Gravel trail with a road bike?

[Crankin]

I guess I'm the only one that wouldn't recommend it. I have had to ride on gravel, hard packed dirt, with lots of ruts and stones quite a few times, especially in the Berkshires, on my 23cc tires. I really hate it. You have to go really slow and I am constantly worrying that something bad will happen; not a flat, but a crash. Last fall, we did a new route in NH and we didn't realize one of the roads was about 2 miles of dirt. Calling it jarring is not a strong enough word.
If I wanted to do that kind of riding, I'd take my hybrid or mountain bike...

[SnappyPix]

Just one last tip - make sure your tyres are properly inflated, with the recommended psi in them.
Riding gravel on under-inflated tyres won't do your rims much good.