Holy sheet – the riding portion of the team is locked! Please excuse this lengthly post as we introduce the boneheads involved in actually manning the motorcycle in our bid. Ladies and Gents, without further ado, we introduce the Dukes of Flatbush riders who’ll do battle with the desert as DOFB Racing’s entry in the 2008 Baja 1000:

Graham “The Ram” Johnson:
Co-founder of the Dukes of Flatbush, GJ was born in 1971 in Birmingham, AL. He later moved to San Francisco and Los Angeles, before attending College in Connecticut and France. He went on to earn his MBA at NYU and has lived in New York ever since.

Graham has competed in over 20 New York Road Runner (NYRR) races including the 2004 and 2005 New York Marathon, and the 2005 New York Road Runners Half-Marathon Grand Prix. To get ready for the 2008 Baja 1000, Graham will continue to run, with plans to complete the 2008 Half-Marathon Grand Prix as well as the 2008 Montauk Lighthouse Triathlon & Relay.

Although Graham enjoys endurance sports, his first love is motorcycles since he got his first one back in 1993 – a 1982 Yamaha Seca. Today he owns a range of bikes and has ridden extensively across the Unites States and Canada. His favorite ride is the Blue Ride Parkway a week or two before the season starts. A winding road with no lights or stop signs, following the crest of a mountain range for 600 miles.

Graham is freaking out about the Baja 1000 as it combines his love of endurance sports with motorcycles. He is also an expert at multi-media production, recently serving as Executive Producer at MTV for all digital properties (mtv.com, etc). He is excited about using those skills to document the race and its preparation – a once in a lifetime experience!

Birch Shambaugh:
Born off the grid in New Hampshire sometime in the early seventies, outdoor pursuits have always been this guy’s first love. Distance running, motorcycles, back country trekking, skiing and surfing are all guiding passions. As a founding member of the Dukes of Flatbush, it’s also safe to say that racing is in his blood. With a grandfather who was a successful early open-wheeled formula car competitor, ice bike racer and engineer, speed and racing have always been a fascination. In his own life he’s generally been drawn to solo pursuits; formative years spent downhill racing, back-country MX, sailing, rock climbing and mountaineering have given way to more motorcycles, surfing, marathoning and the survival race of small business growth.

A partner in a fast-growing NYC IT company, Birch still carves time out of a hectic schedule to train, rebuild & ride motorcycles and travel to remote destinations in pursuit of waves, beautiful riding and new experience. He regularly competes in NY Road Runner events here in the NY Metro area and has been known to travel for races in the North East. Birch’s first motorcycle was his grandmother’s abused 1958 BSA Goldstar Scrambler; his favorite ride is still the Kancamangus Highway in NH. He currently counts a mildly tricked out 1978 Kawasaki KZ1000 the star of his stable of basket-cases.

While past years have seen him spearheading training & fund raising efforts for DOFB member charity runs in the ING NY Marathon, 2008 opens with all energies directed at DOFB Racing’s push towards the Baja 1000. He’s singularly committed to this lifelong goal and, with the aid & support of friends, professional contacts & partners, wife and company, Birch is convinced that the Dukes of Flatbush bid will be successful, interesting and worthwhile for all involved.

From their purpose-built NY Network Operations Center (NOC), Birch’s company [SpecialAI] will be architecting and supporting the multi-platform communications infrastructure that DOFB Racing’s Baja effort will rely upon.

Jesse Kimball:
Easily the most experienced MX rider on the team, and likely the fittest person to ever don a DOFB T-Shirt, Jesse was born in the fine year of 1976 in Orange County, California where he spent the first few years of his life. He then moved to Park city, Utah where he spent his elementary years skiing. At age 9 he moved back to California and by age 11 was racing with his father in triathlons and mountain bike races. Jesse ran cross country and track and field at Temecula Valley High School and continued for 5 more years of cross country at the University of California, Irvine.

Running always served as a great base, however it was never his passion. Jesse’s true passion had two wheels. Whether on the rode or in the dirt, Jesse loved riding and racing bikes…peddle bikes. Then in the summer of 2000 Jesse’s father bought him his first dirt bike. It was “Love at First Ride.” With years of bicycle experience under his belt, Jesse felt very natural on the motorcycle.

He kept his riding at a very recreational pace from 2000 to 2006, until one of his best friends invited him on a 3 day ride through the Colorado Rockies. It was an amazing experience that introduced Jesse to a whole new level of rider and made him realize how much he really didn’t now about the sport of motocross. From that point to present Jesse has been dedicated to improving his motocross skills and stepping up all levels of his riding, pushing himself ever harder to acquire and hone the skills needed to race motocross.
Some of Jesse’s Significant Races (Triathlon, Adventure Race, Mountain Bike):

2007 World Team Challenge Nice, France
2007 BG US Challenge Pocono Mountains
2007 Wulong Mountain Quest, China
2007 Saint George Triathlon
2007 Temecula Triathlon
2005 Desert Rampage MTB Race
2005 Cholla Challenge MTB Race
2004 MSOQ Borneo, Malaysia
2002 Hi-Tec Adventure Race Series National Champ (8 Races)
2001 Hi-Tec Adventure Race (2 Races)
2001 Desert Dash, Las Vegas
2000 Catalina Triathlon
2000 Ironman California
2000 Walk About Adventure Race #2
1999 XTERRA Bonelli Park
1999 Walk About Adventure Race #1
1999 Hi-Tec Adventure Race, Sacramento
1999 Catalina Adventure Race
1988-1998 Countless Number of Triathlons and Mountain Bike Races

Jon “9″ Goodrich:
Born and raised in New York, Jon is a true a true motor-head. The son of a car dealer, Jon was always fascinated with cars, motorcycles and boats. Growing up, he spent most of his free-time playing in junkyards, shops and showrooms. Before he could see over the wheel, he was already crashing cars at a local junkyard, where he pretty much had run of the place. At age 15, he got his first car, a 72′ Chevy Nova short block. He has since owned more than 50 different cars, including a VW Vanagon, BMW 2002, BMW 328, Mercedes 300SD, Jaguar XK-8, Fiat 2000 spider and his prized 1989 Porsche 911 Targa.

Growing up, Jon was also no stranger to motorcycles. Even before he could drive, he had a bike. His first motorcycle was a red. Clearly his persuasive nature and “go-to-dad-first” approach worked well, as he later progressed to a Kawasaki KX80 and before long a Suzuki LT-250R Quad Racer. His love of motocross has taken him to some great east coast riding locations including the Pine Barons in New Jersey and Stewart Air-force Base in upstate New York. Jon also has owned a Honda Hurricane 1000 and a Ducati 916.

Jon is an avid club racer, participating in local club and SCCA events throughout the country. He has raced on Sebring, Moroso, Homestead and Limerock, both in his Porsche 911 and in race-preppared cars generously provided by friends and colleagues. Jon has also attended Skip Barber Racing School and Justin Bell Racing School and is a die-hard Formula 1 fan.

In 2005, Jon participated in the world-famous Gumball 3000 Rally in the now infamous Polizei BMW M5. That year, known to be one of the rally’s best, took him from London to Monaco, through 12 countries in Europe in 8 days, including an overnight ferry from Croatia to Sicily and along the world-famous Mille Miglia route up the boot to Monaco.

This past September, Jon also participated in Player’s Run, another celebrity rally, dubbed the worlds most glamor poker run. Armed with an Aston Martin Vantage V8, and a supermodel co-pilot, Jon was consistently fastest and among the top three to every checkpoint from Calgary to San Diego. All without a single traffic infraction.

His love for all thing motorized led him to join the Dukes of Flatbush Racing Team in preparation for the 2008 Baja 1000. The Baja represents the culmination of a life spent loving and living racing.

In his civilian life, Jon lives and works in New York as a commercial photo agent for a well known agency