u/Far_Investigator8645

I guess this is my fault for not doing enough research, but I got a gravel bike with the intention of doing some gravel rides (obviously)

But I came to realize that I still spend most of my time riding on the road. the gravel routes near me within the city require the same road routes to get to and even if I try and be selective about gravel routes it still ends up being at least 60% road.

Theres a lot of worthwhile gravel routes somewhat close by but it requires at least an hour drive which to me beats the whole point of the accessibility aspect of it.

i often see people saying they completely switched to gravel - do you guys have immediate off road access straight from your front door? Are the majority of your routes still comprised of mostly road riding?

Moving in from out of town and normally do a lot of road riding. Would you say Portland and the surrounding areas are fairly tame in terms of drivers? I know Portland is a bicycle haven but I’m anticipating my rides likely won’t comprise of city riding but more on the rural parts and outskirts. I’m coming from the south so aggressive pickups and fast traffic with no bike infrastructure is the norm. I’m wondering if it’s better in Portland and how should I prepare.

Or should I just get a gravel bike? Haha