We decided to check out the Athens County Gravel route but starting from an alternate location. Back in February 2019 we did the original route and know that Athens County has a lot of climbing. This new route has been reconfigured to start at the Bailey’s Trail System Chauncey Trailhead. Thanks Nick Tepe! There is plenty of parking, shelter, toilets and a pump track to boot! Chauncey (pronounced Chancy) has some convenience stores and this area should flourish from the increased tourism from Baileys Trail System.

We knew the weather was going to be unstable for the day with the possibility of rain and storms. We didn’t experience either, but the high humidity kept us soaked for most of the ride. The only respite was the overcast skies for most of the day.

The gravel roads were dry and a lot of gravel was floating on top of the dry and hard pack surface. This made for challenging climbs and descents. The first climb of the day is within a few miles of the start and makes its way up to Mt. Nebo. From there the route alternates between quiet paved roads and gravel roads.

We saw turtles, alpacas, horses and goats along the way, plus the occasional barker. A couple of friendly dogs made their way out to the road to greet us.

About halfway through one of our riders wasn’t feeling well and we took our time getting back to the cars. Our group of 6 also cutoff the lower loop. We ended with 35.5 miles with 3800 feet of climbing. Back to Athens County being hilly. For the full route my Garmin said 12 climbs, but Frans’ Wahoo said 16 climbs! The other two riders who completed the entire route ended with 44 miles and 5200 feet of climbing.

Main route and a shortened lower loop route below photos.

Photos from Vince Nobel

Photos from Ray George