vermonttandem

Vermont has 8,000 miles of dirt roads...we only have 6,000 miles of pavement but we have 8,000 miles of dirt...!! I know, hard to believe for such a small state but that's the official word from the Dept of Transportation. I don't recall ever hearing anyone refer to them as gravel roads ...it's always been dirt. I think that the terms Gravel grinders is a new term making use of alliteration more than anything...everyone I ride with or who is into biking has an old rigid that has been set aside for what is generally referred to as dirt road cruising. Anyway, Good term, great way to get out and about... Oh yea, In addition to those dirt roads we also have tons of dirt third class or abandoned town roads and private logging roads.....So come up to Vermont for miles and miles and miles of gravel or dirt...

Steve B.

Why are you sharing this ?. It’s been one of the best kept secrets about New England.

mstateglfr 

Iowa has over 72,000 miles of gravel and level b unmaintained roads.
...I assume this is the thread for posting up unpaved road miles in your state. I bet texas wins.

zen_

One small problem with Vermont is that Ted King lives there, and he takes all the KOM's every time he leaves the house.

fishboat

Sounds like a great opportunity for the state to attract tourism dollars. The key is to have lots of routes identified along with services that are needed for visitors. The lack of this is a big hurdle for someone starting from scratch.

As an example..google "Trempealeau biking routes" or "tour de chequamegon". The roads exist, and have for decades, but identifying favorable routes are a huge leg-up for anyone planning a trip to an unknown area. (Speaking from experience, I plan plenty of trips to unknown areas..)

(Qualifier: I haven't searched for info available regarding Vermont dirt/gravel riding..this may be addressed already..)

shoota 

Here in Oklahoma we have always called them gravel roads AND dirt roads - interchangeably - cyclists or not. So I don't think gravel grinding is all that strange of a name.

Steve B.

Yeah, but I'd bet that Iowa does not have a wonderful general store at like every intersection. Vermont has hundreds, it's remarkable. (this is all in fun).

dwmckee

PA comes in at over 25,000 miles of luscious gravel, some of it much older than dirt. We keep our gravel around for a long time so it gets nice and rounded to reduce flats. I have cycled about 3,000 of those miles so far, so still have quite a long way left to go...

mstateglfr 

Give Casey's General Stores a few years to keep pushing east and every small town in New England will have one. They arent at every intersection, but the fact that they are seemingly in every town I ride thru is a godsend when it comes to route planning. You are never more than 10mi from a Casey's. <---that should be their motto.

I had plans to ride in 3 other states this year...hopefully next year isnt a bust. The sand hills of north Nebraska, the Black Hills of South Dakota, and the backwoods of Missouri.
Experiencing different areas is a blast- maybe one of my kids will get into Dartmouth or Middlebury and Ill get to ride some out there someday.

chas58

We call them snowmobile trails for about half the year. ;-)

dwmckee

I have done the Black Hills and had a great time there... Plan for hot, dry, some hail and quite a vigorous beer thirst!

autonomy

That's a great point - both Maine and NH DOTs have lists of curated cycling routes (or tours, in ME's case). I have done 3 of NH's official routes and they're pretty good.

VT does have lots of dirt roads but sometimes it can all just look the same. Then again, I have only done D2R2 up there (but would love to ride around the Stowe area).
Ted King does have some wicked awesome looking loops on his Strava page.

dennis336

Love VT gravel ... but dang if those 8,000 miles of dirt are all uphill!

But, also love chilling at a small town VT general store for a rest stop.