Who is Riding Gravel? Read on to find out who is behind your screen, keeping the cogs turning.
Owners/Partners
Guitar Ted
Guitar Ted hails from Iowa. Home of over 70,000 miles of gravel and back roads. As the co-creator of Trans Iowa in late 2004, he has been at the forefront of the growth of gravel events and riding since then.
Guitar Ted was the creator of Gravel Grinder News in 2008, which produced the premier calendar of gravel and backroad events. He joined forces with Riding Gravel in late 2014.
He thrives on giving honest, thoughtful, and valuable information to readers. Rather than chasing the latest and greatest and doing things for clicks, Guitar Ted is always trying to add some value and perspective to the situation. His years of riding and wrenching have given him endless experience with bikes and he really likes sharing that experience with readers.
You can read his personal writing over on Guitar Ted Productions.
Ben Welnak
Ben started mountain biking in 2006 after five years of running various distances and racing triathlons of various distances. He’s a competitive guy and turned to racing as soon as he started mountain biking. Since then, Ben has a lot of experience racing all distances, including 24 hour solos, 12 hour solos, 100 miles, 50 milers, XC distance, fatbikes, gravel, and everything in between.
Ben created Riding Gravel in September of 2013 as a site to host information about the gravel rides he started on the Front Range of Colorado, including the AntiEpic and the other two that he co-created, including the Pedal 50 and Greenland Gravel Grinder. He added a forum shortly after starting the site and started adding content about gravel and it continued to grow from there.
After working with Guitar Ted on other projects over the years, Ben made a pitch to him during the Summer of 2014 to combine the forces of Riding Gravel and Gravel Grinder News, and, after a few months of work on the site, the Riding Gravel “Grand Opening” was in December 2014.
Ben is originally from Wisconsin, but has also lived in Minnesota, Colorado, Western North Dakota, and now lives back in Northeastern Wisconsin. He created and owns Mountain Bike Radio.
Contributors
Matt Gersib
Matt Gersib is the 2014 Gravel World Champion in the Fatbike category. He’s also finished some of the most challenging gravel events in the country, including Trans Iowa, the grueling DKXL, and the Dirty Kanza 200, where he’s a member of the DK200 “1,000 mile club” of five-time finishers.
In addition to his gravel racing, Gersib is an accomplished mountain bike racer, with numerous race wins and championships, including the 2012 Nebraska State Marathon MTB Championship.
Grannygear
Grannygear is an XC, endurance guy by nature, SO Cal native by birth. 6’2″, 185 lbs. 34″ inseam. “He is never as fast as he usually is.”
Grannygear has also been working with Guitar Ted on various, cycling related, web-based review sites since 2009. His industry contacts developed throughout his cycling days in SoCal are an invaluable asset to Riding Gravel.
John Ingham
John Ingham is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of Minnesota. He rode a hybrid bike on trails for years. When he retired in 2011, he renewed his earlier passions for rock climbing, mountaineering, and back packing and began doing longer rides. He has been gravel racing for five years and has completed various races, including the Heck of the North, the Almanzo 100, and the Dirty Lemming 100. Now 78, he appears to be the oldest rider in Minnesota completing major gravel races. John also has the distinction for four years in a row for being the oldest rider in the Dirty Lemming!
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