Last weekend, Dirty Freehub (www.dirtyfreehub.org) hosted their first ever “Popup Event” where they invited twenty cyclists to Lakeview for three days of gravel riding.  Cyclists loved the perfect weather, the great hotels, the restaurants, the local bike shop, and the quiet gravel roads.

One of the participants, Susan Hopkins who traveled to the event from Bend, said, “I thought the riding was just fabulous. The top of Drake Peak felt like the top of the world.  The farming roads around Adel were beautiful. And Bullard Canyon was incredible too, especially because you can ride right from downtown Lakeview and immediately be on quiet gravel roads.”

Glen Scruggs, another one of the cyclists commented, “I have always heard that Lakeview was a beautiful place, so getting to ride my bike to see the area was a big highlight. The aspen trees are just turning yellow and that just made the routes even more beautiful.”

Kirk Anderson added, “After we finished a ride, we took our lunch and sat by one of your beautiful lakes to just watch the birds. They are fascinating.”

Kevin English chimed in, “For me, it was about Shirk Ranch.  Riding out there and imagining the landscape and what it was like to live there more than 100 years ago.”

If you have bumped into other random cyclists on the backroads of Lakeview, there’s a good chance they are visiting the region to specifically ride the gravel roads. In the bike industry, they are known as gravel cyclists.

What is gravel cycling? It’s a type of cycling that uses a bike specifically built for gravel roads. The bike can be used on easy single track mountain biking trails and works well on paved roads, but the sweet spot is really gravel roads which are so common across Lake County.

How popular is gravel cycling? Bike shops across Oregon are reporting that they sell twice as many gravel bikes as road bikes. And that they sell about the same number of mountain bikes as gravel bikes. There are also gravel eBikes which is a similar bike but with an electric motor to help cyclists get up the steeper terrain.

How does Lakeview measure up for gravel cycling? According to Kevin English, the Director of Routes for the non-profit Dirty Freehub, Lakeview is a fabulous place to attract gravel cyclists from around the world. “We just love the geological features, the wildlife, the farming landscape, the lakes, the historical venues, and the quality of the roads. You have an amazing amount of variety; you live in a special place. We also appreciate the friendly community.” (Dirty Freehub provides bicycle Ride Guides across the Western United States with a huge emphasis on Oregon. They have over 300 curated Ride Guides with 500-1000 people a day looking for places to ride. Typically these cyclists live in Portland, San Francisco, Seattle or Boise.)

What are the major challenges these cyclists face? According to English, “In Lakeview, cyclists aren’t used to riding around cows. So during our event and on our website, we encourage cyclists to stop when they run across cows on the road and give the cows time to move. We also encourage them to walk through the herd of cows instead of riding so they are more familiar because cows really don’t know what to think of a bicycle.”

What does Lakeview need to do to attract more cyclists? English, commented, “Gravel cyclists need to know where to ride. So while we don’t need trails built or maintained, we want maps with detailed descriptions. If we just use Google maps, we often end up on roads that are too rough or that don’t even really exist. Great maps and route descriptions are essential. But we also need to feel invited which is where our organization, Dirty Freehub, comes in. We are constantly telling people across the western United States where they can find great places to ride.”

“But when we are visiting, we also need some support locally. It’s terrific that you have a local bike shop; Tall Town Bike & Camp provided supplies locally to our cyclists. And a big shout out to Downtown Cafe and Tall Town Cafetery for being able to feed hungry cyclists. And the Neon Cowboy for a great after ride place to hang out.”

English continued, “None of this would have happened without local cyclist Marie T. Walker; she helped us find a lot of routes by driving and riding them. Lakeview is lucky to have such a strong cycling advocate. Plus the Lakeview Chamber helped us.”

How can locals help out cycling visitors? Just slow down when you pass them on the gravel roads. They always appreciate it if you offer up extra water too. And if they seem stranded, they are more than appreciative of getting a lift out in a sticky situation. (Many thanks to the rancher who helped out a struggling cyclist near Ft Bidwell this past weekend!)

For more information on gravel cycling, go to www.dirtyfreehub.org or email info@dirtyfreehub.org.