You don’t need a new bike, a custom framebag, or a gravel race on your calendar to start riding mixed terrain. You just need a bit of curiosity and a willingness to leave the beaten path — literally.
Start close to home. Open your mapping app of choice and look for the weird stuff. Is there a canal path that connects two neighborhoods? A park trail that runs behind a school? A gravel service road beside the train tracks? These are all fair game. Mixed terrain riding is about seeing those overlooked connectors and stringing them into something bigger.
Ride what you have. A mountain bike, a fixie, a hardtail with street tires — they all work. Don’t wait to build the perfect rig. This kind of riding rewards adaptability, not gear obsession.
Plan less. Wander more. Mixed terrain routes often fall apart in the best way. A locked gate becomes a portage. A washed-out path leads to a new trail. Your biggest shortcut might be a dirt sidewalk in a new subdivision. That’s part of the fun.
Go slow. Look around. The best mixed terrain rides aren’t about speed or distance. They’re about texture. Asphalt turns to gravel, gravel to roots, roots to cobbles. Let the changes guide your pace.
Most of all — remember that you’re already doing it. If your rides ever touch more than one surface, you’re in the club. The more you look for it, the more you’ll see. Mixed terrain is everywhere.
If this all sounds familiar, you might already be a mixed terrain rider. Want to dig deeper into what that actually means? Check out our intro to mixed terrain biking.