Make 2025 the year you level up your gravel game
Gravel 101 Returns April 19, 2025
Get your questions answered and learn how to thrive in cycling's newest, inclusive discipline
Gravel Cycling has exploded in popularity in the past ten years, and it's no surprise: the sport is conducted away from cars and traffic, takes its participants to remote and stunning vistas, and still poses plenty of challenging fun. Toss in the fact that the sport has a little more of that chill mountain bike vibe and you're really onto something fun.
Regardless of whether pinning on a number is your thing, you'll learn tons at 101, ride bunches, and go home with a set of newly minted gravel friends.
Scroll down to learn about 101 or hit that sign-up button now!
This event is sanctioned by the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association, which requires that participants hold either an OBRA Annual License OR an OBRA one-day license. If you are not an annual OBRA license holder, you will need to purchase a one-day license at checkout.
GRAVEL 101 SYLLABUS
We will teach you everything you need to know to enjoy your first gravel events or rides safely and competently. You can see the schedule for 101 below.
Skills Taught:
- Bike / Body Separation: learn how to move your bike and body together and then separately — crucial for cornering
- Steer with your body and eyes, not with your hands: learn how to direct the bike by shifting your body and focus
- Braking early so you can roll through corners safely and quickly (the "2-1-None Mantra")
- Descending in the drops for stability, safety, and speed
- Using your sight to take the bike where you want it to go
- Managing awkward or strange terrain
Practical Application:
- After we spend a few hours learning these skills (and taking a short break for lunch), we'll head out onto the beautiful roads around Mosier, soaking up sun and wind and glorious views. We'll practice all of the skills we learned in the morning in a real-world setting.
You Will Leave the Clinic Having Learned:
- How to shift your weight and your focus to get the bike to go where you want it to go
- How to slow down enough so that cornering is safe while maintaining the speed you want
- Where to put your hands and body on the bike to retain the greatest amount of control
- The best ways to navigate a corner, whether on flat, sloped, dirt, or grass terrain
- Ways you can build balance and feel more at ease on your bike
- What happens at a gravel event and what you'll need to do in order to be prepared for it
- And anything you ask your coaches about!
101 Schedule
9:00 AM
The "theory" part of the clinic: after getting to know each other, we will spend 90 minutes covering our syllabus, detailed above. We build skills from the ground up in small, safe environment with soft landings! We will make sure that you get plenty of reps at all of our skills so you feel confident before we head out on the road.
10:45 AM
We take a break from instruction to eat some lunch! Food is BYO, but we will have plenty of goodies from our local providers such as Blue Bus Kombucha, Treebird Market, and Pine Street Bakery.
11:00 AM
The "application" part of the clinic: after some snacks we will head out onto our training loop, which heads up Dry Creek Road before descending back to Mosier. You'll get a chance to practice the skills you learned this morning in a real-world environment. We'll pause to try certain sections again, which is called "Sessioning" a skill or stretch of road/trail.
1:00 PM
Departure! If you're heading home we will say our goodbyes, but if you're staying at The Society Hotel tonight this is not goodbye but simply "see you later," as we'll all meet up for a well-deserved soak at The Society Spa (see details below or click that link!).
"I've taken a couple of gravel clinic classes hosted jointly by Brave Endeavors and Campfire Endurance to get more confidence off-road, and I can't say enough good things! Coaches Annick and Chris do a wonderful job of presenting ideas in different ways—overview, explain, demonstrate, practice something small, practice something bigger, then put it into a practical scenario—so everyone has a chance to absorb new concepts gradually in whatever way works best for them. They do an excellent job of making suggestions and supplying positive reinforcement. Best of all, the coaches make it FUN.
Absolutely recommend—If you told me I'd be doing wheel lifts by the end of the clinic, I would have laughed, and while my lifts are modest, I love that I can do something I thought was impossible and have the tools to keep practicing and improving."
— Amanda N.
Your Gravel Playground
The Columbia Gorge is home to some of the best gravel riding in the world. It's not a surprise that several of Oregon's best cycling promoters set their events in The Gorge. Usually the dividing line between spring rain and spring sun, the towns around Hood River, Mosier, and the Dalles provide stunning landscapes, amazing flora, abundant sun, Cadillac Gravel (we'll teach you what this means!) and very little traffic. You will learn in a safe, gorgeous (see what we did there?) environment that will leave you hungry for more gravel.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
We've got A's for your Q's
How much does it cost?
Gravel 101 is $169 for a 4-hour experience: 9am-1pm. We provide instruction, a safe and controlled environment, snacks, shade, and equipment support.
I'm worried I'll slow down the group?
We will always have at least two coaches on bikes during 101. We form into groups of similar paces, dedicating a coach to each group. No one will get dropped OR held-up!
Does it matter if I'm new to cycling?
Nope! If you're just getting started, we think Gravel 101 is a great way to start logging more miles safely and comfortably. You'll learn a ton about gravel best practices, terminology, and techniques.
What do I need to bring?
A bicycle, cycling shoes, helmet, cycling kit, water, sunscreen, lunch, snacks, warm cycling clothing, change of clothes
The Details
What to bring: bicycle, cycling shoes, helmet, cycling kit, water, sunscreen, lunch, snacks, warm cycling clothing, change of clothes
How to contact us: got a question or concern? Hit us up by emailing us at info@campfireendurance.com.