I grew up on a dirt road. Most of my rides started with gravel. On 20mm 650c tires on a tri bike or 23mm on my road bike. I don't really count those though.
I think in the summer of 2001 I rode from SLC to Logan, and it was before smartphones. The path I ended up on, well east of the main road went over a rutted out road. 23mm tires, I rode it fast, I loved it.
Possibly related, my 1" carbon steerer fork came separated from the aluminum crown about 6 months later. With the change in seasons, that actually was only a few rides later. Who knows.
I also raced the Boulder Roubaix around then, still on 23mm tires.