this has translated to being comfortable in her mind as an adult. She doesn't ride with music or podcasts. She gets out and enjoys the ride. Although this is harder to learn as distracted adults, it is possible. When I trained for an Ironman several years ago, my coach encouraged us to run without music to prepare for the run course. At first, it was difficult, but then I found that time to be meditative.

Women in the gravel community are very generous with their time and insight - and they want to connect with other women!

Amity talks about her desire for women to reach out to her with questions they have, and she's serious about it!. A listener reached out to her after the podcast and said she gave her some great advice and answered many questions.

The female and male winners of an event don't get the same advantages. I

t's worth hearing in her worlds, so I've added the last 15-minute of our interview at the bottom of this article. As the female winner of Dirty Kanza, Amity found fewer opportunities than the male winner, especially when it comes to media coverage.

Female winners not having the same opportunities has a big impact on women in the sport.

Everything is impacted when women are treated as less than men. Sponsorship dollars for female athletes. Women on the starting lines of races. How retailers pay attention to women. Even if you never plan to participate in a race, the lack of equity for women will have an impact on you at some point. Watch our conversation or listen to the full podcast.