WATERLOO, Iowa (BRAIN) — GravelGrinderNews.com, a calendar of events for gravel racing and riding founded in 2008 by Mark "Guitar Ted" Stevenson, is merging with RidingGravel.com, a news site and forum for gravel riders founded by Ben Welnak in 2013.
"Ben and I have known each other for years; he promotes gravel events around Colorado and I run the Trans Iowa. By combining our two sites we want to be the premier gravel news site online," Stevenson said.
To give the new site the attention it needs, Stevenson left Twentynineinches.com, a site dedicated to 29er mountain bikes he has run for the past nine years. Twentynineinches continues under the guidance of Christian "c_g" Artmann, from Germany, and Michael "Grannygear" Troy, from California — each longtime contributors to the site.
"I felt that I have done all I could on the 29er side. These days 29ers are the dominant mountain bike, not the little niche they were when I started," Stevenson noted. "My commitment to gravel is where my passion lies now, and I think gravel is still relatively new to the industry and has great potential."
The merged GravelRider site continues the Gravel Grinder News event calendar, reviews of gear and bicycles, a forum, a newsletter as well as a monthly podcast, Riding Gravel Radio Ranch. So far the podcasts have focused on big gravel races and their promoters, but coverage will diversify as the merger settles down with more race and product coverage and rider interviews.
"Gary Mendenhall, the promoter of 4Gs — Great Gator Gravel Grinder, in Florida — who we just interviewed in our podcast, sums it up. Even outside Miami there are hundreds of miles of gravel and service roads. To mountain bike he needs to drive two hours and pay a park fee. Gravel riding is more accessible and has the potential to touch more riders and I'm excited to see how we can grow the site now," Stevenson said.
The partners can be contacted at ben@ridinggravel.com or guitarted@ridinggravel.com.
