Helldorado

Which leads me to conclude that "gravel riding" is really is misnomer. It shold probably be "off-road" riding or maybe "dirt riding." But clearly those roads are not primarily gravel.
Glad we finally cleared that up.

Caliper

Because "off road riding" would clearly be a better way to describe riding on a gravel road than "gravel riding". I guess all the drivers I see on gravel roads would be thrilled to know that their Toyota Corolla is a fabulous offroader.

But hey, you do you.

mstateglfr 

Ok, ill hop back into this cesspool..

Saying gravel riding is 'off road' riding is dumb. Gravel roads are roads. You complain about gravel being a misnomer, but thing 'off road' is a good alternative?

Call it unpaved riding, if you really need to have a term that is both accurate and general.

I see you still haven't learned what an improved gravel road is and why it differs from a dirt/unimproved road from design and academic perspectives.


Really though, let's say you change everyone's mind and as a country/world we all suddenly no longer call unpaved improved roads 'gravel roads'.
Has anything actually changed? Is there an actual point to the complaining? Really- what does it matter?

Helldorado

We've already established that what the cycling community commonly refers to as "gravel roads" is really hard-packed dirt and stones / small rocks / pebbles of varying sizes mixed in to form a conglomerate of sorts; that's different from pure gravel like one might find in a landscaped path. I'm not arguing that cyclists (even I do it) like to call their off-road rides "gravel rides;" I'm just establishing the fact that the term is a misnomer. Words matter and have intrinsic meaning, whether you agree with them or not.

Helldorado

Settle down, Beavis. I'm not complaining, merely pointing out a factual inaccuracy. If that makes you uncomfortable, I'm sorry to have unsettled you. I have no desire to make people change their nomenclature. But gravel is gravel, not dirt and a few pebbles mixed in.

mstateglfr 

Right, so there is no real point to this because everyone already recognizes that roads aren't built with 100% gravel and nothing else. This was established a page or two ago...I'm guessing you still haven't read the link.
We drive on parkways, we park on driveways, and we ride on gravel roads even if they arent 100% pure gravel.

Great, we get it.

LesterOfPuppets

Not only the cycling community, but also nearly every DOT in the US.

Caliper

It's not just the cycling community, you are virtually repeating the definition of a gravel road in laymans terms. I'm sorry that the definition of these words does not match your preconception, but when cyclists speak of riding on a gravel road, it's because we are riding on what multiple departments of transportation call a gravel road. Check Wikipedia, check their sources, a gravel road is not 100% pure stone by definition.

If you really want to argue strictly from the dictionary, Websters has this as part of the definition of the word "gravel" https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gravel 2b) also : a surface covered with gravel
Now, to define "covered" https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/covered 4b) to appear here and there on the surface of
Thus, an area with gravel appearing here and there across it's surface meets the Websters definition. This is the form that my own state of Michigan seems to prefer anyways, although this varies by road district.

No, I do not think we should call off road rides "gravel rides" This seems to be a western US thing where milder MTB trails and other offroad trails are called "gravel". A gravel road is, by definition, NOT offroad. It is just off-pavement. Of course, it is also possible that if one refers to a "gravel bike ride", that could simply mean that they are riding a gravel bike (ie: a bike that works optimally on a gravel road), regardless of where they are riding it. Much like a "mountain bike ride" involves no actual mountains for most of the US.

unterhausen

I think we have covered this subject fairly well and any further discussion will probably start to look like full-blown anklebiting.
Feel free to continue the discussion at the aggregateworld.com forums.
Closed