Ag3r - ButlerHealthSystem: 2011

20111230

Marilla CX

DESTRUCTION:
25 derailleurs/chains and 3 frames ...2 of them carbon.
COST: ~= $10,000.

THIS sums up what a muddy course leading into a pea-gravel pit can do to a bicycle.

WARNING #1:
DO NOT try this at home :(

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A cold morning...

...did not deter a few riders from wearing "special kit" during the first race of the day....setting the tone for what would come for the rest of us!

WARNING #2:
The following images are intended for "Mature" audiences!

..."uniforms" that may "look" cute, but do not lend themselves well to crashing...

..."uniforms" that should have been "ticketed" by THIS guy...

...and "uniforms" that should have been disqualified by THIS guy!

--------------------------
Anyway ...on to some RACE RESULTS.

Men's 40+ Open
Mike Maher - 3rd Place

Mark Briercheck - 10th Place

Men's 50+ Open
Rich Allen - 3rd Place

Henry Dimmick - 4th Place ...running the last half lap after his derailleur broke off.

Kirk Morrison - 6th Place

Men's 3/4
Steve Brewer - 13th Place ...after wrestling with a squirrel's nest!

Single Speed - Open
Kirk Morrison - 12th Place

Women's Cat 4
Hannah Brewer - 1st Place...Queen for the Day, AGAIN :)

Amity CX

Continuing the trend of DRY cross races this season, the Amity (W.Va.) CycloCross race went off under sunny skies!

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Story by Kirk Morrison
For November, the weather was amazing with sunshine and temperatures in the low 50’s.This was a fast, fairly dry course with a run-up (which could have used a rope ….. DX style !), some off-camber mud, and a steep downhill with a challenging off-camber right hand turn at the bottom.

The anticipated stream crossing (cold water!) was eliminated with the race-day construction of a make-shift running bridge.

Our group size was limited by the need for team members to set-up for tomorrow’s Murrysville CX (which Ag3r Promotes)...so "thank you to all the team members that actually “worked” this day instead of racing".

However, we were still able to make a good showing. Hannah had the top podium spot of the day. Nice job Hannah !

A summary of our finish spots are as follows.

Women – Cat4:
Hannah - 2nd Place

Masters 50+:
Rich - 4th Place

Kirk - 5th Place

Ray - 8th Place

Men – Cat3/4:
Steve - 14th Place (11th Cat3)

Men – SS Open:
Kirk - 10th Place

Another excellent race from JR and Gina at ABRA racing. Great fun !

Ghostly Grey MTB

Timed perfectly with the FIRST SNOW of the season, Kirk Morrison and Mike Maher decided to do a mountain bike race over a rocky & wet course! While we all aspire to be Smart, and Fast, and Tough, most of (us) are happy with 2-out-of-3 : )

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Tale by Kirk Morrison

Mike and I headed over to Camp Lutherlyn (Prospect, PA) for the annual 30K Ghostly Gray MTB race (3 laps of a 10K course). This is a fundraising event (including 5K and 10K trail runs) to benefit the PA State Police run “Camp Cadet” which is held every August at this camp.

The conditions were challenging with temperatures in the low 30’s, while rain & wet snow fell from above, leading to lots of hiking on the hills due to the slick, muddy conditions.

Mike had a great start and was part of the group of 3 lead riders. Unfortunately, Mike flatted about halfway through his first lap. I passed off my CO2 cartridge when I passed but unfortunately, his tire had suffered an irreparable torn sidewall (which forced him to abandon the race).

During the 2nd lap, I was able to pick off a number of riders to move up into 10th place when I finally made contact with the group of 4 riders that were in front of me. Unfortunately, I then started losing air in my rear tire. With the 3 or 4 stops to pump-up the leaking tire, I was not able to stay with this group. However I was able to hold onto my 10th position which ended up as my finish placing.

While the trails were extremely muddy and slick, the 7 stream crossings/lap actually helped to clean off some of the accumulating mud. Well marked trails, enthusiastic volunteers with pizza and a warm fire at the finish ! Excellent race. Highly recommended (12 minutes from Butler !).

Results link is below:
http://www.smileymiles.com/2011/RES%2011%20GHOSTLY%20GRAY%2030K%20MTN%20BIKE.HTM

Kirk

20111028

The Curse of Success

Did you ever notice... that when someone asks you to do something, and you do a good job at it, that they keep asking you to do it again? Well, this post is not exactly about that...!

So, road season is over, and CycloCross season is in full swing. This is normally the time when we can finally let our regimented training slip a bit, in hopes of recovering the FUN of Cycling that got us into (all this) in the first place.

And heck, if we can do "all that" while satisfying our addiction to "competition", while drinking a few beers, then straight up...
...Life is Good, right?

Problem is, many of us have done a good job so far, and now are HANDCUFFED to race EVERY WEEKEND to stay in the hunt. And for what?

First, let me tell you what we WON'T get from this success: Not Fame, nor Fortune ...and certainly not some higher state of Domestic Bliss at home!

Nope.

We do it for a chance to be on the Final Series Podium ...
...cash in one hand...
...champagne in the other...
...flash bulbs going off all around us...
...and "The Bitches" kneeling at our feet!!!

In other words: 1,800 miles of driving, $350 in gas, $200 in entry fees and approximately 120 hours of time we will never get back... all in search of OUR 15 minutes of FAME :)

Weird thing is ...we can't wait to race again!

---------------------------------

Appalachian Bicycle Racing Association
CycloCross Series STANDINGS
...after Round #4 of 8:

TEAM COMPETITION
4th Place - Ag3r-ButlerHealthSystem (-20 pts Off Podium)

MEN'S 3/4
3rd Place - Steve Brewer
18th Place - Brian Hopkins (-37)

MEN'S 4
24th Place - Mike Maher (-65)

MEN'S 40+
16th Place - Steve Marlette (-64)
18th Place - Mike Maher (-73)

WOMEN'S 4
8th Place - Hannah Brewer (-57)

SINGLE SPEED OPEN
6th Place - Kirk Morrison (-29)

MEN'S 50+
1st Place (tie) - Henry Dimmick
1st Place (tie) - Kirk Morrison
4th Place - Rich Allen (-3)
6th Place - Ray Sielski (-30)

20111027

Bruceton Mills CX

Despite all the rain recently, the Bruceton Mills round of the ABRA CycloCross Series was ALMOST a dry round... "MUD speaking"...

...but NOT a dry round "liquid CARBS" speaking!

Photos by Sonic Imaging

Women's 4
Hannah Brewer - 2nd Place

Photos by Fred Jordan

Single Speed Open
Kirk Morrison - 10th Place

Photo by Fred Jordan

Men's 40+
Mike Maher - 7th Place

Photo by Fred Jordan

Steve Marlette - 12th Place

Photo by Fred Jordan

Men's 50+
Rich Allen - 1st Place

Photo by Fred Jordan

Henry Dimmick - 2nd Place

Photo by Fred Jordan

Kirk Morrison - 3rd Place

Photo by Fred Jordan

Can you say, "SWEEP" :)

Photo by Fred Jordan

Men's 3/4
Steve Brewer - 5th Place

Photo by Dirt Rag Magazine!

Photo by Fred Jordan

After racing, we all just MONKEYed around...

Photo by Fred Jordan

...while cheering on everyone else as they raced.

Next Race: Marilla CX

20111021

Morgantown Monsters

The Morgantown Monster is a 2-day, hard core, sacrifice all other personal life responsibilities, CycloCross event in Morgantown West Virginia!

...and only 3 of us were Monster enough to attend BOTH days!
Ray Sielski, Kirk Morrison and Brian Hopkins.

MORGANTOWN MONSTER DAY #1
Single Speed Open
Kirk Morrison - 9th Place