A few of us here at V1 like bikes. I mean, who doesn’t? Everyone likes to ride a bike once in a while, right? As you may be aware, we now even rent e-bikes to folks out of The Local Store (and we just added e-scooters too!). But for me… well, I like bikes kind of a lot.

I fell off the deep end in 2019 and haven’t looked back. Road biking, mountain biking, winter fat biking, gravel biking… I do it all and have met some awesome people along the way. It was with all that in mind that I got involved on the board for CORBA, the local volunteer- and member-based group that collaborates with the city, county, and private landowners to build and maintain multi-use single-track trails in a four-county area. And that has led to Volume One co-creating some new biking events we’re excited to announce, which are non-profit fundraisers to help make those community trails grow.

The first is The Here to Beer! Community Bike Ride on Saturday, July 22. We teamed up with the CORBA, the Leinie Lodge, The Brewing Projekt, and Shift Cyclery & Coffee Bar to launch this fun 24-mile round-trip ride with rest stops and included beer samples on both ends. It’s a safe and leisurely ride up the Old Abe State Trail connecting Eau Claire to Chippewa Falls, and it’s for any kind of bike and any kind of rider. It should be a blast! You can learn more and register at VolumeOne.org/HereToBeer.

The other is the new Coon Fork 40 on Saturday, August 26. It’s a beach-to-beach, woodsy gravel ride adventure traversing deep swaths of pine forests, classic Amish farm country, and picturesque Wisconsin waterways on beautiful gravel roads through Eau Claire and Clark County lands. With short, mid, and long ride options, all start and end at the Coon Fork Dayside Beach just outside Augusta and feature a great halfway and post-ride party – both beachside! Our friends who run the regional adventure biking website TheNxrth.com are a part of this one too. It’s going to be a great day in the woods! Learn more and register at CoonForkGravel.com.