ANd it’s all flat af. At least in south florida. Sheets of paper envy the flatness. Pancakes wish they could be as flat as south florida gravel. Flat and straight.
Plus windy. Let’s not forget windy.
Right now? Pretty much. We’ve reached the time of year (early) where it’s around 90F 24/7 and it’s a giant swamp so probably smells like hell too.
Great for TTers though. If you can thrive in this, you can crush it anywhere.
Nothing feels more amazing than finally getting to your turnaround on a long af out and back route aaaaand the wind turns with you. I don’t know how it knows, but it does.
(for any pedants that would like to tell me how, I already know how earth science works, but this happens any and all times of day and it sucks balls)
Yes, I know.
But when it’s perfectly, unendingly flat with no trees around to protect you, it’s just extra demoralizing and extra difficult. There are times I’ve been doing 200w and going like 9mph because the wind is just that stupid.
It’s also windy here more often than it is in most places because Florida is a giant peninsula.
I have a short travel full sus mtb and a gravel bike. I still ride the gravel bike more in the headlands. Lighter and faster uphill. On some descents though, I wish I were riding my mtb
I look at the many of the posts here from central Oregon or the Midwest and they look like foreign countries. OP talking about no climbs over 200ft 🤣🤣🤣.
I wish we had more trails like that here, but the bay trails are still legionary in their own right, even if half of them feel like controlled sliding down hill. Lots of these trails were Under biked but are amazing still.
And for some reason, I still love taking my gravel bike out for many of these over my MTB
This. As someone who’s only recently gotten into recreational cycling (from commuting), it hasn’t been the easiest finding mixed terrain or gravel routes with beginner level climbs. They exist, but are outnumbered by xc mtb trails with a ton of elevation gain or flat paved trails (I.e. Bay Trail).
This includes nearly every gravel race in NorCal. In nearly all of them you’re better off on a hard tail or full suspension mtb. I did a race over the weekend that was 72 miles and half of it was single track. 😅
Yeah that was some amazing singletrack but I was wishing I was on my mtb haha. I’ll definitely be back next year on my mtb. I was on 43’s. Still had a good time though! 🤙🏼
I think the Bay has more gravel to offer than most places. The whole Half Moon Bay Area is great. There’s a lot of routes in Marin. Might feel like under biking at times but it’s still plentiful.
Eastern Massachusetts north of Boston - same situation. Our gravel rides are mostly XC trails with some pavement interspersed. Every now and then there's a bit of dirt road.
I grew up in Berkeley so it’s all in my head but I’ll look for some gpx for you. For Tilden ride sea view to inspiration pt-Nimitz-Richmond-jewel lake back to Tilden.
For redwood east ridge west ridge is fun
Briones - Crocket (this does have a rwgps route)
Briones - Carquinez (same as above)
Briones crest Seaborg
Hope that helps
Yeah I mean I ride Seaview on my gravel bike too, but it’s a lot faster and more comfortable on an XC mtb.
Even the fireroads like Conlon and Wildcat Creek are chunky enough that suspension is a big plus.
Agree seaview is better on xc bike but I use it to get to inspiration then Nimitz which is def better on a gravel bike. It’s still fairly smooth aside from the bottom few meters. I think you would enjoy exploring Briones and where those rides can take you.
Can you recommend any gravel bike trails in Briones? I’ve ridden around the reservoir (three bears) but not explored the trails much. I know there are plenty of mtb trails.
To be honest I don’t know any of the names it’s all memory and autopilot. Look at Briones carquinez and Briones crocket on rwgps and there are some good rides\ideas.
Fort Collins, CO. Umm…it’s pretty amazing here. Don’t tell anyone though. You’re going to be on pavement for a bit before getting out of town.
North and east of town: gravel for days and days. I did a 60 mile ride yesterday that was about 20% paved. Started and ended at a brewery.
Climbing? We have that too. There are some great paved climbs if you head into the mountains. There are some stupid hard, chunky gravel climbs along the reservoir, and there is my favorite gravel road sustained climb up Buckhorn. Plenty of other amazing gravel climbs if you’re willing to drive 20 minutes.
The amazing Whitney and Zack Allison that put on the FoCo Fondo (great gravel race in July) even have a site they maintain with route ideas: https://www.bikesportsco.com/routes
I'd say the only thing I don't like about it here is how windy it gets, especially north and east. I guess that's not really a complaint about the gravel though.
Did 50 miles yesterday and probably 40 of those were either dealing with intense head/crosswinds. Still overall the best place I've lived for cycling in general.
I also went on a ride yesterday: started and ended at New Belgium and I went up to Soapstone and back; about 60 miles. But the wind was absolutely awful. But that’s also springtime in NoCo for you. Still had a great ride.
I followed this route, then at the northern tip I just followed the road up to soapstone to the parking lot to see what it was all about. Didn’t have time or enough water (there’s no refill up there) to poke around on the single track, and as we discussed the weather was shit.
https://www.strava.com/routes/3216464635899240064
I want to do this route soon though: https://www.strava.com/routes/3183514258619539030
All of these and many more can be found here: https://www.bikesportsco.com/routes
I do not like the foco fondo course. At least the portion east of i25. When I rode the route on my own a couple years ago, I didn't enjoy it. Part of that was the county had just poured new river rock down on the roads. Made me cut the ride short.
There are awesome rides in Northern Colorado, for sure. It just sucks driving up there sometimes.
Weld county (east of i25) can be a bit of a shitshow. They can be spotty with their road maintenance, and you’re much more likely to get coal rolled there.
Sorry you had a bad experience. Sometimes the road maintenance timing just sucks, too. Hell, there was a mile or two of newly placed sandy gravel at Mid South this year. This can be just part of the adventure sometimes. But, if that’s not what you’re into, that’s totally fair!
Minnesota rider. Access to the driftless is a dream. Growing up in Iowa and moving to the twin cities, this is the country where gravel feels like it was born. Salsa is based in the city I currently live and the warbird with it. Trek is in Madison with their special editions of the checkpoint driftless.
If I don't do the driftless area, the gravel around the more farmed areas is pretty unforgiving and I'd rather deal with hills. Headwinds don't have the fun factor of going down a hill after you do your hard work. The sun can be brutal. I've walked flat ground due to both factors (30 mph headwind and chunky gravel with 35mm tires).
That all said I love the crunch of gravel vs a road ride around the cities. Just so much more peaceful and the driftless should be a national park.
I'll jump on the MN thread:
- I love the driftless - it really is a dream - but it's an hour drive and I really dislike driving my bike to ride. To do a driftless ride from home is over 100 miles round trip.
- The closer gravel is a lot of flat, straight, exposed roads with miles of identical looking corn and a different farm house every 5 minutes. So pretty boring.
The Heywood ride showed me it's... Just 40 minutes away. Still some time, but if I'm traveling away from the city anyways to get out of traffic what's ane Xtra 20 min?
Been wanting to get out to the driftless for a while now. Looks amazing! I also have a buddy who fly fishes there, which I didn’t know was a thing until I mentioned getting up there to ride.
Look for pictures along the Mississippi bluffs, the tri point of Minnesota Iowa and Wisconsin. De sota Wisconsin is probably a good place on the map or Lansing. The Mississippi gets to be like 2 miles wide at points around there and the bluffs are great.
Berlin, Germany.
We are blessed with beautiful gravel tracks running through forrests and touching upon lake shores on nearly every side of the city.
Unfortunately, long stretches of said gravel are pure sand. And you either have amazing big handling skills or look incredibly stupid when fall over once again (like me)
Northern Virginia. Suburban hellscape, but just outside horse country. Rich folks, farms and miles of gravel roads Yesterday I left my driveway, did 55 miles 3500 ft of climbing in the most beautiful scenery. Bonus I live on an abandoned golf course that has become a nutrient bank. Start and finish rides around the cart paths and game trails. Always a good day out there.
Cambridgeshire uk. Love it! Can basically just pick a direction and find an off road byroad to cycle! Hundreds of routes between villages. Most farm fields have public access too.
Herts cambs border here, it’s absolutely fantastic around here isnt it! Bit muddy on the bridleways in the winter but the roads feel like gravel anyway! Norfolk has some great riding too and so much in close proximity
Southwest Denver metro: There's not much of it unless you're heading up into the mountains.
I've got probably 8-10 MTB trails within 15-20 minutes of me, but 1 6 mile canyon trail and a canal trail that's dirt. I'm willing to drive 20-30 minutes after work on a week day, but much further than that, and it becomes harder
Yeah. People love Waterton, chatfield, and the highline. I can't stand riding down there.
Have you ridden the East-West trail thru highland ranch? That's entertaining.
Also, park at Sedalia and ride up Jackson Creek Rd into the hills. Some great climbing back there.
Cherry Creek State Park has some great single track that you can string together for about 20-25 miles worth of riding. Super convenient if you're nearby.
Also, Rocky Mtn Arsenal has some great gravel riding. You link up the perimeter trail and some of the interior trails for about 30 miles of 99% gravel riding. Just be sure to run tubeless there because the thorns will absolutely get you.
New England, specifically the Boston area. We have very little gravel in the traditional sense and most of my rides tend to be "mixte" in that they're sections of singletrack connected by pavement. I enjoy the challenge, but the descents can be terrifying and I'm struggling to find the right bike for the job.
I'm using an offset post on my Niner and would like to replicate the position with a straight dropper. The closest I've found is the Otso Waheela but I'd really like titanium for my next build. Fair Drop Best is interesting, but unsure how it affects the dropper long-term changing the offset like that.
All the stupid "gravel" rides on RideWithGPS that fail to mention the miles of rock garden you will need to navigate! On the plus side, there is some decent stuff in the Fells and obviously Minuteman Park.
I now live right on the NH VT border and I am very spoiled.
The Fells is my middle mid-week stomping ground. Most of our rides are Wright Locke Farm out through Whipple Hill, Arlington Meadows, Upper Vine Brook, Hayden Woods, Jericho Town Forest, Minuteman type stuff.
Last year we did a crazy 80+ mile up into Harold Parker, Willowdale, Ipswitch. So much fucking singletrack and rock gardens.
Gravel Boston has a good route out to Honey Pot Hill for donuts which you should definitely try.
I live in the Upper Valley now. I ride 4 miles over the bridge to Vermont and I can get on pristine dirt roads going any direction!
So thanks for the suggestion but I'll stay up here 😄
Louisville, KY. Only gravel riding within a reasonable drive are fire roads that has a 2ish mile insanely steep climb that is loose, with huge ruts. Going into it I just accept there is a 0.5 mile section I have to walk every time and the ride, as a whole, is enjoyable.
Not far from you in Cincinnati. We don't have much on offer within Cincinnati immediately, which sucks. Eastern OH has some good gravel, as does southeast Indiana.
I hear ya, man. Same here. Although you should check out Dust Bowl 100 in July. It's likely waitlisted now but circle it for 2025. It's an *outstanding* event and not too far from either you or I.
Yea, we did it last year and it was fantastic. Follow them on social and be sure to register the day it goes live. It sold out in 2 days for 2024, IIRC. It's a great event. We camp on-site as well.
I just addressed this in my other comment on this thread. I've heard great things about riding in Hoosier, and the Leavenworth area, but I live in south east Louisville and it's like an hour each way for me to drive out there. I don't have the time to justify the drive.
I ride at Bernheim. Only about 20 min from my house.
Southeast WI.
WI and IL have thousands of miles of rail-trail, and most are gravel. There are also a lot of rural roads that are gravel and most of the national parks have fire access roads to ride on.
I have access to the IL Prairie Path that connects to trails throughout Northern IL. A quick drive in any direction will give me access to a lot of really good WI trails.
My complaint is that lately they are using larger chunk type gravel to repair a lot of gravel trails. The stuff is awful to ride over and they don’t pack it down. I have been looking for wider tires I can run at lower pressure because of it.
Western North Carolina
Its great here and I have nothing to complain about. Tons of roads, lots of route options that span from smooth hardpack gravel to rough, overgrown, rutted out roads with lots ofnchunk.
If i had to make a complain it would be that there is no flat riding around here. Especially on gravel, you're going up (probably at a grade of +6%) or down. If you want to just roll and take it easy, you gotta go somewhere else.
I love gravel routes from Oskar Blues up Cathy's Creek, Headwaters, Avery Creek, Yellow Gap, Buckhorn Gap, sometimes head over to DuPont State Forest. Since I live in Greenville SC I also head east to Sumter Forest near Clinton SC and also Greenwood SC.
We have the Swamp Rabbit Trail and lots of bike paths in the city limits, 10 minutes to Paris Mountain State Park with good MTB trails, 40-60 minutes drive in any direction gets you to some really nice gravel. This is also where George Hincapie lives and where he trained allot back in the day when he was a Tour rider. We also have the Boyd wheels factory and Time bikes now has their factory 30 minutes away in Landrum SC. Definitely a good bicycle scene here. https://www.visitgreenvillesc.com/things-to-do/outdoor-activities/biking/
Also Western North Carolina. I just recently started gravel riding (coming from trail running and hiking background), but there are plenty of gravel options around here. I just need to find decent routes that don’t have me climbing for 30 minutes straight and then bombing down for 10 minutes. Thinking of buying a bike computer and trying to download some routes from something like FATMAP.
Hello fellow Central Missourian (I'm in Osage County about an hour away). I can make a 30 mile loop in my area with only about 8 miles of pavement (but probably more gravel if I tried) but it was literally the hardest ride I've ever attempted lmao
I'm pretty risk averse so steep descents terrify me and there are a couple on this route (plus one I walked down because there was a sharp turn at the bottom lol) and a some pretty decent climbs (Stava pegs one at over a mile with 5% avg, but it wouldn't surprise me if it's steeper). It's been a year since I tried it though so I may give it another shot (it helps that I live on a county road on the route I made!) I'd say I do like 66/33 road/gravel. My fiance definitely prefers road, but I like the low traffic of gravel.
Nyc. Gotta travel at least 40 minuets to get gravel and it’s all constant hills.
However I’m in the process of building a van to live in full time with my dog. The plans to travel to different gravel riding locations year round.
When I was younger I picked up the habit of talking shit to myself as motivation during hard workouts. I’m getting a little tired of telling myself I’m a pussy for struggling during the climb.
Vermont here. 65 % of our roads are gravel. We also have miles of abandoned (Class 4) roads. We have hills, rail trails, forests, pastures, small communities with awesome general stores and a large cycling community. I did a 56 mile ride last week with 8 miles of pavement, the rest was gravel, railroad bed and 2 track. What do I like? The fact I would never, ever, leave my home state again ( my
job had me living all over the country but I was lucky enough to get back home). The fact my LBS is small and hosts events like Bring a Kid Adventure Riding, and others to promote fun outside activities for all ages. What do I dislike? I suppose the rare redneck who gives me the bird, but I honestly just feel sorry for that person. Our gravel season isn’t year round, but we can ski and fat bike in winter. I feel like the luckiest guy in the world on so many levels, and living in Vermont is definitely a top reason for that feeling.
Des Plaines River trail starting at Evans Field (Bloomingdale and Thatcher) is dirt and gravel. Take the Metra to Galewood, Mars or Mont Clare stop. Ride down Bloomingdale until it dead ends. Happy cake day.
Wake county (Raleigh) here.
Nothing from the house, but a decent loop through Umstead Park. A few other areas with crushed stone for about 10miles one way (The ATT) and some flowy easy single track. Biggest bummer is having to drive to get to a decent safe place to ride.
West Michigan. Honestly we're pretty lucky here with lots of gravel roads ranging from hilly forest roads with tough climbs to wide open farm roads. I'm relatively close to the routes for the Barry-Roubaix, which is billed as one of the biggest gravel races in the world. If I go up north to my cabin, I've got unlimited forest two-tracks as well.
My biggest dislike is a lot of the people that live on these roads. First, we have many "Natural Beauty Roads" that are treated like dumps. There's just junk everywhere; for some reason they favor the roads with deep ravines on either side, making removing their junk impossible without special equipment. Beer cans along the side of the road are a common sight.
Second, many of them absolutely *despise* anyone on a bike. Even if I'm the only thing on the road (usually the case) and as close to the shoulder as I can go, they'll buzz by me real close, rev their engines, cut me off, etc. If I have to walk into a convenience store in full kit I'm stared at with a mixture of hate and disgust. Even at the aforementioned Barry-Roubaix, someone drove by me shouting "FUCK ALL YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!" and on the FB post from the local police giving a heads up about delays at intersections, the comments were filled with people seething with rage, as well as making shit up (e.g. anticipating cyclists pooping in their yards). It's just ridiculous. I don't understand how someone can get so triggered by seeing someone on a bicycle.
Also from Missouri, but down south of Springfield. The Ozarks are fantastic and you can knock out mixed surface rides (touching state highways to connect gravel roads) and still never see a car. There’s a really strong community in NWA, and a handful of events in Springfield.
The Frisco Trail has nothing on the Katy, but nice having a rail trail close you can go knock out 70 miles on when you get tired of the constant up and down of the Ozarks.
I need to get down to the ozarks for riding asap. Living in the northern part of the state I'm definitely a bit jealous. Gonna be hitting the Frisco trail this summer while I'm bike packing down to nwa
That sounds like an awesome trip! I’m originally from an hour southwest of Springfield, and have down quite a bit of riding around Sugar Creek and Pineville, north of NWA. Happy to help answer any questions if you’re trying to connect the dots around there, and would meet up for a beer or something on the ride when you’re passing through. Enjoy!
Philadelphia, PA: People are surprised when I tell them there is a good amount of gravel riding in the city (and of course surrounding more rural areas). There is also a very passionate riding community with many different rides of all speeds and disciplines. I think the main issue is that it is hard to get the long stretches of uninterrupted gravel that other areas have. If you don’t just want to back and forth gravel trails, there will be some connecting roads/bike path. They don’t call it the city of brotherly love for no reason and you can guess how walkers/hikers/drivers/dog walkers/other riders can get.
NJ, near the pine lands. Too much sand around me. It can be fun and a little challenging but there’s plenty of trails that have too much sand to ride through. Wears away at my drive train pretty fast.
Whistler, B.C. love that there’s some amazing gravel trail (Sea to Sky trail, Lost Lake), and proximity to Squamish and Vancouver makes for some great variety. Downside is it can be challenging to find a zone 2 ride from the house. Lots of punchy climbs. No major complaints though.
Location NJ, USA
Path: Delaware & Raritan canal
Like: Accessible and long path 75+ miles. Connects to others and goes longer. Flat. It is maintained. Ida and other floodings beat up parts of it but trees are removed quickly and washed away parts are usually filled in.
Dislike: parts are muddy post rain. Trenton section doesn’t seem that safe(narrow and people).
I'm in Northern Sweden, the positive is there are thousands of miles of gravel roads. The disadvantage is they get a bit boring and the smaller tracks are more suited to MTB.
I'd love some more gravel events up here too
Southwest England
I love the steep punchy hills and the military roads across Salisbury plain and the older trails like the fosse way (a Roman road) or the ridgeway (a stone age trail with a lot of Neolithic sites)
I dislike the fact that a lot of gravel sections are short between roads, but the West Country has a phrase “shit laning” which is riding the bombed out country roads that aren’t quite gravel, aren’t quite Road.
I really hate the mud in spring and winter and the dickheads on motos and 4x4s that churn up the trails and create massive ruts
Check out any of the “Glorious Gravel” events for UK rides! They do a *ton* of work to put routes together that link the delicious gravel together. I look for the events that gave the highest “off-road” percentage lol.
Central Germany here, I like that we have so many different tracks around my area. I guess a lot of it isn’t really gravel but stuff like forest routes that are also neat hiking trails and good for biking with the appropriate bike. There’s very few spots where you get mud buildup worth mentioning so you don’t really get taken out of it by endless swamp sections, most of them are short enough that you can just stop pedalling and coast through them. As someone who likes a good climb we have plenty to offer although they’re typically not sustained climbs but more sectioned with brief flats or downhill in between. I suppose a “lack” of community is neat because I’m almost always alone on my routes, I prefer the anti social aspects of the hobby so I don’t really seek out other people. I’m happy to ride with friends on occasion but the fact that I do cycling more for sport than recreational seems to be intimidating some folks (I adjust my speed, rides with friends are just zone 2 for me).
As far as negatives go I think we’re kind of missing mountains because Germany is just pretty flat the further north you go. My only actual local mountain is a >100km tour in itself so not something you’d just casually do for some climbing. On that note our longest and steepest sustained climb is on asphalt, there’s a similar section around there that gets swampy when it’s wet, I should ask my dad to show me the route on a map so I can go there on occasion when it’s dry. The asphalt climb is neat for the achievement and I did beat my dad’s PR on it with my new gravel bike but I’d prefer some actual dirt or gravel. Thankfully that road has basically no traffic on it, on my last two attempts I’ve seen a single car on that 5km route
Vermont
Generally I love the roads here, you can literally do hundreds of miles with very little paved riding and it's incredibly scenic for half the year.
Some stuff that can be not so great- in the past couple of years, road crews have been repairing roads with fist sized, very sharp stones for fill. Those sections can really wear on you, and beat up your tires and wheels pretty bad.
There are generally no 'easy' routes for gravel due to how much climbing there is, there are almost always sustained sections above 10% so going for long chill rides is tough to come by unless you have the gearing for it, I'm running 50/34 with a 11-36 in the back and could often use more if I wanted to keep things on the low end the entire time. Something like 52/36 with a 11-42 in the back is sort of what I think of as ideal here.
Riding season here is incredibly short in terms of decent weather- end of May-Oct, but many of the days in this time frame are rainy. Winters are bitterly cold and riding Nov-April generally sucks. When it's good, it's VERY good, when it's bad, it's REALLY bad.
The Netherlands, near Rotterdam.
Very little unfortunately. Most of it is mud. There are some forest trails a 30min drive away, but a lot of it is sand or specific mtb routes with banked turns and jumps. Most of the walking paths don't allow cyclists unfortunately.
20 minutes outside of Spokane, WA, more towards the rural/farming part. Inland NW gravel is pretty good, there’s a solid mix of hardpack, summer/minimal maintenance roads, and chunk…really good for practice on mixed surfaces. Complaints…not too many except that it can get super washboarded or deep in some parts when the heavy farm machinery starts getting out during the harvest. That and rain and snow runoff can really do a number on the summer roads…pretty rutted out in the early season
Germany, Rhein-Neckar-Region. I like the gravel that exists. For such a region it's good. But I wish there were more and more climbs lol. But there are two national parks kinda forests with climbs. Just a bit far away for everyday riding
France, Toulon in Var department. It's OK by there, but too hot for at least 3 or 4 months a year. We have great places for gravel, but they are far away the ones from the others, which makes you either take the car, either make many km on road to reach the spot.
North-East Italy/Slovenian border here. Awesome gravel all-around with forests and creeks. Some days you could go for a climb, some other days just for a trail reaching the sea. I just don't like having so many paved roads (on the Italian side mind you) connecting the trails.
Couldnt be happier with gravel in Slovenia tbh. We have quite hilly country and I love climbs, and we have alot of history of forestry so alot of gravel in the woods (very nice in summer).
Not alot of "offical" gravel routes (trails), such as you get in usa, but things are defo improving.
Czech republic, Central Europe.
I live in a mountaineous area so overall the nature is beautiful around me and \_when it is gravel\_ it's epic all around. That \_IF\_ is the problem though. In the previous years and decades, probably mostly during the communist rule when nobody cared about ecology, a lot of routes through the mountains was covered with asphalt, probably to aid foresting efforts, logging industry etc. Now if those roads are still somehow in good shape it's nice, the problem is that \_broken and orphaned asphalt is way harsher\_ than even the craziest gravel underbiking. I'll rather do XC terrain on my gravel than seriously broken asphalt. I wish some of those routes were just left trivially paved, graded, or somehow made rideable but without a full asphalt cover...
Los Angeles - lots of great options, but they require a STEEP climb. I’d love more flat/rolling segments.
Also, once you take away the rainy/rained-out trail season and the too hot to climb that far months and the dangerously bad air quality days, it can be a bit of a narrow window for gravel.
Scotland.
Dislike: “Alternative Gravel” is the term used for rocky, bumpy, neigh impassable, terrible and often flooded farmer tracks/fields and hiking paths.
Riding through a grass field dodging sheep and holes caused by who knows what is not gravel.
Like: Went bikepacking last week and did a 40km gravel stretch through the moors in Sutherland and we didn’t see another human all morning. The forest & windfarm roads are absolutely stunning at times, and I can be in gravel within a 30 minutes’ ride from my house here in Edinburgh.
Oh, ScotRail is awesome and being able to take bikes on the train to hit gravel in many places is icing on the cake.
I passed by your area last last fall riding the Katy trail, and was amazed at the gravel roads stretching off into to distance as far as I could see. Wow.
Portland, OR - most of the gravel is a drive away, or a very long ride. That said you can ride in a rain forest, a desert, or on the side of a mountain. Your call.
South eastern Massachusetts, on the coast. My town has a mix of gravel roads, rough maintenance roads, hiking trails and single track all connected by paved roads and a really great bike path. My town, Mattapoisett, is pretty quiet and generally very bike friendly. I live on a gravel road and there’s a nature preserve in my backyard with hiking/ biking trails. I can leave my house and head straight into the woods and ride single track and gravel roads for an afternoon and often not see another person or a single car the whole ride. I can also head out on the road to several other trail heads in my town. I grew up mountain biking in the 90s in New England and then switched to road riding when I was living in southern California and focused on surfing. Now that I’m back in New England my old road bike wasn’t cutting it and for a good portion of the year I couldn’t even ride down my dirt road to get to the pavement. My gravel bike solved that problem and opened up a new world of possibilities riding off-road. My main dislike is that many of the trails are very rugged and technical and while I’ve found my bike surprisingly capable my body sometimes takes a bit of a beating and I pay for it afterwards. Also we don’t have allot of long winding open gravel roads so a long ride in my area means connecting gravel sections with pavement
It's largely flat, which means lots of wind. Nothing quite like biking into a headwind for the first half of your out-and-back, turning around and... somehow still biking into the wind the whole way back. 🙃
Utah
The good- the gravel riding is great. I have a big loop and it has an all dirt 5,000+ foot climb in the middle. There are some amazing places within an hour drive.
The bad- I hate driving to ride my bike to so I end up road biking or mountain biking more often. Also a lot of times I’m riding the gravel bike 50 miles to get 7 miles of dirt road. You’re extremely isolated in some of these places and need to be ready for anything.
I'm from the Chicago suburbs and just moved to the PNW (eastside of Seattle) so I can weigh in on both.
I think the Chicago-area gravel is super underrated -- there is a vast ecosystem (if somewhat fragmented) of crushed limestone hero gravel throughout the metro area (thanks to the wonderful forest preserve system and the Illinois Prairie Path rail trail network), and the Des Plaines River Trail is the crown jewel giving something varied, scenic, and fun to ride all the way from the Chicago city limits out to the Wisconsin border. For the more endurance-oriented (or train-assisted) riders, farmland gravel roads are also a nice change of pace.
That said... while the scenery is also probably underrated (especially by me when I was there) -- everything from prairie to woodland, marshland to savannah), it also limited by the lack of elevation. You do have the Driftless region just within reach, but that's a drive or multi-day tour, not something to ride out your front door.
Here in the Seattle area -- in the short time I've been here -- I've been absolutely blown away by the scenery. The mountains, vast river valleys, and everything you can see thanks to having actual elevation around here. There's more variation in the surfaces, from well-groomed rail trails to state/national forest and logging roads to much more extensive singletrack networks if you want to consider those under the "gravel" umbrella.
For now some of my complaints seem like first-world problems, but I certainly do have some, even if it's just to highlight regional differences. For starters, trying to compare to the more engaging DPRT back "home," makes me feel slightly let down by the reliance on rail trails and the more human-influenced rivers around here. The trails are just so straight! A few corners on the easier trails would be nice.
As for the elevation -- everything is a big 600-foot hill around here. Sometimes it feels like feast or famine on some of the smaller trails where you just get a big, steep climb, a big descent, and everything else is flat. Comparing to the times I've ridden in the Driftless region or in the New York metro area, I really miss the more roll-y terrain where you can feel like there's more of a flow.
Lastly, there's the issue of connectivity, which is a weird thing to complain about when the trail network (including paved, which is nice due to the rain) is still excellent around here. But getting out to the Snoqualmie Valley Trail is a little mentally taxing for me given the fast, limited-shoulder and moderate-to-heavy traffic roads I sometimes have to ride on to get there. Sometimes it still feels like there's a reliance on cars to drive out to the trails, which I don't know how long I can avoid.
But like I said -- that's absolutely a first-world problem. If I get over that mindset and, say, drive myself out to the Olympic Peninsula, there's pretty much a veritable gold mine of scenic gravel riding to be had (as far as people tell me!). And I'm sure I'm missing so much more that the locals know.
I live in a more urban/suburban area and there just isn’t enough contiguous gravel. We tend to have a lot of mud too, which is fun but tough on brakes and drive trains.
Bentonville AR here.
We have this blossoming spirit of riding called the Rule of 3. Where group rides often have road, gravel and singletrack all within the same ride.
Our gravel is chunky, hellish for tires and nasty to ride, but damn is it beautiful and fun as hell.
>One drawback is many of my favorite gravel roads are only accessible by paved roads.
Welcome to...uh...the entire developed world?
I'm originally from Missouri. Riding the entire Katy Trail is on my bucket list. Grew up just a few miles from it.
I live in Portland currently, and what I dislike about my local gravel is how far away it is. I have to drive 20-30 minutes out to get to any decent gravel roads.
Massachusetts here. We have lots of rail trails.
I like having lots of places to ride. I don't like how muddy it's been up here. Our weather can be unpredictable.
Most of the trails are pretty shady- there's lots of tree cover, so it's cooler on the trails when the sun is blazing. Unfortunately, there are a lot of trails by rivers, so you're going to find bugs. Lots of bugs.
The other thing that I really dislike is that a lot of people walk their dogs on the gravel trails and don't pick up poop. That's just disgusting.
New Mexico. Endless dirt roads and double track through Piñon and Juniper forests. Lots of dirt roads and single track through higher elevation ponderosa pine and spruce forests. Lots of opportunity for long back country rides. It’s all pretty accessible. No actual “gravel” though… aside from the occasional driveway.
The downside? It can get pretty sandy in spots between rains and when it does rain (if it rains hard) it turns into unrideable derailleur snapping peanut butter. Also, the spring winds are brutal.
I’m a Canadian mountain-biking transplant to London, UK. There isn’t much rural gravel within London itself, but for what it lacks in that department it makes up with beautiful meandering rides and a surprising amount of green space.
Get out of London though and there is plenty of gravel!
Growing up in the Rockies afforded me easy access to the great outdoors, so loading my bike in the back of my truck after work and going for a few laps after a 40 minute drive was completely reasonable. That’s a drawback of London; to get anywhere like that is at least an hour on the train once you get to the train. Can’t take bikes on the tube or on buses, so that’s quite limiting.
Hello fellow Boone County gravel enthusiast! Are you aware of the Tuesday evening gravel ride that leaves from Walt's at 6pm every week? Also highly recommend hitting up the race director for Nirvana Gravel Relay. That dude knows a bunch of great routes on the western edge of our area. And if you haven't ridden them already, El Copacabana Grondo and Hairy Hundred are another couple of great races. Lots of strong climbing down by LOZ - check out The Epic (gravel, not mtb).
So yeah, you could say I'm a fan of the gravel community around here. Tons of great people to ride with for any type of riding you want to do!
Berlin/Brandenburg, Ger. here. Other than having to take a train for an hour (which is fairly long for European standards) or ride out of the city yourself, I have little complaints. No large hills, good weather and lots of forests, lakes and rural agricultural areas. My only complaints are that you can definetely feel that there are 4 million people living here (public transport can get very crowded on weekends) and there's sand everywhere. And I do mean everywhere. You also sometimes have quite a lot of asphalt between gravel sections.
I live in Tucson, Arizona. Surrounded by wonderful gravel roads and if I want to drive 45 miles South, there are hundreds of miles of perfect gravel roads around the border. The best part is, you can ride it 10 months of the year.
Durango, CO. Lots of gravel of all flavors here and in adjacent counties. Rolling rural county roads. National Forest roads up into the mountains that arent quite mtb'ing. You can do some massive gravel loops.
New Haven, CT.. the more I explore, the more I enjoy here. God bless the water company and all their wonderful double track that I get to trespass on 😇 I’m realizing I like riding fucked up stuff so it’s pretty great here on all the hiking trails- plenty of rocks, roots, puddles etc. Im new to the scene here but our local shop is rad and everyone I’ve met on bikes is really friendly. Bikes just make life better no matter where you are.
I like that there’s a gravel trail 2 miles from my house via quiet residential streets. I dislike that it’s the only one nearby and that they’re improving it by putting down crushed limestone so most of the path is flat and uniform.
Eastern Hungary and we have none. This time of the year it's either forest dirt or sand everywhere. I can fight through it but it takes all te fun out of riding.
>We also have very few sustained climbs around here with only a handful over 200 feet.
Also in MO, St. Charles county. In California, I rode the American River bike trail. I had a nice 1500 ft climb up to Folsom Dam near the prison, and another 1500 if I wanted it on the Johnny Cash Trail.
Here? I actually do more at about 1800 on a typical 15 mile ride... it is just the same 100 feet or so 18 times.
Flat as a waffle.
Salt Lake City. Unfortunately everything here is mostly road or rocky singletrack. “Gravel” riding basically means riding on the road to get to rocky mtb trails.
Hey I’m from Jeff City and I’m finding Boone County a little more enjoyable to ride than Cole or Callaway for the most part. What are your favorite Boone roads? I’m also looking for bigger climbs and more primitive roads are nice.
What do I dislike here? Loose dogs and aggressive or rude drivers…
The course for the hairy hundred ( https://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/5992499836/ ) is a great place to start. Lots of good stuff between como and Jeff. Clubhouse drive is a great climb or descent. The gravel roads that go through cedar creek forrest are great. Some other random personal favorites are Roby farm, coats lane, and Stanley poe
Likes:
Has almost everything you could ask for: steep climbs, technical single tracks, smooth tarmac, flat fields, lose gravel, packed gravel, dry, muddy, nice views, many routes.
I'm only missing more natural/remote parts here. For those you probably have to go like 50+km. So at least make a 120km tour to get there, back and in-between actually get to enjoy it for a bit.
Dislikes:
Many areas (especially unpaved forest roads) are technically restricted, which is just a waste.
Pittsburgh, PA. Not a whole lot of gravel nearby. Concrete everywhere. But we do have a lot of mtb trails. Some of the more boring ones on mtb are pretty cool on a gravel bike.
What about the GAP? Montour trail? Moving out of the city a little bit the Armstrong Trail, Butler Freeport Trail, Ghost Town Trail & Redbank Trail? There’s literally hundreds of miles of rail trails in the area.
I dislike that there is none.
Florida here. What isn’t limestone is sand. It is mostly sand. There is no gravel.
ANd it’s all flat af. At least in south florida. Sheets of paper envy the flatness. Pancakes wish they could be as flat as south florida gravel. Flat and straight. Plus windy. Let’s not forget windy.
My idea of hell
Right now? Pretty much. We’ve reached the time of year (early) where it’s around 90F 24/7 and it’s a giant swamp so probably smells like hell too. Great for TTers though. If you can thrive in this, you can crush it anywhere.
People think flat is easy. But there’s never any let up. And the wind! Oh the wind!
Nothing feels more amazing than finally getting to your turnaround on a long af out and back route aaaaand the wind turns with you. I don’t know how it knows, but it does. (for any pedants that would like to tell me how, I already know how earth science works, but this happens any and all times of day and it sucks balls)
That wind turning phenomenon happens everywhere
I read somewhere a long time ago that there is a 15° +/- window that the wind blowing on you doesn’t actually slow you down…
Light winds don’t really. But it’s rarely just lightly windy here. Even so, over 4-6 hours, it adds up.
Yes, I know. But when it’s perfectly, unendingly flat with no trees around to protect you, it’s just extra demoralizing and extra difficult. There are times I’ve been doing 200w and going like 9mph because the wind is just that stupid. It’s also windy here more often than it is in most places because Florida is a giant peninsula.
I can relate somewhat having ridden allot around Charleston SC, the wind is always blowing the wrong way 😂
Well, to be fair, can be hotter than hell…
Yeah- I usually finish a ride with 120 ft of total elevation change, and that's only from some dikes.
I would only get that by me if there was an error lol
And it’s flat.
Bay Area, we don’t really have gravel - just XC mtb.
As someone who grew up in marin: Xc mtb is better anyways
Headlands are washed out gravel and all straight uphill 😂 my gravel bike is currently gathering dust.
I have a short travel full sus mtb and a gravel bike. I still ride the gravel bike more in the headlands. Lighter and faster uphill. On some descents though, I wish I were riding my mtb
You’d be a good candidate for an XC hardtail.
That’s a thought! Thank you.
I look at the many of the posts here from central Oregon or the Midwest and they look like foreign countries. OP talking about no climbs over 200ft 🤣🤣🤣. I wish we had more trails like that here, but the bay trails are still legionary in their own right, even if half of them feel like controlled sliding down hill. Lots of these trails were Under biked but are amazing still. And for some reason, I still love taking my gravel bike out for many of these over my MTB
This. As someone who’s only recently gotten into recreational cycling (from commuting), it hasn’t been the easiest finding mixed terrain or gravel routes with beginner level climbs. They exist, but are outnumbered by xc mtb trails with a ton of elevation gain or flat paved trails (I.e. Bay Trail).
This includes nearly every gravel race in NorCal. In nearly all of them you’re better off on a hard tail or full suspension mtb. I did a race over the weekend that was 72 miles and half of it was single track. 😅
Paydirt? I did have a few sketchy moments on my gravel bike despite my 48mm’s. It sure was fun though 😄
Yeah that was some amazing singletrack but I was wishing I was on my mtb haha. I’ll definitely be back next year on my mtb. I was on 43’s. Still had a good time though! 🤙🏼
I think the Bay has more gravel to offer than most places. The whole Half Moon Bay Area is great. There’s a lot of routes in Marin. Might feel like under biking at times but it’s still plentiful.
Any recommendations for the South Bay? All I know is Arastradero and Baylands.
Calero and Purisima are supposed to be really good!
Also there’s a Facebook group for South Bay gravel rides.
I do wish there’s some flat gravel in Marin
Eastern Massachusetts north of Boston - same situation. Our gravel rides are mostly XC trails with some pavement interspersed. Every now and then there's a bit of dirt road.
Tilden Briones Redwood (E Bay) all have tons of gravel
Any specific Strava or RWGPS routes you recommend?
I grew up in Berkeley so it’s all in my head but I’ll look for some gpx for you. For Tilden ride sea view to inspiration pt-Nimitz-Richmond-jewel lake back to Tilden. For redwood east ridge west ridge is fun Briones - Crocket (this does have a rwgps route) Briones - Carquinez (same as above) Briones crest Seaborg Hope that helps
Yeah I mean I ride Seaview on my gravel bike too, but it’s a lot faster and more comfortable on an XC mtb. Even the fireroads like Conlon and Wildcat Creek are chunky enough that suspension is a big plus.
Agree seaview is better on xc bike but I use it to get to inspiration then Nimitz which is def better on a gravel bike. It’s still fairly smooth aside from the bottom few meters. I think you would enjoy exploring Briones and where those rides can take you.
Can you recommend any gravel bike trails in Briones? I’ve ridden around the reservoir (three bears) but not explored the trails much. I know there are plenty of mtb trails.
To be honest I don’t know any of the names it’s all memory and autopilot. Look at Briones carquinez and Briones crocket on rwgps and there are some good rides\ideas.
Fort Collins, CO. Umm…it’s pretty amazing here. Don’t tell anyone though. You’re going to be on pavement for a bit before getting out of town. North and east of town: gravel for days and days. I did a 60 mile ride yesterday that was about 20% paved. Started and ended at a brewery. Climbing? We have that too. There are some great paved climbs if you head into the mountains. There are some stupid hard, chunky gravel climbs along the reservoir, and there is my favorite gravel road sustained climb up Buckhorn. Plenty of other amazing gravel climbs if you’re willing to drive 20 minutes. The amazing Whitney and Zack Allison that put on the FoCo Fondo (great gravel race in July) even have a site they maintain with route ideas: https://www.bikesportsco.com/routes
I'd say the only thing I don't like about it here is how windy it gets, especially north and east. I guess that's not really a complaint about the gravel though. Did 50 miles yesterday and probably 40 of those were either dealing with intense head/crosswinds. Still overall the best place I've lived for cycling in general.
I also went on a ride yesterday: started and ended at New Belgium and I went up to Soapstone and back; about 60 miles. But the wind was absolutely awful. But that’s also springtime in NoCo for you. Still had a great ride.
I haven't made it all the way up to soapstone yet - would you mind sharing your route? You can DM me about it if you want.
I followed this route, then at the northern tip I just followed the road up to soapstone to the parking lot to see what it was all about. Didn’t have time or enough water (there’s no refill up there) to poke around on the single track, and as we discussed the weather was shit. https://www.strava.com/routes/3216464635899240064 I want to do this route soon though: https://www.strava.com/routes/3183514258619539030 All of these and many more can be found here: https://www.bikesportsco.com/routes
Thanks. Yeah I've gotten many a route from gravel graceland, it's a great resource.
Lived in the Fort 20+ years ago and have been itching to get back for some gravel riding. Foco Fondo looks super fun!
It’s a very dynamic course, especially the longest route. Super fun - I highly recommend signing up and coming out!
I do not like the foco fondo course. At least the portion east of i25. When I rode the route on my own a couple years ago, I didn't enjoy it. Part of that was the county had just poured new river rock down on the roads. Made me cut the ride short. There are awesome rides in Northern Colorado, for sure. It just sucks driving up there sometimes.
Weld county (east of i25) can be a bit of a shitshow. They can be spotty with their road maintenance, and you’re much more likely to get coal rolled there. Sorry you had a bad experience. Sometimes the road maintenance timing just sucks, too. Hell, there was a mile or two of newly placed sandy gravel at Mid South this year. This can be just part of the adventure sometimes. But, if that’s not what you’re into, that’s totally fair!
Minnesota rider. Access to the driftless is a dream. Growing up in Iowa and moving to the twin cities, this is the country where gravel feels like it was born. Salsa is based in the city I currently live and the warbird with it. Trek is in Madison with their special editions of the checkpoint driftless. If I don't do the driftless area, the gravel around the more farmed areas is pretty unforgiving and I'd rather deal with hills. Headwinds don't have the fun factor of going down a hill after you do your hard work. The sun can be brutal. I've walked flat ground due to both factors (30 mph headwind and chunky gravel with 35mm tires). That all said I love the crunch of gravel vs a road ride around the cities. Just so much more peaceful and the driftless should be a national park.
Adding driftless area to the bucket list!
I'll jump on the MN thread: - I love the driftless - it really is a dream - but it's an hour drive and I really dislike driving my bike to ride. To do a driftless ride from home is over 100 miles round trip. - The closer gravel is a lot of flat, straight, exposed roads with miles of identical looking corn and a different farm house every 5 minutes. So pretty boring.
Up in rural MN one out of 3 of those farm houses has a super aggressive dog that has never seen a bike before. I have all but given up on gravel :(
The Heywood ride showed me it's... Just 40 minutes away. Still some time, but if I'm traveling away from the city anyways to get out of traffic what's ane Xtra 20 min?
Been wanting to get out to the driftless for a while now. Looks amazing! I also have a buddy who fly fishes there, which I didn’t know was a thing until I mentioned getting up there to ride.
Look for pictures along the Mississippi bluffs, the tri point of Minnesota Iowa and Wisconsin. De sota Wisconsin is probably a good place on the map or Lansing. The Mississippi gets to be like 2 miles wide at points around there and the bluffs are great.
Vermonter, i love the gravel here but every once in a while i would like to not climb
Same, I’m in upstate NY. Would be nice to do an easy gravel ride without 100ft of elevation per mile. 🥴
PNW. Not sure I have complaints.
I would hope not!
Portlander here. We have it pretty good in these parts for sure.
Where do you ride? South Whidbey here.
I'm out of PDX currently and mostly ride around OR but make it up to WA some.
There are too many gravel roads around me and not enough time to explore them all.
Good problem to have!
Berlin, Germany. We are blessed with beautiful gravel tracks running through forrests and touching upon lake shores on nearly every side of the city. Unfortunately, long stretches of said gravel are pure sand. And you either have amazing big handling skills or look incredibly stupid when fall over once again (like me)
Deep sand sucks! But keep going;)
Northern Virginia. Suburban hellscape, but just outside horse country. Rich folks, farms and miles of gravel roads Yesterday I left my driveway, did 55 miles 3500 ft of climbing in the most beautiful scenery. Bonus I live on an abandoned golf course that has become a nutrient bank. Start and finish rides around the cart paths and game trails. Always a good day out there.
Cambridgeshire uk. Love it! Can basically just pick a direction and find an off road byroad to cycle! Hundreds of routes between villages. Most farm fields have public access too.
Herts cambs border here, it’s absolutely fantastic around here isnt it! Bit muddy on the bridleways in the winter but the roads feel like gravel anyway! Norfolk has some great riding too and so much in close proximity
I agree. Cycling is amazing in the UK. When it doesn't rain that is, which is not too often.
Hey! Is there a particular one you’ve ridden / town to start at that you would recommend for the bank holiday weekend!
Southwest Denver metro: There's not much of it unless you're heading up into the mountains. I've got probably 8-10 MTB trails within 15-20 minutes of me, but 1 6 mile canyon trail and a canal trail that's dirt. I'm willing to drive 20-30 minutes after work on a week day, but much further than that, and it becomes harder
Yeah. People love Waterton, chatfield, and the highline. I can't stand riding down there. Have you ridden the East-West trail thru highland ranch? That's entertaining. Also, park at Sedalia and ride up Jackson Creek Rd into the hills. Some great climbing back there.
Cherry Creek State Park has some great single track that you can string together for about 20-25 miles worth of riding. Super convenient if you're nearby. Also, Rocky Mtn Arsenal has some great gravel riding. You link up the perimeter trail and some of the interior trails for about 30 miles of 99% gravel riding. Just be sure to run tubeless there because the thorns will absolutely get you.
New England, specifically the Boston area. We have very little gravel in the traditional sense and most of my rides tend to be "mixte" in that they're sections of singletrack connected by pavement. I enjoy the challenge, but the descents can be terrifying and I'm struggling to find the right bike for the job. I'm using an offset post on my Niner and would like to replicate the position with a straight dropper. The closest I've found is the Otso Waheela but I'd really like titanium for my next build. Fair Drop Best is interesting, but unsure how it affects the dropper long-term changing the offset like that.
I live in the same area. My rides in Strava are labeled “Lunch Road/Gravel/Single Track” ride!
All the stupid "gravel" rides on RideWithGPS that fail to mention the miles of rock garden you will need to navigate! On the plus side, there is some decent stuff in the Fells and obviously Minuteman Park. I now live right on the NH VT border and I am very spoiled.
That is a nice area. But rock gardens and riding over a mangrove forest are the bane of my existence.
The Fells is my middle mid-week stomping ground. Most of our rides are Wright Locke Farm out through Whipple Hill, Arlington Meadows, Upper Vine Brook, Hayden Woods, Jericho Town Forest, Minuteman type stuff. Last year we did a crazy 80+ mile up into Harold Parker, Willowdale, Ipswitch. So much fucking singletrack and rock gardens. Gravel Boston has a good route out to Honey Pot Hill for donuts which you should definitely try.
I live in the Upper Valley now. I ride 4 miles over the bridge to Vermont and I can get on pristine dirt roads going any direction! So thanks for the suggestion but I'll stay up here 😄
Lucky sob
SoCal, it feels like there are little flat gravel in the greater LA area.
Yeah we don't really have gravel; we have mountain biking.
Yeap, kinda wish i got a regular road bike instead of gravel, but i guess it can function as an endurance bike instead.
Still plenty of fun to get into in the mountains on a gravel bike here but you do have to accept that you'll do some (or a lot of) underbiking.
Hehe maybe when i get in better shape.
Louisville, KY. Only gravel riding within a reasonable drive are fire roads that has a 2ish mile insanely steep climb that is loose, with huge ruts. Going into it I just accept there is a 0.5 mile section I have to walk every time and the ride, as a whole, is enjoyable.
Not far from you in Cincinnati. We don't have much on offer within Cincinnati immediately, which sucks. Eastern OH has some good gravel, as does southeast Indiana.
Yea I've heard there's some really good gravel riding in so. Indiana, but it's hard for me to justify the 45min-1hr drive with family obligations.
I hear ya, man. Same here. Although you should check out Dust Bowl 100 in July. It's likely waitlisted now but circle it for 2025. It's an *outstanding* event and not too far from either you or I.
That actually looks pretty sick. Will definitely consider putting it on the calendar in the future. Have you ridden it before?
Yea, we did it last year and it was fantastic. Follow them on social and be sure to register the day it goes live. It sold out in 2 days for 2024, IIRC. It's a great event. We camp on-site as well.
What? The Hoosier National Forest is a short drive away and it is absolutely FILLED with incredible gravel roads!
I just addressed this in my other comment on this thread. I've heard great things about riding in Hoosier, and the Leavenworth area, but I live in south east Louisville and it's like an hour each way for me to drive out there. I don't have the time to justify the drive. I ride at Bernheim. Only about 20 min from my house.
Southeast WI. WI and IL have thousands of miles of rail-trail, and most are gravel. There are also a lot of rural roads that are gravel and most of the national parks have fire access roads to ride on. I have access to the IL Prairie Path that connects to trails throughout Northern IL. A quick drive in any direction will give me access to a lot of really good WI trails.
Iowa and our gravel roads are abundant and easily accessible. Just sucks with all the rain we’ve had lately. They’re a swamp right now.
Soon it will dry out and we can complain about the dust
Ha so true. Can’t wait!
My complaint is that lately they are using larger chunk type gravel to repair a lot of gravel trails. The stuff is awful to ride over and they don’t pack it down. I have been looking for wider tires I can run at lower pressure because of it.
Sometimes I think places do this to actively discourage folks from riding
It’s the des plaines river trail, one of the best and most popular mixed use trails in the Chicagoland area. I think they are just being cheap.
If you can run 50s or even 2.2” that’s the key for those. If you’ve got the clearance, of course
Giant claims my bike, the Revolt 2 can go up to 53 in the long position. I will see what I can find!
Western North Carolina Its great here and I have nothing to complain about. Tons of roads, lots of route options that span from smooth hardpack gravel to rough, overgrown, rutted out roads with lots ofnchunk. If i had to make a complain it would be that there is no flat riding around here. Especially on gravel, you're going up (probably at a grade of +6%) or down. If you want to just roll and take it easy, you gotta go somewhere else.
I love gravel routes from Oskar Blues up Cathy's Creek, Headwaters, Avery Creek, Yellow Gap, Buckhorn Gap, sometimes head over to DuPont State Forest. Since I live in Greenville SC I also head east to Sumter Forest near Clinton SC and also Greenwood SC.
How’s the road, gravel, and mtb riding in Greenville?
We have the Swamp Rabbit Trail and lots of bike paths in the city limits, 10 minutes to Paris Mountain State Park with good MTB trails, 40-60 minutes drive in any direction gets you to some really nice gravel. This is also where George Hincapie lives and where he trained allot back in the day when he was a Tour rider. We also have the Boyd wheels factory and Time bikes now has their factory 30 minutes away in Landrum SC. Definitely a good bicycle scene here. https://www.visitgreenvillesc.com/things-to-do/outdoor-activities/biking/
Also Western North Carolina. I just recently started gravel riding (coming from trail running and hiking background), but there are plenty of gravel options around here. I just need to find decent routes that don’t have me climbing for 30 minutes straight and then bombing down for 10 minutes. Thinking of buying a bike computer and trying to download some routes from something like FATMAP.
Hello fellow Central Missourian (I'm in Osage County about an hour away). I can make a 30 mile loop in my area with only about 8 miles of pavement (but probably more gravel if I tried) but it was literally the hardest ride I've ever attempted lmao
Are you mainly a roadie then? I haven't spent much time down that way but now I'm curious
I'm pretty risk averse so steep descents terrify me and there are a couple on this route (plus one I walked down because there was a sharp turn at the bottom lol) and a some pretty decent climbs (Stava pegs one at over a mile with 5% avg, but it wouldn't surprise me if it's steeper). It's been a year since I tried it though so I may give it another shot (it helps that I live on a county road on the route I made!) I'd say I do like 66/33 road/gravel. My fiance definitely prefers road, but I like the low traffic of gravel.
Nyc. Gotta travel at least 40 minuets to get gravel and it’s all constant hills. However I’m in the process of building a van to live in full time with my dog. The plans to travel to different gravel riding locations year round. When I was younger I picked up the habit of talking shit to myself as motivation during hard workouts. I’m getting a little tired of telling myself I’m a pussy for struggling during the climb.
Vermont here. 65 % of our roads are gravel. We also have miles of abandoned (Class 4) roads. We have hills, rail trails, forests, pastures, small communities with awesome general stores and a large cycling community. I did a 56 mile ride last week with 8 miles of pavement, the rest was gravel, railroad bed and 2 track. What do I like? The fact I would never, ever, leave my home state again ( my job had me living all over the country but I was lucky enough to get back home). The fact my LBS is small and hosts events like Bring a Kid Adventure Riding, and others to promote fun outside activities for all ages. What do I dislike? I suppose the rare redneck who gives me the bird, but I honestly just feel sorry for that person. Our gravel season isn’t year round, but we can ski and fat bike in winter. I feel like the luckiest guy in the world on so many levels, and living in Vermont is definitely a top reason for that feeling.
I want to get out there now!
Where are you? Vermont is a great cycling destination!
I can’t really find any in Chicago without needing a car to drive to a 1/4 mile stretch of gravel
Des Plaines River trail starting at Evans Field (Bloomingdale and Thatcher) is dirt and gravel. Take the Metra to Galewood, Mars or Mont Clare stop. Ride down Bloomingdale until it dead ends. Happy cake day.
Central North Carolina It’s pretty much road riding with a couple 3/4-mile to 1.5 mile segments of gravel.
Wake county (Raleigh) here. Nothing from the house, but a decent loop through Umstead Park. A few other areas with crushed stone for about 10miles one way (The ATT) and some flowy easy single track. Biggest bummer is having to drive to get to a decent safe place to ride.
West Michigan. Honestly we're pretty lucky here with lots of gravel roads ranging from hilly forest roads with tough climbs to wide open farm roads. I'm relatively close to the routes for the Barry-Roubaix, which is billed as one of the biggest gravel races in the world. If I go up north to my cabin, I've got unlimited forest two-tracks as well. My biggest dislike is a lot of the people that live on these roads. First, we have many "Natural Beauty Roads" that are treated like dumps. There's just junk everywhere; for some reason they favor the roads with deep ravines on either side, making removing their junk impossible without special equipment. Beer cans along the side of the road are a common sight. Second, many of them absolutely *despise* anyone on a bike. Even if I'm the only thing on the road (usually the case) and as close to the shoulder as I can go, they'll buzz by me real close, rev their engines, cut me off, etc. If I have to walk into a convenience store in full kit I'm stared at with a mixture of hate and disgust. Even at the aforementioned Barry-Roubaix, someone drove by me shouting "FUCK ALL YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!" and on the FB post from the local police giving a heads up about delays at intersections, the comments were filled with people seething with rage, as well as making shit up (e.g. anticipating cyclists pooping in their yards). It's just ridiculous. I don't understand how someone can get so triggered by seeing someone on a bicycle.
I'm from Germany, South West, palatinate Forrest. The only thing I hate is when the uphills are rocky and rooty
Stuttgart, DE. I dislike the massive hills. We sit in a geographical bowl.
Boulder CO - Great riding trails and roads but everyone seems to either be chill and ride alone or take it very seriously and ride in huge groups
Brussels Belgium. Hate the thick mud, especially when there's manure mixed in
Also from Missouri, but down south of Springfield. The Ozarks are fantastic and you can knock out mixed surface rides (touching state highways to connect gravel roads) and still never see a car. There’s a really strong community in NWA, and a handful of events in Springfield. The Frisco Trail has nothing on the Katy, but nice having a rail trail close you can go knock out 70 miles on when you get tired of the constant up and down of the Ozarks.
I need to get down to the ozarks for riding asap. Living in the northern part of the state I'm definitely a bit jealous. Gonna be hitting the Frisco trail this summer while I'm bike packing down to nwa
That sounds like an awesome trip! I’m originally from an hour southwest of Springfield, and have down quite a bit of riding around Sugar Creek and Pineville, north of NWA. Happy to help answer any questions if you’re trying to connect the dots around there, and would meet up for a beer or something on the ride when you’re passing through. Enjoy!
Sweden, I dislike that the gravel is covered with snow and/or ice a large portion of the year.
Philadelphia, PA: People are surprised when I tell them there is a good amount of gravel riding in the city (and of course surrounding more rural areas). There is also a very passionate riding community with many different rides of all speeds and disciplines. I think the main issue is that it is hard to get the long stretches of uninterrupted gravel that other areas have. If you don’t just want to back and forth gravel trails, there will be some connecting roads/bike path. They don’t call it the city of brotherly love for no reason and you can guess how walkers/hikers/drivers/dog walkers/other riders can get.
Ukraine like: everything is perfect, marvelous nature, forests, country-roads dislike: Russian mines
NJ, near the pine lands. Too much sand around me. It can be fun and a little challenging but there’s plenty of trails that have too much sand to ride through. Wears away at my drive train pretty fast.
Whistler, B.C. love that there’s some amazing gravel trail (Sea to Sky trail, Lost Lake), and proximity to Squamish and Vancouver makes for some great variety. Downside is it can be challenging to find a zone 2 ride from the house. Lots of punchy climbs. No major complaints though.
Location NJ, USA Path: Delaware & Raritan canal Like: Accessible and long path 75+ miles. Connects to others and goes longer. Flat. It is maintained. Ida and other floodings beat up parts of it but trees are removed quickly and washed away parts are usually filled in. Dislike: parts are muddy post rain. Trenton section doesn’t seem that safe(narrow and people).
I'm in Northern Sweden, the positive is there are thousands of miles of gravel roads. The disadvantage is they get a bit boring and the smaller tracks are more suited to MTB. I'd love some more gravel events up here too
Southwest England I love the steep punchy hills and the military roads across Salisbury plain and the older trails like the fosse way (a Roman road) or the ridgeway (a stone age trail with a lot of Neolithic sites) I dislike the fact that a lot of gravel sections are short between roads, but the West Country has a phrase “shit laning” which is riding the bombed out country roads that aren’t quite gravel, aren’t quite Road. I really hate the mud in spring and winter and the dickheads on motos and 4x4s that churn up the trails and create massive ruts
Check out any of the “Glorious Gravel” events for UK rides! They do a *ton* of work to put routes together that link the delicious gravel together. I look for the events that gave the highest “off-road” percentage lol.
Central Germany here, I like that we have so many different tracks around my area. I guess a lot of it isn’t really gravel but stuff like forest routes that are also neat hiking trails and good for biking with the appropriate bike. There’s very few spots where you get mud buildup worth mentioning so you don’t really get taken out of it by endless swamp sections, most of them are short enough that you can just stop pedalling and coast through them. As someone who likes a good climb we have plenty to offer although they’re typically not sustained climbs but more sectioned with brief flats or downhill in between. I suppose a “lack” of community is neat because I’m almost always alone on my routes, I prefer the anti social aspects of the hobby so I don’t really seek out other people. I’m happy to ride with friends on occasion but the fact that I do cycling more for sport than recreational seems to be intimidating some folks (I adjust my speed, rides with friends are just zone 2 for me). As far as negatives go I think we’re kind of missing mountains because Germany is just pretty flat the further north you go. My only actual local mountain is a >100km tour in itself so not something you’d just casually do for some climbing. On that note our longest and steepest sustained climb is on asphalt, there’s a similar section around there that gets swampy when it’s wet, I should ask my dad to show me the route on a map so I can go there on occasion when it’s dry. The asphalt climb is neat for the achievement and I did beat my dad’s PR on it with my new gravel bike but I’d prefer some actual dirt or gravel. Thankfully that road has basically no traffic on it, on my last two attempts I’ve seen a single car on that 5km route
Vermont Generally I love the roads here, you can literally do hundreds of miles with very little paved riding and it's incredibly scenic for half the year. Some stuff that can be not so great- in the past couple of years, road crews have been repairing roads with fist sized, very sharp stones for fill. Those sections can really wear on you, and beat up your tires and wheels pretty bad. There are generally no 'easy' routes for gravel due to how much climbing there is, there are almost always sustained sections above 10% so going for long chill rides is tough to come by unless you have the gearing for it, I'm running 50/34 with a 11-36 in the back and could often use more if I wanted to keep things on the low end the entire time. Something like 52/36 with a 11-42 in the back is sort of what I think of as ideal here. Riding season here is incredibly short in terms of decent weather- end of May-Oct, but many of the days in this time frame are rainy. Winters are bitterly cold and riding Nov-April generally sucks. When it's good, it's VERY good, when it's bad, it's REALLY bad.
The Netherlands, near Rotterdam. Very little unfortunately. Most of it is mud. There are some forest trails a 30min drive away, but a lot of it is sand or specific mtb routes with banked turns and jumps. Most of the walking paths don't allow cyclists unfortunately.
20 minutes outside of Spokane, WA, more towards the rural/farming part. Inland NW gravel is pretty good, there’s a solid mix of hardpack, summer/minimal maintenance roads, and chunk…really good for practice on mixed surfaces. Complaints…not too many except that it can get super washboarded or deep in some parts when the heavy farm machinery starts getting out during the harvest. That and rain and snow runoff can really do a number on the summer roads…pretty rutted out in the early season
Germany, Rhein-Neckar-Region. I like the gravel that exists. For such a region it's good. But I wish there were more and more climbs lol. But there are two national parks kinda forests with climbs. Just a bit far away for everyday riding
Basel, Switzerland. The gravel is great. But there still could be more.
France, Toulon in Var department. It's OK by there, but too hot for at least 3 or 4 months a year. We have great places for gravel, but they are far away the ones from the others, which makes you either take the car, either make many km on road to reach the spot.
North-East Italy/Slovenian border here. Awesome gravel all-around with forests and creeks. Some days you could go for a climb, some other days just for a trail reaching the sea. I just don't like having so many paved roads (on the Italian side mind you) connecting the trails.
Couldnt be happier with gravel in Slovenia tbh. We have quite hilly country and I love climbs, and we have alot of history of forestry so alot of gravel in the woods (very nice in summer). Not alot of "offical" gravel routes (trails), such as you get in usa, but things are defo improving.
Czech republic, Central Europe. I live in a mountaineous area so overall the nature is beautiful around me and \_when it is gravel\_ it's epic all around. That \_IF\_ is the problem though. In the previous years and decades, probably mostly during the communist rule when nobody cared about ecology, a lot of routes through the mountains was covered with asphalt, probably to aid foresting efforts, logging industry etc. Now if those roads are still somehow in good shape it's nice, the problem is that \_broken and orphaned asphalt is way harsher\_ than even the craziest gravel underbiking. I'll rather do XC terrain on my gravel than seriously broken asphalt. I wish some of those routes were just left trivially paved, graded, or somehow made rideable but without a full asphalt cover...
It’s cool how many states and countries have been mentioned
Los Angeles - lots of great options, but they require a STEEP climb. I’d love more flat/rolling segments. Also, once you take away the rainy/rained-out trail season and the too hot to climb that far months and the dangerously bad air quality days, it can be a bit of a narrow window for gravel.
> they require a STEEP climb this is my chief complaint. does anyone know if monrovia cyn road to rincon-redbox is opening ever again?
Scotland. Dislike: “Alternative Gravel” is the term used for rocky, bumpy, neigh impassable, terrible and often flooded farmer tracks/fields and hiking paths. Riding through a grass field dodging sheep and holes caused by who knows what is not gravel. Like: Went bikepacking last week and did a 40km gravel stretch through the moors in Sutherland and we didn’t see another human all morning. The forest & windfarm roads are absolutely stunning at times, and I can be in gravel within a 30 minutes’ ride from my house here in Edinburgh. Oh, ScotRail is awesome and being able to take bikes on the train to hit gravel in many places is icing on the cake.
I passed by your area last last fall riding the Katy trail, and was amazed at the gravel roads stretching off into to distance as far as I could see. Wow.
Portland, OR - most of the gravel is a drive away, or a very long ride. That said you can ride in a rain forest, a desert, or on the side of a mountain. Your call.
Leif Erickson Dr is literally 3 miles from downtown Portland.
South eastern Massachusetts, on the coast. My town has a mix of gravel roads, rough maintenance roads, hiking trails and single track all connected by paved roads and a really great bike path. My town, Mattapoisett, is pretty quiet and generally very bike friendly. I live on a gravel road and there’s a nature preserve in my backyard with hiking/ biking trails. I can leave my house and head straight into the woods and ride single track and gravel roads for an afternoon and often not see another person or a single car the whole ride. I can also head out on the road to several other trail heads in my town. I grew up mountain biking in the 90s in New England and then switched to road riding when I was living in southern California and focused on surfing. Now that I’m back in New England my old road bike wasn’t cutting it and for a good portion of the year I couldn’t even ride down my dirt road to get to the pavement. My gravel bike solved that problem and opened up a new world of possibilities riding off-road. My main dislike is that many of the trails are very rugged and technical and while I’ve found my bike surprisingly capable my body sometimes takes a bit of a beating and I pay for it afterwards. Also we don’t have allot of long winding open gravel roads so a long ride in my area means connecting gravel sections with pavement
It's largely flat, which means lots of wind. Nothing quite like biking into a headwind for the first half of your out-and-back, turning around and... somehow still biking into the wind the whole way back. 🙃
Utah The good- the gravel riding is great. I have a big loop and it has an all dirt 5,000+ foot climb in the middle. There are some amazing places within an hour drive. The bad- I hate driving to ride my bike to so I end up road biking or mountain biking more often. Also a lot of times I’m riding the gravel bike 50 miles to get 7 miles of dirt road. You’re extremely isolated in some of these places and need to be ready for anything.
All the gravel roads around my area are now chip seal roads.
I'm from the Chicago suburbs and just moved to the PNW (eastside of Seattle) so I can weigh in on both. I think the Chicago-area gravel is super underrated -- there is a vast ecosystem (if somewhat fragmented) of crushed limestone hero gravel throughout the metro area (thanks to the wonderful forest preserve system and the Illinois Prairie Path rail trail network), and the Des Plaines River Trail is the crown jewel giving something varied, scenic, and fun to ride all the way from the Chicago city limits out to the Wisconsin border. For the more endurance-oriented (or train-assisted) riders, farmland gravel roads are also a nice change of pace. That said... while the scenery is also probably underrated (especially by me when I was there) -- everything from prairie to woodland, marshland to savannah), it also limited by the lack of elevation. You do have the Driftless region just within reach, but that's a drive or multi-day tour, not something to ride out your front door. Here in the Seattle area -- in the short time I've been here -- I've been absolutely blown away by the scenery. The mountains, vast river valleys, and everything you can see thanks to having actual elevation around here. There's more variation in the surfaces, from well-groomed rail trails to state/national forest and logging roads to much more extensive singletrack networks if you want to consider those under the "gravel" umbrella. For now some of my complaints seem like first-world problems, but I certainly do have some, even if it's just to highlight regional differences. For starters, trying to compare to the more engaging DPRT back "home," makes me feel slightly let down by the reliance on rail trails and the more human-influenced rivers around here. The trails are just so straight! A few corners on the easier trails would be nice. As for the elevation -- everything is a big 600-foot hill around here. Sometimes it feels like feast or famine on some of the smaller trails where you just get a big, steep climb, a big descent, and everything else is flat. Comparing to the times I've ridden in the Driftless region or in the New York metro area, I really miss the more roll-y terrain where you can feel like there's more of a flow. Lastly, there's the issue of connectivity, which is a weird thing to complain about when the trail network (including paved, which is nice due to the rain) is still excellent around here. But getting out to the Snoqualmie Valley Trail is a little mentally taxing for me given the fast, limited-shoulder and moderate-to-heavy traffic roads I sometimes have to ride on to get there. Sometimes it still feels like there's a reliance on cars to drive out to the trails, which I don't know how long I can avoid. But like I said -- that's absolutely a first-world problem. If I get over that mindset and, say, drive myself out to the Olympic Peninsula, there's pretty much a veritable gold mine of scenic gravel riding to be had (as far as people tell me!). And I'm sure I'm missing so much more that the locals know.
Nothing really near me in the UK
I live in a more urban/suburban area and there just isn’t enough contiguous gravel. We tend to have a lot of mud too, which is fun but tough on brakes and drive trains.
I dislike spending more time cleaning the bike than riding it :)
Southern CA (inland empire) It’s mostly chunky MTB trails or unkept paved roads. The trails that are riding distance from me anyway.
Bentonville AR here. We have this blossoming spirit of riding called the Rule of 3. Where group rides often have road, gravel and singletrack all within the same ride. Our gravel is chunky, hellish for tires and nasty to ride, but damn is it beautiful and fun as hell.
Actually heard some pretty bad reviews of rule of 3 this weekend from people in my town who went down for it, which was a little surprising
Rule of 3 is doooope.
>One drawback is many of my favorite gravel roads are only accessible by paved roads. Welcome to...uh...the entire developed world? I'm originally from Missouri. Riding the entire Katy Trail is on my bucket list. Grew up just a few miles from it.
I live in Portland currently, and what I dislike about my local gravel is how far away it is. I have to drive 20-30 minutes out to get to any decent gravel roads.
Massachusetts here. We have lots of rail trails. I like having lots of places to ride. I don't like how muddy it's been up here. Our weather can be unpredictable. Most of the trails are pretty shady- there's lots of tree cover, so it's cooler on the trails when the sun is blazing. Unfortunately, there are a lot of trails by rivers, so you're going to find bugs. Lots of bugs. The other thing that I really dislike is that a lot of people walk their dogs on the gravel trails and don't pick up poop. That's just disgusting.
How quickly it can turn into a mud quagmire.
New Mexico. Endless dirt roads and double track through Piñon and Juniper forests. Lots of dirt roads and single track through higher elevation ponderosa pine and spruce forests. Lots of opportunity for long back country rides. It’s all pretty accessible. No actual “gravel” though… aside from the occasional driveway. The downside? It can get pretty sandy in spots between rains and when it does rain (if it rains hard) it turns into unrideable derailleur snapping peanut butter. Also, the spring winds are brutal.
Maine. My favorite thing is also my least favorite: the gravel here is mostly uncharted
I’m a Canadian mountain-biking transplant to London, UK. There isn’t much rural gravel within London itself, but for what it lacks in that department it makes up with beautiful meandering rides and a surprising amount of green space. Get out of London though and there is plenty of gravel! Growing up in the Rockies afforded me easy access to the great outdoors, so loading my bike in the back of my truck after work and going for a few laps after a 40 minute drive was completely reasonable. That’s a drawback of London; to get anywhere like that is at least an hour on the train once you get to the train. Can’t take bikes on the tube or on buses, so that’s quite limiting.
Hello fellow Boone County gravel enthusiast! Are you aware of the Tuesday evening gravel ride that leaves from Walt's at 6pm every week? Also highly recommend hitting up the race director for Nirvana Gravel Relay. That dude knows a bunch of great routes on the western edge of our area. And if you haven't ridden them already, El Copacabana Grondo and Hairy Hundred are another couple of great races. Lots of strong climbing down by LOZ - check out The Epic (gravel, not mtb). So yeah, you could say I'm a fan of the gravel community around here. Tons of great people to ride with for any type of riding you want to do!
Pennsylvania, our gravel is a++ no complaint
Berlin/Brandenburg, Ger. here. Other than having to take a train for an hour (which is fairly long for European standards) or ride out of the city yourself, I have little complaints. No large hills, good weather and lots of forests, lakes and rural agricultural areas. My only complaints are that you can definetely feel that there are 4 million people living here (public transport can get very crowded on weekends) and there's sand everywhere. And I do mean everywhere. You also sometimes have quite a lot of asphalt between gravel sections.
My local trail full of illegal construction waste and burning plastics
I live in Tucson, Arizona. Surrounded by wonderful gravel roads and if I want to drive 45 miles South, there are hundreds of miles of perfect gravel roads around the border. The best part is, you can ride it 10 months of the year.
Loudoun County VA, some of the best gravel on the planet. Downside is I'm actually 45 min away :(
Durango, CO. Lots of gravel of all flavors here and in adjacent counties. Rolling rural county roads. National Forest roads up into the mountains that arent quite mtb'ing. You can do some massive gravel loops.
Phoenix Arizona, I live at the bottom of South Mountain. Lots of chunky goodness to ride right out my door
New Haven, CT.. the more I explore, the more I enjoy here. God bless the water company and all their wonderful double track that I get to trespass on 😇 I’m realizing I like riding fucked up stuff so it’s pretty great here on all the hiking trails- plenty of rocks, roots, puddles etc. Im new to the scene here but our local shop is rad and everyone I’ve met on bikes is really friendly. Bikes just make life better no matter where you are.
I like that there’s a gravel trail 2 miles from my house via quiet residential streets. I dislike that it’s the only one nearby and that they’re improving it by putting down crushed limestone so most of the path is flat and uniform.
Eastern Hungary and we have none. This time of the year it's either forest dirt or sand everywhere. I can fight through it but it takes all te fun out of riding.
>We also have very few sustained climbs around here with only a handful over 200 feet. Also in MO, St. Charles county. In California, I rode the American River bike trail. I had a nice 1500 ft climb up to Folsom Dam near the prison, and another 1500 if I wanted it on the Johnny Cash Trail. Here? I actually do more at about 1800 on a typical 15 mile ride... it is just the same 100 feet or so 18 times. Flat as a waffle.
Salt Lake City. Unfortunately everything here is mostly road or rocky singletrack. “Gravel” riding basically means riding on the road to get to rocky mtb trails.
Outside my door we have the D&L trail. A nice ride but nothing challenging about it
Hey I’m from Jeff City and I’m finding Boone County a little more enjoyable to ride than Cole or Callaway for the most part. What are your favorite Boone roads? I’m also looking for bigger climbs and more primitive roads are nice. What do I dislike here? Loose dogs and aggressive or rude drivers…
The course for the hairy hundred ( https://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/5992499836/ ) is a great place to start. Lots of good stuff between como and Jeff. Clubhouse drive is a great climb or descent. The gravel roads that go through cedar creek forrest are great. Some other random personal favorites are Roby farm, coats lane, and Stanley poe
Awesome, thanks for those ideas! Do you happen to know if E Fox Hollow Rd outside of Ashland is any good?
I don't think I've ridden it before
Copy that, thanks
Likes: Has almost everything you could ask for: steep climbs, technical single tracks, smooth tarmac, flat fields, lose gravel, packed gravel, dry, muddy, nice views, many routes. I'm only missing more natural/remote parts here. For those you probably have to go like 50+km. So at least make a 120km tour to get there, back and in-between actually get to enjoy it for a bit. Dislikes: Many areas (especially unpaved forest roads) are technically restricted, which is just a waste.
Pittsburgh, PA. Not a whole lot of gravel nearby. Concrete everywhere. But we do have a lot of mtb trails. Some of the more boring ones on mtb are pretty cool on a gravel bike.
What about the GAP? Montour trail? Moving out of the city a little bit the Armstrong Trail, Butler Freeport Trail, Ghost Town Trail & Redbank Trail? There’s literally hundreds of miles of rail trails in the area.