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.
Getting into gravel
The popularity of bicycling on gravel roads is on the rise, and a couple who founded a website dedicated to the topic plan to add 35 new routes around Baker County and Northeastern Oregon to their list. Linda and Kevin English of Bend started Dirty Freehub — dirtyfreehub.com — six years ago.
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Column: Biking within Bend on Townie
Here’s a bike adventure with one simple purpose: help cyclists in Bend stay out of traffic when they are riding around town. Think of it as a tour that takes you here, there and everywhere. By the end of it, you’ll rethink how to commute across town on a bike. We call this route Townie.
Townie was patched together by your pals from […]
Navigating the spring freeze-thaw like a pro
We’ve all been there. It’s a sunny spring day with the temperature pushing 60. You’re itching to ride your mountain bike after a long, cold winter. You head out, picturing sailing along the fast, flowy trails Bend is famous for.
An hour later you’re slowly slogging your way down a muddy trail, knowing you’ll have to spend an hour […]
The Silver Onion 5-Star Route: East of Tucson, Arizona
We’ve put in more than a few miles across the western US, so we don’t use the term “bucketlister” lightly. This ride is outstanding and should be top on your list. With a squiggly climb up to Onion Saddle (an incredible evolving view the whole way) … then the drop down into the town of Paradise, past the cemetery … and over to […]
Winter Gravel Cycling: Routes For Even The Darkest Of Days
Darker. Colder. Sometimes it’s hard to find that motivation to bike outside in the winter. But with a few extra layers of clothing and some good route selection, you’ll be sneaking in quite a few extra miles. Bend, Redmond and Prineville frequently have winters without much snow in town; the key here is learning to check the elevation to […]
Learn About Gravel Biking In The Skyline Forest
Ever wanted to bike the Skyline Forest, but don’t know where to go? An upcoming webinar gives locals the chance to learn about gravel biking on the privately owned land. The Deschutes Land Trust—which has long worked to help preserve the forest and protect it from development—is partnering with Dirty Freehub for a virtual event centered […]
Gravel bike rides to beat the heat in Central Oregon
Cycling, in general, has surged in popularity as more and more folks seek to get outside and away from others during the coronavirus pandemic.
And gravel riding has ridden that wave, as road cyclists look to avoid cars and mountain bikers look to avoid the trappings of trailheads and the sometimes close quarters of singletrack. […]
Visit Bend, Dirty Freehub partner to create ‘Gravel Scenic Bikeway’
Central Oregon cyclists who think they’ve ridden it all better think again.
Visit Bend has teamed up with a local online guide to the region’s best gravel cycling routes to create the Cascades Gravel Scenic Bikeway, Oregon’s first.
The collection of six routes curated by Visit Bend and Dirty Freehub utilize forest service roads and more […]
Gravel Bike Adventures In The Ochoco National Forest
The Ochoco National Forest has a million roads with so few cars that I always give out a big HOWDY wave when they go by. It’s the perfect place for gravel cycling; a recreational paradise. Late spring through mid-summer is my favorite riding time, with loads of wildflowers. We often run into mustangs, deer and antelope as we cruise by green […]
Gravel Riding: A Good Option During the Pandemic
Mountain biking seems like an ideal option in this era of social distancing, when outdoor recreation has become increasingly important and outdoor enthusiasts must become creative. But the Central Oregon singletrack that we mountain bikers love to ride so much is a bit of an issue during the coronavirus pandemic.
Note this article requires […]
Bend Cyclists Say Gravel Routes Are Good for Social Distancing
The founders of Bend-based Dirty Freehub, an online guide to gravel biking routes, say it’s easier to follow social distancing guidelines on gravel routes than most bike paths. They say gravel cycling has become more popular due to the coronavirus pandemic and people still wanting to enjoy the outdoors. Photo By Trevor Lyden.
Borderline: Graveling along the Border in Arizona
Tap your heels three times and you’ll end up in Ruby. Not in Kansas, but in Arizona, right along the Mexico border. Just south of Tucson Arizona.
Now before you hit the next button because you are worried about the border, scan through the photos: rugged, remote and a great place to ride gravel when the rest of the US is covered in ice, […]
Secrets to Finding Gravel Routes
Bakeoven Road starts in the tiny town of Maupin, Oregon which is famous for rafting excursions down the Deschutes River. But Bakeoven is also the start of a 51 mile mixed gravel bicycle ride that includes a roaring waterfall, 20 miles of gravel farm roads with booming views of Mt. Hood, a bumpy road that slices through White River canyon […]
Secrets to Winter Riding
The Village Idiot. That’s exactly what I thought when I saw someone riding a bike in the winter. But once I learned to pile on the right clothes, check the weather and find the right routes, I was able to sneak in a few extra miles during the winter. Miles that don’t include staring at a computer on a spin bike and wondering: Just how long […]
Basecamp: Maupin/Dufur
Fall gravel cycling can be a tad tricky: where exactly does the snow start and end? Rather than taking chances in Bend, here’s a better idea: head to the Maupin, Dufur, Tygh Valley area and enjoy the lower elevation. Locals say the daily temps are 5 to 15 degrees warmer than the rest of the region. While that doesn’t mean riders can plug […]
4 New Gravel Biking Routes to Ride
Kevin and Linda English discovered gravel cycling by accident, literally. It was five years ago and Kevin was recovering from a mountain biking mishap that resulted in a separated shoulder. Back on the bike after a few months of R & R, Kevin discovered that he didn’t have the strength to lift his front tire over obstacles, a key […]
Adventures of Gravel Girl
Beauty school dropout. That’s me … or should I say a failed mountain biker. I’ve been to a host of mountain bike camps and was NEVER brave enough to ride through a rock garden. I mastered one skill in mountain bike class: how to push a bike.
But road riding …. that I loved. Except now that my little town of Bend is growing up, I am […]
Bucket List of Oregon Gravel Rides
Riding in Oregon is a gravel cyclist’s paradise, with loads of remote gravel and paved roads that take you through a whole lot of beautiful nothing. At Dirty Freehub our mission is to provide great gravel routes, so we decided to provide the Gravel Cyclist audience and others with a bucket list of our favorite routes. This list didn’t […]
Help! How to Help Yourself Before You Crash on a Bike
“TWHAPPPP.”
That’s what I remember most: The sound of the crash.
My bike was up the hill and I couldn’t move my leg. I was trying to stay calm.
“Look, you can wiggle your toes,” I thought to myself. Because I was off the back of the pack of riders I was with, it took a bit for my husband to turn around and find me. By then, the rest […]
A Furry Gravel Ride: The Alpaca Loop
As the interest in gravel riding continues to grow at a feverish pace, people are mapping out more and more routes. Apps including Strava and Map My Ride allow people to develop and share routes with others, thus increasing the exposure. One such ride, ridden for year by locals, and recently penned by the gravel crazed folks at Dirty Freehub, […]
Central Oregon athletes set New Year’s goals
New Year’s resolutions often involve a fitness goal, but for a few Central Oregon athletes those goals for 2019 are larger-than-life.
Rarely do people pledge to ski jump off a mountain in the French Alps, win a 100-kilometer ultra marathon or travel the globe in pursuit of gravel routes for bike riding.
These examples may seem […]
Tasmania, Australia: The Next New Gravel Capital?
When the Dirty Freehub team hopped on the flight to Tasmania, we weren’t quite sure what to expect. We had looked at maps enough to pack the gravel bikes, but we lugged our inflatable SUP’s* with shark guards as backup entertainment. All we can say is: ohhhhhh myyyyy godddddd, this place is amazing! We think it should be crowned as the […]
Top Ten Rides in Central Oregon
There’s lots of buzz in the cycling community about gravel riding. With new bikes that are a mashup between mountain bikes and road bikes, this is a new type of cycling for a lot of riders, with routes that are both challenging and scenic. And with the forecast offering plenty of sunny days and highs in the 50s, there’s still time in the […]
Photo Feature: The Gravel Roads of Oregon, USA
“Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region on the West Coast of the United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon’s northern boundary along Washington state, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary along Idaho. The parallel 42° north delineates the southern boundary with California and Nevada. […]
