A me of the gravel bike like the idea of inventing a gravel route. Which then would be the true essence of this bike which is adventure, exploration, nature and passion. Yes I know that by now there is no bike ride without a GPX track, but it’s not the one for me. I’ve already said it: navigation apps are bringing us back to the Lonely Planet effect, all crowded on the same path, with eyes fixed more on the small computer on the handlebar than on the world around us. For heaven’s sake, if I want to make a precise itinerary, I’ll download the track too, or maybe more simply follow the directions, which are almost never lacking. But I like to say that I am a theorist of getting lost, and above all most of the time I ride from home. So to vary the laps I do even when I can’t leave home, rather than following tracks I prefer to take inspiration but above all I try to invent gravel routes.
Ideas for inventing a gravel route
Coming up with ideas for inventing a gravel route isn’t difficult indeed it is a beautiful exercise of the imagination. This is why I really like it when people share screenshots of their rides in the gravel & MTB-themed social groups I frequent. Then many ask for the track, but I look at the route, then I open Maps (no, not Kommot or similar, just Maps) and I’m starting to imagine what ride I can do. I know very well that there are no paths on Maps, nor an indication of their possible level of difficulty or elevation gain. But this is exactly what I like: not having a clear idea of what exactly awaits me, I will find, I will have to do. Sometimes it’s good, others less, some even really bad (in the sense that you have to get off the saddle and push or carry the bike, or even turn it around and go back) but everything is already so much determined in our life that I consider this a small space of anarchic freedom and indeterminacy.
I exactly I don’t know how those who study and design them for work manage to invent gravel routes, such as to propose a tourist itinerary. But I know what I do, and I share it.
Along the rivers
The rivers have shaped the territory not only from a geomorphological point of view but also from a historical and social point of view. Every river definitely has a story to tell and that’s why they are a great source of inspiration for me. Then yes, of course, embankments are the quintessence of gravel, and in fact along the dirt roads on the surface of the water there are plenty of GPX tracks of gravel routes.
But it’s not so much following a river, one way or the other, it is also to unite two or more rivers which have determined a territory with their flow. And from this point of view, Italy is a privileged country, because thanks to the Alps and the Apennines we have something like 1200 rivers. And if you also include the small local watercourses, you just have to indulge yourself.
Through the parks
No, not just the big national parks, which are fantastic and full of opportunities for those who want to ride gravel. Even the smallest and least known regional, supra-municipal or local parks are a great source of inspiration for inventing a gravel route. Especially in more urbanized and densely populated areas it seems impossible to pedal for a few kilometers without ending up on a paved road, in a roundabout or stopped at a traffic light.
And indeed just open Maps and look carefully at the green areas to find that there are plenty of local parks to cycle through. Because where there is a park, there is a path, and all you need is the imagination to chain a few of them together to create fun days on your gravel bike. Even without going who knows where.
Agricultural areas
Where there is countryside and farmland there are farm roads or agricultural paths at the service of those who work the land. And this is very gravel. Then you need to be aware that often farm land and country paths could be “private”, that is, return by right to the ownership of agricultural land even if it is not fenced or barred. The casuistry is varied and colorful and the law is also a bit ambiguous: in fact poderali and interpoderali are private roads, aimed at accessing the funds for agricultural reasons, and to the extent that their maintenance is the responsibility of landowners; however, according to the law, pedestrians are always guaranteed the right of way by virtue of the principle of continuity of the practicability of the territory; this right is not explicitly stated with regards to bicycles, which in fact are vehicles according to the law and the highway code; the same would be true for forest roads that are used for the exploitation and care of private forests, but not for firebreaks or in any case for public forest roads, usually municipal or provincial.
So what to do? Primarily be aware that you are on private property, albeit an unfenced one; be polite; leave no traces (and this is always true); and if you encounter trouble, apologize and leave without making any arguments.
Merge paths
By now it’s all a flourishing of gravel routes. You want the ones that become virally popular on the most used Apps, like Komoot, you want the ones that promotional bodies, administrations and associations design in their territories. The risk is always that of finding yourself on a kind of gravel highway and missing out on the best exits. And then a space of freedom and adventure can be to find links that unite two or more paths, in a linear or circular way.
Valley, passes and crossings
The valleys are fascinating, and are often the perfect playground for gravel enthusiasts. And so the passes that connect them, or crossings. And then where there is a valley there is also a river, which as mentioned is always a nice common thread to follow if you want to find a bit of gravel adventure. But instead of looking at them only in the sense of their length, it can become very fun to join adjoining or contiguous valleys through passes or crossings that allow you to pass from one to the other and draw interesting circular routes.
THEN
THEN, which is not for later but for point of interest. Every territory has them, even those that seem to have nothing of interest. And perhaps discovering something historically, socially, culturally interesting is perhaps the most curious way of designing a gravel route. Maybe then you end up riding a little dirt, a few dirt roads, a little gravel but also industrial archeology, urban or peri-urban routes, religious buildings, abandoned villages and anything else that comes to mind can be an idea for inventing a gravel route.
Photo by Rille Camera Strap / Coen van de Broek / Cactus
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