2013 Blitz to the Barrel Dash for Cash Photo Epic
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 The Blitz is a no entry fee, invite-only pro race that starts near Mt. Bachelor on single track and runs through the Tetherow Golf Club, ending downtown at the 10 Barrel Brewery. There, racers are not finished until they can chug a beer! (sorry, couldn't get any photos). After a mass start at about 5300 foot elevation riders head out for about a 17mile journey over dirt, rocks, roots, pavement and finely manicured golf course grass where most of the spectators are waiting. In a sense this is a renegade race; no timing except for the speed trap, no course markings until riders get near the clubhouse and $500/ea primes for holeshot, best air, fastest in the speed trap and arm wrestling. And the $20,000 cash given to the riders is split evenly between men and women! Truly a unique race to witness and a lot of fun for the riders. |
This year Canadian Geoff Kabush entered the event and gave locals Adam Craig, Carl Decker and Damian Schmitt a run for their money.
~Men's Pro Top 5~
1. Geoff Kabush 2. Josh Carlson 3. Adam Craig 4. Carl Decker 5. Aaron Bradford
Primes: Holeshot- Josh Carlson, Big Air- Kirt Voreis, Fastest on the Road- Carl Decker, Arm Wrestling Champ- Geoff Kabush
On the women's side, New Zealand's Rosara Joseph won the race portion of the event by a large margin, but conceded victory to Brooke Blackwelder and Tina Brubaker in the prime events.
~Women's Pro Top 5~
1. Rosara Joseph 2. Sue Butler 3. Serena Bishop Gordon 4. Brooke Blackwelder 5. Alice Pennington
Primes: Holeshot- Tina Brubaker, Big Air- Brooke Blackwelder, Fastest on the Road- Tina Brubaker, Arm Wrestling Champ- Brooke Blackwelder
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| Aaron Bradford hits the drop section at the Tetherow golf course during the 2013 Blitz to the Barrel. Here's what Aaron had to say about the jump, "I hit it once in practice to figure out the proper speed. I wasn't planning on adding going for the big air/style prime, but it all worked out. Fun times playing bikes!" |
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| Canadian Olympic mountain biker Geoff Kabush comes to the Blitz this year and put on a show. Geoff placed 1st overall and he now can add professional arm wrestling champion to his resume. |
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| Rosara Joseph continued her strong riding in Oregon, coming away with another victory. |
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| Women start the Blitz near Mt Bachelor, Oregon. Look at the elbows flying after the first few cranks chasing after the $500 holeshot prize. |
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| Single-speeder Scotty Carlile guides for local bicycle tour company, Cog Wild, and has been putting the miles on lately. Unfortunately some bad luck put him out of the running this year. |
As Scotty put it, "...two flats, walked for 20-25 mins before being picked up on Century Drive. Slammed 9 beers to celebrate everyone else's great rides. Arm wrestled Carl and lost, to no surprise. I'll be back for 2014 with a different bike and more super-d skills."
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| Laguna Beach resident Rachel Throop flexes for the crowd before arm wrestling begins while Carolynn Romaine looks impressed |
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| Adam Craig drops onto the driving range at the Tetherow golf club on his way to 3rd place in the race competition. |
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| Brooke Blackwelder through the dust on the upper section of the trail where riders are wheel- to-wheel. Brooke won the big air and arm wrestling competitions, taking home a cool $1000. |
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| Paul LaCava in his comfort zone, even with the wind gusts. "I didn't even look at the flags to see which way the wind was blowing. All I knew is that coming in I could feel the wind and I was, like, ****, it's windy. Whatever, I'm just going to send it."-PL |
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| The 10 Barrel Brewing Pallet Bar got a good workout after the race. |
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| Barry Wicks coming out of the woods on the Storm King trail. |
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| Adam Craig worked his way through the qualifiers but Kabush was waiting. |
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| Beth Ann Orton finished 7th for the overall. |
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| The Blitz to the Barrel race organizer, Erik Eastland (left), entertains local news anchorwoman Alicia Inns (right ) and crew before arm wrestling starts. |
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| Lindsey Voreis was one of three women to jump this section. She was playing it safe and wasn't boosting it like normal, but the crowd loved it. |
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| It was great to see racers out of their element and taking different risks. |
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| Carolynn Romaine locked in battle. |
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| Tina Brubaker (TB) came away with the holeshot and speed trap cash totaling $1000. |
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| Kirt Voreis was a little out-gunned in the xc spinning category, but he more than made up for it by busting out this flatty over the drop that literally stunned the crowd. And he took $500 home for the Big Air contest |
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| Brooke Blackwelder (right) took the arm wrestling title again this year (along with the $500). |
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| Kona rider Barry Wicks over the drop section. |
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| Carl Decker and Scotty Carlile begin the fast & furious arm wrestling matches. |
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| Rebound/Giant rider Timmy Evens in the Tetherow drop. |
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| Beth Ann Orton puts it all into the arm wrestling competition. And for a $500 first place prize, why not? |
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| A sequence shot of Rosara Joseph over the Tetherow Drop. The New Zealand native continued her winning ways, taking the overall win for the race portion of the event. When asked about the race, Rosara said "What a great day. Great atmosphere, good support along the course. The atmosphere at the golf course was so cool. And to finish downtown and have to finish a beer to finish your race, obviously that's pretty crazy but it was a lot of fun" - RJ |
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| Adam Craig and Geoff Kabush about ready to go at it for the finals, best 2 of 3. |
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| Josh Carlson looking in control coming into the drop. Josh placed 2nd overall. |
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| All races should end with a chug of beer and an arm wrestling comp. |
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| Carolynn Romaine finished 6th overall. |
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| Spencer Paxson crosses it up over the drop. With fewer than 20 riders the crowd was anticipating every jump |
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| Power meeting. Sue Butler (River City) and Rosara Joseph (Yeti) finally meet before competition. Sue had been recovering from injury, but it looks likes she is progressing well with a 2nd place behind Rosara. Do we have a friendly rivalry on our hands? |
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| Ryan Trebon twisting throttle & helping out this year. |
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| Barry Wicks and Josh Carlson take a peak at the runout after the drop at Tetherow before their start. |
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| Carl Decker took home the Fastest on the Road competition worth $500 |
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| Damien Schmitt and Scotty Carlile performing the ultimate rider psych-out, riding to the top when others are shuttling. |
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| Taking photos of someone taking photos of Kirt Voreis' bike. |
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| A different angle of Aaron Bradford clicking some style over the Tetherow golf course drop section. Can you find my remote camera stationed out on the hill to the right? That's my awesome wife, Melissa, on the trigger hiding out behind it with a hoodie and glasses. |
We caught up with Aaron after the event to get his thoughts. "Well, every year I like to check out a new race or event to keep things interesting. In the past I've taken part and raced in events such as Iceman, The Red Hook Crit and singlespeed CX worlds which have all been awesome experiences. Blitz is right up there with the quality of racing and fun party atmosphere making it a truly unique race, an event I hope to be a part of next year." -AB
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| Women's podium: 1. Rosara Joseph 2. Sue Butler 3. Serena Bishop Gordon 4. Brooke Blackwelder 5. Alice Pennington |
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| Men's podium 1. Geoff Kabush 2. Josh Carlson 3. Adam Craig 4. Carl Decker 5. Aaron Bradford |
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| Men's podium (l-r) Josh Carlson, Adam Craig, Carl Decker and Geoff Kabush |
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| Geoff Kabush enjoying the spoils of victory. |
www.mikealbright.com
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Member since Jun 16, 2008
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