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| Nice dirt road |
Picture a nice dirt road in
the country, wildflowers blooming in the bar ditch, fresh country air, and very
few motorists in sight.
Now imagine yourself pedaling
down that road enjoying the rural scenery and lack of traffic.
Dirt road cycling events,
more commonly known as Gravel Grinders, are rapidly becoming a favorite type of
bicycle touring and racing.
This makes sense – unpaved
back roads get you off the busy highways away from vehicles and the semi-improved
dirt or gravel roads are more pleasant to ride than rough mountain bike trails.
All you need is a good
network of unpaved ranch roads, a sturdy bike, some wider-than-normal tires and
you’re ready for a great cycling adventure.
Cyclists have been riding
unpaved roads since bicycles were first invented - in fact, gravel grinders are
a throwback to the early days of cycling when riding was done on unpaved
horse-and-buggy routes.
One of the most intriguing
early dirt road cycling trips in our region took place in the late 1890s. San Angelo residents Rhodes Baker and George
Allen completed a 12-day, 425-mile bicycle trip that took them from San Angelo
to Sonora, Del Rio, across into Mexico and back through Rocksprings to San
Angelo.
This ride was undertaken in
hot July weather on rough wagon roads, with all of their gear (including fly
fishing rods) strapped to their bicycles.
Fast forward to today and events such as the Dirty Kanza 200 in Emporia, Kansas, the
Gold Rush Gravel Grinder in
South Dakota, the Durango
Gravel Grinder in Colorado, and the Appalachia Gravel Grinder Series in the
southeastern US are attracting riders who want to do long distance cycling
events on dirt roads.
In a generic sense, gravel
grinder rides are a hybrid of long course cyclocross races such as the 3-Peaks event in England,
mountain bike marathon events, and races that emulate the European spring
classics events with courses that go over cobblestones and rural farm roads.
Gravel road cyclists tend to
be adventurers who seek out interesting off-the-beaten-path routes away from
traffic over terrain that is more fun and challenging to ride than paved roads.
Dirt or gravel roads can be
ridden on almost any type of bike if it has a sturdy frame and tires that are somewhat
wider than what’s normally used on the road. Some dirt roads can be ridden on
normal road bikes with 700 x 28 or larger tires, and sturdy touring or
cyclocross bikes with 700 x 30c or larger tires will work well on any unpaved
road or even moderate trails.
Mountain bikes will get the
job done as well, although they are usually slower on routes that combine paved
and unpaved sections.
Some bicycle manufactures
such as Kona and Salsa have also started building bikes that are specifically
designed for dirt road riding. The design parameters for the dirt-road-specific
rigs include a more relaxed and stable geometry, frame clearance for wider
tires, road bike wheels and tires that will stand up to rough roads, and disc
brakes.
In the San Angelo area, dirt
road rides are just starting to garner some attention. Two routes that have been completed by local
cyclists are the Lake Loop around Twin Buttes reservoir and County Roads
411/412 in Irion County.
The Lake Loop route is a
combination of pavement and dirt that makes a complete 30 mile circle around
Twin Buttes reservoir. It starts and finishes in Middle Concho Park and
includes a crossing of Spring Creek at the rocky ford just below White’s Dam. This
ride is about 50% dirt and 50% pavement, and is detailed at mapmyride.com/us/san-angelo-tx/twin-buttes-lake-loop-with-dam-crossing-route-18139500.
In Irion County, roads 411
and 412 near Mertzon make up another good gravel road route that follows a 34
mile out-and-back course over dirt roads. This ride starts and finishes at the
intersection of CR 411 and Arden Road and goes through some rough oilfield and
ranch country with enough hills to make you work up a sweat. This route is
posted at mapmyride.com/routes/view/226310267.
West Texas has hundreds of
miles of gravel roads waiting to be rediscovered by cyclists, and vacation
trips to the high country in places like Colorado and New Mexico will give you even
more opportunities to explore back county dirt roads.
My personal favorite is Old Fall River Road in
Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park. Although it’s a comparatively short
11-mile section of one-way uphill-only dirt, this gravel route includes
switchbacks its way through some of the most beautiful country in the Rockies
as it climbs to Fall River Pass at about 11,800 feet above seal level.
Gravel grinding is an
adventure waiting to happen, so drag out that map, start looking for rural dirt
roads and explore some back-country routes.
Upcoming Events
- July 14: Lake Nasworthy Triathlon, roadlizards.org
- July 18: Mountain bike time trial, sanangelobicycleassociation.com
- July 27: Goodfellow Traithlon, roadlizards.org
- July 11: Road bike time trial, sanangelobicycleassociation.com
- Aug 1: Road Bike time trial, sanangelobicycleassociation.com
- Aug 15: Mountain bike time trial, sanangelobicycleassociation.com
- Sept 5: Road Bike time trial, sanangelobicycleassociation.com
- Sept 7: Comanche Warrior triathlon, visitbigspring.com/pages/comanchewarriortriathlon
