I grew up riding a rigid mountain bikes on logging roads and then later talking my roadie friends into straying onto smooth gravel roads on group rides. Eventually after I got a CX bike I really started exploring some of the sections of gravel and dirt that connected our usual rad loops. There were less cars and the sense of exploration I enjoyed in the early days of mountain biking returned. Eventually the small chunks of gravel got longer and longer and the amount of pavement got less and less and the loops were mostly dirt and gravel. There were more maps consulted and pored over and new loops were made. The best ones were usually a combination of some pavement, some gravel, and even easy singletrack. They all had a few things in common though; not much car traffic, nice views, and pace was secondary to fun.

Around 2011 I started putting on mixed surface “gravel” rides as a way to invite and include people to the types of routes I was enjoying. Way back in the early days of modern gravel riding, folks were forced to choose between either a road bike, a mountain bike, or a CX bike. All had their upsides and all had their downsides. I used to joke that whatever bike you chose for the ride would leave you stoked at one point and bummed at others. There was no perfect bike at the time for these rides. Folks would reach out and ask which type of bike they should choose and a long discussion about what equipment they had and how comfortable they were with gravel on skinny tires or pushing fat knobbies on asphalt would ensue. Around about this time social media was fairly new and a video of a Honey Badger became viral.

One day a buddy was hanging out with me at my shop and around the time the fourth or fifth person stopped by to ask what type of bike should they choose, “Honey Badger don’t care!” was blurted out by my friend and the moniker of Honey Badger Rides was born. Just about every Honey Badger ride since then has been completed by someone on every type of bike. Folks on road bikes have picked their way through rock gardens and endured miles of washboard. People have pushed fat knobby tires and wide, upright handlebars over miles of pavement and headwinds. Cross bikes with narrow, race type gearing and lousy cantilevers have navigated steep climbs and long descents. The Honey Badger really doesn’t care what type of bike you bring.

After I closed my shop and left the bike industry in 2016, the Honey Badger Rides were facing dying off right around when gravel riding was taking off. I reached out to my friend Derek who spearheads the Siskiyou Saddle Tramps and handed off the rides to him. He took off and ran with them and kept them going. Eventually Derek moved from the are and the Honey Badger Rides went into hibernation. Then COVID rolled through and all group rides and gatherings were put on the back burner. Until mid 2021 that is. COVID let up for a bit and I decided I missed riding around in the woods with my friends and decided to have another Honey Badger Ride. Almost 50 folks showed up and it was an awesome day. It was great to reconnect with the people I enjoyed riding with and it prompted me to maybe offer a few more rides the next year.

In 2022 I decided to put on a few more organized rides. I wound up organizing eight rides that year and added a few that were new to most folks. I didn’t have a set schedule that year that was put out in advance. I would go onto Facebook and make an event and then hope that folks would see it and join in. Despite no set calendar and being forced to rely on Facebook’s algorithm to let folks know about rides, attendance averaged around twenty or so at each ride.

For 2023 I thought I was being super organized. I made up a flyer for the rides after the Shasta Gravel Hugger, laminated it and took it to a few local shops. I also started using Instagram a bit. There were eleven total rides, nine of which were after the Shasta Gravel Hugger and the average turnout was over 35! At the Greensprings ride there were 60 people who showed up, which means for 2024 there will be a new start/finish spot as the PCT parking is too full!

That brings us up to now. I’ve finally ponied up and have a stand alone website for the rides, although you can still use the Facebook and Instagram pages to follow along with the rides. There’s 13 rides total next year and they’ve all been slotted into the calendar already. The only thing that hasn’t changed is the original spirit of the rides. Great gravel routes in Southern Oregon and Northern California with amazing views, diverse terrain, and outstanding people to share them with. Thanks again for making Honey Badger Rides so fun and special.

Thom Kneeland