Depending on where you live, winter might mean rain, mud, slippery roots and the Sisyphean task of bike and kit washing/maintenance. But it can also offer dry, bright conditions and hardpacked trails. We can't do much about the weather, but we can (hopefully) help you to find the best possible winter gravel riding routes. Read on to find out more.  

This could well be wintry Utopia – blue sky, hard packed gravel trails and all the water where it should be (in the stream next to the gravel track). Bluebird days like theses do happen, but you need that combination of accurate weather forecasts, good quality winter clothing, a bit of luck and of course, the perfect winter route. We can’t help magic you up some perfect weather unfortunately, but we can definitely help with the route guidance, courtesy of our friends at komoot. You can look for inspiration, find ready-planned routes or plot your own routes. 

We’re going to use people power to help generate some extra inspiration too. We’ve created a Gravel Union Collection where we’re going to showcase some of the best routes created by Gravel Union Members. We started off the collection by creating a route of our own and thought this would be a useful guide to anyone else thinking about creating a route:

• Think carefully about the location and in particular what the trails will be like. Ideally you want to include as many free-draining/hardpacked trails as you can. Tracks with a hard stone base such as old cart tracks or abandoned roads are perfect for this. Leave the sinuous strips of cambered, rooty woodland singletrack for the drier months!
• Right of way legislation differs from country to country, but you should always try and make your route comply with local legislation. We probably all “poach” trails occasionally, but if it’s something you’re going to promote to other riders, then make sure it is legit!
• Where will your route start and finish? Is it easy to find? Is there a handy café near-by for the meet-up point? What about public transport options or parking for anyone who doesn’t live near-by?
• What are the highlights of the route? An amazing viewpoint, the quality of the riding, an ace mid-ride stop point, something interesting to look at or something else entirely?
• Winter means less daylight hours and a higher risk of poor weather, so think about safety – we would recommend keeping your route away from super wild/remote areas and having a bail out option available.
• Think about energy levels – is there somewhere (welcoming to muddy cyclists) mid-ride where riders can get a good coffee and a piece of cake?
• Finally, we would recommend keeping it short and sweet! Summer time is perfect for those long exploratory rides where you’re always trying to see what’s over the next hill, but in winter, you’re better off making your rides a little more manageable.

Hopefully the routes that you create will inspire other riders to get out there and make the most of winter. We will add our favourite routes to the Gravel Union winter collection and help shout about it to the wider gravelly world.