Titusville-based bike event wins business contest

Adam Diem of Oil Valley Gravel, LLC. was awarded first place and $10,000 from the Oil Region Alliance Outdoor Recreation Business Plan Contest. Diem will use the funds to expand the Roughneck Gravel Roubaix bike race based in Titusville over Memorial Day Weekend. 

The first race was held in 2022 and offered four races along some of the gravel roads in the Titusville area. Described on its website as an "epic gravel grinder," cyclists ride throughout the oil region. "On every route, you will get to experience some of the same gravel roads that the Roughnecks working in the oil fields experienced then and now," the website says. The 2023 event is scheduled to take place on May 27, 2023. ​

Additional information on the race is available online at https://roughneckgravelroubaix.com/.

​Second place and $5,000 went to Erin Wanninger and Marcy Hall of Woods and River Coffee in Oil City for outdoor seating, bike parking, bike fix-it station, and an overlook of the Allegheny River at their coffee shop. Hannah Gamble of Iron Furnace Coffee and Theresa McQuaide of Ziibi Fins and Floats were also finalists in the contest.

The finalists were judged based on their concept papers and business plan presentations. ​Winners were announced on December 2 as part of Oil City’s Christmas Past tree lighting in Town Square. A $200 gift card from Outdoor Allegheny River Services (OARS) for kayak rentals or ax throwing was won by Danny Delong. A bike from 4 Season Cycle was won by Brady Cubitt.