Events: Bucks Gravel 2025
The road bike and the gravel bike were laid out next to each other, and pros and cons were listed for the Kermesse Sport’s Bucks Gravel event on September 14th. Once referred to as the Fools Classic, Bucks Gravel relocated northward to the sleepy river hamlet of Erwinna, PA. Farther north Bucks County meant new roads. New roads meant the potential for testy gravel. The road bike had been called on for every gravel event so far. But would the gravel bike work better?
More than one hundred riders pre-registered for the revamped event. As I rolled up to the registration table, others were paying for day-of access. The perfect late summer/ early fall weather beckoned riders to explore northern Bucks County roads, with a little gravel mixed in. One hundred riders would navigate roller coaster hollows, steep gravel pitches, and hills upon dales full of farmland. With four distances to choose from, riders had a bevy of options on how to spend the day while taking in the Bucks County scenery.
The opening miles of the Bucks Gravel event utilized the canal towpath. The fog created a country touch.
Back to my bike debate, I struggled with the bike choice. Being registered for the long course, which clocked 82 miles and 7,000 feet of climbing, there was a lot to consider. Of those 82 miles, roughly thirty percent of the course was unpaved. Only two difficult climbs were paved; the rest were gravel. To have seventy percent paved roads meant a road bike was the prudent choice. Except it has been unseasonably dry for the second summer in a row. All those gravel roads would be lunar dust and hard to manage on skinny tires. Gravel tires on a road bike? Road tires on a gravel bike? I settled with road tires on a road bike, as tradition dictated. I also stuck with road pedals. I did throw on gravel gloves as a nod to the event. There was a strong hope all this wasn’t the wrong choice.
Amidst dense fog that was quickly lifting, I rolled out from the Delaware Valley Fire Company at 8 am. Scattered blinking lights, amplified by the mist, lined the canal path on our way to an immediate climb on Stagecoach Road and first gravel segment of the day. Riders came together on the climb, but once we topped out, the gravel was nowhere to be found! Inexplicably, the road had been paved recently. There goes one more gravel sector in Bucks County. The road bike giggled at this development.
Atop Stagecoach Road and gravel riders discover the road was only recently paved over. The lifted fog allowed participants sights of the course’s future topography.
We wound back toward the river to climb a steep gravel pitch called Mount Airy Road. This passage had the added obstacle of water erosion caused earlier in the season. Switching lines was difficult until after the steep parts. The hardwood canopy established a peaceful atmosphere on a climb that felt like forever.
The opening miles found significant gravel. The aforementioned Mount Airy Road turned onto Twin Lear, a technical downhill gravel sector, before requiring a hard right onto Smithtown, an uphill gravel sector. It felt like all the gravel roads were front-loaded on the course. Tory Road set riders up to access the popular Randts Mill gravel segment before turning onto the uphill gravel sector of Gruver/ Oak Grove Road. Surely those visiting from outside the area assumed we would be on crushed stone for the whole day at this rate.
The short sector of Kindler Road, north of Lake Nockamixon.
It was at this spot on the course I caught a rider atop a gravel bike from New York City. He was attempting the medium course and gearing up for Big Sugar in a few week’s time. His name was Arthur, and he wished he had brought his road bike instead. We continued to cross off gravel roads like the favorite Sheep Hole Road. It was Tettemer’s notorious steep ending that demonstrated the difference in bike choice. The deep loose gravel made slow going for the road bike while Arthur bounded up to the sector’s summit, even passing other gravel riders. Shortly after this sector, Arthur had to exit the course and head back home. He was given directions that would make anyone happy: turn right and enjoy the long descent to the coffee shop on the river before jumping on the flat canal path back to the start.
Meanwhile my course turned north of Lake Nockamixon where paved miles made a comeback with anticipated segments were closing in. The route crossed roads I had never knowingly explored until today. Grouse Lane gravel sector was a new experience. It’s the first time I thought someone should mow a road. Springhouse Lane was a skinny thoroughfare, likely a forgotten farm road. At this point I picked up a new fellow rider. He shouted out directions after my computer malfunctioned. I never got his name, but without him it’s possible I would still be rolling around the hills north of Nockamixon. He rolled atop a road Cervelo, but, unlike Arthur, he wished he had brought the gravel bike. He and I hit dusty Walnut Lane and the rolling Funk’s Mill. He was with me when we hit the highly anticipated Coon Hollow gravel segment as well as the screaming gravel descent of Sunday Road and back onto the canal path along the Delaware River.
Springhouse Lane, the farthest west gravel segment on the course, was a new experience.
On the Bucks Gravel Route, once the Delaware River becomes visible, the long course is starting to wrap up. It’s not without challenges, though, as Narrows Hill Road (paved), Lodi Hill Road (unpaved), and the sneaky Woodland Drive (unpaved then paved) occupied much of the final hour. The climbs were a fair tradeoff after leaving the final rest stop hosted at Trauger’s Farm Market in Kintersville. Excluding the climbs, the rest of the course either utilized the canal towpath or descended Upper Tinicum Church Road. But it was Narrows Hill Road that claimed the first walker. A rider had dismounted where the climb sustains a 14% incline. He encouraged, “Keep pushing,” as I went by.
The final gravel sectors were hardly easy efforts. Woodland Drive had the appearance of simplicity as it initially descended, kicking up dust baked by the afternoon sun. The paved portions were relentless little climbs, hidden by corners and trees. At one point the road went around a tree, which had bright orange spray paint on the bark of a giant question mark. Perhaps next year the turn will look straighter and without a tree. I half jokingly told my fellow rider that we could avoid the last climb by staying on the canal path. Lodi Hill Road was described to him as a warning. Not too many people have experienced a double switchback gravel road that averages around 14% and hits 23% at its steepest. We topped out, he ahead of me, where we started the beautiful descent to the firehouse. Leaves had begun to fade from their seasonal green, amplifying the lowering sun’s rays.
Slifer Valley Road provides Bucks Gravel participants with expansive views of both Bucks, Northampton, and Lehigh Counties. The rider in the photo was my navigator after the computer crashed.
I pulled up to the firehouse and was greeted by yet another pleasant volunteer. He asked which route I completed and stated I was probably the fifth rider to have finished the long course. Only recently had the 82-mile riders started trickling in. I signed out of the course, and headed to the food table. The sun and dry weather had dehydrated me. Two cans of Coca-cola would surely revive me. Since the bike computer was fried, it felt odd not being able to geek out over the day’s stats with fellow riders. And speaking of volunteers, the long course featured three rest stops, mostly staffed by Sturdy Girl Cycling, a team with a mission to provide women of the Philly area with fun, fabulous, and supportive cycling experiences. Without all the volunteers, I would not have been able to complete the entire course, and, of course, I would not have gained access to the obligatory Fig Newtons during a Kermesse event.
The Bucks Gravel experience continued into the after ride party. North Wales-based Lindinger’s Deli and Catering provided the post-ride meal. There was barbecued beef and barbecued chicken, steamed vegetables, and rice. It had the right amount of zip to transport riders back into the land of community and conversation. With tables arranged in the firetruck bay of Delaware Valley Fire Company firehouse, finishers were greeted by an ever-increasing welcoming party.
It is always the Kermesse Sport after party that provides a crescendo to the experience, likely started months ago by all who rode. There were the weeks of preparation, the morning anxiety, the up-and-down of emotions along a mirrored course, it all concluded at a firehouse with phenomenal volunteers, great company, delicious food, and stories that grow taller the longer people hang around. Reluctantly, I said my goodbyes and headed for home. Even at the very end of the parking lot, volunteers were still congratulating me on the ride. Pulling the dusty road bike into the service course, its dingy appearance reflected a hard day out. The road bike was the right call.
