John L. Hobbs
Promoter, Storyteller, Innovator, Routeur
While the task of deciding exactly when or where the modern gravel era started, it’s clear that John Hobbs was an early visionary in the sport. As far back as the mid-1980s, Hobbs was hosting formal “rough road rides” in the southern Flint Hills of Kansas.
Hobbs worked in a variety of local bike shops in Wichita and Newton, Kansas, where he witnessed the popularity of mountain biking explode firsthand. But his location in the Flint Hills region of Eastern Kansas gave him easy access to an almost unlimited supply of incredible gravel and dirt roads.
As the rest of the world was struggling to wrap their arms around the mountain bike, Hobbs was already onto the ‘next big thing’. He saw the potential of Flint Hills gravel as a very desirable place to ride bicycles, not just for himself, but for others.
Buoyed by the local success of his rough road rides, Hobbs began promoting a ride out of Matfield, KS called the Matfield Green 100k. This evolved into the infamous Flint Hills Death Ride, an event that was known for being rougher than most mountain bike races.
Largely credited as one of the first modern-era gravel road events, the Flint Hills Death Ride was a 100k test of endurance and self-sufficiency. The event’s long run –– from 1989 to 2001 under Hobbs, then from 2002-2011 under new leadership –– often attracted more than 600 riders at its peak. The success of the Flint Hills Death Ride proved that cyclists wanted to explore beyond paved roads, onto roads less traveled.
In a 2016 article in Sports Illustrated magazine, Hobbs shared his impetus for starting his gravel events in Kansas.
“We got tired of reading how truly epic rides were only in places like California and Colorado,” Hobbs said. “So, we set up a ride that we knew that even under good conditions would test you, and under bad conditions would be nearly impossible.”
In fact, it was the challenge and success of the Flint Hills Death Ride that inspired a group in Emporia, KS to create the DK200/Unbound Gravel in 2005.
Hobbs chartered and pioneered new routes for cyclists that previously were only known to farmers, ranchers and cattle. He was clearly one pedal stroke ahead of the rest of the pack in recognizing not just the utility of gravel roads, but the underappreciated beauty of areas unknown to most.
Through Hobbs’ efforts, countless cyclists were exposed to cycling on Flint Hills gravel roads, a region that today is recognized worldwide as a premier gravel cycling destination.
