plenty of Gravel riding in Bend, OR.
1 Like
Susquehanna Valley in Central PA. It’s where UnPAved happens. There are 10 routes of different lengths and difficulty. They have a great resource with maps, routes, town histories and other details .
2 Likes
There is always Austin Texas . Great music scene. Mostly country and blues. Great BBQ. Plus a few scenic things. Like tubing down the San Marcos river in San Marcos . Spring fed, crystal clear water and 74F year round. Of course you cannot miss a stop at Bucky’s . Lots of state parks within a few hours drive. Oh ya Mellow Johnny’s, Lances bike shop. 
Weather is unpredictable . Could be 30F today and 80F with humidity tomorrow. Summer is hot.
For riding, the gravel is what they call road base. It’s ground up limestone. Pretty hard packed with some rock and dust thrown in. 45mm work great.
Capital city racing puts on a series of gravel ride/races. All on public country roads. They usually start in a small country town and circle back. Lots of cattle guards. Not much traffic. All their routes have GPX files. All have anywhere from 15 to 65 mile options.
Enjoy your retirement. I am enjoying mine.
1 Like
This makes it real easy
2 Likes
I would just ask Gemini or your favorite AI with all your parameters (time of year, locations, etc.) and once you dial in on something- go to the applicable local cycling reddit board and get feedback on your routes.
Typically, the rides/races have the best course designs, assuming they didn’t route through private land, that you can leverage and ride outside of race day.
1 Like
I’ll put out a 2nd recommendation for east TN & north GA. The Tennessee Gravel website has numerous routes, but some of them involve rougher terrain than others. Feel free to reach out if you decide on some of those. I’d be happy to provide some insight to the routes.
If you do come to the area, lookup Fireside Outpost for a great place to stay that isn’t far from many of the routes. It’s a campsite with a few cabins that you can rent. The owner is great and very bike friendly. Chattanooga isn’t far either if you’d prefer to stay in the city.
1 Like
If you’re in the upper midwest, the Military Ridge, Glacial Drumlin, and Badger State trails are lovely! Near Madison, Wisconsin. Over 50 miles of great well-maintained trail with nice small towns along the way.
I used to live right on Military Ridge and would bike/walk/run on the trail daily.
1 Like
Yeah fireside outpost is a pretty ideal bascamp. Ride out the gate onto gravel. Also one of the nicest campgrounds ive ever seen
1 Like
Take a tour through Montana. The state with 3rd lowest population density so lots of backroads with more animals than cars. Pics from a couple rides when I was back visiting last summer. Happy to map out the routs if you end up this way.
(Central MT between Great Falls and Neihart)
(Western MT Between Missoula and Seeley Lake)
2 Likes