Gravel roads catch on with cyclists roughing it | The Columbian

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  Donnie Kolb pedals down a gravel road near Silver Lake, Ore., in June. Kolb has been organizing gravel bicycle rides for the past five years, usually keeping his events a bit on the down-low. His outings are unsupported and unsanctioned, have no entry fee and crown no winner. (Gabriel Amadeus/AP)
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  Donnie Kolb pushes his bike through a marshy section of Sycan Marsh near Klamath Falls, Ore., in June. (Gabriel Amadeus/AP)
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  In this June 9, 2013 photo, Donnie Kolb rides past a scenic view of Three Sisters mountains near Bend, Ore. Kolb has been organizing gravel bicycle rides for the past five years, usually keeping his events a bit on the down low. His outings are unsupported, unsanctioned, have no entry fee and crown no winner. (AP Photo/The Bulletin, Gabriel Amadeus) (Gabriel Amadeus/AP)
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  Donnie Kolb pauses on a long stretch of gravel road with central Oregon's Fork Rock formation visible in the distance. (Gabriel Amadeus/AP)
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  Donnie Kolb pedals down a gravel road near Silver Lake, Ore., in June. Kolb has been organizing gravel bicycle rides for the past five years, usually keeping his events a bit on the down-low. His outings are unsupported and unsanctioned, have no entry fee and crown no winner. (Gabriel Amadeus/AP)

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EUGENE, Ore. — Donnie Kolb has been organizing gravel bicycle rides for the past five years.

Usually keeping his events a bit on the down-low — Kolb's outings are unsupported, unsanctioned, have no entry fee and crown no winner — the Portland lawyer typically sees about 100 riders show up for his "bikepacking" adventures after posting the GPS coordinates of the route and a "We're doing this on Saturday morning" message on his website, VeloDirt.com. Last year, his Dalles Mountain 60, a 60-mile single-day ride on gravel and dirt roads on both the Washington and Oregon sides of the Columbia River near The Dalles, attracted about 200 cyclists, most yet for a VeloDirt ride.

"The longer they are," Kolb says about his rides, "fewer people show up."

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