We’re lucky to have some incredible riding here in Marin County- both road and gravel. But in the summer of 2020, we decided to go in search of what we like to call “luxury gravel”. Wide dirt roads with sweeping turns and expansive views. And we found it. Let me introduce you to Plumas County.
We searched GravelMap and found a number of routes in Plumas County. Most of them were uploaded by John McCutcheon, who we now refer to as the "Godfather of Gravel". He ended up being an incredible resource as well as a wonderful friend.
We rented an Airbnb in Taylorsville and had an incredible four days of the most pristine gravel you could ever imagine. We didn’t see any other cyclists on any day, and not one vehicle on any of the dirt roads. It truly was an incredible experience.
The town of Taylorsville is pretty isolated and has just one small grocery on main street. The closest bike shop is in Quincy. We cooked breakfast and dinner each day at the house and dined under the most magnificent starlit sky. Each morning we would leave the house and ride anywhere from 5-10 miles on the road before turning off onto the smooth gravel roads.
We have a number of routes uploaded on Strava. These roads are definitely isolated and as I mentioned before, no one will be driving by if you need assistance. You want to make sure you have everything you need. With regards to water, John did show us one small waterfall where we refilled our bottles using a purifying bottle, but other than that, there’s nothing out there.
Unfortunately, Plumas county was overrun by the Dixie Fire in the summer of 2021. We haven’t been back but we are eager to get up there and ride these wonderful roads again.
If you get the chance, we would definitely recommend a trip to Plumas County. You won’t be disappointed.
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