Welcome Back, Chilly!

Allow me to (re)introduce Dave Hickey, an ex-member of our squad who is RETURNING to the Ag3r fold!

Dave originally joined the Team (FoxVelo Cycling) in 2000...

...was with us through our early GREEN MACHINE, "miniature bicycle print" pattern kit phase...

...into whatever "phase" THIS was....(!)...
 

 

 ...into the ORANGE TRAIN days, where he WON the Allegheny Cycling Association Class B Criterium Championship!

 

From there, he was in the mix when Agr International first became the Title Sponsor... still sporting our historical LIME & ORANGE colors...

 

...and still tearing it up when Ag3r first evolved into TODAY'S "Triple Triangle" graphic design; our LIME & RED "Christmas Kit"...

 

...and ALL was well with the World...!!!
 

THEN, in 2010, he shifted his focus to the interests and activities of his growing son, which demanded his time away from the bike. You are a good DAD, Dave! 

Leaping forward to 2016, Dave has made a return to racing, with podium finishes this season at the:

• East Ohio TT
• PMVC Friday TTs, and most recently at
• The Senior National Games Pa. State Qualifiers

Look for Dave in our current HiVis & Raspberry WARIO Kit at an upcoming CycloCross race!

Welcome to WARIO :)
 

PA SUP Championships

Hannah Brewer & Steve Brewer took up a new sport, then RACED it...!!!

HERE are a few pics from their event:
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PA SUP Championships

Hannah - 4th Place (Women's OPEN)

Steve - 5th Place (Men's OPEN)

ABRA White Park MTB

Kirk Morrison raced the ABRA White Park MTB:

HERE is his story:
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Race Name: ABRA White Park Mtb/USAC WV State Championships
Race Location: White Park, Morgantown, WV
Race Category: Expert Masters 50+
Finish Place: Kirk - 4th

Web Address to Results:
http://www.iplayoutside.com/Events/2016/07/16266r.html

Comments: One of my favorite Mtb races with excellent organization by JR and Gina.

Fun 3.5 mile, multi-lap course with numerous rock and root sections. 95F+ temps and high humidity made for a challenging event.

In spite of my acrobatic crash (over the handlebars and landed on my back without touching my helmet) and subsequent mechanical repairs, the combination of small fields and numerous DNF's rewarded me with a 4th place finish.

Post race activities included a visit to the new Don Knotts statue that was unveiled the morning of the race in downtown Morgantown. 

 

 

Best Regards,
Kirk

Big Bear Ultra Lite

Kirk Morrison and Mike Maher attended the WVMBA Big Bear Ultra / Lite mountain bike race this past weekend.

Men's Open Ultra-Lite (20 mile)

Mike took 13th Place

Kirk took 15th Place

 

Here are a few words from Kirk's Race Report:

Morning rain and fog with slippery spots on the trails and mud.

 

Challenging but fun race. Both Mike and I finished with no major crashes or mechanicals. 

Based on his last event here (Big Bear 2x12: see Blog Post below), Mike carried along additional medical supplies but fortunately, none were needed at this Big Bear race.

We both agreed that our 3-ish hour race efforts deserved a more daunting event name than "ultra lite". 

 Great after-race party with tables of food as well as recovery beverages!

Butler One-Two Cycling

"Butler One-Two Cycling", is a group of Butler, Pennsylvania Uni-Cycle and Bi-Cycle riders who have banded together to make Alameda Singletrack a reality.

The name "One-Two" comes from: ONE wheel for unicycles, and TWO wheels for everyone else!

Below is a map of the two currently completed trails.

We are currently working on three additional loops.

PINK is due to be completed next, and is 50% ridable.

BLUE and ORANGE have been marked with flags and very rough cleared, but are not scheduled for completion until late 2016.

Ultimately, there will be ~20 miles of trails built in Alameda Park.

You can visit them on Facebook @AlamedaSingletrack

2 x 12 (with History)

Story by Hannah Brewer.
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Coming in to 2x12, I had spent very little time on my mountain bike and I knew this may be a problem for a long, rocky course. The great thing about racing sport is that every lap is either your first lap or your last lap. With that in mind, I knew I'd be fine!!! (Assuming no bear encounters or face plants).

Racing Big Bear 2x12 in 2012 is when I fell in love with racing mountain bikes. This was the first time I felt fast, fierce, and high on life all at the same time - while completing a workout. The rocks, the single track evergreen section, the loose gravel steep downhill, and the challenging climb at mile 9 gave me every bit of challenge, joy, and sense of accomplishment I could ever dream of on a mountain bike. The fact that I only ride this course once (ok, technically twice) a year but know every inch of the course in my mind makes me love it even more.

2014 at 2x 12 was rough - I raced expert and had bike trouble so the stress of walking my bike and then riding the remaining laps on a friend's bike made it hard to love the ride. And the Bear....Love that bear!

2015 at 2x 12 was equally rough when the course was a MUD FEST and I face planted while chickening out of a totally rideable rock section and sported a black eye for 3 weeks. The plus side? The golf ball sized shiner landed me a free cheeseburger and free coffee (on separate occasions) and I checked out OK at Urgent Care.

2016 at 2x12: I promise, all i'm asking for is no bear, no faceplants, and can I have a working bike, please? The weather was looking good and in favor of a DRY 2x12. These trails dry ARE A BLAST. It was going to be a good day. (Dry race. Not dry after party;) - okay, it was going to be a great day!

Mike agreed to ride the first lap (Thank you. No hill. No crowd).

The hard part about riding second is the waiting game. As I waited for my teammate to come in on the first lap, the time kept ticking, ticking, ticking. And the one thing every relay-style race has in common is that the waiting sucks. It just does. As Mike's "possible fastest time passed", I waited. Then his "predicted time" passed. I waited.... As I waited for his "possible slower time," my thoughts changed to: Flat? Bike trouble? Just taking it easy? Getting older and slower ;) ? 

Then word began to trickle in that a rider went down hard. A fellow mountain biker, and friend, had broken his hip. As concern struck the race corral, I automatically knew that Mike had stopped to help. There was a 99% chance, NO -- there was a 100% chance that if any rider needed medical assistance on the trail at any time that Mike was there. Mike was attending to the rider. Although I had not officially heard that Mike was helping, I felt a sense of calm come over me, knowing he was doing the right thing and remembering that what's important one minute can change in an instant. When one second your thoughts are "ride fast: podium: Strava PR: let's do this" and the next second your thoughts are instant prayers for the injured rider, thoughts of gratitude for the compassion of the entire cycling community, and feeling proud that your teammate was helping another rider, a genuine gratefulness for a healthy body and the ability to simply ride mountain bikes and enjoy nature becomes your focus -- not racing or winning.

After more time had passed, Alice Vernon reported back that Mike and one other guy were with the injured rider. Soon after this was confirmed, the race director sent me out for my first lap, knowing that Mike had stopped to help until EMS arrived. As I started my ride, I soaked in the nature, appreciated every rock I safely rode over, and quickly started to feel as alive and happy on the trails as I did in 2012. I rode clean and smooth and simply enjoyed every moment of my time on the trail.

Mike set up a hammock for sleeping between laps. And YES it was so comfy I had to set up an alarm to make sure I didn't miss my next lap.

As the day progressed, my race-minded self started to resurface, and I saw our team starting to make up some of the lost time. Team Fat Tire Co had a rough day with flats, and this helped put Mike and I back in the game. I rode clean on my second lap, and was thrilled that this was the first time at 2x12 that I rode everything on every lap. No walking, no crashes, no bears, no bike problems, just gliding over rocks and spinning up hills.

At the end of the day, we landed a 2nd place co-ed sport podium finish, unofficially changed our 2x12 team name to "Ag3r Pale and Scrawny" (seriously who's paler, me or Mike?!?! and who's scrawny arm is that in race photos, mine or Mikes?!?!), ate burritos, and reconfirmed how much we love racing mountain bikes. 

To show our 100% dedication to dirt (and since no roadies were there to advise otherwise) we may or may not have worn the camo kits on the podium. 😂

SOLID DAY.

Racing isn't always about racing. It's about enjoying every moment of the ride.

(Okay, the racing part is fun too).

Roaring Run Rumble

Ag3r served as Course Marshals again this year for the Roaring Run Watershed "Rumble" Mountain Bike Race.

Unlike last year's HOT & SUNNY, this year it was (cold) & RAINING the whole day!

Here are a collection of pics by various Ag3r Photographers!

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Pre-Race Marshals Meeting:

 

Richy Laughing at Mike on his KIDS QUAD...

Race Director Mike!

 

Steve, trying to keep his HEAD from exploding!

 

Hannah is "Taken", so you can't "Keep Her"...
She is "Catch & Release ONLY"...!!!

 

Breakfast of Champions!

Richy & Mark, the weird guys from "the other side of the creek" :)

Heading to our Posts....

"Creeping" through the shrubberies at Steve and Hannah.

Mike, looking less "put-together" than he did earlier...!

Muddy Bobby!

Kirk, hunkered WAY down during the Storm:

Hannah and Steve over at the next turn - FAR

 Hannah and Steve at the next turn - ZOOMED & CROPPED

Bobby crossing the creek

But first, Hannah takes a SELFIE :)

Go Bobby, Go!

 

 Steve gets easily distracted...!

 

 Richy, from some rider's Go-Pro footage:

The Race Truck!

What the racers looked like at the end....!!!