I’m Dan Brogan. Gravelogue.com 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

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 at Gravelogue.com