April 12.

Are you one who is always up for any challenge presented to you?  Just love an adventure?  Then Gritventure! 3! is for you!  This challenging ride will have plenty of excellent gravel, beautiful views, quiet roads, stiff climbs, roaring descents, and even some gnarly singletrack.  It’s not an easy ride at 70 miles and over 7,000 feet of elevation gain.

This is a mostly unsupported ride out of Wardensville, West Virginia.  We will provide water and gels/bars at the start.  There is no mechanical support and minimal SAG provided. There is one store along the way about 40 miles in.  And to make this even more adventurous for you, we’re not providing you any more details on the route until you register!  Once you register, you will receive an email with start location, GPS map, etc.

Details and Register: https://www.bikereg.com/gritventure-3

May 31.

Our premier road cycling event!  

The Triple Peak route has it all: plenty of miles, beautiful pastoral vistas, and stiff mountain climbs (with accompanying sweet descents!)  The Double Peak and Single Peak routes provide shorter challenges, but adventure nonetheless!  Over mostly rural roads, you’ll get to see the beauty of northwest Virginia, as well as a fair bit of West Virginia.  And we don’t want to leave out the Fun route, a shorter ride without a major mountain peak, but still great riding and views, perfect for a family outing.  Once again, the ride will begin and end at Briede Family Vineyards.  That means no junk miles getting in and out of town; you are immediately on beautiful country roads! 

A portion of each participant’s entry fee will be donated to Congregational Community Action Project (CCAP), a local charity.  We ask that all participants bring a canned food item to donate to the food pantry.   CCAP maintains a food pantry, operates a clothing center with all sizes, and offers assistance in other areas such as rents, utilities and prescription drugs.  http://ccapwinc.org/  Help us raise funds for this organization that does so much in Winchester/Frederick County!

Details and Register: https://www.bikereg.com/triple-peak-gran-fondo

Gary retired at the end of November.  We are sad to see him step away from the shop, but oh so thankful for everything he has done for Element Sports over the years.  We surprised him with a retirement gift at our shop Christmas party: a titanium Masi Incanto gravel bike!  It's a beauty of a bike, and we are hoping he gets to enjoy it for many, many miles of smiles!