Just a chill (sweet) ride . . .

Sharing the write up about the Just A Chill Ride - 50k gravel event where the drawing took place:

On October 1, 2022 Pink Gravel of Dwight, Ks, gave away the custom Pink Gravel Lauf Seigla bicycle to Cynthia Kraft of Emporia, Ks, the lucky lady whose name was drawn out of a bucket with over 400 entries!  The drawing took place at Pink Gravel’s 4th Annual “Just A Chill Ride – 50k” gravel event in Dwight.  The event is a 50k (30ish mile) social gravel ride followed a meal consisting of chili, cinnamon rolls, and Lazy Horse Brewery beverages.

Lauf Cycling of Reykjavik, Iceland, gave Pink Gravel one of the first Seigla frame and fork sets in its new color option – Moss Campion, a light shade of magenta pink, to use as an incentive to increase donations to the Pink Gravel Fund.  Mark Hoffman and Matt Hopken, from the Pony Express Gravel Dash (PXGD) in Marysville, Ks, used their connections to gather the individual components to complete the bike build.  Parts were donated by SRAM, Panaracer, Cantu Wheels, Zipp, Fizik and built by Jeremy Hutsell from Lauf Cycling.  Finishing touches were applied by Backroads Bicycle of Marysville.

The Lauf bike became a part of a 3 ½ month long fundraising campaign and was first unveiled by Pink Gravel at the Garmin Unbound Expo in Emporia on June 2, 2022.  It traveled many miles to nine different gravel events promoting Pink Gravel’s fundraising.  Those who donated between June 1 thru September 20, 2022, received at least one entry for the drawing to win the Pink Gravel Lauf Seigla bicycle. 

​The Pink Gravel Lauf Seigla bike incentive helped raise over $14,400 toward the Pink Gravel Fund! 

The Pink Gravel Fund was started in October 2021 by Jon Naaf & Amy Oleen-Naaf.  Amy was diagnosed with breast cancer in October of 2019 and underwent a lumpectomy, chemo and radiation treatment through May of 2020.  The name “Pink Gravel” was born from the combination of Amy’s love of gravel grinding and her own diagnosis with breast cancer.   The Pink Gravel Fund is hosted in conjunction with the Emporia Community Foundation (ECF).
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The Pink Gravel Crew, made up of Jon, Amy, their friends and family, attend, ride and provide support (SAG) at gravel cycling events in Kansas and Nebraska, promoting awareness among the participants and spectators about Pink Gravel’s mission.  The Pink Gravel Fund provides grants to qualified applicants who are breast cancer patients or survivors working to get back in the saddle, literally and figuratively.  If you would like to learn more about Pink Gravel & the Pink Gravel Fund, visit www.pinkgravel.com or follow Pink Gravel on Facebook or Instagram.   A link to donate to the Pink Gravel Fund with the ECF can be found on the website.

​Back Row: Matt Hopken (PXGD Partnerships), Dan Jennings (SRAM, Zipp and Fizik), Jeremy Hutsell (Lauf), Mark Hoffman (PXGD Co-Event Director/Backroads Bicycle co-owner).  Front Row: Jeff Zell (Panaracer), Amy Oleen-Naaf (Pink Gravel), John Wilmeth (Cantu Wheels), Renee Hoffman (PXGD Co-Event Director/Backroads Bicycle co-owner) and Jon Naaf (Pink Gravel).

Jeremy from Lauf Cycling with winner of the Pink Gravel Lauf Seigla bike, Cynthia K.