The Date is Set

We have reserved Schimelpfenig Park for the 4th riding of the Westside Dirty Benjamin! The date is set for June 15. We will be capping it a 200 riders and begin to take postcards in February. The address to send the postcards will be posted on Feb. 1 so mark your calendars and we look forward to hearing from you then and seeing you in June!!

Race Report

What a day! I want to start off and thank Kings Wine Bar for the delicious sliders, soda pop, bananas and snickers. Thems be some good vittles so get there and feed, drink and you will be merry.

From WDB 2012

A huge thanks goes out to HED for that awesome wheelset. They are in all the tours and their support outweighs even the largest Bikers Anonymous meeting. A real class act!!
A big shout out to Planet Bike for their continued support. They have the goods when it comes to fenders, lights, computers and bacon! You need that, check them out. They from Madison so we have much respect!
We can't say enough good about Banjo Brothers. They have the best Q card holder in the business. While that may be AGRS-centric, it is just the beginning. There are bags for all nooks, crannies, and corners of a bike so pick your place and there is a bag that they make for that.
The team at Twin Six really got it going on! They make us look and feel good. Plus, Brandon Krawczyk, winner of the first Dirty Benjamin is on their team. Thems some ties that go back to day 1.
When in Northeast Mpls, stop on over at Behind Bars and check the wares. You got a dog with you? Bring it on in. Dogs be welcome...otherwise they'd make me stand outside bdum-ching.
You ride around and your back be aching...How about the knees? What you may need is a quality bike fitting. Hollywood Cycles is the place to go. It's right off the greenway (heh heh) so stop on in and rock on!
How about those nifty cell phone cases. I hope you grabbed one of those treats from Donkey Label. They are a smart case for your smart phone. If you have an Angry Birds obsession, you can play out in the rain now since the touch screen works when the phone is inside the case!! That is some straight alien technology!!
As always, hugs, fist bumps, Milli Vanilli chest bumps and whiskey shots to Hurl at Cars-R-Coffins. I was hoping to snag a pair of those sox but they were gone with the quickness!!

From WDB 2012

Those fine people/businesses provide great support so that nobody goes home empty handed after rolling a gravel century. Also, big thanks to Karyn, Kuan and David for the volunteer help. The day would have not run near as smooth without you!!!
A bright and early arrival to Schimelpfenig park started the day and we were not the first ones there. Registration was set up and folks came by steady.

From WDB 2012

It was good to see a mix of folks from the commuter, bike love, cx, xc, gravel, and road scenes from all over the upper midwest state areas.

From WDB 2012

Come 8:00 am is was time for staging and a mist/drizzle began to blanket us all.

From WDB 2012

The racing started with a light rain as we rolled out of Chaska and onto Carver. The light rain may have made a few wonder what they got into but the trail out of Carver was a thriling surprise! I don't know if it was the firepit in the middle of the trail or the tree downed that forced some single file CX action early on, but once cleared, there were hoots and hollers. Excitement was on and so were the 159 gravel junkies. Throughout the day there were sporadic rain showers so it was a crapshoot as to whether you would get caught in one. They kept the dust down and with the lack of wind, the speeds were up! The checkpoint at the 61 mile mark was reached in a litle over 3 hours!! The initial pack was about 25 large and

From WDB 2012

rolled in and out with the quickness. The last 45 miles were in front and it was competitive. They had some serious spoils of the battle

From WDB 2012

By the time the leaders reached the Brraapp!! section, the pack was down to about a dozen with many not far behind. About 7 miles before the finish, 4 broke free and decided to hit each other with all they got...Attack! Close the gap! Attack!....Brian Koeneman, Hollywood Henderson, Ted Loosen, and Keith Bianchi ended in a group sprint in that order. With Brian taking the Open Men class in 5:30 with an average speed of over 19.5 mph!! WTF? On gravel? Ben Doom came in two minutes later on a single speed! That's right, 5:32 for 107 miles on a single...over 19.5 mph...Give him some glasses and puffy pants cause it was Hammer Time!

From WDB 2012

Only 3 minutes later, coming in at 5:35 was Linda Sone taking it for the women. Not only is she the National Womens 40-44 CX Champ, she is also one of my heros! Tough as nails! Rounding out the awards was John Thompson coming in at 5:50 and leading a competitive 50+ field. True studs!
Folks continued to come in until the sweeper, Garrick Yoong came in at 10:41. You think he may have suffered out there for that time but I saw him at the checkpoint and he was prepared. I think his stash of 4 White Castle sliders got him through the last 45 miles.

From WDB 2012

Thanks to all who came out! You really made it a great day!! Also congrats to number 86, Dan Jansen for winning the raffle for the HED Ardennes!! And finally, email us if one of the bags below is yours. We can arrange a drop.

From WDB 2012

2012 Results

Thanks to all who came out and started the 2012 edition of the Westside Dirty Benjamin!!! There were some amazing times this year so give yourselves a big pat on the back for a Not F-king Around Job Well Done!! Before the results are listed below, we gotta give a shout out to Hollywood for sluething out who rider 86 was and presenting the raffled HED wheelset to him. Big congrats to Dan Jansen and hurray for Hollywood for being a true gentleman! (Gravel) Rock On!! Race write up will follow shortly but check this!

Finish        Name        Time      Class
1        Brian Koeneman        5:30:00      Open Men
2        Jay Henderson        5:30:00      Open Men
3        Ted Loosen        5:30:00      Open Men
4        Keith Bianchi        5:30:00      Open Men
5        Peter Maxwell        5:31:00      Open Men
6        Ben Doom        5:32:00      Singlespeed
7        David Ziemer        5:32:00      Open Men
8        Shawn Brick        5:35:00      Open Men
9        Paul Krumrich        5:35:00      Open Men
10        Linda Sone        5:35:00      Open Women
11        Matt Leizinger        5:39:00      Open Men
12        Jared Gazda        5:39:00      Open Men
13        Scott Hippen        5:39:00      Open Men
14        Andrew Barlage        5:41:00      Open Men
15        John Struchynski        5:45:00      Open Men
16        Scott E Rob        5:45:00      Open Men
17        Philip Carlton        5:50:00      Open Men
18        John Thompson        5:50:00      50+
19        Sam St. Pierre        5:50:00      50+
20        Al Iverson        5:51:00      50+
21        David Shulman        5:51:00      Open Men
22        Rob McCready        5:51:00      Open Men
23        Dan Jansen        5:52:00      Open Men
24        Jeff Greenwood        5:56:00      Singlespeed
25        Patrick Kinney        5:56:00      Open Men
26        Drew Wilson        5:56:00      Open Men
27        Hurl Evertongue        5:59:00      Open Men
28        Joshua Schneider        6:06:00      Open Men
29        Tim Norrie        6:09:00      Tandem
29        Pete Schow        6:09:00      Tandem
30        Dan Glisczinski        6:09:00      Open Men
31        Samuel Berkland        6:09:00      Open Men
32        Isaac Young        6:13:00      Singlespeed
33        Joel Stacy        6:13:00      Open Men
34        Boyd Hansen        6:20:00      Open Men
35        Tim Kinney        6:23:00      Open Men
36        Kelly Ness        6:23:00      Open Men
37        Ben Oney        6:23:00      Open Men
38        Benjamin Fulner-Erickson        6:23:00      Open Men
39        Christopher Tassava        6:28:00      Open Men
40        David Strachan        6:28:00      50+
41        Mark VanderWoude        6:28:00      Open Men
42        Patti Schmidt-Iverson        6:28:00      Open Women
43        Paul Inkala        6:28:00      Singlespeed
44        Ted Clausen        6:29:00      Singlespeed
45        Andy Tetmeyer        6:34:00      Open Men
46        T.C. Worley        6:37:00      Singlespeed
47        Brent Kvittem        6:37:00      Open Men
48        John Swanson        6:37:00      Singlespeed
49        Aaron Peterson        6:40:00      Open Men
50        Ben Lagerquist        6:40:00      Open Men
51        Jay Dodig        6:54:00      Open Men
52        Alexander Oenes        6:54:00      Open Men
53        Danielle Coffield-Ness        6:57:00      Open Women
54        Greg Bernhardt        6:57:00      50+
55        Ken Earley        6:57:00      Singlespeed
56        Andrew Wikenheiser        7:00:00      Open Men
57        Ed Prosser        7:02:00      Open Men
58        Jeremy Norton        7:04:00      Singlespeed
59        Sue Schroeder        7:04:00      Open Women
60        Alex Anderson        7:05:00      Open Men
61        Matt Van Vleet        7:11:00      Open Men
62        Justin Pitts        7:11:00      Singlespeed
63        Jeremiah Carter        7:12:00      Open Men
64        Pete Bell        7:12:00      Open Men
65        Robbie Morford        7:14:00      Open Men
66        Allen Sanborn        7:14:00      Open Men
67        Steve Porvaznik        7:14:00      50+
68        Death Rider        7:15:00      Open Men
69        Jeff Bauerly        7:17:00      Open Men
70        Gary Lindberg        7:19:00      Open Men
71        Bob Thor Heinzen        7:23:00      Open Men
72        Chris Larkin       7:23:00      Open Men
73        Craig Gustafson        7:24:00      50+
75        Richard Parsons        7:25:00      Open Men
76        Jerry Thell        7:25:00      Singlespeed
77        Greg Knoll        7:25:00      Open Men
78        Steve Schoo        7:26:00      Open Men
79        Dave Melcher        7:26:00      50+
80        Max Severson        7:26:00      Open Men
81        Nick Anton        7:26:00      Open Men
82        Chris Skogen        7:30:00      Open Men
83        Tim Lupfer        7:30:00      Open Men
84        Dan Beix        7:32:00      Open Men
85        Tom Miller        7:32:00      Open Men
86        Erik Sudheimer        7:38:00      Open Men
87        John Mack        7:38:00      Open Men
88        Brad Yearwood        7:40:00      Open Men
89        Morgan Blum        7:40:00      Open Men
90        Jim Smith        7:40:00      Singlespeed 50+
91        Daniel Wandzel        7:40:00      Open Men
92        Doug Krone        7:40:00      50+
93        Dustin Harford        7:43:00      Open Men
94        Arthur Graf        7:43:00      Open Men
95        Justin Schuetz        7:45:00      Singlespeed
96        Ebbin Martin        7:45:00      Open Men
97        Todd Bauer        7:47:00      Open Men
98        Adam Turman        7:48:00      Open Men
99        Ben McCoy        7:48:00      Open Men
100        Jason Ness        7:48:00      Open Men
101        Pat Sorenson        7:48:00      Open Men
102        Daniel Randolph        7:48:00      Open Men
103        Tiffany Foley        7:49:00      Open Women
104        James Foley        7:49:00      Open Men
105        Robert Tuma        7:49:00      Open Men
106        Darryl Schoemaker        7:55:00      Open Men
107        Rich Albrecht        7:55:00      Singlespeed
108        Jay Drury        8:00:00      Open Men
109        Chris Miller        8:00:00      Open Men
110        Christine Carragee        8:05:00      Open Women
111        Maren Flynn        8:05:00      Open Women
112        Jessica Baltzley        8:05:00      Open Women
113        Luke Breen        8:05:00      Open Men
114        Kyle Zeug        8:05:00      Open Men
115        Aaron Hefty        8:12:00      Open Men
116        Bruce Anderson        8:12:00      Tandem
117        Peggy Bartz        8:17:00      Tandem
118        Tyler Prahl        8:19:00      Open Men
119        Jeff Evans        8:19:00      Open Men
120        Brian Rich        8:22:00      Open Men
121        A.J. Peterson        8:25:00      Open Men
122        Jeff Chermak        8:25:00      Open Men
123        Ben Crow        8:25:00      Open Men
124        Mary Gonzalez        8:29:00      Open Women
125        Luke Froehle        8:34:00      Singlespeed
126        Tony Meysenburg        8:34:00      Singlespeed
127        Bjorn Christianson        8:38:00      Open Men
128        Matthew Sanders        8:40:00      Singlespeed
129        Kristopher Lightner        8:40:00      Singlespeed
130        Dustin Allebach        8:47:00      Open Men
131        Charles Ommen        8:47:00      Open Men
132        Benjamin Ortega        8:49:00      Singlespeed
133        Brad Lindberg        8:52:00      50+
134        Pete Ryan        8:57:00      Open Men
135        Peter Lenz        8:57:00      Open Men
136        Carter Griffith        9:03:00      Open Men
137        Erin Mattson        9:03:00      Open Women
138        Sheila Amo        9:04:00      Open Women
139        Bryan Amo        9:04:00      Open Men
140        Tim Bauer        9:10:00      50+
141        Christopher Berg        9:15:00      Open Men
142        Joe Clark        9:16:00      Open Men
143        Dan Marshall        9:31:00      Open Men
144        Brian Hayes        9:34:00      Singlespeed
145        Tom Taylor        9:34:00      Singlespeed
146        Michael Boehnlein        9:47:00      Open Men
147        Peter Ashley        9:56:00      Open Men
148        Jon Wilson        9:56:00      Open Men
149        Luke Fancl        10:01:00      Open Men
150        Donald Clark        10:39:00      50+
151        Garrick Yoong        10:41:00      Open Men

Re-iteration

We are fast approaching the start time and I just wanted to list a few things for you to remember:

Sunscreen - !!!!Fo Shizzle otherwise you will surely sizzle!!!!
Water - Bring what you need and bring more! We will carry drop bags to the checkpoint that is 60 miles in so carry enough to get there. Not much in between the start and the checkpoint so get all boy scout and be prepared. There is a waterpump at the checkpoint if needed.
Q cards - Print them and bring them. We will have a limited supply so if you want them, come ready.
Waiver - Save some time; print and sign.
Snacks - Your body will want some food to keep going. You like GU and Shot Blocks, bring them. You like Granola and Power Bars, bring them. You like Turkey Jerky, bring it. You like pop tarts, they may get crushed (from experience). You like Slim Jims, snap it!
Mile Counter - Helps when following the Q cards
An appetite for crushing gravel - Get Some and Bring It!!!

We have some nice rain on this Thursday to firm up the gravel. That should make for a less dusty event and an interesting Brraapp!! section. The temps look to be in the 80's so it will be a great time. As always, Kings Wine Bar is bringing down a feast for post ride replenishment and refreshment. Can't thank them enough!!!

Map & Hed Wheels

The map of the course can be found here. Please check it out if you think you might want to stop for coffee or might need a grocery store around the 80 mile mark.

Every year we have been fortunate to give away a set of Hed wheels... the finest wheel sets available. In the past we have given them to the winner. This year is going to be a little different. We will give them away in a raffle. Here are the ways to earn raffle tickets.

(1) Finish - receive 1 ticket (meaning you have to finish to be eligible)
(2) Finish with 1 hour of winner - receive 2 tickets
(3) First Place - receives 10 tickets
(4) Second & Third - receives 6 tickets each
(5) Hillclimb #1 - top 3 receive 3 tickets each
(6) Checkpoint all riders in front group receive 3 tickets each
(7) Brraappp!! trail section top three at end of trail receive 3 tickets each
(8) Hillclimb #2 top 3 receive 3 tickets each

The drawing will be held one hour after the winner finishes. In the event that the winner of the drawing does not finish another drawing will be held once the DFL rider finishes and the winner will be notified by email if they are not present. Please view the map for location of the Hillclimbs, Checkpoint, & Brraapp Section.


View WDB 2012 in a larger map

Q Cards and Waiver

To make sure we don't run out of printed material, it would be a great help if you downloaded the waiver found at:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B45tutGk8I3TWlhCRzgxdkRCSFU
and bring it signed and dated to the registration. Also take some time and print out the cue sheets found at :
https://docs.google.com/open?id=1nN1tK_oTIJqVL4aWOCf8AmN7LA70Drg8J1sltaFToqJaHXw4pT_p917jBoZl

Fr the best printing results, you may have to download the Q cards and then print them from the downloaded files. Print them, cut them, paste them, stow them, and bring them. Don't just plan on following the tracks in the gravel, they can lead you to concrete and then whatchu gonna do? Use the force? Do what ya gotta do and you will be good to go!!

Details for June 16

Saturday, June 16, 2012
Westside Dirty Benjamin
Schimelpfenig Park (Click on the Start/Finish push pin on left)
Chaska, MN
6:15 am - 7:45 am - Registration
7:46 am - 8:00 am - Staging
8:01 am - 8:00 pm - 100+ miles
10:00 am - 2:30 pm - Checkpoint is open
2:00 pm - Sliders till they gone

First of all I gotta give a huge shout out to those donating goods!! They are really stepping up and are making this event special for everyone involved. Another shout out to all the folks showing up to ride!!

Word!!

The Westside Dirty Benjamin will be held at Schimelpfenig Park in Chaska, MN. It starts at an early 8:00 am so we will be there by 6:30 am for registration. Staging will begin at 7:45 am so git your breakfast on and git on over to Schimelpfenig early. There is a shelter at the park and a parking lot. The lot should hold 40 - 50 cars so if you show up later, there may not be much space for parking. Across the street is the VFW. Please do not park there. We don't want to take up their parking lot and please do not park in the parking lot for the Fireman's Park. You can pull along Creek Road for a spot but it is not the most comfortable. Best bet is to carpool but if that doesn't work out an option would be to park in the neighborhoods around Cedar and 5th St. You can see that in the map linked above. It is only a block away from the start/finish and the streets are wide.

For registration all we really need from you is a filled out release form. I will be emailing everyone the form and/or posting it to make things move quicker on the morning of the race so bring it all filled out. If you are under 18, have your parent/guardian sign it otherwise it's a no go for ya.


To qualify as a finisher of the Westside Dirty Benjamin, you gotta follow the cue sheets. You wanna do some cheatin, you are only cheatin yourself so stay home, yo. Nuff said. Regarding the cue sheets, stay tuned because they will be posted soon. Printing up yourself a set is the goal. We may not have enough the morning of so take control and do yourself a self service and be prepared!

If you pack a drop bag, we will take it to the checkpoint which is near Winsted, around 55 miles from the start. When you show up, volunteers will have the bags grouped by 10's and will help you locate it. Once finished with the bag, please give it back to a volunteer and they will load it into a car to return it to the start finish. It could be a hot day and there is a water pump there but pack extra water just in case. Some snacks for energy definitely helps too. Watertown has a great coffee shop if you are gonna be interested in feeding or having a coffee or whatever but that is gonna be around mile 75 or so. The checkpoint will be open until 2:30 pm. At that point the volunteers will be cut loose and remaining bags will be brought back to the start/finish.

Ride on back to Chaska where you will see any family and friends cheering for you as you finish in Schimelpfenig park. The park facilities include a shelter, hoops, archery, horseshoes, a playground, pork sliders, swag table, lake with beach and big fun!! It's one of the longest days of the year so plan on hanging out and have fun.

For those who have not ridden in any 100 mile gravel races before, there are a few things you should know to help prepare yourself for the ordeal.

Keep going - No matter what you are thinking...keep pedaling. You will be stoked once you have completed the century. Like the Men's Warehouse guy says, "I guarantee it!"

When riding, keep aware of what is approaching you from the front and rear. If you find a nice line on the left side of the road, be especially careful of oncoming traffic, particularly on the hills. Most aren't expecting a bike to be in their face so try not to be. Be aware that traffic coming from behind you may catch up eventually and need to pass. Keep an ear open and let them go.

There are dogs about! There is always the potential for loose dogs and other animals but be careful of the chasing kind. A good acceleration can discourage many-a-dog but if that ain't there, a squirt of precious water may work, pepper spray, a switch, yelling or through them that tainted steak you may be carrying around with ya. Please show some respect cause you could make that dogs day.

Ride your pace - The hills are not too bad at all so the fear is for the most part not there but be aware for the potential for looser gravel. I would rather not hear of any accidents. Rubber side down. You heard it here.

There are bathrooms at the start/finish. Woot!

The cue sheets contain lists of intersections and mileage. It is best to have an odometer to follow them. If not, many just follow the tracks and a person they are with or can see. Not necessary but do yourself a favor and ride with an odometer.

The cue sheet directions are the standard arrow pointing the direction you are going with the street names and mileage next to it. Sometimes the arrow points straight through an intersection. This could be done in case the street name changes or just to make you feel good.

You are responsible for yourself! No Sag wagon

Wave to folks if you wish and help a fellow rider if you want good karma.

The race cut off is going to be at 8:00 pm...that being said, we may still be hanging out after that but I hope that 12 hours is enough.

The catagories are as follows: Open, Single/Fixed, Tandem, Masters

There are grillin facilities at the park too so come prepared or you can always hit the local liq and food stores.