2023 Summary and Acknowledgements
Two hundred and sixty riders started the 40th anniversary edition of the Dirty Dozen (DD) in 65° F weather, the warmest start ever! It remained cloudy all day with scattered light rain in the afternoon, and a high temperature of 70° F. Thanks to Jerry Lynch for driving me around, and walking with me as I pushed my wheelchair 2.5 miles at the lunch stop, and 2.5 miles atop the 12th hill on Cobden St.
Eventual Open competition winner Robin Carpenter with me at the start:
Defending champ Eli Pace didn't ride in the Open competition this year, but thirty-five riders started the event. Pro Robin Carpenter, riding for the L39ION team of Los Angeles, easily won, setting a new points record by scoring 127 out of 130 possible points. He won the longer hills by huge time margins, and 2021 DD winner Dan Uhranowsky was the only rider to beat him on any hill — and these were three of the shorter/sprinter hills: Berryhill, Canton, and Welsh Way. On his third DD, Brennan Tickell took second place with 103 points. Dan Uhranowsky was third with 92 points. Forty-eight-year-old Larry Weber, who took second last year, came in sixth place. Forty-five-year-old Dave Galati was seventh. Forty-seven-year-old Sean Kelly was 10th. Fifty-six-year-old Chris Helbling was 14th. Riding in his 15th DD, 65-year-old John Brockenbrough was 15th, and added another year to his record as the oldest points scorer! Sixty-four-year-old David Hearn was 16th.
Hearn, Carpenter and Brockenbrough at the lunch stop:
After scoring seven points on the first hill, 43-year-old Ethan Balistreri was unable to catch his breath and dropped out; he was still recovering from an illness.
The podium for the Open competition:
Defending champ Kelly Collier didn't ride in the Women's competition this year, and at the lunch stop she told me she had just gotten over COVID. Nineteen women started the event.
Collier with me at the lunch stop:
Eventual Women's competition winner Jill Patterson with me at the start:
Forty-two-year-old Jill Patterson from Arlington, VA became the first rider to ever earn a perfect score of 130 points — she won every hill! Kylie Willis came in second with 104 points. Evy Meinders was third with 86 points. She crashed on the second hill — Kendall — and had mechanical troubles. By the time she made the climb on her third attempt, she had fallen behind the women’s group and drifted back to the next group. She managed to make the next three hills — scoring no points — and caught back up to the women's group by the fifth hill, Berryhill, on which she placed third. In all she took seven second-place finishes, and most likely would have taken second overall if not for her mechanical issues. Fifty-six-year-old Mary Kowalski was sixth. Suzanne Kinsky was seventh. This was Suzanne’s sixth DD, the most by any woman! Fifty-year-old Jen Damon was eighth. Lisa Weiss scored 57 points, but failed to make Kendall, Canton, and Boustead. After crashing on Boustead and injuring her hand she called it a day and got into the follow/support vehicle. She became the new oldest female points scorer at 59! Fifty-two-year-old rookie Tatjana Chamis made every hill but Boustead. She is an accomplished violist for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
Twelve women in the competitive group made all the hills, and so did Mallory McDermott, riding in the Licensed Heat. Thirteen female finishers is a new DD record! Steady State Cycles put up two helmet primes for Suffolk and Boustead. Jill Patterson won them both, but at the awards ceremony she graciously gave them to the second place finishers of those hills, Evy and Kylie.
Winner Jill Patterson set two new Strava QOM records on Kendall and Ravine. Robin Carpenter didn't set any Strava KOM records. Here are some DD hill Strava times/records.
The women's field at the lunch stop with me:
The podium for the Women's competition:
Last year, Ryan Matthews became the first person to complete the DD on a unicycle. This year, 27-year-old Harrison Hsueh from the Detroit metro area became the second! He used two unicycles — one with a higher gear for riding faster between the hills. He rode from the start until the top of the sixth hill, High St., after which he was driven between the hills. He started five minutes after the first group, and finished 12 hours later. He was on the second hill — Kendall — for more than an hour, and needed three tries. He was on Canton for 1.5 hours, and needed four tries. On some hills, he parked at the top and rode down so he could see the hill before climbing it. Photos and videos of him.
In 2014, 69-year-old Paul Salipante became the oldest DD finisher. This year, 69-year-old Gary Fisher of Pinckney, MI rode his eighth DD. In 2013, 2014 and 2015 he used his road bike, but didn't make all of the hills. Starting in 2016, he began using his old Merlin mountain bike with lower gearing, and finished that year, and also in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023. He missed becoming the new oldest finisher by less than three months. I hope he rides again next year.
In 2018, Jeremiah Sullivan finished the DD on a heavy Healthy Ride rental bike. This year, he was a marshal in the Fan Club group, and successfully finished despite pulling a trailer with a mascot in it:
He told me it was easier than with the Healthy Ride because he was riding his own bike with better geometry for climbing. He made every hill on his first attempt. The trailer acted as a parachute when he was trying to keep up with the group between hills.
Riding his third DD, Dirk Schild, originally from the Netherlands, rode in the Fan Club heat. Going down Coast Avenue, he crashed — bloodying his face. A fan drove him to the hospital, but he wasn't seriously injured.
Mitch Boyer came all the way from California to ride the DD. He travels the world seeking out steep streets/hills to ride up, and makes videos of this on his YouTube channel.
Boyer with me at the lunch stop:
Boyer's video on the DD:
By the top of the last hill, Tesla, the time gap between the first and last groups had stretched to 2.5 hours. The finishing times:
| Open Competition | 2:50 PM |
| Licensed | 3:20 PM |
| Club | 3:30 PM |
| Women | 4:10 PM |
| Fan Club | 4:15 PM |
| Enthusiast | 4:25 PM |
| Party Bus | 5:20 PM |
Eleven-time DD winner Stephen "Steevo" Cummings was very sick with COVID just days before the DD, and was unable to start. Thus he lost his position as the rider with the most consecutive DDs that include the most recent one. After 2022 Stephen had ridden in 19 consecutive DDs. Riding his 12th consecutive DD this year, Larry Weber now takes over this record.
2,650 riders have started the DD.
Thanks again to the crew at the top of the 12th hill, Barry/Holt/Eleanor, for turning their garage on Cobden St. into a food stop with a bathroom. Thanks to Chris Helbling and Biketek Pittsburgh for handling day-before DD registration and packet pickup. Thanks to Chris's wife Kathleen, Abby Ritter, Russ Manski, Lilian Boerboom and Bob Monroe for doing day-of registration. Thanks to Dave Norton and Trader Joe's for coming through with 600 bananas again. Thanks to NuGo Nutrition for donating lots of NuGo bars again. Thanks to Ron Lutz, Dave Shaffer, his son Ezra and daughter Isabella, and Sha Zhao for managing the food stops at Millvale Riverfront Park and atop Canton.
The food stop crew with me:
Thanks to the officials who scored the hills: Sara Horsey and Kathleen Helbling judged the Women's competition; Mikhail Evstiounin, Cliff Spiegel, Jonathan Pratt and his brother Paul judged the Open competition. Thanks to Craig Merrits of Steady State Cycles for driving the follow/support vehicle for the Open competition. Thanks to Chris Helbling's brother Mike for driving the follow/support vehicle for the Women's competition again.
Merrits and the Helbling brothers:
Thanks to the many rangers and marshals for keeping the DD safe: Chris Helbling, Jason McCullough, Eddie Leonard, Ted King-Smith, Jeremiah Sullivan, Kyle Hitz, Nick Blauch, Dave Good, Vinay Chaudhary, Dave Norton, Doug and Dave Riegner, Rob Baiko, Keith Cumpston, Abe Stucky, Dave Hamburger, Carl Hubel, Suz Falvey and Suzanne Kinsky.
A huge thanks to DD co-directors Chris Helbling and Jonathan Pratt for doing such terrific jobs again!