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Gravel Riding Around Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley
When I ride in the Roaring Fork Valley some part of my mind wanders to Hunter S. Thompson tapping away, gritted teeth around a cigarette holder, crucifying Nixon for the violent, lying, paranoid state he’s creating. Enough current history though, because when I ride here the beauty and the effort pulls me out of my head pretty fast.
Strada Sporche, Dunckley Park and the Col d’Coal
@thedirtyroadsUtilizing the same start and the same finish, these three rides provide different distance options ranging from the Col d'Coal's 47 miles to the Strade Sporche's 106 miles (all day long!). All of the rides leave and return to Steamboat Springs via 13th...
The Gravel Gruel
@thedirtyroadsGRAVEL RIDE • Start & Finish: Steamboat, CO.• Miles: 98• Climbing: 7076 ft.The Gravel Gruel is an all time favorite here at The Dirty Roads. Named after the legendary road ride called the Gore Gruel which takes in Rabbit Ears Pass, Gore Pass and...
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MULTI-DAY RIDES
Colorado Route: The North and the South
Each portion includes the same wide open backcountry splendor broken up with bursts of civilization and as much of Colorado’s best gravel road riding as we could splice together.
California Park and the Little Snake
@thedirtyroadsThe tour of California Park and the Little Snake River is a Northwest Colorado classic that takes in a series of sparsely traveled dirt roads through Routt and Moffat counties with a brief excursion into southern Wyoming before returning to Steamboat...
The Tour of the Flat Tops
@thedirtyroadsThe Tour of the Flat Tops is a multi-day tour that provides a complete circumnavigation of the Flat Tops mountains in northwest Colorado. The long loose climbs and descents, the rough forest roads, hike-a-bike section and generally demanding conditions...
Circle the Zirkel
@thedirtyroadsThe Circle the Zirkel tour is a Northwest Colorado classic encompassing a complete circumnavigation of the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness area. Utilizing the Routt/Medicine Bow National Forest as well as the backroads of Routt and Jackson Counties the Circle the...
THE COLORADO ROUTE
The Colorado Route: Trip Report #3
The kind of hunger that you can build up after a couple of days of bike touring is the stuff of legends. I like to joke that I have to count my fingers after I eat in case I need to hack one back up and have it re-attached.
The Colorado Route: Trip Report #2
@thedirtyroadsRidesMulti-Day RidesThe Colorado RouteTDR StandardsUniversal More Blog Posts>>Climbing up the Ute Trail out of Salida the sun is relentless and it is the hottest day of my entire tour but after the summer we had it’s really not that bad. On the way...
The Colorado Route: Trip Report #1
@thedirtyroadsWhile I have ridden the majority of the Colorado Route before in bits and pieces over the years dating back to my first ever bike tour in 1992, I had never attempted to ride the whole route in one go before until this year. Riding the route all at once...
TDR STANDARDS
UNIVERSAL
Schwalbe G-One Bite Gravel Tire
While the G-One Bite doesn’t shine at any one application it does a lot of things well.
At the Time We Just Called It County Road Riding
It was the spring of 1998, my roommate and close friend Doug Demusz had already been putting in some base miles on the frozen backroads around our hometown of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. I had modified a Trek 770 road touring bike with a flat bar and some lower gearing and installed a set of the original Moots Mounts, which enabled the use of cantilever brakes.
Winter Accessory Guide
The important thing to remember when dressing for winter conditions is that the clothes don’t make you warm, you make you warm and the clothing is there just to hold it in.
Adventure Bike/Monstercross Conversion
If I had to I’d say to make it a monstercross it needs to have drop bars and to be an adventure bike it needs rack mounts.
Kenda Happy Medium Gravel Tire
@thedirtyroadsKenda Happy Medium 700x40c I am a man who used to have a serious tire fetish. I would show up to mountain bike races with a trunk full of tires always trying to put on the perfect tire combination. I had tires for fast and dry courses, tires for loose...