The second Dura Mater Hill Climb took place almost one week ago, Sat 9/14. We had a simple mission for the ride this year. Raise awareness and funds directed at brain tumors and brain cancer and do it in a way that honors the memory of David’s dad, Scott Albertson.

Though the mission seemed simple, we needed help on the path to get there.

We’re going to start the recap with a whole lot of thanks: To Jared Pendergraft, it was easier this year as we just updated the color and created the DMHC socks. But the impact of that color change could be seen through the whole ride. Thank you as always for your stellar work.

To All Stars Ink, you guys came next. You supplied us with our flyers, posters and stickers. And then even bigger stickers for our corn hole game. (But those were worth it as my team won at corn hole!) Next, you made sure our volunteer shirts were perfect and even ordered the shade of blue just for us. The struggle to pick the perfect VIP hoodie was quickly resolved and they turned out awesome. Finally, you guys showed your support in person. You rode bikes, you volunteered. You guys did it all. We couldn’t thank you enough for all you did to make this year’s ride as amazing as last.

To Lesley Anderson, you have the energy and drive of a dozen people and we were so lucky to have you add all of that to our ride planning. If you got a non-bike related prize in the raffle, it was most likely because of Lesley. And if you enjoyed some very special custom made DMHC cookies at the after party, well, that was her mom. But, if you ate Trompeau’s baked goods, then you can thank Lesley for picking those up fresh the morning of the ride.

Speaking of awesome perks fresh for the ride, we can’t forget about the Kaladi’s coffee. Stephanie Fowler not only got the coffee donated, but was willing to escort it to the ride and return the empty container back to Kaladi Coffee. It was surely appreciated by quite a few of us. You can also thank Stephanie for some of those lovely non-bike raffle prizes.

Let’s talk about the raffle for a minute. All of those amazing prizes that were bike related came from one or another of our awesome vendors or sales reps, from Colnago to BMC, from KASK to Giordana, there were some very cool prizes that helped to get us to that $17,465 mark. Thank you each for your contribution!

The actual ride was touch different this year. It was cold at the start and windy, so it was a rougher climb up Morrison Canyon. But the wind cleared, and the sun came out so that the descents weren’t nearly as cold.

The Overlord still spoke a bit at the start, but mainly just to introduce the warrior who is Emily Zimmermann. For those who missed out on her speech, she spoke of her experience battling a brain tumor that took her vision. She is so inspiring and makes you want to do more for the cause. The perfect start to the ride.

Emily and her mom, Janet, then raced up to Evergreen to be the water stop. While there, one of our riders, Lucas, made Emily a pretty amazing offer and one we hope to help see through. Lucas has offered to ride the DMHC 2020 on a tandem bike with Emily so that she can share this experience in a new way. Fingers crossed that this happens!

Feel free to correct me here SAG drivers, but I was told not a single rider needed you guys for anything other than the cow bells. One of the SAG cars (which weirdly were all silver Subarus) brought their own cow bells, and several riders said that the bells were what got them up the last steep bit of Witter Gulch. Thanks Bekki and Rene for thinking to bring those!

Speaking of SAG drivers, Justin coordinated SAG amazingly. He had a group text going before they left the lot, and all three cars knew exactly where riders were and what their position in the pack should be. It is always nice to be able to let go of a part of the ride, and that’s exactly what I got to do this year with SAG. Thanks so much Justin, Deb & Kristin, Bekki & Rene!

Our rest stop duo from last year came back out and even had additional hands on deck. Jose took lead and made sure they had everything they needed (bringing most of it themselves!), Josh was generous enough to take the day off from his bike shop to lend a hand. And lastly, Henry Fowler joined their forces for the day. We feel quite lucky to have these guys!

While all that is getting set up, and the riders are starting their climbs, our amazing photographers are out there capturing it all. With two photographers on the road, the shots of the riders are amazing. I can’t express how much the photos mean to everyone who takes part in the ride, we love being able to relive this important day through the photos. We were also so lucky to have another photographer who was a wicked corn hole player, who took some amazing videos and was able to get a picture with both David and me in it!

Lots of hard work goes on, but for an hour or so, the parking lot is quiet. There were seven of us, if you count Ty sleeping in his parent’s car, chilling in the lot. And for that quiet hour, we weren’t setting up food or running around, we played corn hole. Though we only had the recreational set up (not the regulation) we took it pretty seriously. Not to brag, but my team did win. Most likely because of the special DMHC stickers on the corn hole set up. (Not at all because I cheated.)

The last thing I really wanted to tell you all about, was our surprise guest at the after party. Not everyone got to chat with him, but those of us who did were really impacted by his simple presence. Maybe it is just that most of us at the ride are already partial to guys named Dave… or maybe it was having a GBM patient come to our event geared to raising money for GBM research.

Dave was awesome and as humble as our own Dave. He is only months out from his second tumor resection, and focused on his treatments and owning his health. We can’t tell you how much we want to keep raising money for research so that we can help him in his fight against GBM. We are hoping we can convince him to come to next year’s event. Fingers crossed and positive vibes put out there. Dave when you wear your DMHC jersey and socks, know that you are part of Team Nice Bike and that we are all on your side and rooting for you and your health.

If you missed out on the ride, and want to join us in our fight, please consider donating here: https://nbtsevents.braintumor.org/campaign/2019-dura-mater-hill-climb/c235874

We can’t thank everyone enough for the support and help in making this ride the awesome event it is every year!

A final big thank you to all our riders and volunteers for making this ride a success and for taking the time to learn about brain tumors and brain cancer. Each of you is an amazing and positive advocate for the NBTS and for Nice Bike.

Let’s do this again next year!