Start
& Registration Info
Danny
Chew's DD Rider Indexes: Find out what rider finished in what
place scoring how many points in what year.
2005
DD Photo by Steve Mellon on Cover of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Newspaper:
Joe Ross Running up Canton Ave. Against 2004
& 2005 DD Winner Steve Cummings.
Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette Article on Canton Avenue: The Steepest (37%)
Dirty Dozen Hill.
Article
on Canton Avenue: text only
Dirty
Dozen Route Map: With All 13 Hills Listed.
Dirty
Dozen Riding Old (DO NOT GO THRU THE LIBERTY TUNNELS) Route Cue
Sheet: Thanks to Bikely.com.
Dirty
Dozen Driving Route Directions by the late Mark
Powder.
41st
Annual / 2024 DD Jersey Order Info
Million
Mile Man Fundraiser T-Shirts
2014
& 2015 Media Links
2016
Media Links
2017
Media Links
2018
Media Links
HISTORY
OF THE DIRTY DOZEN
In 1983, Dan &
Tom Chew and Bob Gottlieb wanted to showcase Pittsburgh's
steepest and toughest hills in one ride, never getting more than
10 kilometers away from the center of the city. We searched out
hills on Unites States Geological Survey (USGS) maps by counting
the 20 foot contour lines/intervals. The closer the lines, the
steeper the hill. Sometimes the "road" was merely steps
for pedestrian traffic only. So on Saturday December 17, 1983,
the first Dirty Dozen ride was held in 27 degrees F with snow
flurries. Among the 5 starters were Oscar Rattenberg and Ron
Reider, but only Dan, Tom, and Bob finished. Dan & Tom were
deemed the two strongmen of the ride. The 5 place points system
was first used in 1988 when 13 starters showed up. The 10 place
points system was used in 2007 when 131 riders started, in 2008
for women, and in 2011 for men. When Tom Chew moved away from
Pittsburgh in 1985, Dan Chew took over as the ride organizer.
Back in the early years (the 80's) a macho attitude prevented any
rider from using gears lower than a 42x24. In recent years, the
ride has gotten easier due to lower gearing and several of the
hills being paved (asphalted) which used to be rough cobblestone
or wavy blacktop, killing what little momentum the rider had. In
recent years, riders have used a 39x32 gear which makes the ride
much less taxing on the rider's upper body.
In 2016
after a bad cycling accident left Danny paralyzed from the chest
down, the format of the DD underwent a major change - instead of
one big group, head marshal/ranger Chris Helbling came up with
the idea of having many smaller groups, of which only the lead
group could score points (both men & women). This made for a
safer event, and also for safety reasons, the 4 mile road race
section before the last hill was eliminated and the route started
taking the Hot Metal Street Bridge instead of the Glenwood
Bridge. Also in 2016, the 3rd hill - Berryhill (often barricaded
off after the first snowfall) was replaced with 57th
St./Christopher St. in Lawrenceville. In 2018, the women started
getting their own separate points group.
DIRTY
DOZEN OFFICIAL FINISHER STATUS
To be an official DD
finisher, you must ride up every hill using your own current
power available without stopping or crashing. You must have
continuous forward motion UP the hill! You can weave back and
forth as long as you are continuing to go UP. As soon as you
start to go level or back down the hill, you are disqualified.
You can go back down to the bottom of the hill, and try again as
many times as you want. In the early days of 20 or fewer riders,
I was able to keep track of who made all the hills, but once the
DD grew bigger than this, I was unable to police it anymore. Now
there exists an honor system where riders keep track of
themselves.
DIRTY
DOZEN RECORDS
Most wins: 11 by
Steve Cummings from 2004-2013 & 2015
Most consecutive
wins: 10 by Steve Cummings from 2004-2013
Most wins, women:
4 by Stefanie Sydlik in 2015, 2016, 2017 & 2019
Youngest
winner: 16-year-old Josh Smith in 1992
Oldest winner:
41-year-old Danny Chew in 2003
Youngest hill winner:
15-year-old Willem deBoer in 2013
Oldest hill winner:
53-year-old Gunnar Shogren in 2015
Youngest points scorer:
Tie - 14-year-olds: Max Bergholz in 1987 & Willem deBoer in
2012
Oldest points scorer: 65-year-old John Brockenbrough
in 2023
Oldest female points scorer: 59-year-old Lisa Weiss
in 2023
Most DD finishes: 32 by Danny Chew
Most
consecutive DD finishes: 25 by Danny Chew from 1983-2007
Most
consecutive finishes by a current rider: 13 by Larry Weber from
2011-2024
Youngest finisher: 11-year-old Luke Gunnett in
2015
Youngest female finisher: 15-year-old Angelina Palermo
in 2011
Oldest finisher: 70-year-old Gary Fisher in 2024
Oldest female finisher: 58-year-old Tammy Killebrew in 2017
Heaviest winner: 186 pound Tom Chew in 1983 (first DD)
Heaviest finisher: 285 pounds by Don Snow in 2015
Tallest
finisher: 6'10” Frank Curl (weighing 280 pounds) in
2019
Lightest/Smallest finisher: 85 pounds & 4'9"
tall by 13-year-old Xavier J. Szigethy in 2012
Longest time
between DDs: 36 years from 1988 to 2024 by Lane Rodgers
Highest
low gear winner: 42x23 {1.826} by Danny Chew in 1988
Highest
low gear finisher: 36x17 {2.118} (also single gear/speed) by
Montana Miller in 2011
First woman finisher: Diane
Blackburn in 1997
First fixed gear finisher: Montana Miller
in 2009
First female single gear/speed finisher: Winner
Betsy Shogren in 2014
First tandem finisher: Brothers Jody
& Adam Lobert in 2000
First mixed tandem finisher: Seth
Gernot & Rebecca Rankin in 2012
First handcycle
finisher: Jonathan Weasner in 2022
First unicycle finisher:
Ryan Matthews in 2022
Second unicycle finisher: Harrison
Hsueh in 2023
Highest score to ever win DD (5-place points
system): 64 points (out of 65) by Danny Chew in 1988, women's
winner Betsy Shogren in 2009 & women's winner Stefanie Sydlik
in 2015
Highest score to ever win the DD overall (10-place
points system): 127 points (out of 130) by Robin Carpenter in
2023, women's competition: 130 points (out of 130) by Jill
Patterson in 2023
Most riders: 453 in 2017
Most female
finishers: 15 in 2024
Coldest: High of 27 degrees F in 1983
(first DD)
Warmest: High of 73 degrees F in 2022
Most
DD hills ridden in a day: 66 times up/down Canton Ave. in 2 hours
in a 42x24 {1.75} gear in 1985 by Danny Chew
THE
HILLS
1.
|
Center Ave./Guyasuta Rd. in Aspinwall
|
2.
|
Ravine St./Midway Dr. in Sharpsburg
|
3.
|
Berryhill Rd. between Saxonburg Blvd. and Middle Rd.—removed
in 2016-9 and replaced by 57th St./Christopher
St., which became the first hill starting in 2018. Returned
to use in 2021, replacing Rialto St.
|
4.
|
High St./Seavy Rd. in Etna
|
5.
|
Logan St. in Millvale
|
6.
|
Pig Hill/Rialto St. across from the 31st St. Bridge (Not used
in 2012). Removed in 2021 due to traffic complications
|
7.
|
Suffolk/Hazelton/Burgess Streets on Northside
|
8.
|
Sycamore St. on Mt Washington
|
9.
|
Canton Ave in Beechview
|
10.
|
Boustead St. in Beechview
|
11.
|
Welsh Way on the Southside
|
12.
|
Barry/Holt/Eleanor Streets on the Southside
|
13.
|
Flowers Ave./Kilbourne St./Tesla St. in Hazelwood
|
DIRTY
DOZEN WINNERS AND WEATHER
Year
|
#
of Riders
|
Winner(s)
|
Weather
- High Temp. in *F
|
1983
|
5
|
Danny & Tom Chew
|
27
|
Snow Flurries
|
Jan-84
|
4
|
Danny Chew
|
34
|
Partly Sunny
|
Oct-84
|
5
|
Doug Grauel
|
50
|
Sunny
|
1985
|
6
|
Lane Rodgers &
Danny Chew
|
54
|
Rain
|
1986
|
8
|
Bob Gottlieb
|
52
|
Sunny
|
1987
|
7
|
Danny Chew
|
50
|
Rain
|
1988
|
13
|
Danny Chew
|
64
|
Partly Sunny
|
1989
|
20
|
Danny Chew
|
51
|
Partly Cloudy
|
1990
|
20
|
Danny Chew
|
55
|
Partly Cloudy
|
1991
|
17
|
Gunner Shogren
|
32
|
Partly Sunny
|
1992
|
8
|
Josh Smith
|
34
|
Cloudy - Sleet
|
1993
|
|
NOT HELD IN 1993
|
-
|
-
|
1994
|
14
|
Rob Acciavatti
|
34
|
Cloudy
|
1995
|
16
|
Rob Acciavatti
|
43
|
Cloudy - Light Drizzle
|
1996
|
22
|
Johnny Knotts
|
44
|
Rain - Fog
|
1997
|
29
|
Danny Chew
|
52
|
Periodic Light Rain - Fog
|
1998
|
35
|
Johnny Knotts
|
63
|
Sunny
|
1999
|
54
|
Ryan McDermitt
|
50
|
Mostly Sunny
|
2000
|
28
|
Rob Acciavatti
|
33
|
Cloudy/Snow
|
2001
|
47
|
John Oshlick
|
65
|
Partly Sunny/Windy
|
2002
|
39
|
Justin Pokrivka
|
38
|
Cloudy/Rain/Snow
|
2003
|
8
|
Danny Chew
|
35
|
Cloudy/Snow/Windy
|
2004
|
44
|
Steve Cummings
|
57
|
Mostly Sunny/Windy
|
2005
|
51
|
Steve Cummings
|
42
|
Mostly Cloudy
|
2006
|
125
|
Steve Cummings
|
66
|
Sunny
|
2007
|
131
|
Steve Cummings
|
36
|
Variable Cloudiness
|
2008
|
147
|
Steve Cummings & Patty Buerkle
|
42
|
Mostly Sunny
|
2009
|
185
|
Steve Cummings & Betsy Shogren
|
46
|
Sunny
|
2010
|
182
|
Steve Cummings & Betsy Shogren
|
34
|
Cloudy/Windy
|
2011
|
305
|
Steve Cummings & Anne-Marie Alderson
|
60
|
Mostly Cloudy
|
2012
|
232
|
Steve Cummings & Acadia Klain
|
33
|
Cloudy/Snow Showers/Windy
|
2013
|
261
|
Steve Cummings & Ryanne Palermo
|
39
|
Variable Sunshine
|
2014
|
328
|
Ian Baun & Betsy Shogren
|
48
|
Sunny to Cloudy
|
2015
|
244
|
Steve Cummings & Stefanie Sydlik
|
45
|
CLOUDY/light rain all ride
|
2016
|
382
|
Ian Baun & Stefanie Sydlik
|
45
|
Cloudy
|
2017
|
453
|
Ian Baun & Stefanie Sydlik
|
57
|
Partly Sunny/Windy
|
2018
|
~300
|
Will Cooper & Shaena Ulissi
|
34-> 43
|
CLOUDY/rain most of the ride
|
2019
|
342
|
Ian Baun & Stefanie Sydlik
|
57
|
CLOUDY/rain started at noon
|
2020
|
|
Cancelled because of the COVID-19
Pandemic
|
|
|
2021
|
279
|
Daniel Uhranowsky & Hayley
Wickstrom
|
53
|
Cloudy, rain in the morning
|
2022
|
264
|
Eli Pace & Kelly Collier
|
73
|
Sunny
|
2023
|
260
|
Robin Carpenter & Jill Patterson
|
70
|
Cloudy with scattered light rain
|
2024
|
322
|
Daniel Uhranowsky & Evy Meinders
|
62
|
Mostly sunny with some wind
|
|