Welcome to Gravelogue

I’m Dan Brogan. Gravelogue is where I tell stories that combine my favorite gravel routes with practical travel insights to help inspire your own grand tours.

I began my 40-year professional life as a newspaper reporter before founding Denver’s 5280 magazine way back in 1993.

When I started 5280, I hoped to prove that a locally owned, independent publication could still produce important, high-quality journalism. I’d like to think we met that goal, but there’s one thing I know for sure. As the magazine’s headcount grew, more of my days and weekends were consumed by numbers instead of words. Keeping a small magazine afloat in a time of relentless media change meant that I had to leave the fun stuff — working with authors, crafting covers, or doing any writing of my own — to my very able team. (They did a pretty good job.)

Cycling has always been a passion¹ and during 5280’s toughest years it also became my escape. But perhaps not coincidentally, my riding began to mirror my work life — mile after mile spent staring at a head unit, stressing over power numbers.

I sold 5280 in late 2024. For this next chapter of my life I’m riding more, and hopefully in a more intentional way. I’ve also resumed writing. Put those two things together and, well, here we are.

New Perspectives

Sarah Swallow is an adventure cyclist, event promoter, and community activist. Turns out she’s also got a way with words:

For me, the bicycle is far more than a mode of transportation—it’s a tool for well-being, community connection, and deepening my relationship with the natural landscapes I travel through. Adventure cycling is an eye-opening and transformative experience that pulls me away while bringing me closer to myself and the world around me. Every journey offers new perspectives on life, reveals the depths of my physical and mental capabilities, and fills me with gratitude and humility. For me, adventure isn’t about escape—it’s about embracing reality and gaining a deeper appreciation for life and the world.

Candidly, I’m hoping that having to write about my adventures will force me to look up from the Garmin, widen my field of vision, and thus have more of those kinds of moments. I then want to share them with you in a way that goes beyond just “turn left at the red barn” or “look out for the angry bull at mile 36.”

How exactly I’ll do that will play out over time. As the name suggests, “Gravelogue” aims to be something of a travelogue, telling more fully-formed stories that capture the entirety of the journey. For me at least, gravel riding seems especially well suited to this kind of exploration. (I’ve written about my transition from road to gravel here.)

Find Your Own Adventure

Gravelogue’s posts are organized into these categories:

• Destinations. Deeper dives into places you should visit. In addition to sharing one or more great routes, I’ll also try to get to know the area and its history, as well as offering recommendations for dining, lodging, coffee, (you can take the boy out of 5280…) and — should you need them — bike shops and mechanics. Look for a good mix of epic and accessible rides (all available as downloadable GPS files). I’d like this site to be useful to cyclists of a wide range of skill and fitness levels.
• Events. Much of my riding is solitary, but I’ve learned to love organized opportunities to connect with like-minded folks. I especially enjoy cycling events that, like this site’s tagline, are about more than just the ride. Sometimes that’s a worthy cause and sometimes it’s the chance to meet fellow riders in an amazing new place.
• Gear. There are plenty of great sites for gear reviews (and I’ll be pointing to many of them). Rather than repeating what they’re already doing, I’ll stick to kit that supports this site’s travel focus (for instance, comparisons of bike cases and navigation units as opposed to roundups of the latest carbon wheelsets). That said, I’ve always been a bit of a gadget freak and those cool new drones sure do look mighty nice…
• Tips. Lessons I’ve learned that will make your adventures safer and easier.
• Recommended. Just as I’ll be sharing real-world experiences from my travels, I’ll also link to the best of my online discoveries.
• Rambles. All the stuff that doesn’t fit elsewhere — essays about riding and life, plus site updates.

Maybe it’s an anachronism to be starting a text-centric website in 2026. YouTube and Instagram sure seem to be where all the action is these days. Still, just as the bike itself is a simpler machine that offers a bit of respite from today’s complex world, I hope to carve out a spot where exploration and reflection can take center stage. At the very least, I invite you to come along on my journeys as you plan your own.

Thanks for reading and welcome again to Gravelogue.

1. Both on and off the bike. 5280 was the first sponsor of what today is the EF Pro Cycling team. Here’s an early shot of team founder Jonathan Vaughters being interviewed atop Lookout Mountain. ↩︎

Start Here…

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  Rambles

  Why Gravel?

  April 3, 2026May 7, 2026

  For so many of us, the gravel bike is a vehicle for discovery. These explorations aren’t limited to riding in new places. Or even to the people we might meet…

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  Destinations

  Rye, CO: Here’s Where We Start

  May 5, 2025June 7, 2026

  To say that Greenhorn Mountain looms over tiny Rye, CO would be an understatement. At 12,352 feet, it’s the highest…