Meet the Racers (Relay Teams)

Two Person Relays

Open Men

#200 Team Tartan – Kenneth Philbrick, Corvallis OR & Ben Larson, Seattle, WA – The 2 person team everyone is shooting for. Tartan is made up of Philbrick (last year’s solo winner) and Larson (Philbrick’s ’05 crew chief). Tartan demolished the entire field at the ’05 Fireweed 400 posting the fastest time overall – yes, that means they beat all the 4 person relays as well. While they are realistic enough to know it will be next to impossible for a 2 person relay to beat the likes of Shark Attack, Speedwagon or Bacchetta on overall time, they definitely want to be first to the top and they want the Big Salami. If they have any weakness it might be in overlooking some of the excellent competition they’ll be getting from some of the teams in their own division. Beating Tartan will pose quite a challenge however as both racers are
excellent climbers and time trialists. Philbrick won the Co-Motion TT frameset at RAO’s Co-Motion Northwest TT Series last year and won the Cat IV division of the ’06 Deschutes River Valley TT Festival this spring. Larson is especially good on the climbs. Both racers know the course well – this will be Kenneth’s sixth time on route and Larson’s third.

#251 Team Headhunters Cannibal Kings- Bill Nicolai, Vancouver, WA & Michael Frommlet, Camas, WA – Nicolai wins the Mr. RAO award this year – he’ll be participating in every one of our events in ’06. He had a great showing at the DRVTT Festival, rode for a day at the 4 day Training Camp, rode most of the 3 day Training Camp, is competing in his second RAO and is planning on racing Ring of Fire. This has earned the Headhunter Cannibal Kings bonus times that will place them ahead of whatever Tartan manages to record…well I guess we can’t do that nor does Team HhCK need the help. Nicolai and Frommlet are two very talented multi sport athletes who excel at this sort of thing. The duo has spent a lot of time training on the route and has done some race simulation rides. They are well seasoned and well prepared – you could expect nothing less from a pair of cannibals…

#202 Team Dik-Dik – Phillip Plath, Half Moon Bay, CA & Tim Clark, Moss Beach, CA – We loved these guys the moment we opened their registration and saw the team name. Plath and Clark are out to redefine 2 person racing as Plath will be riding a Bacchetta recumbent and Clark will be on a standard diamond frame. So here’s to the first ever Recupright entry. Plath will be pairing with Bacchetta founder John Schlitter (both veterans and record holders from a RAAM Bacchetta 4 person relay) as a two person team in RAAM ’07 with the goal of breaking the current two person record. So with Plath capable of holding pace with Schlitter/Woudenberg of Bacchetta Can Too and Clark able to keep pace with the diamond framed crowd we should have quite an interesting race.

#203 Team Where’s Doug – John DeVries, Nelson, BC Canada & Greg DeVries, Nelson, BC Canada – DeVries completed 2 person RAO as Team Dorks on Forks. John originally signed up to race solo this year and then decided to race as a 2 Person with his brother Greg. I’m not certain of Where’s Doug’s goals but in ’03 the Dorks were out for a fun weekend. They more than accomplished their goal. It’s great to have DeVries back at RAO!

#204 Team Computrained – Paul Skilbeck, San Francisco, CA &
Tim Becker, Seattle, WA – Skilbeck is the pr director for the Race Across America. Becker is the sales manager of Computrainer. The team has done a large amount of its training for RAO on Computrainers hence the team name. Skilbeck promotes the granddaddy of all ultras so it’s great to have him taking part in them. His two man team won its division at the 508 last year setting a course record in the process. Skilbeck has one of the most impressive cycling resumes on our roster. He was a world ranked mountain bike racer in the early 90’s. He competed on the world cup mtb circuit for a few years though he always maintained that road racing was his true love. I will add more about Becker in the next few days. Tim and Paul bring a wealth of race experience with them though this will be their first time racing in the unrestricted exchange format. Mentally Computrained has what it takes to win the division. Whether or not they have the fire power we’ll learn on Sunday the 23rd.

#205 Team Freedom – Pete Perez, WA & Glenn Johnson, Vancouver, WA – Pete placed second in the 2 person relay division during RAO ’02. Perez and his teammate defeated a number of much more experienced racers with a simple but effective strategy – keep moving. The two rode a very consistent race and it paid off well. Since then Pete has remained active in ultracycling including a RAAM where he was a crew member for Rob Kish. Welcome to RAO newcomer Glenn Johnson. Johnson brings an HP connection back to RAO. I look for Freedom to ride a similar race to Pete’s ’02 RAO. This will be Pete’s 4th time on the RAO route. In a field filled with big names it would be unwise to overlook these two – underestimate them at your own risk.

Relay Team, Two Person, Masters 70 +

#275 Team Grand Pac Masters – Lew Meyer, Philadelphia, PA &
Chris Stauffer, Fort Wayne, IN – The Grand PAC Masters paid us quite the compliment last year when, at the awards banquet, we heard the rumor that Meyer and Stauffer were considering racing 2 person in ’06. It is a real honor for us to have racers of this caliber at RAO. Stauffer and Meyer are living legends that continue to redefine what were once considered limits. Of course when the Grand PAC Masters were in the process of passing me in RAAM ’04 my thoughts weren’t quite so altruistic. Let’s just say I’m happy they weren’t tuned in to the radio frequency of my helmet mic. Meyer and Stauffer are studs and I expect them to set a record which will stand for a very long time.

Relay Team, Two Person, Mixed

226 Team Let’s Just Ride – Wendy Lyall, Vail, CO & Ric Fields, USA – Wendy originally signed up to race with her B2B Divas RAAM teammate Heather Sappenfield. Lyall has a lot of experience in relay ultra with a couple of RAAMs under her belt. Sappenfield was unable to race so Wendy is now going after the mixed 2 person record with Ric Fields. This team is going to give the open men a strong run for the salami.

Relay Team, Two Person Recumbent

206 Team BacchettaCanToo – John Schlitter, St. Petersburg, FL &
Tim Woudenberg, Moss Beach CA – Woudenberg is fresh off his divisional record setting two man race in RAAM. Racing as Volae Wolfpack Woudenberg was a member of the first 2 person recumbent team to ever complete RAAM. Schlitter – the co-founder of Bacchetta Bicycles is as strong as they come. His Bacchetta 4 man relay had a spectacular RAAM in ’05. When Schlitter heard about RAO Speedwagon’s success at RAO as well as Jim Kern’s third place solo (during which he set the RAO solo recumbent record) performance on a Bacchetta he made Race Across Oregon a priority for Team Bacchetta. They have a very real chance of rewriting the RAO record books yet again in ’06.

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