I did this thing called "The Quest" last year where I challenged myself to complete a ride on every Black Hawk County gravel road that I hadn't ridden before. That was a LOT of roads, but any thoughts about riding every gravel road in Iowa are completely crazy. It would take a lifetime of riding gravel roads to manage that challenge and conquer it.
I've seen estimates on how many miles of gravel and dirt roads Iowa has, and they range around the upper 60,000 to 70,000 miles. Let's say you have a good 60 years of riding, allowing for childhood development and old age on the other end. You'd have to ride over 1,100 miles of new gravel miles every year for 60 straight years to accomplish the feat. I highlighted that 'new gravel miles' bit because that is important to understand. You see, it is not as easy as just riding 1,100 miles of new gravel every year.
No- because you have LOTS of dead ends! Those all have to be out and back, which double the miles in those sections. Just think about how many stubs of dirt and gravel there are running up into dead ends along I-80, I-35, I-29, I-380, and many four lane limited access U.S. Highways like Highway 30, 20, and others.
Plus all the dead ends along rivers, cities, and roads that just end for no apparent reason. All would have to be done as out-and-backs which would really complicate matters. That takes not just more miles, but more time. I'm not here to say it would be impossible, but one would have to have a logistical talent, organization that was impeccable, and dedication that was off the charts. I mean, think about the Winter months, inclement weather, and the dog days of Summer, all which you'd have to consider as road blocks to accomplishing the goal.
Travel time, health over 60 years, and just plain luck would all have to come together to make that ride even close to possible. Yeah......I have a small idea of this. That challenge I did last year just in Black Hawk County nearly consumed me. I cannot imagine doing that for decades. But.......maybe someone will.
I probably won't be around to see it if it ever does happen, but whomever succeeds in doing that someday will have ridden a heck of a lot of gravel and dirt roads!
According to my Bike Iowa map tee shirt, 72,292 miles of Iowa gravel roads. And lest we forget Adventure Awaits !! Better get started.
ReplyDeleteYou would also need to account for gravel roads changing over time. Some gravel gets paved (e.g. Union Rd locally), while bits of pavement here and there might revert to gravel. Should a road be counted as a failure if it is paved before you get to it? Do you need to ride a road that was paved when the quest started but reverted back to gravel since then, or a gravel road that didn't exist at the start?
ReplyDeleteI think your county quest was a worthy one, but I have seen what those lifetime obsessions can do to people's long term health and wellbeing. There really is such a thing as too much cycling!
Yeah, that'd be a pretty insane venture, but I'd shake the hand of anyone crazy enough to try to do it! Here in Nebraska, we're not far behind you in terms of non-paved roads. I think we have a little over 71,000 miles of gravel/dirt roads here and I know I've ridden but a tiny fraction of them. Potential for the future, I guess!
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