2014 Blitz 2 the Barrel Dash For Cash Photo Epic
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 The 2014 Blitz 2 the Barrel Dash For Cash was originally scheduled for June 11th, but a nearby forest fire forced the evacuation of Bend-area homes and ultimately postponed the race until last Wednesday,August 20th. The Blitz is a unique event that features $20,000 in prize money split between the podiums of the timed race plus $500 special primes for holeshot, big air, fastest on pavement and arm wrestling. The race starts up near Mt Bachelor, winds down some of Bend's enduro race stages and snakes through the Tetherow course where the "Big Air" jump is located. From there riders get out on the road for a speed trap and sprint down to 10 Barrel Barrel Brewing Company where the clock doesn't stop until they chug a beer. The event pulls in talent from far and wide and even with the schedule change this year we were treated to some world-class competition. (fire photo: Matthew Lasala) |
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| Brooke Blackwelder was back, looking to repeat as the big air champion. |
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| Adam Craig was looking good in practice. |
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| Race organizer Erik Eastland (center) with the starting lineup for the ladies (plus a tandem?). |
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| It's an all-out sprint at the start for the $500 prime for the holeshot. |
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| Megan Chinburg was way out in front for the holeshot award worth $500, which ended about 50 yards past this point. |
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| In true enduro fashion Rosara Joseph, Kelli Emmett and Linsey Voreis take the inside line through this un-taped portion of the course. |
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| This shot is a perfect example of what is great about the Blitz; it gets riders out of their comfort zone. Tina Brubaker is perfectly happy ripping singletrack and crushing cyclocross courses, but she's not a jumper. The past few years she's ridden around the jump and taken the time penalty along with the jeers from the crowd but this year she came determined to jump it. She spent time in practice jumping off to the side of the jump until it became obvious that she had the speed and just needed to 'let it go.' Finally, near the end of Tuesday's practice she announced, "I'm going to do it." |
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| ...And she did |
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| That feeling you get when you clear the big jump for the first time.... |
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| Kelli Emmett takes on the step-down jump, the signature feature of this race, on the way to victory in the timed race. It is easily accessible from town and they serve beer. |
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| Chad Cheeney loving the hue of the golden hour on the Tetherow Golf Course. |
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| Carl Decker was flying high, coming off of his win at the Downieville Classic recently. He took the overall win and took home $3000 for the win and an extra $500 for fastest on the road. "Not bad for an hour's work", said Carl. |
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| Kelli Emmett, one of many high-powered athletes that traveled for the event. |
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| Adam Craig had a flat that took him out of the running for the overall win, so he did the jump twice for everyone. |
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| Brooke Blackwelder near the top on Funner, when it really gets funner. |
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| Cody Kaiser with his biggest fan trying to take a selfie from below. |
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| Serena Bishop Gordon and Adele Mery are riding tight and just a few minutes behind the leaders. |
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| Teal Stetson-Lee finished only a couple minutes behind race winner Kelli Emmett. |
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| Bill Roussel wheelies across the Tetherow Golf Course |
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| Last year's race winner Rosara Joseph leads out Kelli Emmett at about the halfway point. |
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| The award for best smile goes to Carolynn Romaine. |
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| Dylan Murdock won the arm wrestling competition, too. |
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| Adele Mery from Ashland, Oregon. |
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| Lindsey Voreis always puts on a good show. |
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| Barry Wicks put on his dropper post this year. |
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| Brooke Blackwelder on COD |
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| Timmy Evens makes his way across the Tetherow turf on his way to the speed trap and then the finish at 10 Barrel Brewing. |
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| Sue Butler and Teal Stetson-Lee face off in arm wrestling. This is no joke. |
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| Zoe Taylor had some competitors psyched out before they even began. |
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| Sue Butler defeats Teal Stetson-Lee in a close one. |
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| Lindsey Voreis (left) and Sue Butler (right) battle it out for the $500 arm wrestling prime. |
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| Dylan Murdock all the way from Allen, TX defeated Bill Roussel to take the arm wrestling title this year. |
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| Zoe Taylor outlasted all of the women to take home the $500 prize to go with her $500 'big air' prime. |
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| Then Zoe took on the men's winner in a grudge match. |
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| Carl Decker celebrates another win. |
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| The story within the story here was certainly the talk going around that Henry Abel and Lev Stryker wanted to jump a tandem over the Blitz jump. What sounded at first like a social media fantasy became reality when we found out that Lev and Henry were serious and planning to go to Mt Bachelor to get some training in. It was late in the day so we could only get in a few runs. Here Lev and Henry enjoy cruising down Upper Lava Flow as they get used to riding together with the Three Sisters and Brokentop Mountains in the background. |
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| In no time they were flowing down the trail and feeling good with the tires on the ground. |
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| It was time to go to the small skills park to test some airtime. |
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| The first few landings were a little sketchy until Lev and Henry got used to pre-loading and yanking at the same time. |
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| Then it clicked. They came over in sync and landed both wheels together. |
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| In just a short time they were feeling confident for practice the next day. |
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| At the race venue our daredevils check out the setup. Things are looking good with the jump a little shorter this year, but it seems to have a steeper landing than expected. |
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| Lev and Henry then check out the roll-in before the drop. "This is harder than the jump", says Lev. |
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| Lev (center) shows race organizer Erik Eastland (right) what he's up against. |
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| They do a few test-runs to see what the landing looks like from the takeoff. |
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| There was a lot of discussion of what to do. |
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| In the end the two decided that this jump may not be the best idea right now. |
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| Stoker Henry Abel, however, wanted it so badly that he started looking for volunteers. Kids, anyone would work... |
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| Henry' confidence level was increasing with each pass off to the side of the jump. Emmett Reeb along for the ride |
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| He ditched all riders and became more determined to do this as practice was coming to a close. |
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| Henry came to look at it again... |
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| And Boom! Henry followed Carl Decker to get a good feel for the speed needed and busted it out solo. |
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| Henry was feeling it now, but this was alone, with no extra weight on the back. As the race rolled around there was a buzz about the tandem. Would they jump? Who would stoke and who would steer? |
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| When the tandem rolled into the Tetherow jump area it was clear that the original team with Lev steering and Henry stoking was going to bust this jump out in front of a crowd with no practice. Lev Stryker & Henry Abel made a beautiful jump on the custom Calfee Design tandem with an Ellsworth rear end and stunned the crowd. |
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| History was just made. |
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| Lev Stryker and Henry Abel with their Calfee Design tandem bike check: Carbon Calfee Design frame (no bamboo) with Ellsworth 140mm rear end, Fox Talas 34 160 mm Fork, ENVE AM 650B wheels...Shimano Di2 & K-Edge Hack 1 x 10 Drivetrain with a Fouriers 32T narrow wide chainring, Chris King hubs, BB's and headset, Schwalbe tubeless tires, Rotor cranks, Thomson stem & post - and an X-Fusion dropper post on the back. 38.5 pounds complete. |
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| Blitz 2 the Barrel Sponsors |
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| Top 5 Men: Carl Decker, Barry Wicks, Kris Sneddon, Ryan Trebon, Cody Kaiser Primes- Holeshot: .. Big Air: Alex McGuinnis Speed Trap: Carl Decker Arm Wrestling: Dylan Murdock |
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| Top 5 Women: Kelli Emmett, Teal Stetson-Lee, Serena Bishop Gordon, Megan Chinburg, Beth Ann Horton Primes- Holeshot: Megan Chinburg Big Air: Zoe Taylor Speed trap: Tina Brubaker Arm Wrestling: Zoe Taylor |
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Blitz 2 the Barrel Web Page
Mike Albright Photography Web page
OBRA - Blitz 2 the Barrel Results Page
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