The Wake-n-Bake Racing Team
National Champion…
Monday August 04, 2008
Hello All!
Nationals went off with barely a hitch!! Dejay and I were able to pull off first place with around a 30 minute lead over second. The second place team consisted of Mario Correa and Heidi Volpe. Mario won the mixed duo category last year with a different teammate, so he was familiar with the course and with 24 hour racing as well. Heidi reportedly wins expert XC races regularly, so we knew we had our work cut out for us. We spent the first half of the race battling it out with them (we were the “Sho-Air/Niner/Wake Racing” team and they were the “Sho-Air/Sonance/Rock and Road” team), and doing our best to open up a gap. We put 10 to 15 minutes on their overall time before nightfall and decided to try to increase that to 30 minutes by sun-up. Fortunately, Dejay and I both rode strong through the night, so that goal was quickly met. I had put a new chain on my bike the day before the race (hmmm…..good move, eh??), and was dealing with some chain stretch issues that resulted in a 3 or 4 minute mechanical on one of my laps. Other than that, we only had to deal with a couple of wrecks but no injuries- good race!!! On the last lap, I rode insanely slow, eating into our lead, but with the mindset that the race was won, unless I did something bad to lose it! Heidi rolled past the line 2 minutes past the cutoff point for a final lap, and with that, the celebration began- Dejay and I earned the stars and stripes national champs jerseys, which brought with it a couple of medals, custom coffee mugs, shoes, watch and a bad-ass milkshake maker. Sweet.
Rebecca
We had a goo weekend.
Sunday August 3,2008
Wake-N-Bake racing had a good weekend. Rebecca left last Thursday to go to Wisconsin for the 24 hours US Nationals. She raced Mixed Duo with a friend of her from SHO-AIR Dejay Birtch ( 2005 24 hours World Champion, and 2007 NUE Champion). After 20 laps, 180 miles and putting up with Dejay for 24 hours, Rebecca and Dejay won the National Championship Jersey.
Here closer to home, Wild Bill and Nick head South to Macon, Ga., home to Thomson Stem and Seat post and maybe the hottest place on earth, or at least Georgia. This was the last race of the Georgia State Championship. Wild Bill placed 3rd and secured the over-all win for the series. Nick Dale placed 2nd in the pro category. Bill called me shortly after the race and said that was probably the hottest race he had ever done.
Well I think we had a good weekend, 3 podiums, 1 National champ, 1 Ga. state champ. Everyone is sending me pictures and should have them up on the web-site in a couple of day.
As always thank you for supporting the team,
Wild Bill is telling it like it is…..
Sunday July 20, 2008
From the one and only Wild Bill:
Consistent with the USA cycling and NORBA attitude, the national race was once again, full of several little surprises. First, when all the 300 or so Expert riders lined up, they let us all know that we would be doing THREE laps and not the FOUR laps that was posted on the web site when I registered over a month earlier (that is a 25% cut, do I get 25% off my entry fee?)
Having warmed up for four laps, my chemistry and mindset was off and I quickly downed some more sugars and water. THEN as they moved into the older expert riders they decided that we only needed a minute between classes for the start.
So anyway, there where 37 riders in my class (men’s expert 40-44). We all lined up and they said “Go!” as I was throwing my water bottle into the crowd. We were on top of the slower 35-39, 30-34, and 20-29 riders within the first two miles of climbing, which is what the course started out doing. The downhill on the first lap was TOTAL CARNAGE. I put at least two riders in the woods and ran right over some kid’s back wheel after he went down right in front of me.
It had rained all night, the night before, so it was slippery, but drying out quickly.
The top three spots in my class went to former pros with Gerald Pflug having a winning time of 1:36:49. I finished 9th with a time of 1:43:50. My goal was to finish ahead of the Sho-Air rider Mike Hileman and despite a horrible race I came close. He finished at 1:43:03. Stuart Jensen sprinted off my wheel at the finsh to take 8th by TWO TENTHS of a second.
That afternoon, my mother and a friend of mine walked up the downhill part of the course with TWO CASES of Terrapin and started handing it out to thirsty race fans. We had a great time watching the pros and took lots of pictures, which I will post later.
Bill
Hey Everyone,
Sweet home Alabama …and training out WEST
Monday July 14, 2008
I hope everyone has had a wonderful first half of the year. Wake Racing has been training and racing all over the country. Wild Bill has been training out in Arizona to get ready for the Nationals this coming weekend. I have been receiving pictures from him every day that he has taken with his camera phone; however, I can’t make out the pictures! I guess he has a crappy phone, and I just don’t have the heart to tell him. So, I just keep replying to him the pictures are great.
Nick and Maria went over to Alabama to race in the 2nd to last SERC races. Maria took 3rd place in a hard field of Expert/Pro women. Nick was drilling the competition in the semi-pro division and broke his cranks at the bottom of the last 4 mile climb. He tried to run to stay with the front pack but they were going to hard. The heat and the pushing the bike was too much and Nick threw in the towel. Oh, By the way, does anyone know of a good crank company that might be willing to sponsor an up and coming Elite Mountain Bike Team? Please inquire to mike@chainringsports.com
Another Podium for for the “Wild-One”
Thursday July 3,2008
This weekend race was a SERC race held up in Chattanooga, on Raccoon Mt.( a new race course for the series). Wild Bill was excited to pull off a 3rd place against some of the top pros in the south. He was even more excited that He is one step closer to securing the winning of the overall SERC series. Maria and Rebecca both finished respectfully in the top half of a stack pro women’s field. The race wasn’t on either one of their schedules, but decided to use this as training for the Nationals in Vermont, and to show off the team colors.
The whole team called to tell me how much fun it’s been so far this year, and wanted me to pass along to the sponsors how much they appreciate and love the bikes! We look forward to getting with everyone soon about the next exciting bike season of 2009!
2-2nd and a third
Tuesday June 24,2008
This weekend’s race at Rock Hawk was round 6 of the Georgia State Championship. Gone Riding has done a fantastic job so far the year by finding great venue and race courses. The racing started Saturday with a Mountain Bike TT . The is something new Gone Riding has started to get more excitement at the races. Rock Hawk being is a new race course in the GSC no one knew what to expect. Wild Bill is leading the GSC so far this season and 15 point bonus for being at the race, he knew he would have to fight to keep his lead in the series. Wild Bill placed 2nd just 15 seconds back and received 4 bonus points.
Sunday morning started out with rain showers and it looked like it was going to be a miserable day . When we arrived at the race, it was packed. We setup the pop-up tent, and of course the rain stopped, but it stayed overcast. It looked like it was going to be a good day to race.
Bill and Maria’s race started at 11:30. Wild Bill hit the wood’s in 4th place. Maria took off in the next wave. I ran down to the feed zone to take pictures. BATTERY’S DEAD, I knew that I had forgotten something. Oh well! Bill came flying up, I handed him a bottle, and he didn’t miss a beat. He was on a mission. A couple of minutes later Maria came rolling through grabbed a bottle and kept going like there was no tomorrow. Shortly after the 1st lap the sun came out, the temperature started to rise, and the racers that were coming through started looking more and more miserable. Bill came through for his 2nd lap, once again, grab a bottle, and didn’t miss a beat again. I yelled to ask how he was feeling, and he yelled back that he was having fun. Shortly after Maria rolled through and yelled she was fine therefore, kept going.
Well Bill and Maria rolled through on their last lap looking strong. I packed the table up, put on my kit to sneek in a ride after the race. I caught up with Bill and Maria to find out how they were feeling after the race. Both said “Great!”. Well , after a hard day at the office , Wild Bill scored 2nd place and Maria pulled off 3rd in a tough in the women’s class.
Bill retained his lead in the series!
See you in Chattanooga for round 7 of the SERC series.
Another weekend, another win for Wake-N-Bake Racing
Monday June 09,2008
This weekend’s event was the 5th stop in the GSC( Georgia State Championship) series. The race was held at Carter’s lake,
Bill is currently leading the GSC series and is tied for 1st in the SERC Series (South Eastern Regional Championship Series / AMBC). He has been a great mentor, and a good role model for the younger riders on the team, and I’m glad that he is a part of the Wake-N-Bake Racing.
Next stop is
Notubes.com talks about us and Wake-N-Bake Racing is sponsoring the 12 hours of Cowbell
Friday June 06,2008
While I was searching around the some of our sponsors web-sites. I came across one that was kinda cool. Notubes.com had a small write up about the Mohican 100 and mention Rebecca. Check it out if you get a chance.
Taylor from the 12 hours of Cowbell and I have been talking about race for the last couple of months. Wake-N-Bake racing and Terrapin beer company are going to be sponsoring the single speed class and the last place finisher. So we are coming up to have some fun in a couple of weeks.
C’ya soon
Bump’N Grind….and a little Mohican 100
Thursday June 05,2008
Wake-N-Bake racing had another stellar weekend. Wild Bill, Nick, and Maria all went to Alabama to race the Bump N Grind race. The course is seventeen miles and hot. Wild Bill was in 4th going into the 2nd lap. He pass 3rd in the last couple miles and was able to take the 3rd spot on the 40+ expert podium.
Maria day started out wonderful, until about mile 13 or 14 where the sun and heat started to take its toll. She got back to the start/ finish to start her 2nd lap and Bill’s wife handed her a bottle of Recoverite and off she went. She had gotten passed by 6 or 7 girl, but as the Bottle kicked in, she said she felt like a million bucks and took off. She battled her way thought traffic and was able to take the 4th spot on the expert women’s podium.
Nick built up a Niner ONE9 to race against some of the top Single speeder in the south. Nick was in front all day and had passed so many people on the course, he was didn’t know who he was racing against anymore. He didn’t realize 2nd place had been hiding behind him all day and as he approached the finish line 2nd place jumped. Nick responded, but it was too late, Nick took 2nd place on the podium in the single speed class. Not bad….
Rebbecca went to the Mohican 100 for her 2nd NUE100 race. I came up to volunteer and to bring the barley and hops for the party afterwards. The race started out at 7 o’clock in the little town of Loudonville OH. About ½ mile into the race the road turned straight up for a nasty little climb of about 800 to 900 feet. After riding threw a corn field, and a campground, you hit some of the best single track I’ve ever ridden. I swept the course to the 1st check where I turn in 3 rider’s number that had dropped. I emptied out all the trash I’d pick up on the trail from my jersey and headed to the finish line to help get thing set up.
Rebbecca rolled across the line in 8th place in the open women’s category in 10:52:30. Pretty cool for being the only single speed women on the course. I grabbed her bike from her to get cleaned up and to show it off. We answered questions about the team, the bikes and the beer. The party went off without a hitch.
We all had a good weekend.
Until next time.
Demo Bikes, GSC, and the SERC Series
Thursday May 29,2008
Dejay Birtch and John “Fuzzy”Mylne are driving the Niner Bikes Demo van across the country convincing people to drink the Niner Kool-Ade. So I contacted them and convinced them to make a detour through Athens, Ga for Memorial day weekend. I made arrangements for them to set up out a Heritage Park, just out of town. We had about 25 people show up for Demo on Saturday. We got a lot of positive feed back about Niner Bikes and I was amazed just how much fun it was talking about one of sponsors to so many people. The team show up to help out and of coarse try out a couple of the full- suspension bikes. The day ended with rain showers and a couple of frosty cold Terrapin Beers.
Sunday Morning started out sunny and warm, a perfect day for racing. Gone Riding promotions brought the GSC and the SERC race series to town as one race. The team showed up to lay down some smack down and that just what they did. Wild Bill got 1st, Maria got 3rd and Rebbecca got 4th. It was a lot of fun to have the whole team at one race.
24 hour in Italy and Conyers….
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Greeting everyone,
I want to let everyone know how excited and proud of the Teams performance so far this year. Rebbecca when to Italy on a well deserved vacations with friends and was talked into racing in a 24 hour race. Only problem was she didn’t have a bike. She wasn’t planning on doing anything but relaxing. Chris from Niner came through with the original project ONE9 single speed for her to race. She got second or maybe first, then organizers had problem with the transponders. She was fine with it either way.
Chris from Niner bikes called to congratulate me on how the team is doing and how much fun he had supporting Rebecca in Italy. He also said she now has a huge fan base in Italy.
Wild Bill and new rider to the Team, Jeremy Edge, won Duo-Pro at the Granny Gear’s 24 hours for Conyers this past weekend. Wild Bill share the love on the podium by handing out some Terrapin Wake-N-Bake Beer. He also committed on how much attention they were getting with the Wake-N-Bake Trailer and the beautiful Niner bikes. Jeremy committed to me how fast the bike EMD9 rode on the 1996 Olympics race course.
Marie got second place Expert Women at the Stump Jump race in Spartanburg S.C. She told me the coolest part of the race was every time she passed someone they would tell her to Pedal DAMNIT,(that’s what it says on the back of the short), and they were yelling Go Wake-N-Bake when she would go through the Start/Finish line.
The Team wanted me to let everyone know that they love the bikes, and they are starting to appreciate to the attention we are getting.
Check out the New Photos…….In the photos section…..
SSUSA and Dirt Sweat and Gears…
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Rebecca and I headed to Tennessee for SSUSA and Dirt, Sweat, Gears 12 hour race. SSUSA was held on Friday and Rebecca had a great race and I had a few problem with sharp rocks and a branch. I think I came in somewhere in 12th or 13th and Rebecca is the women’s SSUSA Champ.
Early Saturday morning the rain had drenched the coarse and I knew it was going to be along day. I wasn’t racing but I was in the pits for Rebecca. When she got back from a 1 mile test ride her bike weighted about 15lbs heavier. So I washed it off and we got her bike to the starting line. When she got back from her first lap she had flatted and was covered with mud. I knock off a lot mud lubed the chain and sent her on her way. The race got faster and the trails dried up, and the bikes got cleaner( well not as much thick heavy mud). After I was all mud cleared Rebecca got 4th I was tired.
Here are some great picture form the race….Congratulations to my USA Single Speed Champion
Wild Bill went to Duck Town Tenn. To race in the SERC Series and got 3rd
Thanks again everyone,
Been a while…..We’ve been training and racing
Friday, April 25,2008
I wanted to thank everyone for getting on to me about not updating the web-site. We’ve been training and racing. Wild Bill won another race at Georgia State Championship series down in Columbus, Ga. Nick and Maria won the Baker’s Dozen over in Augusta. Rebbecca got 3rd in a N.C. local race after she was 2nd flatted and fought back from 7th. Rebbecca also got 5th in open women at the Cohutta 100. By the way she’s been racing the Pro/Expert women class and racing a single speed. I’m afraid to put her on and geared bike, she might hurt someone besides herself. Wild Bill finished his first 100 miler in 8:33 and I finished in 11:03, I was on a single speed. I have to say it was fun , it hurt, and I may retire from 100 races. I’ll have to wait til the next 100 miler. Maria and Nick went to Tiger Rag race in Clemson, S.C. and Maria got 4th. Nick had a hard day. He got sick on the 4th lap but was able to hold onto 8th place in a strong Pro/ Expert field.
Stay tuned, We are having fun out here.
Will Bill’s Race report from Tsali
Wednesday,April 9,2008
SERC #2 Tsali NC
I was first off the line, up the hill, down the road and into the woods. It was clear from the first 5 miles that this was going to be a two man race. I was bringing the heat and Robert Koerber was matching my every move. Yes, that is THE Bob Koerber (from
Terrapin Brewery and Arrowheads Park
Wednesday, April 2,2008
Well, the Saturday started out with overcast skys and a chance of rain in
the forecast. I drove over to Terrapin Beer Company around noon in order
to setup the trailer, tent, and bikes for the grand opening of the new
brewery.
Shortly after 2pm the mist/rain started to come down and the line to join
the party started to form. It was pretty amazing, 1500 people showed up to
tour the brewery and
drink BEER.
We had a great time and had some wonderful guests stop by to ask about the
bikes and the team. After this, we packed up and headed down to Macon to
race Arrowhead Park early Sunday morning. Wild Bill had already secured 2
rooms at a local hotel so all we had to do was lay our heads down and hope
for a sunny race day.
Sunday morning came to quick with a light rain that made the race all that
more interesting. Overall, our presence was felt throughout the racing
classes.
Bill - 5th Expert 40-49
Nick - 6 6th Semi-pro
Mike - 6th Single Speed
Rebbecca - 1st place Sport…….SPORT you ask,don’t ask, but the this the
last time that will be allowed to happened (always remember to renew your
license and check the updated rules at usacycling.org!).
.
Overall, it was a great weekend, with a lot of exposure for the team at
the GSC race and the open house at the new Terrapin Brewery.
Look for us at the Baker’s Dozen (Rebbecca and Mike) and SERC #2 (Wild Bill
and Nick) this coming weekend.
6 hours and a Tornado Warning
Monday,March 17,2008
Well the 6 hours of Heritage began with a severe thunder storm watch until 1 or 2 in the afternoon. Despite the threatening weather, Wild Bill (WB) showed up to mix it up with the Expert solo boys for 6 hours and he wasn’t going to let a little thunder storm stop him. The race was started during a misty rain and WB hit the woods in 5th or 6th. 45 minutes later the first rider came blazing across the start/finish line….7 or 8 riders later WB rolled across. He was involved in a crash that bent his rear dérailleur hanger and cost him all but three gears in the rear…..but he wasn’t stopping. On the second lap he managed to move up a couple spots after passing 1 or 2 riders. We finally talked him into stopping to fix the dérailleur and get the chain lubed on the 3rd lap. “Will Bill” finished in 5th place when it was all over. Not bad for an old man. By the way the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place riders were all current pro riders and at least 10-15 years younger. Congratulations Bill on you first big race on a 29er.
With regard to the Tornadoes, there were sirens going off, But we never saw oneCheck out the New Team Kits…….
We are take pre-orders:
Jersey:$85
Bibs:$120
The socks are in and ready to ship.
Team black socks 4″ cuffs :$15
Team grey socks 3″ cuffs :$14
E-mail me at mike@wakeracing.com
Training Ride……
Sunday.March 8, 2008
Well the weekend started out pretty crappy with rain, snow flurries, 40mph wind , 32 degrees weather…Perfect for messing up these beautiful bike before the season starts at the Dirty Spoke 6 hours of Heritage in Farmington, Ga., So we decided to tweak the bike a little to get them ready for Sunday. After Rebbecca drove down from Boone, we went out to dinner to discuss the up coming season. We wrapped up dinner early to get some rest for our big day on Sunday. Plus, Sunday we moved the clocks forward an hour for day-light savings.
Sunday started out brisk, but not enough to keep us from going up to Clemson S.C. and riding for 4 or 5 Hours. We packed the Wake-N-Bake Trailer up and off we went.
Before starting out, we had to snap a few pictures of the bike and everyone clowning around.
When we hit the trails I kept hearing Rebbecca yelling about how much she love her Manitou fork. She has been riding and racing on a rigid fork for over a year and couldn’t believe how nice it descended through the single track. She was having a blast.
After riding for about 3 hours, Maria got tossed over the bars. She banged her leg pretty bad so we had to get her out of the woods.
We got back to the truck, got cleaned up, made sure Maria was ok and called it a day.
Here are a few more pictures for the road.
Til next time…..
Mia’s First Ride
March 2,2008
I took Mia on her first ride today on AIR9. I’ve been excited to here what she had to say about riding a 29er that actually fit her with suspension. She loved it….It took her a few miles to get the hang of moving the BIG wheels around, but she loved the way it climbed and the way it flowed through the Single track. I also couldn’t helped but notice how fast she was descending. I was really impressed.
We also had a lot of people asking about the Niner Bikes and Industry Nine wheels. We stopped and let about 4 or 5 people check out the bikes. They were asking about the Manitou forks, the Hayes brake, and the new WTB Prowler tires. There biggest comment/compliment was how hard it was to keep up with us. That’s really awesome, considering we were just out getting use to the new bikes.
Well here is a picture of Mia’s new bike. It weighs 24lbs for a medium. So get your bibs out so you don’t drool on yourself.
Now that is Sexy!
The New Bikes
February 27,2008
Well I guess it’s time to show off the new bikes …..Well, at least one of them. I took it for a test ride this past weekend and it flies through the single track and climbs like a mountain goat…or it might be all the leg presses I did this winter.
No, It’s probably that it weights 21.5 lbs.
It just looks fast doesn’t it?
Check out more pictures in the Photo section.
December 25, 2007
I just got my hands on two cases of Terrapin Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout aka (Wake-N-Bake) - they can’t call it Wake-N-Bake because of some GOVERNMENT regulation. Go figure!
I’m bringing this up because this is where we got the idea for the 2008 Wake-N-Bake Racing Team. I ran the idea by Dustin Watts, the V.P. of marketing for Terrapin Beer, and he loved it. So off I went, telling everyone I knew about it. Some of y’all laugh, and some said I was crazy for trying to start an ELITE Mountain bike team. I’ve wanted to do something like this for a long time and 2008 is IT!
I had traveled to Las Vegas back in Sept. to push the idea to some of the manufactures. WOW it was a big eye opener. Even though the rider I’d recruited came from around the Southeast, we didn’t have any results for Wake-N-Bake Racing. I got a lot of positive feed-back and a fair bit of disappointment. But I kept talking till I got the results that I needed to start the Team. And so… the Team will be riding orange Niner Bikes, like the one below.
And these are some of the other companies that have come on board for 2008:
Thomson Stems and Seatpost- ( they were the first to believe in what I was doing, but maybe it was the beer also)
Industry Nine- (Green……need I say more)
Ergon Grips- (Green team…..the grips are awesome)
Hayes Brakes-(Stokers…….Mmmmmm sounds sexy)
Manitou 29er forks- ( I’m excited about the new fork)
Pedro’s- ( the tool and lube company…not the one that ran across the Border)
WTB- (There is something to be said about having your ass on a good seat, and good rubber under the bike)
Crank Brothers- (Ti anyone—–candy too! Oh, too sweet!)
Horton Hauler- ( if you can’t find us with the Big Orange Team Trailer, we must be like the snake that almost bit you.)
Buffalo’s Cafe’- ( first beer and now Wings….)
Little Italy’s Pizza in Athens Ga.( Now pizza… .am I making you hungry yet!?)
Hub Bike Shop- ( Got to have one of the best shops in the south by my side)
If you see us at the races, stop by and say hey! We’ll have some awesome coffee and some cool swag for sale. All sales go to support the team for 2008.
Well, as a friend once told me, “Beer, cookies, turtles, mountain bikes…what’s not to like?”
Thanks to everyone for getting me this far!
Mike Stanley
Team Director
2008 Wake-N-Bake Racing
