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Getting my first gravel bike hopefully in the next couple of weeks
It could just be where I live but I’m struggling to easily identify ‘gravel’ routes in my local area on os maps or strava ie I know tracks not far away that are 100% gravel but they just don’t come up on either system.
is there some gravelist route mapping site?
Also events. To take some of the faff out of route planning I’m more than happy to pay to do events
Glorious Gravel looks to be a good event organiser. Where else should I be looking?
I’m near Oswestry so if anyone knows some good gravel routes near by please let me know
Ta in advance
Grinduro do a very good event. Gravel Union are good for news and events info. Komoot has countless routes available.
I usually use Komoot to find routes, sometimes if there aren't any in a particular area I will search for easy MTB routes
The Stone Circle event at the end of June is a good one to do.
I've found the OS app invaluable when planning gravel routes from my doorstep. I think I've ticked off almost every BW and "track" my side of York this year and am now starting to cast my net further where there seems to be rich pickings. It is York though so everything is pretty flat which makes it pretty easy in terms of figuring out whether something is too steep/technical/rocky for a gravel bike - none of it is!
Cycle.travel is a fairly decent app I've found
I use Komoot and RWGPS but find it can be tricky finding existing routes people have uploaded and plotting can be a bit hit or miss (although certainly for RWGPS it's a much better experience via the web-site than app). I have a friend that follows several people on Strava and gets routes that way.
As for events I've only done a couple of Glorious Gravel ones so far and have entered HONC again this year. A lot of the big name gravel events are a fair distance from me so I need to get fitter in order to enter the longer distance options they have to make the trip worthwhile!
Worth just googling/asking about local shop rides etc. to, I know Alpkit do a few around the country
Oh and I know its nowhere near you OP but the North York Moors seems to be a bit of a hotbed of gravel events/routes. Think there are a few "publicised" routes which start from Sutton Bank and use some of the MTB routes but disappear off onto other BWs. I've ridden most of the bits the routes comprise of and they're great, easy gravel rides with cafe stops and some stunning countryside. Theres also a big event at Helmsley this summer (can't remember the name - Gravel Rocks?) and I've stumbled across some bigger multi day events that cover the whole of the NYM before.
I'm not too far from you in South Shropshire. I find you have to put a bit of work in and not get hung up on a strict definition of "gravel". I scour OS maps online for some likely contenders, then go and investigate. Then try to link the decent bits. Most of my local "gravel" rides are mix a of tiny "grass up the middle" country lanes, muddy bridleways, singletrack and a little bit of actual gravel! Although most of the rutted and potholed country roads by me come pretty close to being gravel.
This years jennride (and the last 🙁) gravel route is a figure of 8 based around the campsite so no bag carrying required.
And last year's gravel route was absolutely fabulous on a gravel bike.
Most of my local "gravel" rides are mix a of tiny "grass up the middle" country lanes, muddy bridleways, singletrack and a little bit of actual gravel!
This ^
UK gravel is largely a con, actual 'gravel' is a US thing. Here we get short stretches of anything like gravel bookended by lumpy footpaths, A-roads or MTB trails.
It's great if you like mapping and exploring. RWGPS has the most map layer detail and komoot is good now. Get used to x-referencing satellite view and OSM Cycle layers and you'll soon spot what's worth riding and what's probably an overgrown footpath.
Large estates (Scotland) or areas with logging roads (Wales, Kielder etc) are a good bet for actual gravel. Locally I tend to ride on the lanes 75% of the time then short-cut the busier roads with byways or trails through bits of woodland. More Paris-Roubaix than USA gravel. I end up with a really good mental map of my area via the 'gravel' bike.
“UK gravel is largely a con” Not where I live in Scotland it’s not. We have miles and miles of gravel roads from my doorstep in the highlands. I could do 100miles on gravel from my door, if I had the energy, with only very short stretches of tarmac roads to link up the long gravel stretches. In fact I’d say there are more gravel roads locally than tarmac.
So I’d suggest it’s not just a US phenomenon it works here in the UK but some areas have miles of gravel options while others not so much. I mostly use Strava for route planning. There are loads of gravel Strava segments you can link up and it’s great for analysing segment times to see how rideable sections are.
UK gravel is largely a con, actual 'gravel' is a US thing. Here we get short stretches of anything like gravel bookended by lumpy footpaths, A-roads or MTB trails.
TBH I never really thought of a ‘gravel ride’ as actually requiring gravel to qualify, it was always something that was a mix of road and off-road trails which aren’t as full on as needing suspension but a roadbike wouldn’t be suitable as tyres would be too small.
As I now live in Spain there’s definitely more gravel but I still ride a similar mix of road ,field and obviously more real gravel and gravel mountain paths (which are nice but tbh hard work that I’m not sure just real gravel would be fun as a 24/7, it’s nice to get lost on them but…)
For me a gravel bike is more about being the best compromise for a mixed ride.
It’s still a mapping and exploring thing thou and I’m always s working the most enjoyable ride between places.
Im a user of komoot,strava,wikiloc and tend to pore over sat maps linking stuff up, even with a zillion trails they don’t actually link up without a bit of effort.
I also quad ride and it’s pretty much the same process of assembling the best fun route and it’s again a mix of road and off-road.
Sometimes you don’t want to spend an hour struggling along something technically difficult and even on a quad not pedalling I have the heat issue(and little shade)and unfortunately when it gets stuck you can’t just hop off pick it up and walk. The quad riding you do isn’t like those holiday tour rides just like real mtb isn’t like bike parks 🙂
I’ve found a section which is a mix of rutted shelved and sandy stone which mtb/gravel bake/ quad finds grim as the bikes can’t ride it and the quad ends up on such weird angles but approach from the other direction it’s fine.(it’s a rambla these things can be interesting to ride) it’s probably the most soul destroying km I’ve ever rode/struggled to ride.(it doesn’t even look photogenically hard to ride)
TBH I never really thought of a ‘gravel ride’ as actually requiring gravel to qualify
This.
I just ride over any surface I want to on my gravel bike.
Yesterday I saw a few gravel bikes being ridden around Manchester on the gravel free pedestrianised areas! Plus a couple of gravel bike packers on the bridgewater canal tow path which has slightly more gravel.
I just ride over any surface I want to on my gravel bike.
This. The same way that I rarely ride my mountain bike up/on/down actual mountains.
Since getting mine it's become my "go to" bike. It's worked well on road rides especially over some so-called tarmac roads that are as broken up as hell. But where it's really come into its own is Swinley (of all places). In the past I've just occasionally ridden over there and done the standard Blue/Reds. But on the gravel bike I've taken to exploring areas I never knew were there. I can ride to Swinley (on the road) in about 10 minutes and now head through the Sandhurst army training land called Barossa.... a mix of actual gravel, grassy/muddy fire roads, a bit of singletrack then through the gates into Swinley... again... proper gravel, grassy fire roads, singletrack and of course the Swinley official trails. I've done all of Blue and do the odd Red as well but I haven't attempted all of the Reds as that would be beyond me on the gravel bike and I'm not sure it would do the bike too much good either.
The whole gravel thing has been a revelation.
Gravelton "events" pop up on my feed. From what I can tell someone plots a route, shares a date and folk just turn up and ride.
Seem to have been a few issues of dickheads turning up and racing on BWs and tracks and upsetting other users
Events? I think we might have some proper ones in quite a few bits of Scotland and it's still part of the same country, at least for now..
1. Gravelfoyle. GRAVELFOYLE EVENTS — Gravel Enduro
2. Gralloch. (2027) The Gralloch 2027 | Scotland’s Gravel Festival
Gravel Rides Cairngorms & Perthshire - Adventure Books by Vertebrate Publishing
Meanwhile, just across the North Sea, Markus Stitz (have a look at those numerous gravel/bikepacking books above too) & Mark Beaumont are helping host a gravel week with Jotunheimen Travel.
Also the 'Lost Lanes' series of books can be good, especially combined with the various Gravel Riding books linked below for different areas. The Lost Lanes ones are mainly quiet roads, disused railways etc. so can be a good base to explore from. Plus it's nice to have a book to flick through I find!
https://www.adventurebooks.com/collections/gravel-biking-books
Glorious Gravel looks to be a good event organiser.
They find some great routes and they are well organised, but blimey, they've gone expensive!
There's Audax organisers that run off-road rides now, I've done a couple by a bloke called Brandon Edgeley who starts off in Crewe. That might be a bit far for you, but at least they're only five or six quid to enter.
They seem to have gone down the route of increasing prices by 20% but then running regular 20% off sale codes every couple of months to bring it back down. At the discounted ~£44 which used to be the normal price they're good events for exploring a new area.
Event organiser here... we have our Selkirk Gravel Classic on 8th August in the Scottish Borders. Its sportive style rather than a race, and includes a beer stop at a great pub. On site camping and live music included in the entry fee. Three courses (35K, 50K, 65K, but they've got a lot of climb), and at the more technical end of the gravel spectrum. Certainly a challenging day out on some great mixed trails.
https://durtyevents.com/our-events/selkirk-gravel-classic-2026/
3 peaks entry is open right now - Si entries. Beautiful event in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, many on here will have done it and will attest to its qualities. Some basic fitness required, but it is in late September so plenty of time to get some rides under the belt.
In seismic developments - 38 tyres are now permitted, effectively confirming it is now a gravel race more than anything else.
Isn't part of the joy of gravel that you don't need routes? That the bike is solid enough that you can follow your nose a bit, "ooh, I wonder what's down there" kind of thing?
