Gravel Races
Photograph by Greg Ruffing

Gravel Races

What's the toughest challenge in cycling? For weekend riders looking to test their mettle, it just may be gravel grinding, an emerging style of cycling that's done on unpaved, backcountry roads covered in crushed limestone, granite, flint, or whatever rock happens to be around. Imagine pedaling over jagged marbles, or if it rains, through chunky peanut butter. In some places, gravel roads are like rutted, bone-jarring washboards. "Think of the worst piece of asphalt you've ever ridden," says gravel-race organizer Chris Skogen, "and it's just a little worse than that."

That these roads are unforgiving is the draw for gravel grinders: There's no traffic to compete with. There are 1.3 million miles of unpaved roads in the U.S., most just empty ribbons winding through remote areas. Over the past few years, gravel racers have begun appropriating them as a gritty new cycling frontier where there are no rules and no bureaucratic barriers (arranging for road closures, insurance, water stations, medics) to announcing a 60-, 100-, or even 300-miler.

According to Mark Stevenson, who runs the site Gravel Grinder News, participation has been on the rise since 2005. The number of races scheduled for this season is up by about 50 percent over last year, while attendance at longer-held races has exploded.

"It's push-back against the corporatization of races," says grinder Hurl Everstone. "The appeal for me is that it's all grassroots."