Some recent Gravel & Grind Riv builds and a last plug for our Riv and B-stone owners Bunch Ride Sunday the 14th

[Gravel & Grind Espresso + Bikes]

If you live in the DC area, come on out to Gravel & Grind Sunday the 14th for our Rivendell and Bridgestone Owners Bunch coffee ride and social. Details at http://gravelandgrind.com/rivendell-bridgestone-coffee/ It looks like a good turn so far but we wanna see tons of cool bikes and meet rad new folks. Unrelated sort of, but these pics are from  recent Sam and Atlantis builds we did. They’ll be at the shop to check out, along with a bunch of other Riv bikes, framesets bags, etc.  

[Philip Kim]

such awesome builds

[drew]

Those black sams.....

[Ryan Fleming]

are seriously classy  with  those nice WI hubs (M15 I'm guessing) , crank and Paul racer brakes. I wonder  who makes those brake levers? ..neat to see how they integrate the braking  with barend shifters.

On Tuesday, August 9, 2016 at 12:27:11 PM UTC-5, drew wrote:

Those black sams.....

[Kurt Henry]

My guess would be Gevenall (http://gevenalle.com/product-category/shifters/).  Really cool options they've come up with.  I like the thought of using one of the Shimano Dyna-Sys derailleurs with a super wide 1 X 10/11.  Not that I have any plans to set one up, but.....
Kurt Henry

Lancaster, PA

[Gravel & Grind Espresso + Bikes]

Actually they are Shimano shifters mates to IRD levers. I think Shimano makes the best friction shifter out there but you can use any shifters on these and they come in silver which genevalles don't. We keep plenty in stock in case anyone wants a pair.

[Tony DeFilippo]

I'm looking forward to the bikes n coffee this weekend! My wife and I can't ride yet with the 7 week old in tow but I'll bring her Clementine and either my Saluki or Bombadil to show... Hope to see plenty of folks out there!

[Ian Wilder]

I'm in the process of building up a Sam almost exactly like this! Beautiful!

Ian

[Alex Wirth- Owner, Yellow Haus Bicycles]

Those are some tasty builds!!! Have a great ride 🌞 maybe next year we'll sojourn down.

[Gravel & Grind Espresso + Bikes]

Cool man, we can put ya up, just give a shout, or point out some nearby s24o spots.  

[Gravel & Grind Espresso + Bikes]

Tony, bring the Bomba!  I'm thinking about getting one, and I'd love to see one in person!  

[Tony DeFilippo]

Sure thing, I was waffling on what to bring so this makes it easier!

[Gravel & Grind Espresso + Bikes]

Hey Tony, ya left you front wheel on the curb.  We'll keep it safe, but I wanted to give ya a heads up!  -james

[Tony DeFilippo]

Thanks James, I sent you a note off list!

Tony

[Jeff Lesperance]

Outstanding ride today! I'll give more of a report tomorrow when I recharge a bit, but the highlights are: good people, great pre-ride coffee, rad bikes, hot, awesome fire road ride with decent climbs/elevation, insanely hot, cool pond stop at the top of the climb, crazy fire road descent, downpour for the last few miles. 

There were a few Hunq's and Atlanti, a couple B-stones, including co-owner Tracy under biking on an RB-1. Thanks to James and Tracy for hosting!

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[Lungimsam]

I had to work so I could not come. I hope to be able to do this route sometime. Never clumb a mountain before. Sounds like so much fun!

[John G]

Good time, good people. Nice to meet some of the folks from away. A Quickbeam was perhaps not the best choice for the terrain, but I did OK anyway.  Someday I will go on a group ride and not get a flat.

Couple of photos here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/14612032@N00/albums/72157672387444346

[Philip Kim]

bummed i bowed out early, thanks for being encouraging during the ride! i'm still trying to process how you rode the quickbeam through that ride...

[kielsun]

Nice photos, John! 

Bummed I couldn't make it out to the ride yesterday, but we had just gotten back into town from vacation. I'll be there next year if another meetup is planned. 

Bob in Baltimore

[Deacon Patrick]

Single speeding hilly country is a blast, Phil! 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/deaconpatrick/28388418704/in/dateposted-public/

With abandon,

Patrick

[Jeff Lesperance]

I'm not much of a storyteller, but here goes - my experience with the first annual Gravel & Grind Riv/BoB ride...

Gravel & Grind is a special bike shop.

I arrived at G&G on Sunday around 1:00 PM I think, whereas James (G&G co-owner) suggested gathering between 11:00 and 2:00, and riding out shortly after 2:00, so I was one of the last ride attendees to show up. Parked outside G&G were an array of smart looking bike for sale, but I was focused on the small array of Hunqapillars, Atlanti and Bridgestones. I enjoyed an iced coffee while hanging outside to remain acclimated to the heat. I think it was in 90's and the heat index may have bumped over 100 degrees, but there was a bit of shade and a slight breeze out front of the shop.

As we set out for the ride there were a few Hunq's, Atlanti, an MB-1 or two and Tracy, co-owner, on an RB-1. If not for Tracy's RB-1 I think I'd be riding the skinniest tired bike - my Sam with Compass Barlow Pass 700x38 tires. This was our route:

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/15503887

We angled our way out of Frederick and found some reasonably pleasant country-ish roads to pedal through. I think it was 12 of us at that time, maybe 11. Though spirits were high, it was hot. Evil hot. I was carrying two 24oz. Kleen Kanteen bottles in my bottle cages and I had a 40oz. one stowed in my saddlebag. After pedaling a third of the way to our destination and turnaround point, I was thinking I didn't have remotely enough water. We stopped at a sketchy convenience store where I bought a giant can of sweet tea and some chocolate milk. The other folks chose similar quantities of cold beverages, salty snacks and maybe some ice cream. We lost our first rider to the heat at this rest stop. I strongly considered joining him in turning back. I didn't.

We saddle back up and shortly thereafter we left the pavement. The fire road we were on immediately started accruing elevation and conditions were mixed between hard-packed easy-going to slightly loose and/or rock-strewn. We were shaded for the most part, but the heat was still rough. I found may way to my collection of little-ring/big-cogs and stayed with this collection for much of the next hour (or more, probably not less, it's a blur) as we just pushed our way to the top. The scenery was quite nice and the company stellar, so despite the heat and climbing, I was having a good time.

I've been off the bike for a few weeks thanks to a broken toe, and though I otherwise ride almost daily, I haven't had a chance to put on many miles at a time for the past handful of months, so I might have suffered a bit more than I would have, say at this time last year when I was riding every day, including long rides nearly every weekend. At some point I'm pretty sure I was the lanterne rouge, but that didn't seem to be a big deal.

I only had to use the 2-footed gear once, when I lost traction on a steep and loose section of fire road and there was no recovering under pedal power - else, the Barlow Pass tires performed admirably.

We reached the top of our climb and traversed a short section of slightly rugged singletrack before we came to a beautiful little pond. Most folks enjoyed a cooling swim in the pond, while I held back on the shore, unsure of my still frail toe on an uneven pond floor. Moderately cool and downright warm adult beverages and salty snacks were passed around and we relaxed for a bit before we began our screaming descent downhill.

I've descended some long and steep paved downgrades and a few hard-packed fire roads, but nothing like the fire road we rolled down to get back to town. It was rocky and rutted and loose at enough points to have me riding overly cautiously over many segments. I was certainly the lanterne rouge behind more skilled riders, except for John who apparently kept with shop ride tradition of flatting in the watershed. 

We reached paved roads again and enjoyed a fairly brisk slightly downhill pace back into town as we watched threatening clouds roll around the sky. Just at the edge of downtown we became separated at a traffic light when the sky opened up and raindrops the size of small potatoes began pelting us. My group of 4 at the front decided to keep riding as the second group behind us contained James while my group had Tracy, so we knew we could get back.

I immediately recognized that in most cases I'd be a bit surly to be getting dumped on as such, but some of my best and certainly most memorable rides have ended this way. We cruised through downtown Frederick on fresh wet, slick and bepuddled roads while remembering to apply brakes far earlier than actually needed. On moderate speed hard left, William, riding in front of me, put out an outrigger leg to assist with navigating the turn and this was a good reminder of the challenge of riding in a downpour. We arrived back at the shop and wrung ourselves out while James and the rest of the crew arrived with further reminder of the challenges of riding in a downpour as they reported that a couple of them had unscheduled dismounts to the pavement thanks to slick roads and wet brake tracks.

Though there was some climbing and dirt roads, I think the biggest challenge on this ride really was the heat. I'm looking forward to riding with the G&G crew again before the next RBW/BoB ride, and on the next ride, I hope to see more of you out there. 

I took 3 pictures on the route because I was really focused on being in the moment, and I saw other folks with better cameras and apparent camera skills than myself. Two of my pics were selfies to send back to my wife proving I was still alive and still on the ride and the other one is attached, a shaky picture of a bit of the group just outside of downtown Frederick in a sub-division on the return side of our trip as we watched the stormy skies swirl.

-Jeff

Silver Spring, MD

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[Ryan Thompson]

Excellent ride report Jeff.  I couldn't make it due to some scheduling conflicts but was able to ride for an hour on Sunday and it was HOT.

I'll try to make it next time.

Ryan

Arlington, VA

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[WETH]

Jeff,
Nice write-up. I arrived about 11:30am to see the store, enjoy the coffee, and meet some new folk and catch up with friends. It was too hot for me to ride. I must have just missed you. Hopefully next time.
Erl

[René Sterental]

Excellent report! I felt I was there!

René 

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[Tony DeFilippo]

Jeff,

Excellent report!

I made it for the coffee and social (great to see you Erl and James!) but missed the ride due to the baby not being quite ready for riding.

I've studied the G&G routes on ridewithgps before and they look great though a lot more aggressive climbing profile wise compared to my DC area towpath/rail trail and commute routes. I'm definitely intimidated by the hills out there. I'm definitely excited to give them a try though!

I was really impressed by G&G in general, awesome store with great atmosphere. I wish i didn't live 1hr+ away or else it would be a really frequent visit. Still it was neat to be around so many like-minded riders and admire all the thoughtful builds and styling frames. My mind has been wandering towards fat or mid-fat bikes lately but Saturday was a reminder of just how good I already have it with the Bomba/Saluki (and others).

I am looking forward to the next scheduled ride as well!

Tony

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[Gravel & Grind Espresso + Bikes]

Just for the record, we do rides like this every Sunday night.  Check our facebook page for details on em, but they’re a regular thing, and the folks who come do the rides are all on the same basic program: smart bikes, go slow, ride hard stuff, find cool roads.  They just aren’t all Riv riders.  So if this ride sounds up your alley, just come on a normal Sunday shop ride.  Meet at 4, wheels down at 4:30.  To check mileage or general ride direction, just check on FB or Instagram the day of the ride.  There’ll be something posted there...  -James  

[Robert Keal]

As another plug for their rides, I went on a rather epic 53 miler with the G&G folks sometime in July. Highlights included countless beautiful country roads, a river swim stop, a ridiculously tough gravel climb that my legs and Sam could not conquer without the help of my feet making contact with the ground (AKA I walked), and a pitch dark single track and road descent that ended after midnight. In short, it was tons of painful fun. 

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/15010176

Everybody was super nice, too, and the general vibe of the ride was decidedly "just ride." Can't wait until the next time I'm able to join up.

Bob K. in Baltimore

On Thu, Aug 18, 2016 at 8:46 PM, Gravel & Grind Espresso + Bikes <gravela...@gmail.com> wrote:

Just for the record, we do rides like this every Sunday night.  Check our facebook page for details on em, but they’re a regular thing, and the folks who come do the rides are all on the same basic program: smart bikes, go slow, ride hard stuff, find cool roads.  They just aren’t all Riv riders.  So if this ride sounds up your alley, just come on a normal Sunday shop ride.  Meet at 4, wheels down at 4:30.  To check mileage or general ride direction, just check on FB or Instagram the day of the ride.  There’ll be something posted there...  -James  

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[Deacon Patrick]

It's not a ride unless you LCG! Grin. (Lowest common gear, the one every bike has in common)

With abandon,

Patrick

On Friday, August 19, 2016 at 6:32:01 AM UTC-6, B. Keal wrote:

As another plug for their rides, I went on a rather epic 53 miler with the G&G folks sometime in July. Highlights included countless beautiful country roads, a river swim stop, a ridiculously tough gravel climb that my legs and Sam could not conquer without the help of my feet making contact with the ground (AKA I walked), and a pitch dark single track and road descent that ended after midnight. In short, it was tons of painful fun. 

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/15010176

Everybody was super nice, too, and the general vibe of the ride was decidedly "just ride." Can't wait until the next time I'm able to join up.

Bob K. in Baltimore

On Thu, Aug 18, 2016 at 8:46 PM, Gravel & Grind Espresso + Bikes <gravela...@gmail.com> wrote:

Just for the record, we do rides like this every Sunday night.  Check our facebook page for details on em, but they’re a regular thing, and the folks who come do the rides are all on the same basic program: smart bikes, go slow, ride hard stuff, find cool roads.  They just aren’t all Riv riders.  So if this ride sounds up your alley, just come on a normal Sunday shop ride.  Meet at 4, wheels down at 4:30.  To check mileage or general ride direction, just check on FB or Instagram the day of the ride.  There’ll be something posted there...  -James  

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[Lungimsam]

Wow! I just looked at some of their ride routes and they look spectacular.

I hope to get out and do some from time to time. Especially this fall. They will make great training rides for the centuries I hope to do, too.

[ant ritchey]

what are those cool bars on the Atlantis?  A Nitto RM-?

On Tuesday, August 9, 2016 at 6:55:29 AM UTC-7, Gravel & Grind Espresso + Bikes wrote:

If you live in the DC area, come on out to Gravel & Grind Sunday the 14th for our Rivendell and Bridgestone Owners Bunch coffee ride and social. Details at http://gravelandgrind.com/rivendell-bridgestone-coffee/ It looks like a good turn so far but we wanna see tons of cool bikes and meet rad new folks. Unrelated sort of, but these pics are from  recent Sam and Atlantis builds we did. They’ll be at the shop to check out, along with a bunch of other Riv bikes, framesets bags, etc.