Why is Gravel Popular?
Whether you call it gravel grinding, mixed terrain riding, underbiking or country biking, the fact remains there is a renewed interest in riding unpaved roads. Why is this the case? Is it just people responding to marketing hype? Or is there something deeper at play?
We’ve interviewed gravel race directors, athletes, participants and just regular folks that like to explore on unpaved roads and have heard a few recurring themes. These are the 5 reasons that gravel/all road/mixed terrain riding is popular and here to stay.
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In the Midwest/West I’ve preferred gravel routes for both running and cycling for many years. However, I am more and more convinced that too much time on these roads is a problem for lung health due to the heavy amount of dust. All gravel roads in my part of the country are frequently traveled by a combination of heavy vehicles and large pickups. Without a recent rain this traffic will churn up a cloud of rock dust that lingers and drifts for miles. The threat of silicosis for people who spend a lot of time in this environment is real and grim. Yet, it’s never talked about in cycling or running circles.
Excellent point. I suspect this varies from one area to the next. I grew up mostly in Nebraska, bicycling and traveling the gazillion miles of gravel roads and when dry, the dust kicked up was so bad that it could reduce visibility to the point where it was dangerous for even driving a vehicle. Since this was farm and ranch country, the gravel roads were so heavily graveled for the sake of all the heavy machinery, the gravel was so deep and loose at times that even vehicles would fishtail. Then, too, the roads saw so little in the way of law enforcement, posted speed limits were pretty much a joke.
Not tying to discourage my fellow gravel grinders, but please be careful and choose your roads with care and try to time your riding when conditions are at their best.
When I was doing the Bikecentennial trail across the US in 1977 there used to be a section of the route that went from Jackson MT to Wisdom that was about 60 miles of gravel. For me riding that portion ignited my passion for gravel riding. I was in heaven and when we got to Missoula I went to Sam Braxton’s bike shop who was building frames specifically for expedition all-road touring I was hooked. I didn’t have the bucks to afford one of his frames but the next spring in 1978 I did meet a framebuilder in Eugene that kindly offered to teach me framebuilding so I designed and built my own lugged steel Reynolds expedition touring frame and rode it down the coast and across AZ to Colorado to ride it I the 1978 historic Pearl Pass Crested Butte to Aspen ride.
That’s where I meet all the pioneers of mountain biking and although I had a bike that was considerably faster than the original Breezer mt bikes the Marin country folks were riding, I was quickly left in the dust on the rocky descent into Aspen. That orange Braxton type touring bike is in several pictures in the mountain bike museum from that 1978 Pearl Pass ride.
41 years later I’m still loving the dirt!
On another note. Before I opened our bike shop in Bend, I had a video production company for 30 years and want to complement you on the content and quality of your videos. I think what you do has had a huge impact on introducing cyclists to the joy of dirt. Keep up the good work!