The Dirty Dozen and Frozen OCNP

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The first time in our young team’s history we were able to field solid groups of racers for two coinciding endurance races on the same day in different parts of the state! Mind you, we’ve been going to the Dirty Dozen Endurance Mountain Bike Race for years as individuals, but this time around it was even more meaningful to those that participated. You see, it was our unofficial one year anniversary as a team. It’s inception came from a late night of good times around a campfire, and the dream to start a club team we all hoped would draw people to racing for fun and competition.

Last year, we placed 4th overall in the 12 hr, 4 man open category, so we were looking to improve on our very first placing and payout. This year we fielded 2 four man teams for the 12 hr race, and 1 two man team for the 6 hr race, all male. We’ll get our first women racer soon! The day was perfect, as the temperatures were comfortable, it was overcast, and there was an ever so slight, on and off rain fall throughout the day which made for a very compact and fast course! The top group entered of Jesse Bernal, Brad Wendling, Nathan Delahoussaye, and Marcus Gillespie hung around the 2nd and 3rd place spot the entire day, and finished in 3rd place on the podium, the highest placing our team as ever done at this event! A mechanical caused an issue on one lap, but each guy was putting in consistent lap times to keep them in contention. The next 4 man group consisting of Jonathan Braddick, Moreece Griffin, Logan Davis, and James Henson were keeping pace. Moreece and Logan were participating in their first 12 hour endurance race, and both exceeded their own expectations! The 6 hr, 2 man group consisted of our first father and son racers, Michael and Austin Ham. Both live in Brian/College Station, and were entering their first ever endurance race!

In the end all groups did an amazing job, but furthermore the weekend tightened and strengthened our resolve to field an even bigger group for next year’s race!

Here are the overall results from the Dirty Dozen Endurance race in Warda, TX:

12 hr, 3-4 person Open
- Jesse Bernal, Brad Wendling, Nathan Delahoussaye, Marcus Gillespie
  - 3rd place out of 8 teams, 18 laps, 11:36:13.52
- Jonathan Braddick, Moreece Griffin, Logan Davis, James Henson
  - 7th place out of 8 teams, 15 laps, 11:25:44.02
6 hr, 2 person Open
- Michael Ham, Austin Ham
  - 20th place out of 22 teams, 6 laps, 05:52:12.45

Back up in the DFW area, another important race was happening in Oak Cliff at the Oak Cliff Nature Preserve. DORBA’s Frozen Endurance series had endured two cancellations from mother nature in the form of winter and fire, leaving the series without a completed race.

The team fielded 6 racers, new Cat 1 racing member Mike D’ Aurelio and last year’s Best Endurance Race Placing winner Randy Davis in the 6 hr open, new Cat 3 racing member Corey Fawcett and new Cat 3 racing member Armando Zermeno in the 4 hr open, and Shane Walden and Wes Salas as a team in the 6 hr relay.

Overall, BWR had a total of 16 racers on a dirt single track, grinding away and putting all of their heart and legs into it this past weekend. Congratulations gentlemen!

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Here are the overall results from the DORBA Frozen Series race at OCNP:

6 hour, Open
- Mike D’ Aurelio, 23rd place out of 37, 7 laps, 6:23:45
- Randy Davis, 28th place out of 37, 6 laps, 6:18:12
4 hour, Open
- Corey Fawcett, 27th place out of 60, 5 laps, 4:02:14
- Armando Zermeno, 34th place out of 60, 5 laps, 4:12:31
6 hour, Relay
- Shane Walden and Wes Salas, 6th place out of 8 teams, 8 laps, 6:57:04

February 4, 2014 0

Rudolph’s Revenge and a fire at North Shore!

Jesse Bernal, Racing Member

Daniel Johnson, Racing Member

Jesse Bernal, Racing Member

The team’s 2014 season has been officially underway since December 2013, but through a few different race cancellations and postponements, we still hadn’t had a complete race with our participation until last Saturday, January 25th.

The Rudolph’s Revenge race was a 30 (or 40) mile race on the toughest singletrack in North Texas combined with super fast fire road. The 30 mile race took at least 2 hours to finish and covered roughly 1500 feet in elevation change. It had been postponed because of weather in December, but it officially was put into the books on Saturday. Two of our new race members, Jesse Bernal and Daniel Johnson, logged their first official race with the team, providing a glimpse of why we’re so excited to have them and everyone on our team for this 2014 year!

Jesse Bernal finished 2nd out of 4 in the 30 mile Single Speed Open category, and Daniel finished 14th out of 27 in the 30 mile Men’s Open category. Congrats fellas!

Here are the overall results from the race:

30 mi. SS Open
- Jesse Bernal, 2nd out of 4, 2:29:26, avg spd: 12.03 mph
30 mi. Men’s Open
- Daniel Johnson, 14th out of 27, 2:29:08, avg spd: 12.07 mph

And, not to forget we all went out to North Shore for an awesome day of racing before the race got abruptly stopped and later cancelled, because some numbskull didn’t put out his campfire. We had 10 racers on the course and another 6 volunteer members in support for the Frozen DORBA series race. Check out these great pics, and look for the team at the next race in the series at Oak Cliff Nature Preserve, and at the Dirty Dozen Endurance Race in Warda, TX both this weekend!

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January 27, 2014 0

Jacob the Great!

He was a great friend, son, athlete, and teammate who joined our team last August after we spoke to him and his dad at the DORBA LB Houston race. You could instantly tell what kind of guy he was, and that he would be a perfect fit for our new team. We were over joyed to have someone as fast, and as young on the team, especially since Jacob had won the only two races he’d ever entered! He was just that talented. We saw him moving up to Cat 2 this year and probably Cat 1 in another year after that. Jacob finished third overall in last year’s DORBA Fall Series for the Cat 3 19 -29. He was also a fiercely competitive, but humble athlete. He often trained with the very same guys who he beat or finished behind for a podium spot in order to be a better athlete.

Jacob passed away on Thursday, January 16, 2014 at the age of 20 years old. This season is dedicated to our teammate Jacob, and we’ll be memorializing him on our new 2014 kits using his favorite race #116, sadly the same day he passed away. We’ve printed memorial stickers for anyone to have to put on their bicycles and “Race for Jake”! Stop by our tent at future races to pick one up.

Jacob grew up and lived in Grand Prairie, TX and had many friends. He was a hard worker at the landscaping job he had building private golfing greens, in lavish backyards for clients. He is survived by his parents Phil and Debbie Hollings, brother Matthew Hollings.

Read his obituary here

January 20, 2014 0

Randy Davis, Racing Member, Geared

Racing Results

2014

Sansom 66	22nd place out of 28th, 4:28:29

2013

Prayer Mountain Pedal	30 -39, 19th, 0:59:00
Smurf Boy Endurance Series Rowlett Creek Preserve	Team Open, 8th Place out of 8 teams, 5 laps, 4:40:38
River Legacy	Solo, 16th Place, 5 laps, 4:32:04
Cedar Hill	Solo, 11th Place, 5 laps, 4:05:18
DORBA Fall Series Cedar Hill	Cat 3 30-39

Awards

2013	Team – Best Endurance Race Placing

Profile

Birth Date	December 16 1977
Birth Place	Odessa, TX
Home Town	Lewisville,TX
List and describe your bicycles	Yeti SB95, my go to, ride anywhere, do it all machine Salsa Mamasita, a new acquisition, 22lb scandium/carbon XC racer Trek 5500, my road bike
List past racing accomplishments in any sport you’ve competed in	I’ve never won a race…I’ve never lost one either!
What is your first memory of riding a bicycle?	Most of my childhood was spent on two wheels. I was born with a spinal defect, riding bikes was part I my therapy. I’ll be damned if it isn’t still the most therapeutic thing in my life.
Why do you ride a bicycle?	Riding bikes is my exercise, my hobby, my escape, and my “me time” all rolled into one.
What does Bearded Women mean to you?	The slogan says it all. I enjoy having friends to ride and race with. We take it serious…but not too serious.

Randy Davis

Randy Davis, Racing Member

August 16, 2013 0

ReGEARED

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July 15, 2013 0

Brad Wendling, Racing Member, SS

Race Results

2014

01/11/14	Texas Chainring Massacre	Sport, Finisher
2/1/2014	Dirty Dozen	3rd place out of 8th, 12 hr 3-4 team open
5/31/14	24 hrs in the Canyon	1st place, SS 4 man
6/14/14	Smurf Boy RCP	12th out of 12, Solo
6/21/14	LoneStar XC LBH	4th out of 9th, SS
6/28/14	Smurf Boy JB	18th out of 21st, Solo
7/12/14	Smurf Boy RL	11th out of 16th
8/03/14	LoneStar XC RCP	6th out of 10th, SS

2013

Solovaca Cat Claw Classic	Cat 3 30-39, 13th place, 0:47:26
Big Cedar	Cat 3 30-39, 15th place, 0:53:31
Warda	Cat 2 35-39, 15th, 1:20:58
Smurf Boy Endurance Series Rowlett Creek Preserve	Team Open, 5th place, 4:01:43
Cedar Hill	Solo, 26th place, 3:54:35
DORBA Fall Series LB Houston	Cat 3 30-39, 13th place, 0:38:49
Rowlett Creek Preserve	DNF

Awards

TBD	Working on them now!

Profile

Birth Date	July 13 1976
Birth Place	Houston
Home Town	Austin
List and describe your bicycles	Specialized Stumpjumper HT Comp 29, 2011 GT GTR Expert Carbon Road Bike, Custom Fixie with flip flop hub
List past racing accomplishments in any sport you’ve competed in	I’ve been racing for the past ten years or so in both sprint and endurance mountain bike races. I placed 4th on a four man team 12 hour race and as high as 13th riding solo.
What is your first memory of riding a bicycle?	Jumping the dirt mounds behind the convenient store in my neighborhood on my custom pawn shop huffy.
Why do you ride a bicycle?	“Bicycles are social catalysts that attract a superior category of people.” – Chip Brown, “A Bike and a Prayer”
What does Bearded Women mean to you?	Having passion about life, people and bikes.