Events: Bucks Gravel 2025 (And Why You Should Do It)

The cycling scene has hosted a lot of changes in the past few years. Road tires continue to get wider. Light mountain bikes are now gravel bikes. Instead of avoiding the less paved route, riders are competing to get as far away as possible. Change is good; change is refreshing.

Kermesse Sport presents a change on its foundation ride. Once called the Fools Classic - and taking place in the spring - it has changed to align with the cycling scene. Even the name has changed, now called Bucks Gravel and taking place September 14th. Consider it a dirty road bike ride. Or a gravel ride. Or a dusty fondo. Or light bikepacking. Or use it as a practice run to get as far away as possible later in the year. This late summer event has everything a cyclist is looking for in one local event.

Oak Grove Road gravel features a rolling terrain with expansive farm views.

Kermesse Sport is a multi-cycling event company that hosts rides in the Delaware Valley of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Often inspired by European rides, Kermesse events seek out unpaved roads, flowy descents, and a few sharp uphills. Organizing events like the Hell of Hunterdon and Tour de Pines, Kermesse Sport has been keeping up with the changing face of cycling over the past two decades. Back then, it started with the Fools Classic.

The Fools Classic was a curious event first run in 2007 in an effort to explore Pennsylvania’s and New Jersey’s lesser-known unpaved roads. Containment was not possible due to the plethora of gravel sectors on both sides of the Delaware River, and a few years later, the Fools Classic changed to focus on Bucks County unpaved roads. As the years progressed, the route varied. At one point, the Fools Classic was the longest of the Kermesse Sport events. One year the route approached an imperial century.

It always seemed that the Fools Classic bore the brunt of change. One year Fools was bumped due to the chaotic weather impacting the Hell of Hunterdon. Other years the weather on Fools Classic weekend was abysmal. Meanwhile the cycling scene changed from rim brakes to disc brakes, from 19 millimeter tires to thirty. All the while, it was a wonderment as to why the Fools Classic had such tough luck.

Randts Mill Road is best enjoyed quickly as it trends downhill with a fun left-right combination.

But now everything has been revamped. To start, Bucks Gravel has a new location on the cycling calendar. Taking place the last weekend of summer - September 14 - Bucks Gravel will take advantage of the post-race/ pre-cross calendar swap. It is also centralized farther north in Bucks County, allowing access to the still rural roads that have been outside of range in previous events. Bucks Gravel will start and finish at the Delaware Valley Fire Company in Erwinna, PA. Three separate routes (82, 58, and 35 miles) plus a family ride (12 miles) will depart and return to the fire hall located on Headquarters Road. 

For those looking to bikepack, Bucks Gravel has you covered. Located at mile twenty on the route, Beaver Valley Campground in Ottsville, PA, has paired with Kermesse Sport to offer accommodations for the event. Ideally located, Beaver Valley is in a peaceful slice of northern Bucks County with open fields and nearby gravel segments. Come for Bucks Gravel; camp out to ride more of the county’s unique winding shaded roads. 

Sheep Hole Road is a local favorite with two bridges and unique houses along this gravel sector.

Despite all this change, one thing remains close to the same - the route. Bucks Gravel loosely follows the old Fools Classic, though, as mentioned above, it now focuses on the northern county segments. The long course hosts thirty percent gravel and three aid stations. The gravel segments are the star of the event, as well as their road names. There’s Coon Hollow, Sheep Hole, Rope Walk, and the challenging Lodi Hill. To showcase Bucks County gravel further, the route visits the Delaware Canal Towpath, a flat infrastructure reusing century’s-old technology. Also don’t be surprised if the route goes through a famous covered bridge or two. Aid stations for the medium and long course will feature Hammer Nutrition to keep the tanks topped off.

Once the Bucks Gravel finish line has been crossed at the Delaware Valley Fire Department, Kermesse Sport keeps the atmosphere going with post-ride food and libations brewed by 18th Ward Brewery, based in New York state. Once completed, some will ride home, some will ride to the campsite, and others will rack the bike and then drive home. It’s hard to imagine how much is packed into the Bucks Gravel, but that’s the point. With the fast pace of development continuing in Bucks County, one of the changes includes the paving gravel roads. Some call that progress. Bucks Gravel is changing with the change by shifting gears and indexing focus. With spring gravel rides populating the spring calendar, Bucks Gravel has moved has moved physically and figuratively to give riders a new perspective of the gravel riding opportunities in Bucks County.