2016 Dirty Dozen Information & Results
•The 2016 event – Danny Chew injured
•Competition results
•Registered riders
•Links to articles
•Sponsors
•Finish line videos. Videos with “Action” in the title are downhill facing.
•Donate in support of Danny at You Caring or Help Hope Live (tax deductible)
•Million Mile Man fundraising T-shirts
•Dirty Dozen jerseys
•Dirty Dozen posters and T-shirts

Background

Danny Chew was seriously injured in a cycling accident near Lodi, Ohio on September 4, 2016. He suffered a spinal cord injury and became paralyzed and without feeling below mid-chest level. Danny wanted the Dirty Dozen to continue even though he couldn't ride in it or even be physically present. Many new and returning volunteers made the ride possible in his absence. The Dirty Dozen was given the added purpose of raising funds to help defray Danny's considerable medical expenses. Danny was still undergoing rehabilitation in Chicago at the time of the event, and not long after was moved to Akron, where his recovery continued. In July 2017 he returned to his home in Pittsburgh.

Danny drafted longtime friend Jonathan Pratt to be interim event director in his absence. Head marshal Chris Helbling was de facto co-director, bringing his organizational talents and fresh ideas to the event. Chris coordinated the ride marshals and rangers, and arranged a group purchase of officials' jackets. He continued to refine the DD route, aiming for a safer and smoother ride. Chris also proposed Christopher Street as a good last-minute replacement for Berryhill Road, which was abruptly closed for the winter. Chris persuaded others that breaking the ride into smaller groups would be a good thing, and indeed the new system was a success.

Other changes from previous years moved the event a little farther from its renegade roots. This was inevitable, because it's hard to keep a low profile with 400 riders. In the interest of safety, competitive sections were limited to uphills. For the first time the event was insured and riders had assigned numbers. There were trophies and ribbons for the leaders and finishers, respectively. And for the height of civilization: portable toilets at the food stops.

Event Day and Acknowledgements

On DD day, November 26, 2016, volunteers arrived at the Bud Harris Cycling Track earlier than in past years due to the planned 9 am departure of the lead group of riders. The earlier start was chosen to accommodate the large number of riders and the new event format of multiple groups of riders. In charge of registration were Monica Reisz, Abby Ritter, and Maura Spillane. Many thanks to them for their efforts. In spite of the many pre-registrations there was still a lot of work to be done at the registration table, with waivers to collect, numbers to pass out, and still quite a few event-day registrations from the record turnout of 382 riders.

The Pittsburgh weather for the day was quite reasonable for the time of year: cloudy with a high temperature of 45 degrees, and happily with almost no precipitation—a few sprinkles at most.

Gene Nacey and his Cycling Fusion crew set up a camera and large screen at the starting area so that from his hospital bed Danny could watch the preparations and talk with all who wanted to say “Hi.” It was an emotional moment for Danny, as he had to watch the Dirty Dozen, his “baby,” proceed without his physical presence for the first time. Danny was able to view much of the live-streaming of the event, and provide occasional commentary, again thanks to Gene Nacey and his crew.

Carol Moore and Nina Wilczek officiated the men's and women's competitions, respectively. They really had to hustle this year because of shorter stops by the lead group of riders. Many thanks to both for a job well done.

There was some early excitement in the men's points competition, with out-of-towner Adam Driscoll wresting the lead from local favorite Ian Baun on the third hill, Christopher St. But it was short-lived, as Ian won the next hill, High St./Seavey Rd., and then continued to pad his lead, except for giving back a single point on each of the last two hills. Congratulations to Ian for an impressive performance. Congratulations also to Adam; we hope you return in 2017. Shawn Litster took third place—nice work!—but unfortunately wasn't awarded on event day because of an error found in later video review. Sorry Shawn--you get a free entry for 2017.

In the women's competition, Stefanie Sydlik dominated, easily winning the overall title, but was thwarted from getting a victory on every hill by a mishap on Canton Ave. Now she has an incentive to try again for a perfect score in 2017. Had Stefanie been competing in the men's competition, she would have earned one point for a 10^th place finish on Boustead and two points for a 9^th place on Tesla, good for 23^rd place overall. Congratulations Stefanie! Stephanie Swan, a DD rookie, rode to a strong second place. Congratulations Stephanie! After some drama, Colleen Grygier was awarded third place. It was discovered that Colleen had put a foot down on the seventh climb (Suffolk). Normally, to avoid disqualification when this happens, a rider must go to the bottom of the hill and start over. But this year the competitive women were riding with the relatively small group of competitive men, and stops were pretty short, so there was a danger that Colleen would have been left behind had she redone the hill. She opted to continue with the group. When the “foot fault” was later disclosed, Danny created the “Colleen” rule in lieu of disqualification. If, after the event, she went back to the problematic hill and did it successfully, with video documentation, then she would avoid the disqualification. Colleen did this and thus retained her well-earned third place. Congratulations Colleen!

Competitors over 50 years old had a respectable year, with two at 55+ just making the top ten overall placings, while also being second and third among over-40 finishers. One of them, John Brockenbrough, set a new record as the oldest rider ever to score points. Of course Gunner Shogren had already set the bar quite high for over-50 performance, with top-three finishes in 2014 and 2015.

Attila Domos started the event on a hand cycle. He put in an impressive effort, but a mechanical problem forced him to abandon the ride at Rialto Street.

Many thanks to the top competitors for generously donating their winnings to Danny.

Thanks to 11-time DD winner Stephen “Steevo” Cummings for his assistance in managing the lead group. Stephen participated in spite of back problems, and wore #1 as the previous year's winner.

Thanks to our many other volunteers, including marshals and rangers, for helping to ensure a safe and successful ride. These include Dan Blumenfeld, Acadia Klain, Ted King-Smith, Mikhail Evstiounin, Jim Logan, Cliff Spiegel, Janet Kikta, Michael Helbling, Joe Ross, Russell Manski, Sarah Quesen, Edward Leonard, Stephanie Burch, Doug Riegner, Abe Stucky, Philip DeLuce, Neil Donahue, Dara Stern, Jason McCullough, Faris Kindilchie, Alex Bowers, Ken Kaszak, Carl Lovejoy, Keith Cumpston, Ken Mowry and Stuart Strickland. Apologies to anyone left off the list; rest assured your work was appreciated!

Thanks to Ron Lutz, David Shaffer and their family members for handling the food and beverage services. Great job guys!

Thanks to Mark Briercheck for volunteering to be the official DD videographer. He singlehandedly operated two cameras to catch most of the finish line action. His work turned out to be essential for verifying the correct places. He also helped with the officiating.

Thanks to our many sponsors, whose contributions helped to make this event possible.

Finally, thanks to all of the riders. By participating you helped Danny Chew in his time of need, both financially and by showing him you care. Hopefully you enjoyed the challenge. Please consider joining us again in 2017.

Point totals and placings:

*Denotes first-time rider
If two riders end up with the same point total at the end, the tie breaker is who has more wins, 2nds, 3rds, 4ths, & 5ths, etc. if needed.

Registered riders:

*Denotes first-time rider
ALL CAPS denotes female rider

Sponsors

Thanks to Aero Tech Designs for creating the official 2016 Dirty Dozen jersey and the Million Mile Man T-shirt, and for donating half of the sale proceeds to Danny.

Thanks to Big Bang Bicycles for donating the prize list for the points competition and for providing two support vehicles to aid riders with mechanical problems.

Thanks to Cycling Fusion for live-streaming the Dirty Dozen and for providing a big-screen video link to Danny at the start of the event.

Thanks to Eat'n Park Restaurants for providing hot drinks at the start and plenty of Smuckers Uncrustables peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the food stops.

Thanks to Millvale Borough for letting us use their Riverfront Park and its facilities for the first food stop.

Thanks to NuGo Nutrition for donating lots of NuGo bars, which were very popular!

Thanks to Red Bull Energy Drink for providing plenty of cans of Red Bull to give riders added pep.

Thanks to Three Rivers Rowing Association for graciously giving riders access to their facility in Millvale.