Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

We like small roads, natural scenic beauty, nice climbs, and big views. The focus is not on going fast but on seeing some cool places. We have ridden all these rides and try to provide you with a darn good idea of what to expect. When we work on a course, we always try and find a safe place to park a car. We try to keep rougher roads on the uphill. And if possible, include a water stop … which riding in the middle of nothing proves to be a huge challenge.

We also believe in respecting personal property. That means we have looked at the right of way for all the roads on our routes. If you are on an Indian Reservation, we are sure we have permission to be there. It also means we don’t climb over gates that say no trespassing, and we don’t route you on NO BIKE trails. If anyone tells you otherwise, please make sure you let us know.

Warning: we aren’t afraid of a few rough roads or a steep climb. Hey, we try and warn you. But we love a good adventure. That means you are responsible for yourself! You need to know navigation, you need to have a working bike, and you need to have a plan for when everything falls apart. There’s traffic, weather, and changing gravel/route conditions. We recommend that you carry backup navigation and more backup navigation. We also recommend carrying a device with satellite communications because a MAJORITY of our routes don’t have good cell coverage.

If you like a route, don’t be afraid to shout it out! You can post it on our Facebook page or tag us @dirtyfreehub in Instagram or just send us an email.

We love your enthusiasm; as soon as we start scoping out an area, many of you will write and ask for the route (i.e. the GPX file, Ride With GPS link, or Strava link). Our answer is almost always no. Why? Three reasons:

(1) We strongly believe in our social missions (see our 2023 Impact Report) and that is why we exist. By just sharing a route via we are accomplishing almost nothing that we believe in and in many instances working against our social missions.

(2) Further, one of our social missions is to connect the RIGHT route to the RIGHT cyclist. Without providing any additional information about the route, by just handing off the GPX file, we feel like we haven’t provided enough information for you to make a good decision. What is an easy smeasy route for you, might be a really hard route for someone else. GPX files don’t give you a clue.

(3) In addition, we REALLY want you to learn about where you ride. (See our mission statement.) This takes a lot of research so it takes us some time to complete a Ride Guide.

(4) Finally, on average, we end up riding an area 3 times before we get the route right. We have long discussions about the exact start (where to park), which direction to ride the route, what are the alternatives, etc. Sometimes we are working through issues of private property. So there might be plenty of “heat” on the maps which show other people are riding in this area, but we want to make sure that it’s legal. So lots of time we really aren’t even done with the ride guide.

So thank you for your understanding …..

Yes and No. To thoroughly map and document a ride guide it takes us 20 to 80 hours (for example, the White Rim in a Day route). We are super open to people using what we provide for personal use. And if you enjoy what we do a donation is much appreciated!

If you are using the ride guides within a business or bike club setting please reach out to us and we can work something out.

For all the nitty-gritty details see our Terms of Service page. And, if you have any questions please reach out.

Don’t know how to use a GPS? Here are a couple of hints to get you started. We recommend you try mapping out a few routes close to home and trying them BEFORE you head out on one of ours. Duh! Yep, our routes have few cars; that means nobody is going to find you. And we often have ZIP, ZERO data or cell coverage.

We tag our routes as eBike friendly: (a) if we believe that eBikes are legally allowed on all elements of the route and (b) if the route has little hazard to using an eBike (i.e. that there are no hike a bike sections, stream crossings, etc.). However, it is still the responsibility of the eBike owner to ensure that they ride legally, responsibly and safely. We do not consider battery life when tagging a route as eBike friendly.

eBikes are allowed on Department of Interior trails / paths / roads where non-powered bikes can go. The Department of Interior manages national parks and monuments and the Bureau of Land Management. For more information on the Department of Interior policy click here.

eBikes are not allowed on National Forest Service trails where non-powered bikes are allowed. On National Forests eBikes are only allowed on roads that are legal for powered vehicles. For more information on the National Forest Service policy click here.

On state, county and city lands, eBikes policies vary. Be sure to check with each jurisdiction before riding on these types of lands.

We are open to suggestions on routes, but we won’t post anything as a 5-star ride that we haven’t ridden. Yeah, yeah, too many times we have done a ride and felt it needed a few changes or just didn’t have the wow! factor. If you have someting great that you would like share, send us an email: info@DirtyFreehub.org.

We try really hard to ensure the ride you download is accurate. If you find a problem, just email us at info@DirtyFreehub.org.

You can contact us at: info@DirtyFreehub.org We love to get feedback on our rides. We also love photos and a good story. (Did you hear the one about the guy who got stuck in a fish trap? Or jumped a rattle snake? No fake news here!)