Ohio Gravel Grinders Website Contributors
Kristen Arnold, MS, RDN, CSSD
Kristen is a registered and licensed dietitian (RDN, LD) with a Master’s of Science (MS) in Nutrition from The Ohio State University and is a Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD) from The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She provides individualized nutrition counseling services for active individuals and teams.
Kristen is a level 3 USA Cycling coach with Source Endurance, category 1 domestic elite road racer and seasoned mountain bike and cyclocross racer. She has been racing bikes since 2012 in road, mountain, and cyclocross disciplines. In 2013 she completed Tour Divide in 23 days finishing with the 4th fastest recorded women’s time in the history of the race. The same year she founded and lead a women’s developmental cycling organization (Lady Gnar Shredders) dedicated to bringing more women into the sport and supporting their development. Kristen currently races at the national level in road racing events.
Her website is: https://arnoldrdn.com
Cindy Berard
I started gravel riding 5 years ago. Having been an avid road rider, it’s been an interesting transition. I realized quickly that food and water are not easily obtained on most gravel routes, and you tend to need more of both due to the effort put out while riding gravel. I found OGG shortly after buying my first gravel bike. Riding with OGG has been a great experience and I love the scenery and remoteness of gravel roads. My gravel bike has opened up a whole new world of riding; all roads are now available to explore!
Sean Burkey
I’m another guy that has found gravel and loves getting out there whether it’s racing or looking for an adventure. I’ve been riding road, mountain, and cross for quite some time but it was basically a decade ago that gravel riding first caught my attention. Since then I hit gravel when I could but here in the recent past I’ve been finding myself drawn to gravel roads more and with my job as a rep for Giant Bicycle I have the luxury of being able to ride all sorts of gravel throughout the state. With the help of other local riders I’ve even uncovered excellent gravel roads pretty much outside my door in Geagua and Ashtabula County allowing me to keep my wheels on dirt and gravel that much more!
Jay Clipse
Jay has called the rural gravel roads of Knox, Richland, Holmes, and Ashland County home most of his life. Bikes and gravel roads were always a part of life growing up in a small farming community. A long time mountain bike racer, Jay rekindled his connection to gravel out of training necessity and felt the need to help others find the unique adventure that's only experienced on gravel.
Fast forward to 2016 when Jay co-founded the Black Fork Gravel Grinder, along with life long friend and riding partner Matt Simpson. The Black Fork is Ohio's largest gravel road event, bringing folks from around the country as well as from abroad to enjoy the diverse gravel scene in northeast-central Ohio. With the explosion of gravel specific events in Ohio, In 2019 Jay was appointed Director of the newly formed Ohio Gravel Race Series, currently compiling 8 unique gravel races throughout the region into a points based competition.
Steve Coss
Steve is someone who views bikes as a medicine for just about any condition that ails you and credits them with saving his life. He is member of Paradise garage racing and predominantly enjoys riding off road. Whether that be participating in cyclocross practices and races, mountain biking, or grinding some gravel. Steve especially loves gravel because it’s the perfect mix of technical skills and tough climbs. If it has dirt, there’s a pretty good chance he’s into that kind of riding, though you can spot him on the Camp Chase trail as well.
Steve is active in various forms of cycling advocacy including: cyclocross course prep, trail building, and most recently he took on a role in the Ohio Mountain Bike League, as the Chief Course Setter. Steve is also in the final stages of his PhD program in remote sensing hydrology which he is completing while running a coffee roasting business (Arch City Roasters).
Fun Facts: Steve LOVES board games. If he’s not in the saddle or at work, he’s probably playing a board game!
Tim Cristy
Tim rekindled the gravel spirit in our group. He was instrumental in developing the early routes for the group and continues as a logistical force for our rides. He also hates sausage gravy.
Peter DiBiase
Peter returned to riding bikes after moving to Columbus as a way to spend more time outdoors. A desire to explore further soon led to gravel roads and meeting up with the Ohio Gravel Grinders group. After several years of riding and helping explore new routes, Peter left Ohio to hike the Appalachian Trail. He now lives in Coudersport, Pennsylvania and is still exploring new gravel routes.
Meagan Gehrke
Meagan has been racing bikes competitively for 5 years. In 2019 she discovered her love for gravel and has been nonstop experimenting with her rig for 2021 Unbound Gravel and upcoming record attempts.
Bill Ferriot
Bill founded Ohio Bikepackers and has been meshing as many outdoor activities together as possible. Starting with cycling and backpacking as a kid, and now enjoying bikepacking, packrafting, and overlanding. He created some of the legendary routes like Candyland, Shoots and Ladders, and the AEP ReCreation Lands Triple Epic. Bill is a past Vice President and board member of Yay Bikes!
Doug Fisher
Doug has been riding bikes since he was a kid, and solidified his love of life on two wheels when he started mountain biking in 2009. Doug is the Ride with GPS Ambassador for Ohio Gravel Grinders, and has created or tweaked many of the routes for OGG. Doug has raced for Paradise Garage Racing team since 2015, in mountain bike, cyclocross and gravel disciplines. Doug usually hates smiling for photos, so you have to catch him mid-ride, or candidly.
Ray George
Ray founded Ohio Gravel Grinders in 2012. Ray moved to Columbus in 2007 and jumped into bicycle event organization and advocacy by launching Bike the Cbus, Columbus’ only city-wide bicycle tour, currently organized by Yay Bikes! He developed Columbus Rides Bikes! blog and companion Facebook group with over 3000 members to support the Tuesday Nite Ride. Ray has been instrumental in organizing charity rides, including Ride the Elevator, Night of 1000/1001 Tacos, and Yelp on Two Wheels to support many organizations.
Ray enjoys long gravel bike rides in the woods and lunch with coffee outside. He has been featured on a number of podcasts. Check them out on the Featured On section. Honey Stinger Ambassador
Katie Gough
Katie got into cycling in 2012 to challenge herself and improve her overall fitness. After trying several disciplines of cycling with varying degrees of success, failure or fulfillment, it was after joining a Swallow Bicycle Works ride in 2013 that the gravel bug bit. Since then, she has been active with the OGG leading two annual rides (The Great Thaw and The Fall Color Ride) and mapping routes out of south central/southwest Ohio and southeast Indiana. She also actively encourages others to get and explore the gravelly goodness we have available in our region.
Kari Hutson
Kari is an ultra cyclist who loves taking the road less traveled and is always up for an adventure. She has completed several 24 hour mountain bike races and recently fell in love with long distance self-supported checkpoint style racing. Anyone who rides with Kari knows that her favorite rides include steep climbs, testing her limits on descents and she will always stop for animals.
Matt Kretchmar
Matt enjoys exploring the forgotten backroads of Ohio in search of adventure, camaraderie and type-2 fun.
Mike Layne
Mike is a lifelong outdoor enthusiast with a passion for riding and photographing the backroads and byways of West Virginia. Mike shares his adventures and photography on Instagram @gravelwestvirginia
With a background in the tourism industry, Mike is also passionate about promoting a new and improved image of the Mountain State that moves beyond the stereotypes. "All over the state, we have pockets of innovation and rejuvenation. From Davis to Fayetteville, Snowshoe to the New River Gorge National Park. Crazy cool things are happening that move us closer to a tourism-based economy. I believe cycling -- especially mountain biking and gravel -- will be a critical part of this transition".
Today , Mike resides in Clarksburg, WV with his wife Lori, two boys, four cats one dog and a bearded dragon named Speed. He finds time to sneak in a gravel race from time to time, riding for Pike Street Bikes out of Shinnston, WV.
Mark Loux
Mark Loux is a cyclist, hiker, kayaker, and backpacker who spends extensive time in the outdoors. He has been riding gravel with the Ohio Gravel Grinders since 2015, and is involved in gravel route exploring and ground truthing for the group. He is usually the first person into a mud pit and is unapologetic about it. He is always trying out new cycling and hiking equipment and loves to pass on recommendations to others.
Jen Malik
Jen is an avid cyclist who competes in the professional field for both cyclocross and mountain bike. She is the co-founder of the KS Kenda Women’s Elite Mountain Bike team where she embraces the team mission of a balanced lifestyle and encouraging others to discover their love of riding whatever that may look like. She just recently started getting into the gravel scene and loves to explore new routes that Ohio has to offer. Her favorite type of rides includes those that have challenging climbs and loose, twisty descents. Her goal is to complete as many of the OGG routes as she can in 2020!
Aside from racing she is an active member of the Ohio cycling community and is on the board of COMBO (Central Ohio Mountain Biking Organization) as well as the League director for the Ohio NICA League (a national level organization aimed to get more kids on bikes).
Fun Facts: She has her PhD in Biomedical engineering and she has 2 rescue pups, a cross-eyed cat, and chickens!
Dana McKnight
I started riding bikes when I was a kid growing up in West Virginia. I continued riding for a while after joining the Navy but due to time constraints I stopped. Instead of riding, I started playing a lot of contact sports such as football, basketball and soccer. After sustaining several injuries that required surgery and prevented me from running, I finally found my way back to cycling around 2015. Shortly thereafter, I bought my first gravel bike and as they say the rest is history. I’ve been riding gravel since then and over the past few years I started to bikepack tour. I’ve been on several multi-day adventures in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. I enjoy spending a lot of my free time on my bike in West Virginia exploring the state where I grew up. It’s such a beautiful state especially when you slow down and explore some of the more remote areas on a bike.
I hope to expand my touring to the western part of the United State over the next few years and I look forward to sharing all of my future adventures with the OGG community.
Dylan Menges
Dylan believes that bikes are the second greatest invention (after fire). His first bike ride ended head first into a tree; which explains a lot. But he’s still riding, and (safe to say) addicted to the bliss of bikes and rides of every type. Except homemade tall bikes. Dylan created the logomark for Ohio Gravel Grinders and is always open to more design work that involves bicycles. You can reach him at his website - http://www.menges.design
Carolyn Misick
Carolyn enjoys outdoor pursuits, including cycling and hiking. She started gravel riding in 2020 and loves the new world that gravel grinding has opened up to her. The gravel community, the quiet gravel roads and trails, scenic views and varied terrain have become her happy place.
Two days after purchasing her gravel bike she went on her first overnight bike adventure in WV. What a great experience! Since then she has enjoyed several more bikepacking trips, including her first 5 day camping trip in Wisconsin. In addition she has enjoyed a few gravel race events. Carolyn looks forward to exploring more of the US by bike, more Ohio Gravel events and introducing more of her “roadie” friends to the gravel life as her road bike is gathering dust. Have bike will travel is new her motto.
Ryan Mlynek
After a few years off the bike I decided I needed to get moving again. Living next to some prime gravel roads not more than 1 mile from my doorstep, gravel was my choice. Not just because of how close these roads are because they are the less traveled.
Mapping out new routes to hopefully persuade more gravlists to come to eastern Ohio and enjoy this area.
There are so many unexplored roads for adventure.
I also love to race gravel, from our local races in Ohio to The Mid South in Oklahoma, these races are so much fun and challenging.
Vince Nobel
Vince started riding regularly in 2013 as a way to gain fitness and to correct years of debilitating back issues. In 2014 he found gravel on a cold January morning and has been addicted to gravel ever since. He’s an ambassador for Paradise Garage Bicycles and a member of the Paradise Garage Racing Team with a focus on Gravel and CX. You can reach him at Vincent Nobel Photography
Teresa Patrick
I didn’t have an easy time learning to ride a bike. I was already riding horses. They had 4 legs. They didn't tip over. And my parents may not have had the best training method (1. Put kid on bike on hill. 2. Push). But as soon as I got it, my sense was “Wow! This is so cool!” I still feel that way every time I get up on 2 wheels, even though it’s almost every day, often several times-a-day. Since moving to Columbus in the mid-90s, I’ve ridden many road tours with Columbus Outdoor Pursuits, I’ve raced road, cyclocross and short track with Team 614, and I’ve been shredded by most of the area mountain bike trails. I’ve been bike commuting to work in all weather for 10 years, and I use my old bikes to explore the back alleys, railroad beds and hidden spaces of the city.
Learning about gravel cycling and OGG was a lifeline for me in 2020, and it has taken my cycling to new levels, with an explosion of possibilities (“What? I can bike AND camp in the same trip?”). I’ve learned from wonderful, fun people, and grown new muscles and skills. I’m enjoying as much gravel riding and bikepacking as I can fit into a busy work schedule, hoping someday when I retire (from work), I can ride gravel full time and keep up with Cindy and Eva.
Nick Tepe
Nick has been riding his bike to get where he needs to go as long as he can remember. In 2005 he traded in his tank of a cheap old mountain bike for a road bike and never looked back. When he moved to southeast Ohio in 2012 he started mountain biking and gravel grinding in earnest. He now rides just about any bike on any terrain in any weather. He lives in Athens, Ohio.
Eric Tippett
Eric first got the gravel bug in September 2012 when he decided last minute to ride the now-defunct Frankenbike 50 "monster cross" race at Scioto Trail and spent the night before installing appropriate tires on his bike. He did his first ride with OGG a month later and has been hooked ever since. When he's not riding it's likely that he's scheming up new routes or planning trips to out-of-state gravel events. He's not a fan of coffee outside (or anywhere else) but loves a good post-ride milkshake.
Michelle Rucker
Michelle got into cycling in 2012 to try her hand at triathlons. A dedicated Tuesday Nite Rider, she loved the social urban rides that helped her become a stronger and more confident cyclist. In 2014, she joined local women’s developmental race team, Lady Gnar Shredders, and now dabbles in a variety of riding including mountain biking, cyclocross, and of course gravel. She enjoys bikepacking with her hubby and friends, and her favorite ride to-date is the 2017 Glacier National Park Adventure.
Eva Simons
Eva is an avid outdoorswoman. She is active in the cycling and hiking communities in Central Ohio. She has contributed to OGG by representing our group on panel discussions.
Anurag Saxena
Anurag is a cycling and outdoor enthusiast. He started gravel riding in 2019. When he is not riding, he is looking at routes to ride and events to participate in. Will travel for Gravel. Follow Anurag on Instagram.
Justin Webb
Since before i remember marveling at my big brother as he rode wheelies on his road bike, before mountain bikes happened, before i understood the omnipresence of balance, i've enjoyed riding; and from the time my paper route funded upgrading from bmx style to my first MTB, i've loved riding the earth. I've connected with trees and the earth in ways that left indelible marks, it's true, there are hard feelings some times; but until it finally gets over me, i'll continue to get over it. While riding, contemplating whether i would rather have disk brakes or tubeless tires if only one of these had come to be; along with other, even deeper considerations of the soul, some of which actually apply...nevertheless, I carry on seeking balance, with gratitude for what is.