Noonievut

This thread won’t be a surprise to most who own a gravel / all-road bike.

I split my time between road and gravel. I’ve lived in the same general area since I started cycling. When I started on the road, I remember finding side roads that were completely new to me (hadn’t driven on them in a car). Within a couple years I had ridden every paved road within 100k from home. That first couple years was fun. That was 18-20 years ago. Since owning a gravel bike (8 years or so) I’ve been able to explore way more. With the gravel bikes I had owned, I spent over 5 years finding new gravel roads and trails. That period was mainly on road style gravel bikes with avg 40mm tires. Since picking up a Salsa Fargo recently I’ve found new trails every ride! With 2.2” tires and more mtb geometry I’ve been more confident to go down virtually anything that looks ridable. I think the ability to explore by bike has to be top 2-3 reasons to ride, for me.

I can go into some examples later, with photos, but for now I’m looking forward to reading about your exploration by bike (any bike!).

base2 

The funniest thing about exploring the gravel roads in the hills is when after a day of being passed (respectfully) by all manner of lifted Jeeps, 4x4 Baja and beater toy/hobby trucks alike, there is always some guy in a Prius just motoring along, doin' his thing out to whatever lake side cottage is up there.

Good on ya' for getting out there.