6 Hours of Brady

Story by Bobby Irwin:
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The 6 Hours of Brady's Run mountain bike race was a ton of fun and a good benchmark in my ultra endurance race training.

Dirty Mike and I represented Ag3r in our respective classes: 6 hour solo/male (me), and 3 hour open (DM). 

Photo by Mike Briggs

 The whistle blew at 10 a.m., releasing the demons onto the brutal 1.5 mile service road climb to start the race.

Photo by Mike Briggs

(It is worth mentioning that this race was extremely competitive in terms of skilled and fast riders.) Almost every fast guy from the tri-state area showed up to battle it out.

I held on to Dahn Pahrs wheel as long as I could, but he eventually dropped me once we got into the singletrack climb. I settled in and figured out the pace I needed to hold for the next 6 laps !

Photo by Mike Briggs

The 8 mile loop consisted of long climbs, fun tight singletrack, and a loose, rocky downhill at the end. My first lap I turned a fast 46 min. The next three hovered around 50 min, and the final two were each just over an hour. With temperatures hovering above 90, each mile got harder throughout the day.

At one point, I was cruising down a wide open trail, just freewheeling, and then hit back into a tight, rocky singletrack climb when I heard someone yell from behind me "Leader!!! Leader back!!!"...to which my reaction always was, if you think I am just going to let you around after asking like that, you have another thing coming!!!...it was Jordan Snyder. I laid the hammer down and crushed the climb, as if to think i would actually drop this dude. He made it to the top, and then proceeded to ride away from as if I was standing still. I was crushed.

Luckily the frustration propelled me to finish strong!! 

Photo by Mike Briggs

Kudos to DM for handing me up fresh bottles of electrolyte drink and snacks after he finished his 3 hour race.

Around lap 5, I started to feel like I might cramp up, and I was running out of water. Thank god they had an aid station half way through the lap, where I stopped to pour cold bottles over my head. I also finished the aid station attendant's french fries, and inhaled a package of Shot Bloks faster than you could blink an eye.

After i went out for lap 6, it was getting to the point where my body could not recover if I made a hard effort on a section. I just couldn't cool down properly anymore. I came through the clock at 5:37, so I could've went back out for another lap, but the rules dictated that any lap you are out on after the 6 hour mark must be completed in under 1 hour to count towards you total number of laps. I was not sure that I could do this, so I threw in the towel.

Photo by Mike Briggs

I ended up finishing in 6th Place (of 42) in the Solo male/open (under50) category, and 12th Place in solo overall (not sure how many participants overall, this included SS).

http://www.smileymiles.com/2015/RES15%20BRADYS%20RUN%206%20HR%20LAP%20RACE%20OA.htm

Dirty Mike hammered away 3 fast laps to finish in 6th Place overall in the 3 hour race!!! (with a malfunctioning fork) Great Job!!

Photo by Mike Briggs

The event concluded with pizza, donuts, and a live band!! I stayed for the awards ceremony and then made the trek back to Apollo.

Photo by Mike Briggs

Thanks to Chris Miceli and all volunteers who put this event together, it was fantastic! There was also $2500 raised for the "It's About the Warrior Foundation", through raffle ticket sales. See you next year on the podium Brady's !!!

-Bobby

STAY DIRTY, my Friends!!!

2014 Final Results

HERE are the 2014 Ag3r Appearance & Results Summaries:

Pittsburgh Marathon

Two Ag3r-FoxVelo riders are also RUNNERS.

Yup...they use their FEET to get from the Start to the Finish.

I know it's weird, but as it turns out, they are both quite good at it....!

 

Runner # 1 (in our hearts!)

Hannah Brewer

1/2 Marathon

 

 

a.k.a. - The H'animal ....

a.k.a. - The Great Ginger Smile!

 

Hannah finished the 1/2 Marathon 1,604th Overall...Men & Women combined.

Out of 8,566 Women in the 1/2, she finished:
79th in Division
525th Female

Runner #2
Roger Lutz
The Full (Monty) Marathon

a.k.a. Speed stiCk

Roger finished the Full Marathon 304th Overall...Men & Women combined.

Out of 2,913 Men in the Full, he finished:
27th in Division
262nd Male

 

Remember:

 

 

Roger's AFTER-THOUGHTS

.....or as I call them, "Lack of Thoughts"!!!

All Feet, No Brains! (speaking for myself). I think I spent more time running that day than I had in sleep the night before.

Lessons learned (how to qualify for Boston):

1. Don't UNDERestimate your time and thus be assigned to start in "corral B" (see pic). 4 Miles in traffic. Typical downtown Pittsburgh -- even on a Sunday!

2. Don't ignore that troublesome tightening leg muscle in the last few weeks of training. Stopping to stretch multiple times seemed counterintuitive to speed, but I wasn't going to make it if I didn't. Surely the issue cost me 2 minutes or more...

3. Pick your line well. My Garmin watch, tapped "start" to "finish", indicated 26.4. I'm convinced that was wide turns (a crap line) and weaving for position. For comparison, on the Moraine bike trail, I'm within 5 or 10 feet of the mile markers when it beeps. Accurate all 7 out and 7 back. So genuinely went .2 miles too far. That's a minute and a half right there.

3:25 finish, and 3:15 is Boston qualify.

I'm trying to convince myself NOT to try again, but as time passes, the bad parts fade from memory, and all I can remember is the sunrise at the start line......

The Fearsome FIVE

Story by FoxVelo-California rider Luke Scrivanich:

With a bit of trepidation and reservation, I elected to attempt this year’s edition of the Fearsome Five.

The FF has been on my cycling bucket list since doing 4 of 5 climbs in 2013.

Yesterday’s ride was somewhat of a whim, as the trials and tribulations of life’s challenges have kept me off the bike for extended periods of time. However, while stuffing drop bags at the Wohler bridge RS on Saturday, I was inspired to join the FF by a few close friends and the grand marshal himself!

I knew I would need an early bird start in order to finish, so arrived at 6:30am to what was announced as a meanderful pace. I settled in for a comfortable first South Geysers climb in the moist and cool marine layer. While many of my "friends" applied the pressure on this first climb, I remained calm, knowing there was so much more to come!

Temperatures in Sulfur Canyon were downright frigid. After helping someone change a flat, I came upon a portable and fully equipped Rest Stop at the bottom of Pine Mountain (climb #2), set up in the back of the organizer's truck.

The Marine layer was still holding, so this climb was also very cool. I was harassed by 2 hard-charging canines a couple of miles from summit. After quick descent and a 2nd refuel, we reversed course to scale Geysers from the north.

Late morning, the sun finally broke through and started to bake the roads and slowly heat the guardrails, which groaned as they expanded. The descent down south Geysers is among my favorites, with sweeping turns and stunning views of the Alexander valley vineyards below.

After lunch stop, I continued on into gusty headwinds headed S. on 128. My legs were getting quite exhausted as I made the turn onto Ida Clayton. The first 4 mi of this climb are quite steep and continued to sap my remaining strength, so I just tried to hand on to the turnaround point at Western Mines Rd.

After stretching my cramped legs at the top, I caught a second wind as we pace lined N. on 128 back to the school with a decent tailwind.  At the school, I felt somewhat recovered and strong enough to conquer the Pine Flat climb.

Approaching the wall was intimating as ever, as my legs were completely shot. I figured I would crawl up the wall if I had to. As I hit the steep 20% grade, I starting pedaling squares, rocking back and forth to use my body weight to keep forward momentum. I took this climb well beyond my pain threshold, as there was no stopping me now! Halfway up the steep, I could hear some friends shouting encouragement as I slowly approached. Upon reaching the top, I felt a sense of deep accomplishment.

At the summit we stood in wonderment, while we gazed down onto the stunningly beautiful world below, spent a few poignant moments reflecting on the day’s suffering (mind over body), pondering the ups and downs of life’s challenges, and underscored the importance of living in the moment and counting your blessings.

The summit is the official end of the day’s suffering, with the descent down Pine Flat a mere victory lap basking in the glory of our deeds. However, my victory lap was abruptly cut short by a very sharp rock which slashed the sidewall of my rear Gatorskin hardcase. Our makeshift repair only held up for 3 miles, so my friend MarC, the consummate ride leader host, returned up the mountain with his truck to retrieve one tired and cold man.

THE COLD MUG presentation capped a very long, but extremely satisfying day!

Thanks to all for giving me the strength to complete this suffer fest!

https://app.strava.com/activities/297756910