Gravel Riding part 1:  Fun for Everyone

By Coach John Hughes

“To be unbound is to be untethered and unrestrained.” (UnboundGravel.com)

Riding gravel gives you many more options than pavement! You don’t need to do an organized event. Gravel roads go where fewer people go. Because there’s less traffic, gravel roads are safer and may be a better way to get from A to B than a paved highway. Sometimes riding a few miles on gravel between two paved roads is a much more direct route. Most rural areas are a mix of pavement and gravel.

Organized gravel rides offer a range of options. A family-friendly 20-mile ride is part of the the unPAved event in the Susquehanna River Valley, Lewisburg, PA, which also has 50, 90 and 120-mile rides. At the extreme end the 200-mile race, the Unbound Gravel (formerly Dirty Kanza) starting in Emporia, KS.E

My Experiences

I’ve been a roadie since 1975 and love riding on the road … and it doesn’t have to be paved. Here are three examples:

I live in the Fraser Valley in Colorado mountains and US Highway 40 is the main paved road with heavy traffic especially on the weekend. We only have two county paved roads, each about five miles long. We also have a large network of gravel county and subdivision roads. A combination of the county paved and gravel roads is great for a multi-hour ride. I ride 28 mm tires on my road bike and they’re fine for flat to rolling gravel, although they don’t have enough traction for moderately steep climbs and descents.

I live in a hilly rural area and with gravel roads. To ride on pavement, I’d have to load my bike on the car, drive down, and unload my bike. I’d rather spend my time riding from home! The roads in the neighborhood are in good condition; however, the climbs are steep enough I ride my mountain bike with lower gears. My mountain bike also gives me more traction climbing and especially descending.

A couple of years ago a buddy and I rode a two-day credit card tour from Silverthorne, CO over Rabbit Ears pass (9,426 ft.) to Steamboat Springs, CO spent the night and then toured back. From Silverthorne we could have taken highway 9 north, a beautiful road along the Blue River; however, the road has no shoulder. We chose to go take county road 3 over Ute pass (9,570 feet) and then south. The Ute pass climb was paved; however, the descent and the road south were gravel — we enjoyed the quiet. We rode touring bikes with 35 mm tires.

This column covers:

• Why ride gravel
• Benefits to roadies
• Where to ride gravel
• Ways to get started for a few hundred dollars

Future columns will include tips for riding on gravel, training for events, riding in the heat, nutrition for gravel rides, preventing aches and pains and the mental aspects.

Why Ride Gravel?

It’s fun. You can’t ride as fast as on pavement, so trying to cover a certain number of miles is meaningless. You can relax and enjoy the ride itself. I often don’t turn my computer on for a gravel ride — who cares about the numbers?

Variety. Riding gravel can open up new areas to explore instead of the same old routes.

New challenges. Riding on the road your challenges are endurance, stamina and power. Riding gravel takes more technique. A hill that isn’t much on pavement becomes a much more challenging climb and descent on gravel. But don’t think of gravel as necessarily more slippery.

Safer. The highway departments chose which roads to pave based on traffic volume.  If a road isn’t paved there are many fewer vehicles.

Family fun. Because gravel roads are safer, they’re a great place for family rides.

Expanded kinds of riding. If you’re up for a little adventure you could try bike packing, carrying everything you need for a weekend or longer camping trip. Or take a different way to a B&B.

Benefits to Roadies

Every roadie will become a more skillful rider and have more riding choices if he or she learns to ride even a little bit of gravel.

Smoother pedal stroke. On gravel, your rear wheel has a tendency to slip if you push down much harder than you apply force around the rest of the stroke. Climbing on gravel is one of the best ways to smooth out your stroke.

More power. As you smooth out your stroke, you’re recruiting more muscle groups, which increases your power. Also, because of the increased rolling resistance, riding gravel takes more power, especially on the climbs.

Safer bike handling. Even if you don’t want to regularly ride gravel roads and bike trails, any experience riding gravel will prepare you for the unanticipated spot of gravel on the road and allow you to ride confidently in and out of a gravel parking lot.

Where to Start Riding Gravel

Here are some places you can try riding on gravel before getting or building up a gravel bike.

Gravel urban trails. Many parts of the country are creating more and more multi-use paths and dedicated bike trails. Often these are gravel because that’s cheaper than pavement.

Rural gravel roads are far quieter than many paved roads and traffic is generally slower.

Easy mountain bike trails. Many areas have MTB trails designed for kids and new mountain bikers. These generally don’t have technical spots and are rideable on a bike with 28 mm and wider tires. If you can’t ride a piece of trail, hop off and push your bike – that’s what I do!

Rails-to-trails is helping to convert old rail lines to bike trails across the country, often through roadless areas.

Inexpensive Ways to Start

Road Bike Action has an article on the 28 Best Gravel Bikes of 2022.  The least expensive is $999 and they range up to $8,000! That’s a lot of money to spend to see if you even like riding gravel. You can get started for a few hundred dollars.

Start by checking to see if you can fit at least 28 mm tires on your road bike. If you have a racing frame and can’t fit at least 28 mm tires, then look around for a used road bike that’ll take wider tires.

Another option is a used mountain bike. Look at thrift stores, garage sales and on Craigslist, etc. Look for a bike with front suspension only, or one with no suspension at all. If your gravel roads are like washboards, then front suspension is great. Some front suspension forks have a lever to shut off the suspension if you don’t want it. If you know you’ll only ride relatively smooth gravel roads then front suspension isn’t necessary, and you waste a bit of energy each time you compress the shocks, particularly when you are climbing.

You might also initially put flat pedals on the bike so it’s easier to put a foot down until you get used to riding gravel.

Yes, you’re making compromises. A bike with 28 mm tires won’t handle as well as a gravel bike with wider tires. A mountain bike is heavier than a gravel bike. But these are cheap ways to get started.

Once you have a used bike, check everything is tight and works correctly. You may want to put on new tubes and tires, either wider road tires on a road bike or relatively narrower, and smoother, mountain bike tires.  Wider tires will feel more stable on gravel.

To get started, try riding your thrift shop MTB bike on gravel for a while. If you find you like gravel, you could replace the straight handlebars with drop bars, which will require changing the shift and brake levers.

Next column: Tips, techniques and skills

More Information

To learn how to train effectively, eat correctly and ride an endurance ride get my bundle of three eArticles Endurance Training and Riding. 

1. Beyond the Century describes training principles and different training intensities and how to integrate these into program of long rides. Although written for riders doing longer events, all of the principles also apply to shorter events. I lay out an 8-week plan to build up to a century and then plans for rides of 200 km ride (about 125 miles) and 300 km (about 188 mi.) The plans could be easily adapted to shorter rides. I explain how to incorporate multiple endurance events into a single season.
2. Nutrition for 100K and Beyond provides you with the information you need to fuel your engine before, during and after endurance rides.
3. Mastering the Long Ride gives you the skills you need to finish your endurance rides. Effective training provides your base, and proper nutrition gives you the fuel. The key to success is to use your smarts to complement your legs.

The 50-page Endurance Training and Riding bundle is $13.50.

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Coach John Hughes earned coaching certifications from USA Cycling and the National Strength and Conditioning Association. John’s cycling career includes course records in the Boston-Montreal-Boston 1200-km randonnée and the Furnace Creek 508, a Race Across AMerica (RAAM) qualifier. He has ridden solo RAAM twice and is a 5-time finisher of the 1200-km Paris-Brest-Paris. He has written over 40 eBooks and eArticles on cycling training and nutrition, available in RBR’s eBookstore at Coach John Hughes. Click to read John’s full bio.