7th Annual Cowbell Challenge into the history books...

Competition, Cowbells, and Cookies ....

June 21 turned out to be a warm day,with the thunderstorms veering around Davidson until the last few hours of the race. Threats of lightning may have shortened the race a bit, but great competitors in all the categories of Cowbell Challenge, fueled by those Cowbell cookies, kept up the pace to the finish. Congratulations to Rebecca Rusch (Specialized/Red Bull) for her repeat win in the Women's Pro Open Category. Her competition was tough and fast... Carey Lowery (Outdoor Store/Specialized) finished in second place, and took Prolog and Queen of the Mountain honors. She was followed by Rita Jett (The Great Bicycle Shop) in third. Josh Tostado (Back Builders/Red Bull) battled it out for top honors in the Men's Pro Open category, with Nat Ross (Gary Fisher/Subaru) finishing second and Chris Janiszewski in third. Close competition among the Single Speeders with Keith Marchando powering to the win, and Dave Holmes coming in second and Mark Pratt in third. Check out the results page for all the official standings.

2008 Cowbell Challenge Podium: Women's Pro 2008 Cowbell Challenge podium: Men's Pro

The 2008 Cowbell Challenge Podium welcomed Rebecca Rusch, Carey Lowery and Rita Jett (left), and Josh Tostado, Nat Ross and Chris Janiszewski (right).

A note from Taylor Sullivan, Race Director

There are quite a few people to thank for making this such a great year for the Cowbell Challenge. First and foremost, thanks to all the competitors for coming out to race and supporting the 2008 Cowbell Challenge.

2008 was a really good year for the Cowbell--moving the race to the welcoming town of Davidson and Fisher Farm Park was a very wonderful and positive experience. I am truly thankful to Stephen Fraher, Director of Parks & Recreation in the Town of Davidson for permission to hold the race on such beautiful farmland. Thank you also to Mark Sullivan, Owner of the Cycle Path, for allowing me to use up all the trail out there that he and many other volunteers put time into designing and building. They both stood behind me to make it happen and it gave me the freedom to enjoy the race this year.

Very special thanks to the following:

  • Lomax Tile and Marble for the wonderful donation to the race.
  • Jon Meek of Carolina Realty Advisors (www.move2charlotteNC.com) for the signs in the very mini-slalom course and his generous donation.
  • Bicycle Sport (www.bicyclesport.com) for the awesome prize donations and the custom water bottles with the Cowbell logo --that was a cool surprise this year.
  • Cabarrus County EMS (www.cabarruscounty.us/ems/aboutcabarrusems.html), for doing patrol rides on the course, helping injured racers out, and checking in with racers throughout the day. As always with Dave Hampton...safety first, race all day.
  • Cheech's Creative Concepts, for the custom-designed, handcrafted Good Sportsmanship award, Best Support for a Racer award, and the Single Speed awards.
  • Shannon Ridge Vineyards and Winery (www.shannonridge.com)  for the bottles of wine to the top three in the pro-open solo categories, and for the donation.
  • Maxxis (www.maxxis.com) for the cool swag and for sponsoring the Fastest Lap Male and Female and Prolog to the Course.
  • PrincetonTec (www.princetontec.com) for the fastest lap at night... it was just one this year due to lightning in the area, but it was a fast one!
  • MTBPath (www.mtbpath.com) for the nice prize bag of those 29er tires.
  • Earth Fare (www.earthfare.com) for the swag bags and fruit in the middle of the day.
  • Wake-n-Bake Racing with Terrapin Beer (www.terrapinbeer.com) for the Single Speed beer awards and for the person coming in last on the last lap.
  • Anthony Gawlik and the team from Day Break Massage (www.dbmassage.com)  for coming out to provide relief to the racers, and donating all their tips to the Cowbell Charities.

And huge thank you's/eternal gratitude to the volunteers:  Paul Bellin, Rick Ender, Alissa Martine, George Hamm, Layla Billowitz, Al Martine, and Christian Martine.... if I missed anyone, it's not for lack of appreciation.  And to all the folks who helped with the additions to the trails (Chris W, Chris R, Chris B, Anna, Edan, Mark, Noel, Perry, and Connie)... THANKS!

All the Latest....

We'll have the final bills tallied soon, so we can make the donations to this year's charities. Check back for more on how your participation helped the community this year.

 

Interested in volunteering at the race, or helping us organize the 2009 event? Contact us today at organizers@cowbellchallenge.org.