Route notes, trip reports and practical advice for hotel-to-hotel gravel riding across Europe and South Africa.https://gravel-adventure.com/enhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/south-africa-gravel-farms-small-towns/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/south-africa-gravel-farms-small-towns/Seven towns, farm kitchens and a vineyard dinner — the people and places behind a week of gravel cycling across South Africa's Western Cape.Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTSouth AfricaCapehospitalityfarm stayssmall townscultureroutesTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/flying-with-a-gravel-bike/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/flying-with-a-gravel-bike/The bike almost always arrives fine. The riders who packed carefully are simply the ones not fixing a bent hanger in a hotel car park on day zero.Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTplanningpreparationpackinglogisticstravelTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/fuelling-multi-day-gravel-tour/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/fuelling-multi-day-gravel-tour/The riders who fade on a week-long tour rarely run out of fitness. They run out of fuel. Here's how to eat and drink across back-to-back gravel days.Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTnutritionfuellingplanningtrainingsupported toursTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/which-gravel-tour-is-right-for-you/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/which-gravel-tour-is-right-for-you/Seven crossings, one week each. A route-by-route gravel tour comparison — difficulty, climbing, season and who each one suits — to help you choose.Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTplanningroutescomparisondestinationsEuropeTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/gravel-cycling-scotland-highlands/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/gravel-cycling-scotland-highlands/Some of the emptiest, most rideable gravel in Europe runs clean across Scotland — Atlantic to North Sea, on roads built two centuries before the bicycle. A full guide to the route, the riding and the week.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTScotlandHighlandsroutesdestinationsTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/cape-gravel-cycling-south-africa/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/cape-gravel-cycling-south-africa/Three landscapes in nine days — the Klein Karoo, the Overberg and the Cape Winelands — over the Victorian Swartberg Pass on some of the quietest gravel anywhere. A full guide.Tue, 21 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTSouth AfricaCaperoutesdestinationsKarooplanningTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/gravel-cycling-south-africa/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/gravel-cycling-south-africa/Nine days of gravel across South Africa — red earth, mountain passes, and roads where the landscape is measured in scale, not kilometres.Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMTSouth AfricaCaperoutesTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/troodos-mountains-gravel-cycling/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/troodos-mountains-gravel-cycling/One island, two coasts, and a cedar-forested mountain range in between — Larnaca to Paphos over the Troodos on gravel roads almost no one outside Cyprus has ridden. The full guide.Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMTCyprusTroodosroutesdestinationsTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/gravel-cycling-cyprus/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/gravel-cycling-cyprus/Eight days crossing Cyprus from Larnaca to Paphos on the Trans Cyprus Gravel route — Troodos passes, vine villages, and the quiet of an island that does not hurry.Tue, 13 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMTCyprusroutesTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/tavira-to-sagres-gravel/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/tavira-to-sagres-gravel/A full crossing of southern Portugal on gravel — Tavira to Sagres, away from the resorts, through the cork-oak interior to the edge of Europe at Cabo de São Vicente.Tue, 16 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTAlgarvePortugalroutesTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/gravel-cycling-portugal-algarve/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/gravel-cycling-portugal-algarve/Eight days tracing the coast of southern Portugal, from Lagos to Sagres, where golden cliffs meet Atlantic wind and endless gravel roads.Thu, 20 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMTAlgarvePortugalroutesTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/san-sebastian-to-roses-gravel/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/san-sebastian-to-roses-gravel/One line drawn across a whole mountain range — San Sebastián on the Atlantic to Sant Pere Pescador on the Mediterranean, 780 km of mostly unpaved riding over eleven days.Tue, 28 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMTPyreneesTrans PyreneesroutesTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/gravel-cycling-pyrenees/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/gravel-cycling-pyrenees/Eleven days, 780 km of gravel, and the mountains that separate two countries on a single bike — a crossing from San Sebastián to Roses.Thu, 02 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMTPyreneesroutesTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/stelvio-pass-gravel/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/stelvio-pass-gravel/The Stelvio is a paved legend — but the gravel that surrounds it is the real story. How the famous pass anchors a four-country Alpine crossing on a gravel bike.Tue, 09 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTAlpsTrans AlpStelvioroutesTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/gravel-cycling-alps-trans-alp/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/gravel-cycling-alps-trans-alp/Crossing the Alps on gravel bike: high passes, mountain valleys, and the moment when you realize your legs can do more than you thought.Tue, 12 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMTAlpsTrans AlproutesTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/apennines-gravel-cycling-tuscany/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/apennines-gravel-cycling-tuscany/Most of Tuscany's photographs are taken low, in Chianti. The best riding sits higher — on the Apennine ridges, the climbs out of Pistoia, and the long descents into the Val d'Orcia.Tue, 15 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMTTuscanyApenninesItalyroutesTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/gravel-cycling-tuscany/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/gravel-cycling-tuscany/Three days navigating the Strade Bianche on 40mm tyres, chasing the fading light through Chianti — and the cruel final climb into Montalcino.Thu, 19 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMTTuscanyItalyroutesTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/best-gravel-destinations-europe/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/best-gravel-destinations-europe/Six of the best gravel cycling destinations in Europe — plus one beyond it — each a true coast-to-coast or country crossing, ridden hotel-to-hotel with the support van carrying the rest.Thu, 29 May 2025 00:00:00 GMTdestinationsroutesinspirationEuropeplanningTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/gravel-tour-vs-bikepacking/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/gravel-tour-vs-bikepacking/Bikepacking, credit-card touring, or a fully supported hotel-to-hotel week — an even-handed comparison of what each really costs you in load, planning, risk and money, and which suits your kind of rider.Wed, 07 May 2025 00:00:00 GMTcomparisonplanningsupported toursTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/guided-vs-self-guided-gravel-tour/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/guided-vs-self-guided-gravel-tour/Guided or self-guided? Both run the same routes, the same hotels and the same support van — the real choice is about navigation, pace and company. An honest comparison.Tue, 15 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMThow it worksplanningguidedself-guidedcomparisonTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/gps-routes-navigation-gravel-tour/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/gps-routes-navigation-gravel-tour/What you actually get, and do, when you ride one of our routes self-guided: the GPX files, the devices, offline maps, what happens at a missed turn, and the support van still behind you.Thu, 20 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMTself-guidedGPSnavigationplanningTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/best-time-of-year-gravel-tour/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/best-time-of-year-gravel-tour/A season-by-season planning guide to our gravel tours — which destination rides best when, and why: weather, daylight, trail conditions, crowds and midges, mapped to the right week.Thu, 27 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMTseasonsplanningdestinationsTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-a-gravel-tour/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-a-gravel-tour/Everything that turns a week of hard riding from a survival exercise into the best holiday you've had — fitness, bike, kit, logistics and a realistic countdown.Tue, 04 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMTplanningpreparationtrainingpackingTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/training-multi-day-gravel-tour/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/training-multi-day-gravel-tour/How to build the endurance for mountain passes, long valley crossings, and the unexpected — so you're strong on day eight, not just day one.Wed, 08 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMTtrainingfitnessplanningTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/best-gravel-bike-tyres-for-touring/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/best-gravel-bike-tyres-for-touring/The bike that finishes a week of strade bianche, alpine military road and Highland estate track has nothing flash about it. Here's what actually matters — and what to stop overthinking.Tue, 10 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMTgearbikestyresplanningTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/what-to-pack-gravel-tour/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/what-to-pack-gravel-tour/On a supported gravel tour the vehicle carries your bags. That is not a reason to fill them. What to bring, what to leave, and what you'll wish you had.Thu, 14 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMTpackinggearplanningTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/family-run-gravel-tour-company/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/family-run-gravel-tour-company/Big-operator polish or do-it-yourself freedom — there's a third option. Here's what changes when the people who scouted the route are the people who answer your email.Tue, 22 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMTabouttrustsupported toursfamily-runDanish operatorplanningTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/how-to-choose-supported-gravel-tour/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/how-to-choose-supported-gravel-tour/Guided versus self-guided, supported logistics, route difficulty, and what actually matters when you're deciding whether to join a gravel tour.Sat, 28 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMThow it worksplanningsupported toursTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/what-a-supported-gravel-week-involves/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/what-a-supported-gravel-week-involves/Luggage moved each morning, a hotel waiting each evening, a vehicle on the road if you need it. Here's how a supported gravel week really runs.Tue, 03 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMThow it worksplanningsupported toursTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/what-is-included-gravel-cycling-holiday/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/what-is-included-gravel-cycling-holiday/Guides, GPS routes, daily luggage transfer, a support van, hotels and food — and the things you still arrange yourself. The full included-versus-not list, stated plainly.Tue, 06 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMThow it worksplanningsupported toursTanya & Michael Sommerhttps://gravel-adventure.com/blog/what-is-a-supported-gravel-tour/https://gravel-adventure.com/blog/what-is-a-supported-gravel-tour/Hotels booked, luggage moved, a van behind you and the route sorted — here's exactly what a supported gravel tour is, what's included, and how it compares to going it alone.Tue, 09 Jul 2024 00:00:00 GMThow it worksplanningsupported toursTanya & Michael Sommer