The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 14,000 times in 2014. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 5 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
The end of our second season racing caps a tremendously successful, and exciting 2014 for our team. The year has been fruitful, rewarding, tragic, and very special for all of our members. Here’s a look back at the season, including our 2014 team performance award winners, Jacob the Great, and what we accomplished:
Jacob the Great
#116RaceforJake
On January 16, 2014 we tragically lost one of our own right as the new season was starting. Jacob Hollings joined our inagural 2013 squad as a mid-season addition at 20 years old, and quickly shined, winning multiple races and finishing the season on a very high note.
While his passing was very sad and difficult, we remember Jacob, not only through our own encounters with him, but also first hand through his father, Phil Hollings. Phil pledged to his son, posthumously, to race in Jacob’s place. He had never ridden a mountain bike before, and in his first race, he got 1st place, just like Jacob! We are so thankful to have Phil on the team, racing for himself and in Jacob’s memory. Read more about Jacob here.
Team Performance Award Winners
Our team supports two types of members, racing and riding. Our racing members have the opportunity to compete for annual team awards to act as an incentive and motivation to perform well during the season. We track races completed and placings, and assign a points system to them. Based on the data, we have a pretty good objective way to award performance without any kind of subjective opinion. Here are the 2014 winners:
2014 team awards made by ReGeared
2014 Best Overall Performance, Eric Swarvar
2014 Best Accumulated MTB Endurance Team Race Placing, Braden Barnett and Dan Smith
2014 Best Pit Crew Teammate, Phil Hollings
2014 Most Improved Rider, Logan Davis (accepting – Brady Davis)
2014 Most Races Completed, Moreece Griffin
2014 Best Team Beard, Ken McClure
2014 Best Accumulated MTB Sprint Race Placing, Keith McDonald
2014 team gifts made by ReGeared given to all team members
2014 Best Accumulated Adventure Race Placing, Corey Fawcett
Racing by the Numbers
The 2014 racing season saw 34 out of 49 members compete in 43 unique sprint and endurance bike races for a total of 247 individual race entries logged by both racing and riding members, up 65 % from 85 logged in 2013.
By far our most represented Category is CAT2 (SS included) and 2nd most popular is CAT 3. There were 105 XC Races logged, and 62 Endurance type races. BWR was represented at a race in every month of the season in 2014!
Total team membership reached 49 for the season and consisted of 1 life time member, 32 racing members, 12 riding members, and 4 junior boys. The team became more gender diverse with 7 women on the team, 3 who raced consistently the entire season. We had 37 men, respectively.
Racing Performance
Several of our racing and riding members placed in the top ten and reached the podium in multiple races during the season. Here is the breakdown of our best results:
#WINNING
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th – 10th
33
34
17
18
63
That put’s a Bearded Women on the podium 84 times out of 247 individual race entries, a 34% podium achievement rate!
Race Summaries
Click on a race to read each summary (not all races attended were summarized):
In addition to our racing performances, Bearded Women Racing is 100% focused on community outreach as well. Here is a summary of what our team accomplished this past season:
Community Service
Aside from racing, our members are expected to participate in various community service events throughout the season. This past year, 22 members volunteered their time at 26 local events. Here are some of the events Bearded Women Racing was at:
For the past 2 years, Bearded Women Racing marched in honor of fallen soldiers and their families at Carry the Load. Here’s recaps from 2013 and 2014.
Carry the Load is a non-profit organization helping people celebrate a meaningful Memorial Day by conducting a 20-hour event that honors veterans and active duty service members, law enforcement officers, firefighters and their families.
This was the first year the team participated in DORBA’s Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day. Three trails celebrated TKMBD on Saturday, October 4, 2014. Bearded Women Racing (BWR) volunteered at two of those events: Horseshoe (Grapevine, TX), and the NW Community Trail (Frisco, TX).
Horseshoe jointly conducted a DORBA (dorba.org) Beginner’s Clinic on Saturday, and they drew a total of 44 adults and 10 kids to the event. Eight BWR members were on-hand to assist with set-up, the clinic, leading/sweeping rides, encouraging the kids, and grilling up some grub to wrap up the day’s festivities.
In Frisco, seven BWR members came out to help check fit on the kids’ bikes and helmets, change flats, lead/sweep rides and cheer the kids on. Frisco drew 15 smiling, happy kids to their event and many laps around the trail were taken by all.
Trail Maintenance
This season, each member was challenged to complete at least 8 hours of trail work for the year. The team requires members to give back in various ways, and putting in trail time is one of the main activities we do. We had 36 members work a total of 462 trail hours at 17 different trails! We hope to double that amount next year.
One of our members recently commented after completing 4 laps at the Sansom 66, “I drank a Scratch Labs after my 3rd lap and was able to make every climb that I couldn’t on the previous laps. I thought I was on crack!” We’ll we don’t condone doing drugs, but we do officially approve of their amazing energy powders that give that extra boost! Also, we love their cook book of recipes for organic, whole food portables. Bring me some blueberry, chocolate, and honey rice cake now, Eric Swarvar!! Here’s a bit more about Scratch Labs:
At Skratch Labs our mission is to provide people with the inspiration, life skills, and products to take better care of themselves and their families.
It’s a mission based on the understanding that taking care of oneself and those we love isn’t always easy. But that’s okay, because the way we see it, there’s nothing more satisfying and grounding than putting in the time, care, and effort to solve life’s challenges.
This perspective – solving problems and delaying gratification without losing sight of the present – is at the heart of the community events, blogs, cookbooks, and all-natural nutrition products that makes up the sometimes hard to define mishmash of activity here at Skratch Labs.
Like most things in life, we’re figuring it out as we go. That said, a few things are clear – that food and drink are better when made from scratch and that no matter where we find ourselves in life, that it’s never too late to start from scratch.
Get that fresh look you’ve been thinking about for the new year at Brass Tacks Barber Shop in Dallas, TX. This new shop is located in Oak Cliff within the Bishop Arts District.
Our ladies like to get their beards trimmed or faces shaved by a professional with a straight razor. Very hip! FYI, wear you’re skinny jeans! Oh, did I mention they have free beer while you wait?
Brass Tacks is a barbershop with focus on straight-razor shaves and traditional cuts. Listen to great music and enjoy a beer from a local brewery.
Here’s the owner, Brandon. You know you want to look like this dude! Killer stache.
The 2015 team will be rippin’ and grippn’ the trails on nothing other than Maxxis tires! Here’s a bit more about Maxxis:
One of the world’s most trusted tire brands, Maxxis delivers high-quality tire products to customers in 170 countries and employs more than 25,000 people. For winning races or enjoying a safe daily commute, Maxxis is the tire company riders and drivers trust.
We’ve been told that KIND is working on pairing their yummy, all natural, gluten free and non GMO healthy snacks with some choice local brews, so we say buy an Old Chub and grab a Strong and KIND for your next 100 miler! Here’s a bit more about KIND and their philosophy:
There’s healthy. There’s tasty. Then there’s healthy and tasty. At KIND, we believe you deserve both—we call it our brAND philosophy. That’s why you’ll find all of our snacks are pretty much the nirvana of healthful tastiness. What began with just 8 bar varieties in 2004 has grown to over 22 bars and 6 Healthy Grains snackable clusters, and a multitude of new recipes being perfected and refined to our standards in the KIND kitchen.
Look for KIND Healthy Snack samples at races and other events the team will be at for the 2015 season!
Christmas this season is going to be awesome for the Bearded Women Racing team! Our whips will be outfitted with the best gear on the market, and ESI Grips are definitely the best grips you can buy.
They’ve got their original, 100% silicone Chunky’s that absorb the shock, are light weight, and look great on any bike.
They also have tape and can custom any of their products for you to match! Here’s their story:
ESI is located in Southern California and prides itself on it’s products being made right here in the USA. Established in 1999 we have spent over a decade providing superior products for the bicycle industry. Through new product development, ESI offers unique, high tech, quality products MADE in the USA followed with exceptional Customer Service!
Order some today and mention Bearded Women Racing!
We’ve got beer and bikes, and we race a lot, so it’s only natural Ron Wadley Insurance is going to be there just in case we get our beards burned off, or ride off a cliff (he doesn’t do medical, it’s just an analogy)!
He’s already saved us Ladies hundreds of dollars off our auto, life, business, and home policies. Why are you still reading this? Get off your ass and call the man! Oh, and did you know he’s a long time single speed mtb racer? Now you know why we love him so much!
Ron Wadley, Office: (817) 907-7130 and all-around bad ass!
Up next in our new sponsor line up, we’re teaming up with the OakFit Community to teach our members physical fitness techniques to improve their riding and overall racing performance.
Here’s what they’re all about:
COMMUNITY ROOTED. RESULTS DRIVEN. At OakFIT, we deliver fast results with less injuries using periodization and evidence-based principles of strength and conditioning. Our mission is to safely and effectively introduce weightlifting and functional training to all levels of participants.
Ronnie, co-owner of Oak Fit
When you become a Member of OakFIT, you will be guided by coaches every step of the way to help you successfully reach whatever goals you set out for.
We do not offer a quick fix. Our Coaches and Members engage fitness and nutrition from a lifestyle perspective. I challenge you reach out to anyone in the OakFIT Community and ask them about their RESULTS.
We’re proud to announce a returning sponsor for 2017, Oskar Blues Brewery. What goes better with bicycles than anything else? Why yes, beer, of course!
Bearded Women Racing is continuing to partner with Oskar Blues Brewery out of Longmont, Colorado as our Post-Race Hydration Sponsor.
We’ll need to rehydrate our racers, and will certainly have some to share with the racing community.
Look for their beer in stores across the greater DFW area, and throughout Texas! Dale’s Pale Ale is one of the fastest selling craft beers in the country, along with their full line up of cans, you’re assured to find a tasty hop or two to wet your whistle for the post-ride shenanigans.
One of our members recently commented after completing 4 laps at the Sansom 66, “I drank a Scratch Labs after my 3rd lap and was able to make every climb that I couldn’t on the previous laps. I thought I was on crack!” We’ll we don’t condone doing drugs, but we do officially approve of their amazing energy powders that give that extra boost! Also, we love their cook book of recipes for organic, whole food portables. Bring me some blueberry, chocolate, and honey rice cake now, Eric Swarvar!! Here’s a bit more about Scratch Labs:
The 2015 team will be rippin’ and grippn’ the trails on nothing other than Maxxis tires! Here’s a bit more about Maxxis:
We’ve been told that KIND is working on pairing their yummy, all natural, gluten free and non GMO healthy snacks with some choice local brews, so we say buy an Old Chub and grab a Strong and KIND for your next 100 miler! Here’s a bit more about KIND and their philosophy:
Christmas this season is going to be awesome for the Bearded Women Racing team! Our whips will be outfitted with the best gear on the market, and ESI Grips are definitely the best grips you can buy.
We’ve got beer and bikes, and we race a lot, so it’s only natural Ron Wadley Insurance is going to be there just in case we get our beards burned off, or ride off a cliff (he doesn’t do medical, it’s just an analogy)!
Up next in our new sponsor line up, we’re teaming up with the OakFit Community to teach our members physical fitness techniques to improve their riding and overall racing performance.
We’re proud to announce a returning sponsor for 2017, Oskar Blues Brewery. What goes better with bicycles than anything else? Why yes, beer, of course!
Bearded Women Racing 