Meet the Core Staff
We’ve got some awesome folks helping out behind the scenes
…and we love them so much!
Heather Wolfgang
Executive League and Race Director
Heather started riding dirt when she was a kid growing up in Florida. There weren’t mountains, but she lived on a dirt road and she and her brother Cliff would ride up and down that dang road all the time. Her love for riding led her to help coach the San Francisco Composite mountain bike team for four years. She’s enjoyed groveling in endurance mountain bike races and ‘cross races for almost a decade, too, and believes that riding bikes in nature provides people of all ages the opportunity to find their truest selves. When she’s not doing all this bike stuff, she’s probably sniffing out matsutakes in some dank forest.
ROBYN SAUNDERS WILSON
MAGIC MAKER
Since the very first day the league planted feet here in Oregon, Robyn was there to welcome us. Not only did she have a huge hand in establishing her local team, she’s also been a force behind the scenes with the league as a whole, taking on a myriad of roles such as communications (word wrangler), social media (vibes setter), and idea bouncer-offer. Whatever the question or message or curiosity about the league comes up, she leads from the heart - always. For real, how did we get so lucky? When Robyn’s not helping out with the league, she’s off being a VIP as a published author. For reals. If Robyn were a fruit, we are placing bets she’d be a Buddha’s hand citrus.
Dennis Sibilia-Young
Chief Course Marshal
Dennis is the guy looking at all of our events very closely with risk management at the forefront of every decision. We’re not just gonna just say he “looks through the lens” of risk management; Dennis takes a sample of a scene and then goes and puts that sample on a slide and then looks at it under a microscope to make sure that what we’re doing is dialed and safe and that we have a backup plan for any kind of emergency that could occur. In his spare time, you can find Dennis being super cute with his adorable grandchildren, and perfecting his technique on his mountain bike. If Dennis were a fruit, he’d be an Albion strawberry; bright, enthusiastic and extra sweet!
Dave Schyberg
Ops Manager
Back in the day, Dave used to race his own bike in the NorCal League on the Casa Grande High School team. He was pretty fast, but not fast enough to get a pro contract, so now he’s putting out some mighty fine work as a carpenter in Washington. We’re lucky enough to get his time down here in Oregon to help us dial in our venues and keep the show running on event weekends. Dave logs the most miles getting to our venues, with Shaniya Twain and Garth Brooks steadily pumping from the playlist. If Dave were a fruit, he’d be perfectly ripe seedless watermelon.
Amy O’connell
Volunteer Coordinator
Hailing from…wait, where’s Amy from? Nobody quite knows, but we do know a couple things. First, she’s always got an upbeat energy that’ll make you smile. She also likes to sell people on why volunteering is awesome (because it is) and is charge of recruiting enough adults on our race weekends to make sure the whole show goes off without a hitch. She’s also able to identify the wild birds and flowers that adorn this beautiful state. If Amy were a fruit, she’d be a sassy little apricot.
Jason Hoye
Parking Guru and Timing Wizard in Training
Did you know that 100% of our attendees join our event weekends by car? It’s true, and all those cars and trucks - the hundreds of ‘em - need a nice place to nestle while the action is happening. Enter Jason - calm, thoughtful, friendly, best jokes in town. He’ll make sure you’re juuuuust where you need to be, while ensuring we’ve got space for er’rybody else, too. And this season, he’s teaming up with Shoe to get trained on all the timing stuff so that he can lend a hand there! If Jason were a fruit, he’d be a bright orange perky kumquat.
Kurt Wolfgang
Chief Course Setter and Start Line DJ
It wasn’t long ago that Kurt was aspiring to race the pro road scene in Europe. Fortunately for us, he realized that being a pro roadie actually meant more than traveling and competing and getting interviewed for articles about stage 10 of the Vuelta. This doesn’t mean he still doesn’t ride fast; he’s the kind of guy that could not touch a bike for two years and then wake up and do a double century in the fastest time. Sigh. Must be nice to be immortal. Anyways, when Kurt isn’t being humble about racing, he’s cheering on the student-athletes at our events, as well as the coaches that are mentoring those riders. If Kurt were a fruit, he’d be a pitaya.
Sophie
Volunteer Coordinator, Registration and Merch Ninja
Ahh, Sophie. Where do we start? With her positive can-do attitude? Her attention to detail? Her stoke for all things kids-on-bikes? She’s just the best! She also is an ultramarathon runner, which, uh, sounds really hard. If Sophie were vegetable, she’d be a bouncy spring onion!
Derek O’Connell
Parking Guru and Lead Course Marshal in Training
We know, we know; how many parking gurus do you need? It may seem simple, but when there are 500+ cars and campers showing up on any of our event weekends, things start to get pretty interesting. But with Derek in the mix? Pffft, ain’t no thang. We’re not really sure what his real job is but think it has something to do with the Secret Service. Just a guess. If Derek were a vegetable, he’d be a rutabaga.
Steve Lamerdin
Ops Assistant
Many moons ago, Steve got involved with the league to help out his local team in Deschutes County. Fast forward 6 years and he’s still doing that and helping us run our weekend events. He’s a no fuss kinda guy, ready to get the job done and get it done right. Bonus with Steve is that he’s got like a hundred hats (literally) to share with us for our themed events, including some Mad Max gear. If Steve were a vegetable, we’re putting bets on him being a golden beet.
Core staff photos by Gritchelle Fallesgon and Katie Sox