Support Justin and Shelley After RAAM Accident

It is worse than it looks

Please help Justin and Shelley cover travel and van transport costs after an accident in rural Ohio while volunteering as a team mechanic for Race Across America (RAAM), the world’s toughest bicycle race, left them scrambling and stranded for 4 days.

We want to get them home to start a process to put everything back together an get Justin back to work.

What Happened

Starting June 12, 2025, Justin left Texas to volunteer supporting the Rusty Dogs of War an 8-person team of incredible adaptive athletes and composed of mostly disabled veterans in a relay race from Oceanside, CA to Atlantic City, NJ.

⚙️ As expected the race presented the athetes and crew with many challenges. After travelling 2,500+ miles over 8 days. Unexpectedly on June 20th, Justin’s journey was cut short by a destructive car accident, leaving him stranded in rural Ohio south of Columbus, only 575 miles from the finish line in Atlantic City, NJ.

The van was fully customized earlier this year and loaded with bicycle tools and gear. It suffered serious damage to the steering mechanism and is no longer driveable.

✈️ During the car accident, Justin’s wife, Shelley Zaiser was in a plane to Atlantic City, the Finish Line, to join and celebrate Justin and the Rusty Dogs Of War for their superhuman achievement.

She then spent 2 days travelling with 6 floghts sleeping in an airport to get a rental car and multiple hours of driving to finally Ohio on June 22.

This has been a very unlucky 8 week stretch for them, because in addition to this accident two of their family vehicles were totaled in accidents - one involving their grandchildren.

Why you should care

⚙️‍♀️‍♂️ Justin and Shelley are the small businesss owners behind BikeMinded, est. in 2015. For 10 years they have been Houston’s favorite mobile bicycle repair service keeping Texas cyclists on the road!

‍♀️‍♀️They have given their generosity and commitment to the cycling and triathlon community. They are heavily involved in the Houston area, attending events, encouraging athletes, and helping spread the joy of cycling to thousands of people in the Houston area.

⌛️❤️ They have donated their time, mechanical skills, and hearts to the triathlon and cycling communities here in Texas.

Why We’re Asking for Help

Justin and Shelley, as many of their friends know, are usually the ones helping our awesome community of athletes cross the finish line. From supporting Houston area race events and teams in addition to larger events such as Ironman; Justin and Shelley have been a sweeping positive force in the cycling community.

Updates

As of June 24, Justin and Shelley are delayed again in Ohio and hope to start heading home the 25th but are waiting on insurance companies to assess the situation. Transporting the van to Texas for repairs has been estimated is $2,000. Justin has gutted the van filling their rental car to the brim with bicycle equipment and tools. They are 1,100 miles from home with multiple days of road travel ahead of them. All they want to do is return to their children and grand children.

❤️ Just as Justin has helped 1,000s of people get back on the road, now you can help get him back on the road.

These are the expenses Shelley and Justin need help covering caused by the out of state collision.

⁃ help covering repairs to the van

⁃ travel rerouting

⁃ hotel stays

⁃ Insurance delays

Any funds raised will go toward:

⁃ Transportation and repair of the van

⁃ Uncovered travel/lodging expenses to get home

⁃ Helping Justin get back to work serving our community

Any extra funds will support the Rusty Dogs of War RAAM team and the documentary being made about their journey from coast to coast.

How You Can Help!

Please donate if you can. Every bit helps.
 And if you’ve ever had your bike fixed by Justin, received support from Shelley, or crossed paths with their generosity—this is the time to return the kindness.

With gratitude,

The Zaisers