Press
Below you’ll find a collection of posts, articles, and excerpts which have either been authored by the Dirty Freehub team or are about Dirty Freehub.
13 Bucket List Activities in Bend, OR: Discovering Oregon’s Playground
One activity that will get your heart rate up is joining riders alike at Dirty Freehub—a non profit that connects cyclists to where they ride. The site has over 12,000 miles of curated gravel biking ride guides across the Western US, with plenty of local rides to start with here in Bend. Check out each guide before riding to better […]
Oregon Coast: Insider View of Gravel Cycling
Oregon is famous for a rugged coastline with empty beaches, quaint fishing villages, sand dunes and outrageous seafood. But what’s so special about riding gravel? We just love the overall green experience, riding quiet forest roads among trees that seem taller than skyscrapers. And while little of the riding is near the beach, there’s no […]
Gravel Opportunity Offers Economic Opportunity for Lake View
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 […]
Launch! Oregon Coast Gravel Guide
From Brookings to Astoria, the Oregon Coast offers amazing gravel cycling. At Dirty Freehub, we are launching the Oregon Coast Gravel Guide which is a pocket paper booklet with the following:
Beautiful art from a local Oregon Coast artist.
Photos that have been stylized to match to the artist.
10 highlighted gravel routes that vary […]
August Newsletter
The August newsletter from Dirty Freehub which includes a list of our latest Ride Guides and Podcasts.
$1.1M For Oregon Coast: Funding to support Accessibility and Inclusion Initiatives
Dec. 13—Oregon Coast organizations have received $1,109,761 in competitive grants from Travel Oregon to fund accessible and inclusive tourism projects in the region.
Across Oregon, 56 grant recipients were awarded $3.6M aimed at enhancing local economies and communities through visitor industry improvements and promotion.
Dirty Freehub […]
Deschutes Trails Coalition Announces 2024 Small Project Grant Awards To Support Local Trail Stewardship
The Deschutes Trails Coalition announced awards totaling $22,062 for their annual Small Projects Grant program. This program funds trail-related projects within the Deschutes National Forest. Now in its seventh year, the program has cumulatively funded nearly $250,000 since its start in 2018. Project work will occur between June 2024 and […]
June Newsletter
The Dirty Freehub newsletter which includes our latest Ride Guides and podcasts.
Bend’s Upcoming BioBlitz
Get ready for Central Oregon’s first ever City Nature Challenge from April 26-29, hosted by Think Wild and other community partners. For three days, the Central Oregon community is encouraged to record wildlife and native plant observations through the free smart phone app, iNaturalist. This worldwide “bioblitz” will provide a baseline of […]
Podcast: ‘Gravel Girl’ Linda English of Dirty Freehub
Linda English, a runner-turned-cyclist and tech industry retiree, has built something very special. Linda and her crew have uploaded about 300 gravel ride routes onto DirtyFreehub.org and the site has become a must-browse for anyone who seeks adventure on two wheels. I’ve watched the site’s impressive growth over the past decade — right […]
Central Oregon Tourism Can be a Benefit or Bust
For decades, Bend has been known for its outdoor recreation.
The city’s population was smaller in the 1990s, of course. The number of visitors were, too. But outdoor enthusiasts still came to ski and hike and bike mountain trails — people like Linda and Kevin English.
Note: this article requires a subscription to the Bend Bulletin.
Bend nonprofit Dirty Freehub marks 10 years of creating route guides for gravel cycling
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Dirty Freehub, a Bend-based 20+ employee and volunteer based nonprofit organization that creates route guides for gravel cycling, is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
Celebratory events include an online party and in person ride on one of their original routes, Water and Lava, that will take place on Saturday, Aug 19. […]
Pace Groups in Gravel Cycling at the Gorge Gravel Grinder
“I was so busy meeting the people in my pace group that I forgot to be nervous,” commented one of the cyclists at the Gorge Gravel Grinder.
The idea of pace groups is nothing new to those of you who came out of the running world. Large running events offer up designated runners who have signs to show the pace they are running (For […]
Spring Fling In Madras: A Gravel Cycling Paradise
When I first moved to Bend, I thought of Madras as one of the last towns to grab gasoline or coffee on my mad dash to the PDX airport. But now that I’ve logged more than a few miles on a gravel bike in the area, I can tell you Madras offers some of the best spring riding. I am amazed by the diversity of the riding; quiet country roads that […]
Gravel Cycling in Baker City Oregon
With everyone clambering to have THE best gravel, we have to toss in our vote for the Northeast section of Oregon. Land yourself in the town of Baker City, Oregon and you will be surrounded by an area rich in history (think gold mining and the wild west era) and loaded with “go nowhere” roads that make riding just a blast. There are […]
What Is Gravel Cycling, and How Can I Get Started?
I’m always ready to take the road less traveled. It’s a trait that recently led me to gravel cycling, a catchall term to describe riding on a mix of unpaved surfaces — trails, fire roads, and singletrack, any of which might contain some loose or crushed rock and stone.
Sure, sometimes that means I carry my bike across train tracks or […]
Deschutes Trails Coalition announces nine projects to be supported with TRT funds
The nonprofit Deschutes Trails Coalition has selected nine projects to receive a total of $600,000 to improve trails and trail infrastructure around Deschutes County, according to a release.
The funding comes from a portion of the Deschutes County Transient Room Tax and was approved earlier this year by the Deschutes County Commission. The […]
Gravel Girl’s Keys To Winter Cycling
Let’s be honest here; when we talk about winter cycling there are just a handful of us willing to brave the elements. I head out in the worst of winter storms to downhill or cross country ski, but find myself wincing at the thought of snow flurries on a bike. Let me walk you through a host of options for staying “cycling fit” during the […]
Guest Column: Let’s not lose the Skyline Forest
Skyline Forest is the place I ride my bike for a quick escape, the gravel between Bend and Sisters, the long way to ride to Tumalo Falls, the scenic way to ride to Tumalo Reservoir, and an easier climb to go see vast views of Black Butte. I’ve run across badgers, mule deer, elk and even a bobcat. One of the main gravel roads was put in […]
Gravel Girl’s Guide to Cycle Adventures in Central Oregon
Linda English had been cycling on Oregon’s rural roads around her home in Bend for years, but one day in 2013, she seized upon a rare opportunity.
Her husband, Kevin English, also an avid cyclist, had injured himself and needed time out of the saddle to recover. That made him the perfect person to drive the shuttle car while Linda and her […]
What Is Gravel Cycling and Why You Should Give It A Try
THE WASHINGTON POST – Krystal Salvent was an avid road cyclist – until she found herself lying in a ditch after a driver ran her off the road. That experience prompted the Boulder, Colorado, co-leader of Black Girls Do Bike Denver to buy her first gravel bike. “If I can remove that obstacle for myself and focus more on my bike […]
Plan The Perfect Route with Linda English
On this week’s episode of Girls Gone Gravel Kathryn and Kristi catch up with cyclist and route-planning expert Linda English. In 2014 Linda and her husband founded Dirty Freehub, an online resource for cyclists looking for vetted gravel routes. Since then, the site has grown into a non-profit organization that offers resources to gravel […]
Gravel Cycling Takes People Around the County
WALLOWA COUNTY — An online nonprofit group that promotes gravel bicycle routes is taking advantage of the many miles of gravel roads in Wallowa County, as well as the history and beauty of the county by establishing routes for gravel cycling.
The Bend-based Dirty Freehub maps out routes it shares with cyclists. The group has a guide […]
Taking The Plunge Into Gravel E-Biking
I’ve cranked more than a few miles over the years on bicycles: road bikes, mountain and my true passion, gravel. I’m not speedy but I can go the distance. I don’t mind rough terrain. I love a long climb and a rippin’ descent. And most of all, I love exploring, especially the backroads of Oregon—even better if I find other people who […]
