I am lucky to live in Rupert Idaho where I am surrounded by countless miles of Dirt roads. These roads are generally very lightly trafficked with only the occasional farm vehicle or annoying dog to give you any company. Harvest time however is best avoided on these roads. It doesnt rain much here so the roads are generally very dry and dusty. You do hit some wet patches from the irrigation sprinklers but in the summer a spray from these is very welcome. Generally there isnt much climbing and the roads are pretty straight and gently rolling. The only down side can be the wind which has been particularly nasty this spring. It can make riding as difficult as a steep climb.
After exploring most of the roads within a 15 mile radius I have noticed that the roads fall into a few categories. All of these categories are increased significantly by “Washboard” which can make the roads miserable. This year the washboard seems particularly bad on many roads. The other thing that severely impacts the roads is when they regrade them and add fresh gravel, Freshly re-graveled roads are seriously hard work to ride on and require major concentration
Gravel Zero :
The first type of Gravel isnt really gravel at all but very compressed dirt that is super fast when dry and horrible when wet. There are virtually no actual lumps of gravel on this type of road. It is pretty rare. This type of road would be no problem for a road bike.
Gravel One :
This is smooth gravel characterized by small rocks of up to a few millimeters in radius and is super fast, This is my favorite type of gravel and I seek out sections of it as a preferred place to ride. Probably ok on a road bike but perfect for gravel bikes. It can get pretty dusty especially if a farm vehicle is passing,
Gravel Two :
This is probably the most common type of gravel and is characterized by rocks up to about about 25mm. Generally speaking this is pretty easy if you let your bike go with the flow and dont fight it. It can become a little challenging if it is more than an inch deep. It is also horrible with washboard, Ok on a gravel bike but can be a bit sketchy if it is more than an inch deep.
Gravel Three:
Unfortunately there seems to be a lot of this type of gravel this year. Rocks of greater than 25mm and several inches deep make this really hard work. I really dont like trying to ride this on a gravel bike and I am much happier on an MTB with 2.2 tires but even with front suspension you get beat up a bit. Couple this with washboard and it is a true test of your resolve. An example of this type of gravel is on the 600N all the way out to Meridian. I finf this type of gravel exhausting.
Gravel 4 :
This isnt really gravel but there are some roads with in laid boulders on gravel roads that can be better suited for mountain bikes
Gravel X
There are also some Sandy sections that are beyond category in terms of difficulty. I seriously can only just ride these on a fatbike. Fortunately they are rare, Hit these when you arent expecting it and a crash is likely. I have gone over the bars more than once hitting one of these.
