More Fixed Gear action with single speed regulars Steve Brewer and Henry Dimmick being joined for the first time this season by teammate Kirk Morrison.
Hannah Brewer was again on hand to help Oscar run the show!
But before the fixie action got underway, Steve Brewer took on the standing start 200m Track Record. His first attempt was cut short when he came out of his pedal early on (so we now know Steve is at least 16 newton-meters strong!) His second attempt, a full run, was negated due to a timing clock error.
It was on his third attempt he officially set a new track record... giving Ag3r the first FIVE (5) Track Records at the Bud Harris Oval in Pittsburgh Pa!!!
200 m flying start ; 200m ; 13.07 s. ; 34.25mph ; Henry Dimmick ; 8/29/03
200 m standing start ; 200m ; 17.05 ; 26.24mph ; Steve Brewer ; 7/13/12
1/2 mi standing start ; 1 lap ; 55.59 ; 32.38mph ; Steve Brewer ; 6/10/11
1/2 mi flying start ; 1 lap ; 54.52 ; 33.01mph ; Steve Brewer ; 6/29/12
1 mile standing start ; 2 laps ; 1.55.00 ; 31.25mph ; Steve Brewer ; 6/29/12
We are the kings of the short/power events!
------------------
Story by Oscar Swann
Friday Night Track Night. July 13, 2012
A beautiful night for racing. Calm, cool, and fast. Steve Brewer found a gear he really liked, and broke a long-standing record for the 200 meter standing start. Ted King-Smith unwittingly set a record for 2 miles, no previous record having been established.
200 meter standing start record attempt. Steve Brewer 17.05 (new record)
Former record: 200m ; 17.61 ; Michael Leek ; 6/3/05
Here are the results:
Chariot Race
1st - Steve Brewer
2nd - Henry Dimmick
4-lap Time Trial
3rd @4.42 - Steve Brewer
4th @4.51 - Henry Dimmick
7th @5.18 - Kirk Morrison
Danish Sprint
1st - Steve Brewer
2nd - Henry Dimmick
Rabbit
1st - Steve Brewer
Sprint Finals
1st - Steve Brewer
2nd - Henry Dimmick
2-Man Handicap 4-Lap TT
1st - @4.48 - Steve Brewer, Dennis Cowan
2nd Tie @5.01 - Andrew Rose, Kirk Morrison
2nd Tie @5.01 - Henry Dimmick, Travis Rabbit
Overall Omnium Results
1st Place - Steve Brewer - 16 pts
2nd Place - Henry Dimmick - 7.5 pts
6th Place - Kirk Morrison - 1.5 pts
Afterwards, we hung out in the parking lot with Oscar well past everyone else's departure!
20120714
20120710
Tomlinson Run XC
Hannah Brewer,
 |
| Photo by Fred Jordan |
 |
| Photo by Mike Briggs |
...and Kirk Morrison all headed WEST (this time) to the on-going ABRA MTB Series.
THE COMPLETE STORY to be found on Kirk's New Blog:
Click: "It's Now or Never"
Good Job, ya'all :)
PMVC Time Trial
Story by Oscar Swann
Results of 20 Mile Time Trial.
17 riders showed up despite the nnearly 100-degree heat. By the time Skip Rogers and Mark Bowman had completed their 2-man 15 mile record attempt (not surprisngly given the weather, they fell about 1 ½ minutes short), the track was covered in shade, but it was still wiltingly hot.
Thanks to Hanna Brewer for help with officiating.
2nd Place @45.13 - Stephen Marlette
6th Place @46.04 - Steven Brewer
(too many laps?)
12th Place @49.47 - Henry Dimmick (3rd 50+)
14th Place @51.01 - Ray Sielski (4th 50+)
Personal Record
Results of 20 Mile Time Trial.
17 riders showed up despite the nnearly 100-degree heat. By the time Skip Rogers and Mark Bowman had completed their 2-man 15 mile record attempt (not surprisngly given the weather, they fell about 1 ½ minutes short), the track was covered in shade, but it was still wiltingly hot.
Thanks to Hanna Brewer for help with officiating.
2nd Place @45.13 - Stephen Marlette
6th Place @46.04 - Steven Brewer
(too many laps?)
12th Place @49.47 - Henry Dimmick (3rd 50+)
14th Place @51.01 - Ray Sielski (4th 50+)
Personal Record
Race to lil Moe's Place
Story by Kirk Morrison:
Hannah Brewer, Rich Allen and I headed down to Philippi, West Virginia to check out this WVMBA race and found that it was plenty challenging with lots of hills, rock gardens as well as some fast single/double track sections.
Unfortunately, this years WVMBA "Race to lil Moe's Place" never made it to lil Moe's Place (a local bar where awards are traditionally dispersed) since all the power for the entire area was knocked out by trees downed in Friday night's storm (!). However, high kudo's are due to the race organizers (headed by Thad Kelley) for working overtime to clear the trails of fallen trees and carry on with this race in spite of the adverse conditions (Note: almost a week later and many of these areas are still without power !!).
The conditions were hot (mid 90's) and muggy with plenty of sunshine. The day was filled with challenges as Richy and Hannah got lost on the course (as well as from each other) on their warm-up ride and ended up riding the entire 6 mile beginners loop (barely getting back in time for the race start). Richy's luck was the worst with a hard fall on the warm-up lap, a flat tire during the start sprint, another hard fall on the course, another flat, a bent rim, a back injury and two heel blisters from the hike back to the start area... bummer !
My day went a bit better with a good first lap. On the 2nd lap I had just passed a competitor to move into 2nd place (in my Masters Sport class) when I tumbled in a rock garden. I quickly recovered from this and was back on the chase when I took a more notable fall resulting in a cracked helmet, torn jersey and the need for a number of bike adjustments before continuing. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to catch back on and ended up in 4th place (45 seconds behind my 2nd place fellow !). Oh well.
While Richy and I were busy with our most excellent “3 Stooges” impersonations, Hannah was laying down a great ride to take 1st place in the Womens Sport class!
![]()
This was especially impressive in light of yesterdays race at Yellow Creek (with a 2nd place finish !), an "extended" warm-up ride and showing up at the start line just as the race began. Nice work Hannah !
After the race, we joined the other racers for a refreshing swim in the Cheat River.
Results:
Hannah - 1st place, Sport Women
Kirk - 4th place, Sport Masters
Rich - DNF, Sport Grand Masters
Results link:
http://www.iplayoutside.com/Events/?eid=2012/07/13904r.html
Hannah Brewer, Rich Allen and I headed down to Philippi, West Virginia to check out this WVMBA race and found that it was plenty challenging with lots of hills, rock gardens as well as some fast single/double track sections.
Unfortunately, this years WVMBA "Race to lil Moe's Place" never made it to lil Moe's Place (a local bar where awards are traditionally dispersed) since all the power for the entire area was knocked out by trees downed in Friday night's storm (!). However, high kudo's are due to the race organizers (headed by Thad Kelley) for working overtime to clear the trails of fallen trees and carry on with this race in spite of the adverse conditions (Note: almost a week later and many of these areas are still without power !!).
The conditions were hot (mid 90's) and muggy with plenty of sunshine. The day was filled with challenges as Richy and Hannah got lost on the course (as well as from each other) on their warm-up ride and ended up riding the entire 6 mile beginners loop (barely getting back in time for the race start). Richy's luck was the worst with a hard fall on the warm-up lap, a flat tire during the start sprint, another hard fall on the course, another flat, a bent rim, a back injury and two heel blisters from the hike back to the start area... bummer !
My day went a bit better with a good first lap. On the 2nd lap I had just passed a competitor to move into 2nd place (in my Masters Sport class) when I tumbled in a rock garden. I quickly recovered from this and was back on the chase when I took a more notable fall resulting in a cracked helmet, torn jersey and the need for a number of bike adjustments before continuing. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to catch back on and ended up in 4th place (45 seconds behind my 2nd place fellow !). Oh well.
While Richy and I were busy with our most excellent “3 Stooges” impersonations, Hannah was laying down a great ride to take 1st place in the Womens Sport class!
After the race, we joined the other racers for a refreshing swim in the Cheat River.
Results:
Hannah - 1st place, Sport Women
Kirk - 4th place, Sport Masters
Rich - DNF, Sport Grand Masters
Results link:
http://www.iplayoutside.com/Events/?eid=2012/07/13904r.html
20120703
PMVC Individual Time Trials
Rotating through (5 different distances) throughout the summer, the PMVC Friday Night TT landed on 10 miles this particular night.
----------------
Here is the (short) story by Oscar Swann:
Here are the results for the June 6, 2012 10m TT. A nice night, not too hot, a slight breeze. Andy Seitz majorly outdistanced people, but didn't come close to the record: 10 miles ; 20 laps ; 20.46 ; 28.9mph ; Joe Vallese ; 7/3/09. Thanks to Stephanie Swan for registration and timing.
5th Place @22.13 - Steve Marlette
11th Place @23.46 - Mark Biercheck
17th Place @24.41 - Dan Schar
18th Place @25.14 - Ray Sielski (6th 50+)
----------------
Here is the (short) story by Oscar Swann:
Here are the results for the June 6, 2012 10m TT. A nice night, not too hot, a slight breeze. Andy Seitz majorly outdistanced people, but didn't come close to the record: 10 miles ; 20 laps ; 20.46 ; 28.9mph ; Joe Vallese ; 7/3/09. Thanks to Stephanie Swan for registration and timing.
5th Place @22.13 - Steve Marlette
11th Place @23.46 - Mark Biercheck
17th Place @24.41 - Dan Schar
18th Place @25.14 - Ray Sielski (6th 50+)
Hilly Billy Roubaix
Kirk Morrison continues to prove he is either tougher than the rest of us, or more stupider(?) Which one do YOU think it is?!?!!!
-----------------------------
The story of the day, by Kirk Morrison
I headed down to Morgantown for my 2nd ABRA Hilly Billy Roubaix. I raced in the inaugural HBR 2 years ago and was happy to simply survive and finish. This race has definitely grown to a hallmark dirt/gravel/Cx endurance event (attracting racers from all over the country) and is now a part of the American Ultracross Championship Series (http://www.ultracx.com/). As an indicator, my race category (Mens 40+) has grown from 13 racers (2 years ago) to 82 this year !
The race day conditions were good with sunny skies, a light breeze and temperatures peaking in the mid-80’s. Thankfully, the course was much drier than during my previous race so most of the monster puddle sections were much improved (resulting in 3 course records !). However, we still had a number of muddy, wet sections as well as an 8-12” deep, creek crossing.
The Hilly Billy race is appropriately named since it included (at least) 9 - Cat4 climbs (according to my Strava file) with almost 7400’ of climbing over the 73 mile course. The climbing and the gravel/dirt take their toll as it seemed that every 2-3 minutes I was passing a rider stopped by a flat, mechanical problem or overwhelming fatigue. As a reference, of the 243 starters, there were 51 DNF’s (for a 21% DNF rate). Even worse, from the Mens 40+ category, of the 82 starters there were 24 DNF’s (for a 29% DNF rate !). This is not an easy race ….
Bike choices covered the entire range including skinny tire road bikes, Cx, mountain and even one snowbike with 4” balloon tires. This year I switched (from my rim brake Cx bike) to a more comfortable Frankenbike gravel grinder assembled (as per Sam’s advice) from a Cannondale F29’r frame (with disc brakes), a rigid Lynskey fork, Stan’s Alpha 340 cyclocross wheels and Hutchinson tubeless Bulldog tires (700x35mm). The Stan’s system worked great and provided a flat-free race ! The disc brakes and wide handlebars were perfect for tackling the long, sometimes steep gravel climbs and descents. The disc’s were a big improvement over the rim brakes since they allowed me to descend faster and with the confidence that I would actually be able to stop (if needed).
The only mechanical issue was experienced at about mile 40. As I was approaching aid station #2 when I noticed that my front brake was rubbing. As I started to loosen the caliper bolts to adjust its position, I found that both mounting bolts were completely loose (and almost falling out !). I’m guessing that this was from the continuous vibration of the gravel roads. Unfortunately, after several adjustment attempts I was still not able to remove the brake pad drag (I suspect that one of the caliper brake cylinders has seized-up) so I ended up finishing the race with a bit of brake drag.
While I was on pace for a 5:30 – 5:45 finish through the first 4 hours, I started feeling the effects of the long day and jarring roads (as well as the nagging sound of the front brake dragging) after this and suffered through the final 2 hours for a 6:13 finish. This was good enough to land me in 48th place (out of the 82 racers in my group) with a 20 minute improvement over my time from 2 years ago.
http://www.abraracing.com/Results/2012HBRresults.pdf
The course support was outstanding with 3 fully stocked aid stations as well as an unofficial aid station at mile 23 (including a live stringband duo and beer handups …. Yes, in the spirit of Cx I accepted). Also a big thanks to Dan Schar (course marshal) for the offer of water and shouted encouragement.
Post race festivities included a truckload of pizza as well as 3 kegs of beer (courtesy of Morgantown Brewing). Outstanding !
This was an excellent event with plenty of course marshals and clear course markings. Another great race hosted by JR and Gina !
Highly recommended (as long as you don’t mind a bit of suffering). To see some suffering, watch the video HERE:
http://bigbikesmedia.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/249501-Hilly-Billy-Roubaix/video/644850-Hilly-Billy-Roubaix-2012
-----------------------------
The story of the day, by Kirk Morrison
I headed down to Morgantown for my 2nd ABRA Hilly Billy Roubaix. I raced in the inaugural HBR 2 years ago and was happy to simply survive and finish. This race has definitely grown to a hallmark dirt/gravel/Cx endurance event (attracting racers from all over the country) and is now a part of the American Ultracross Championship Series (http://www.ultracx.com/). As an indicator, my race category (Mens 40+) has grown from 13 racers (2 years ago) to 82 this year !
 |
| Photo by Fred Jordan |
The race day conditions were good with sunny skies, a light breeze and temperatures peaking in the mid-80’s. Thankfully, the course was much drier than during my previous race so most of the monster puddle sections were much improved (resulting in 3 course records !). However, we still had a number of muddy, wet sections as well as an 8-12” deep, creek crossing.
The Hilly Billy race is appropriately named since it included (at least) 9 - Cat4 climbs (according to my Strava file) with almost 7400’ of climbing over the 73 mile course. The climbing and the gravel/dirt take their toll as it seemed that every 2-3 minutes I was passing a rider stopped by a flat, mechanical problem or overwhelming fatigue. As a reference, of the 243 starters, there were 51 DNF’s (for a 21% DNF rate). Even worse, from the Mens 40+ category, of the 82 starters there were 24 DNF’s (for a 29% DNF rate !). This is not an easy race ….
 |
| Photo by Fred Jordan |
Bike choices covered the entire range including skinny tire road bikes, Cx, mountain and even one snowbike with 4” balloon tires. This year I switched (from my rim brake Cx bike) to a more comfortable Frankenbike gravel grinder assembled (as per Sam’s advice) from a Cannondale F29’r frame (with disc brakes), a rigid Lynskey fork, Stan’s Alpha 340 cyclocross wheels and Hutchinson tubeless Bulldog tires (700x35mm). The Stan’s system worked great and provided a flat-free race ! The disc brakes and wide handlebars were perfect for tackling the long, sometimes steep gravel climbs and descents. The disc’s were a big improvement over the rim brakes since they allowed me to descend faster and with the confidence that I would actually be able to stop (if needed).
 |
| Photo by Fred Jordan |
The only mechanical issue was experienced at about mile 40. As I was approaching aid station #2 when I noticed that my front brake was rubbing. As I started to loosen the caliper bolts to adjust its position, I found that both mounting bolts were completely loose (and almost falling out !). I’m guessing that this was from the continuous vibration of the gravel roads. Unfortunately, after several adjustment attempts I was still not able to remove the brake pad drag (I suspect that one of the caliper brake cylinders has seized-up) so I ended up finishing the race with a bit of brake drag.
While I was on pace for a 5:30 – 5:45 finish through the first 4 hours, I started feeling the effects of the long day and jarring roads (as well as the nagging sound of the front brake dragging) after this and suffered through the final 2 hours for a 6:13 finish. This was good enough to land me in 48th place (out of the 82 racers in my group) with a 20 minute improvement over my time from 2 years ago.
 |
| Photo by Brian Parker |
The course support was outstanding with 3 fully stocked aid stations as well as an unofficial aid station at mile 23 (including a live stringband duo and beer handups …. Yes, in the spirit of Cx I accepted). Also a big thanks to Dan Schar (course marshal) for the offer of water and shouted encouragement.
 |
| Photo by Dan Schar |
 |
| Photo by Pathfinder |
Highly recommended (as long as you don’t mind a bit of suffering). To see some suffering, watch the video HERE:
http://bigbikesmedia.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/249501-Hilly-Billy-Roubaix/video/644850-Hilly-Billy-Roubaix-2012
20120702
Two by Twelve
Hannah Brewer, Steve Brewer, Ray Sielski, Kirk Morrison and Mike Maher headed to Bruceton Mills, WV for the Big Bear 2x12 Mountain Relay.
------------------------------------------------
Kirk Wrote:
WV moonshine on the podium …… tasted great!
This was another fun year at the WVMBA Big Bear Lake 2x12 duo race. The weather was perfect with sunny skies, temps in the low 80’s and a nice breeze. The trails were dry, fast and much more technical than we seemed to recall from last year (sorry Ray ……. future note: never listen to course advice from us)!!!
The top honors of the day went to the Brewers who took 1st Place in the Coed Sport division in spite of Steve getting lost on the first lap (high kudo’s to Hannah for saving the day with some “hot laps”).
Mike and his (fast) friend Mark Milliken stayed hard on the gas to move up from 5th place (mid race) to finish on the podium with 3rd place in the Veterans Sport Class. The amazing thing is that both were on SS rigs (competing against geared teams !)
As for us, after Ray barely survived his first lap aboard Steve’s SS/rigid fork Cannondale (repeat …. never listen to us), he and I were able to pull out a 3rd place finish in the Masters Sport class.
After race recovery activities included a nice selection of craft brewed beer while we enjoyed the highly competitive kids race.
If you only do one mountain bike a year, this should probably be the one.
Results link: http://www.iplayoutside.com/Events/?eid=2012/06/13891r.html
-----------------------------------------------
While Ray Wrote:
http://skirslog.blogspot.com/2012/07/2-x-12-mtb-relay-big-bear.html
------------------------------------------------
Kirk Wrote:
WV moonshine on the podium …… tasted great!
This was another fun year at the WVMBA Big Bear Lake 2x12 duo race. The weather was perfect with sunny skies, temps in the low 80’s and a nice breeze. The trails were dry, fast and much more technical than we seemed to recall from last year (sorry Ray ……. future note: never listen to course advice from us)!!!
The top honors of the day went to the Brewers who took 1st Place in the Coed Sport division in spite of Steve getting lost on the first lap (high kudo’s to Hannah for saving the day with some “hot laps”).
Mike and his (fast) friend Mark Milliken stayed hard on the gas to move up from 5th place (mid race) to finish on the podium with 3rd place in the Veterans Sport Class. The amazing thing is that both were on SS rigs (competing against geared teams !)
As for us, after Ray barely survived his first lap aboard Steve’s SS/rigid fork Cannondale (repeat …. never listen to us), he and I were able to pull out a 3rd place finish in the Masters Sport class.
After race recovery activities included a nice selection of craft brewed beer while we enjoyed the highly competitive kids race.
If you only do one mountain bike a year, this should probably be the one.
Results link: http://www.iplayoutside.com/Events/?eid=2012/06/13891r.html
-----------------------------------------------
While Ray Wrote:
http://skirslog.blogspot.com/2012/07/2-x-12-mtb-relay-big-bear.html
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