PMVC Friday TT

The last PMVC Friday Night TT of the 2010 Season was a 15 mile event...with the final races using our TT bikes not far behind.  Here comes CycloCross!

After "buying some speed", Kirk headed out onto a busy (and crowded) night on track. 

In the end, Ag3r riders found themselves occupying many of the money placings offered by Oscar & Stephanie Swan... "Thanks" to them  :)

1st Place - Brian Hopkins
3rd Place - Steve Marlette
4th Place - Dan Schar (PR by 1:28)
5th Place - Henry Dimmick
8th Place - Kirk Morrison (PR by 0:47)
13th Place - Rich Allen
15th Place - Mark Briercheck
16th Place - Ray Sielski (PR by 0:03)

Of course, the "racing" is only PART of any event for US. Afterwards, The Team hung out well after the last racers had left the venue and the street light had lit...

Steve Marlette joined the 15 people infield party attended by his wife and neighbors...

Dan Schar re-hydrated(!)...

...and Henry apparently had something sour to drink!

As always...a terrifically painful way to end the week  :)

Colavita Eastern Ohio TT

Steve Marlette and Henry Dimmick headed into Ohio for the 4th in this 5-race Colavita Eastern Ohio TT Series.  Despite the rainy drive and overcast skies, what we found was:

A paved parking lot for warm-ups...

A Starting Ramp...attended by Promoter Brian Baird of Applied Vision, an engineering partner with Agr!

An extensive prize list...

...and GREAT Organization & Sponsorship...

...all combining to make this race an totally enjoyable experience!  After the (dust) had settled...

Steve finished in 1st Place of the Men's 40-49 division

...and Henry finished in 3rd Place of the Men's 50-59 division.

This is a race we will have to come back to!

Smith Dairy Milk Race

Dan Schar and Mark Briercheck headed off to the Smith's Dairy Milk Race.

Dan finished in 12th Place while Mark finished further back as a result of his last minute surprise attack for the line in hopes of stealing victory!

You can read ALL about the race on Dan's Blog by clicking HERE!

PMVC Track Bike Night

Oscar Swan (and his megaphone!) has returned from his (summer in Europe) to run the final TT and Track Bike nights of the 2010 PMVC Friday Night Series.

On this LAST Track Bike (Fixie) night of the season...

...Henry Dimmick remembered how much "fun" racing (6 events) back-to-back-to-back is...by throwing up (only once!) DURING the final 15 Lap Points race.  Sorry, no pictures are available!

Taking 5th Place Overall in the Omnium, Henry placed as follows in the individual events:

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6th Place - 1 lap TT

6th Place - Elimination Sprints

3rd Place - Chariot Race

6th Place - Miss & Out

1st Place - 2 Man Relay (w/ Jason Zimmerman)

7th Place - 15 Lap Point Race

PMVC Friday Night TT

As the end of the 2010 Time Trial season quickly approaches,  a "short list" of Ag3r riders rushed to fill the last available starting slots for the recent "short distance" Pittsburgh Master's Velo Club 10 mile TT event!

While only a few of us raced this night, many good times and placings were snagged by Ag3r riders:

3rd Place - Steve Brewer (PR by 36 seconds)
5th Place - Steve Marlette
10th Place - Dan Schar
11th Place - Mark Briercheck (1 second behind Schar!)
22nd Place - Kirk Morrison

Xterra Appalachia Triathlon

Mike Maher gave the Xterra Appalachia Triathlon ANOTHER try...hoping to have a better time of it this time around.  Considering all that went wrong in his "3 strikes & you're OUT" attempt, improvement should be a "lead pipe cinch"!

THIS time around, Mike took 4th Place in the Men's 40-44yrs and 22nd Place Overall

To read about Mike's LAST outing, click HERE.

Canoe Creek Triathlon

Hannah Brewer & Mike Maher competed in The Canoe Creek Triathlon.

Hannah finished in 1st Place (Women's 20-29), and 5th Place Women's Overall

This was the first showing of the her Ag3r tri suit, which she believed brought good luck because it was her fastest run time ever!!!

Showing that CHIVALRY is not dead, Mike took 2nd Place (Men's 40-44), letting Hannah take the top honors on the day!

TWO Podiums... Well Done Tri-People :)

Bear Creek Resort

Sam Morrison spent the weekend at the Bear Creek Resort ... racing!!!

First up, the Super D:  Sam took 3rd Place out of 24 racers!  Gravity is his friend :)

The following day, Sam again line up to race, but THIS time it was for the Pa. State XC Championship.

Showing that pedaling is actually his strong suit (no suprise for a 150 pounder!) Sam fought his way to 2nd Place in the Cat 1 Mens, 19-24 age group.  Awesome Results!

National Master's TT

Kirk Morrison rode his momentum from the Pa. State Master's TT Championships clear to Louisville, Kentucky for the USAC Master's TT National Championships.

Competing in the Men's 50-54 yrs Category, Kirk took 35th Place.

From the Pa. State Master's TT, to the Master's Nationals TT...Kirk traveled LOTS of miles and competed in the best TTs the USA has to offer... ALL IN ONE WEEK.

Nice Job Kirk  :)

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In Kirk's Words:
Yesterdays Masters Nationals were quite an eye opener. Lots of strong riders. Tough conditions with temps over 95F, very high humidity and bright sun over the entire course.

I finished the 25.8km Mens 50-54 Nationals TT in 35th place (38'13") out of a total field of 39 riders. The surprising thing is that I had a fairly good ride with an avg HR of 183bpm (including a new high of 192bpm on several hills). It was great to see riders at this level. Very motivating and enlightening .... Highly recommended !!

Pa. State Master's TT

Kirk Morrison took a shot at the Pa. State Master's Individual Time Trial Title...finishing in:

16th Place (Men's 50-54 yrs) ...with results also reported here.

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In Kirk's Words:
I ended up placing 16th in the 50-54 age group with a time of 31'34".  The race was held over a fairly hilly course with over 500 feet of climbing over the 20K.

I couldn't help but note that my time would have put me in the top 10 for the 30-34, 35-39 and 40-44 age groups (and #11 for the 45-49 group). I'm surprised that there are so many fast guys in the 50+ group.

I was hoping for a better result but considering that I've only had 2 days to get used to the UCI Legal position (had to move my saddle to the rear by over 5cm !) I can't complain. The "illegal" position was definitely more comfortable and faster. No pics ... hopefully I will be able to get a few
at Nationals on Tuesday.

Envy Types:

Equipment Envy!

Speed Envy!

THANKS to FRED JORDAN for the GREAT Photos here...

...and for those just added to the Friday 25 mile TT post below.

Run with the Deer Flies

Hannah Brewer took on her first TRAIL RUN at the "Run with the Deer Flies" 15k.

Turns out, she's pretty good at it, finishing:

2nd Place Woman 20-29

5th Place Woman's Overall

12 Place Overall

With results like that, she was obviously running FASTER than the deer flies...not "with" them as the race name implies.  Something that can be appreciated by all those who have been bitten by one of those MONSTERS!

Friday Night TT

The first 25 mile distance of the PMVC / IC Bikes Friday Night at the Track finally arrived...and went. 

In order to keep the track safe, a 30 rider limit was set for the evening.  Ag3r was able to land 7 of those valuable seats.

Dan Schar - 5th Place Overall
(sub one-hour / no aero helmet / no aero wheels)

Steve Brewer - 7th Place
(sub one-hour / Personal Record by 3:26)
(first time beating Marlette!)

Steve Marlette - 8th Place
(sub one-hour / Steve's 11th sub one-hour time)

Brian Hopkins - 10th Place
(sub one hour / riding Merckx style!)

Mark Briercheck - 13th Place

Ray Sielski - 17th Place
(Personal Record by 2:44)

Hanna Brewer - 25th Place

Shannock Valley HEAT Festival

Mike Maher & Rich Allen competed in the Shannock Valley Festival.  Mike did the 5K run, then joined Richy for the Mtn Bike Race.

5K RUNNING RACE:
Mike Maher
9th Place Overall
3rd Place 40-44 yrs


MTN BIKE RACE:
Rich Allen
27th Place Overall
3rd Place 50-59 yrs

Mike Maher
44th Place Overall
4th Place 40-44 yrs

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In Mike's Words:
The Running race was first and it was brutally hot. Finished 9th overall and 3rd in my age group despite faltering at the end.  The MTB race was later that morning starting at 11AM. Just to make sure it had warmed up enough. I completely imploded after mile two. I could hardly turn the pedals on the flats.  But here’s the interesting part…

Average pace for the run 7:20/mile
Average pace for the bike 7:43/mile

Now that’s embarrassing!!! 
Another point of interest: They carted a guy out with heat stroke. Pretty bad.

----------------------------------------
In Richy's Words:
Did the MB race in the 89 F temp but tried not to let it bother me since Randy and I train in the heat.

Past the guy, Pat, leading my age group point series about 2 miles into the race and actually stayed with some of the experts for the first halve of the race but then wilted on the hills.

Past a check point and asked the guy how much further and he said about 4.5 miles to go. I'm like how far?? I didn't believe him but I didn't know so stayed on the same pace. Then a couple minutes later I hear someone yell my name out from behind me, it was Pat, and I just missed a turn! Not sure how because the course was pretty well marked. By the time I got turned around and heading down the right trail he was gone. As it turned out where I missed the turn was just on the edge of town 2 blocks from the finish.

Pat finished a few seconds ahead of me for second and I brought up the rear in 3rd. "A guy" from WV won the age group, he's really fast.

I think I'm second in points w/ 2 races left.

The New Kit

Ag3r's 2010 Kit, taking over ...(and over taking!) ...our 2008 Kit   : )

PMVC Friday TT

The most recent PMVC Friday Night Time Trial was contested at the 20 mile distance.

3rd Place - Steve Marlette
6th Place - Kirk Morrison
11th Place - Ray Sielski
16th Place - Hannah Brewer

In a seperate effort, Steve Brewer attempted to re-set the newly broken 12.5 mile track record...falling a bit short of the mark.

This was also the first (in-person) public sighting of our new KIT  :)

Stay Tuned for Pictures!

Sorted and Stacked

Smurf THIS   : )

248 Total Pieces ...for starters!

XTERRA ONE

Mike Maher had a rough time in the XTERRA ONE mtb triathlon.

Despite his 3-strikes of bad luck, Mike still finished 30th Overall.

Read Mike's story below:
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Funny story about having to ride the MTB course on my SS in running shoes. Well at least it’s funny now.

Pulled a major “Henry” and packed my road shoes, set them in the transition, and didn’t realize I had the wrong shoes till after the swim.

Of course the swim was another potential disaster. As I pulled into the race venue, I hear a loudspeaker announcement that wetsuits are not going to be allowed for the race. NOT good for me. Never swam that far in open water “unassisted” by the buoyancy of a wetsuit. Freaky!

Then forced to ride a marginally technical course in running shoes and wrapped it all up by yes….wait for it… crashing during the run. Hard enough to scrape my armpits.

GOOD TIMES!

End of an Era?

...or maybe just the end of our "Christmas Kit"...?

Click HERE for a taste of what is about to emerge on the scene!

PMVC Friday Night Time Trial

Ag3r had a HUGE showing at the 15 mile PMVC Friday Night Time Trial. As a result, attendance at this event (probably) set a new record for PMVC...causing the need for two flights of the race to be necessary!

Topping the night was Brian Hopkins setting a NEW TRACK RECORD...besting the previous record set in 2007 by 40 seconds! WOW.

1st - Brian Hopkins (New Track Record)
6th - Steve Marlette (Personal Record)
7th - Steve Brewer
15th - Mark Briercheck
16th - Henry Dimmick (Personal Record)
19th - Dan Schar
21st - Kirk Morrison
29th - Ray Sielski (Personal Record)
30th - T. Lyle Ferderber
32nd - Rich Allen
36th - Hannah Brewer

Below are a few pictures...from the event, with more pics to be found on Brian Hopkin's Site HERE.

Dam Triathlon?

Maybe there is a spelling error in this post, and maybe there isn't...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hannah Brewer writes:

Every year I swear I will plan a vacation, sign up for a different race, or find any excuse to avoid the Meadville Dam Triathlon. However, when registration is sent out in January, I'm either in denial that winter will ever end, or am feeling unusually ambitious and sign up without much thought. Then June arrives and I realize I haven't swum a mile since last June, but am pre-registered for that damn tri.

Hannah is #46

I just made it in under 3 hours, finishing in 2:59:53 for the Olympic Distance race...almost nine minutes faster than my time in 2009, putting me in:

4th Place for my age group (25-29 yrs)
10th Place Female
51st Place Overall
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, if you have any DAM QUESTIONS, click HERE!!!

Hilly Billy Roubaix

Kirk Morrison was the only one of us MAN enough to take on this West Virginia Race!

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Kirk's Story:

Saturday’s Hilly Billy Roubaix ended up being quite a challenge. As expected, J.R. put on another phenomenal race.

The day included 72 very challenging miles with over 6,800 ft of climbing and 92 degree temps.  The roads consisted of mud, water, and many steep climbs/descents on hairy gravel roads. This pic is courtesy of J.R. Petsko at about mile 11.

At about mile 12, I found myself thigh deep in a similar looking puddle (only much deeper !) … all on officially recognized WV state roads.  I only crashed once at about mile 14 on a gravel section. The resultant banged-up arm, wrist & hand made braking and water bottle handling a bit painful. My hand started feeling better after a few more hours on the bike (or maybe I just didn’t notice as much since everything else was starting to hurt …).

Lots of flats during the race (even including mountain bikes ) due to the road conditions. I lost about 10 mins at the first rest stop when I helped Chrissie with a stubborn flat tire removal. Fortunately, my Kenda Small Block 700x35’s got me through with no problems and my C’dale Cx9-3 cross bike was solid.

The last pic is courtesy of Ben Stephens on the final climb to the finish.

At the end, I finished in 9th place in the 40+ age group... with a finish time of 6:27:41.

NOTE the almost 20% DNF rate!!!

I enjoyed watching the men’s podium sharing gulps from their champagne bottles while the women’s podium skipped the champagne to share swigs from Betsy’s 1st Prize bottle of WV Moonshine! … only in WV ! 

Overall had a great time. Highly recommended !

Fat Tire Challenge

Rich Allen raced the Fat Tire Challenge segment of the Ride-the-Wild Series this past weekend.

In Rich's Words:
Didn’t plan it very well but ventured East solo to the 2010 Brookville Fat Tire Challenge. I had a test scheduled for the following day and was on a clear liquid diet for race day.

This race is getting bigger and better every year. It’s got about everything CX people want -single track, double track, 3900 ft of climbing, rock gardens and some fast logging roads.

They had a record number of riders both Expert and Sport. This year had a different start, it was by age group! So being in the 50 and over Sport class we started last which turned out to suck.

Not far into the race we started catching and trying to pass people in the age groups that started in front of us. That’s hard to do on the technical stuff! Had a good ride going till mile 9 where I started getting leg cramps again that sucks! At mile 10 Pat from Buffolo Riders past me to take our age group lead then with a ½ mile to go, going through another rock garden, my left quad locked up so bad I was off the bike. After a minute or so the cramp let up so I started walking. A spectator says the finish is just up where you can see the cars, 100 yards or so, so I got back on and soft peddled to finish.

Finished 20th Overall and 2nd in the 50+ class. It was a great day!!!

Erie Time Trial

The 2010 edition of the Presque Isle Cycling Club (PICC) Erie Time Trial went off with only two hitches this weekend:
(1) Ray Sielski faced a Automobile Blockade (Check Skir's Log on right sidebar)...and
(2) Dave Shaffer arrived just in time to start with NO warm-up!

In the end, the results shook as as follows:

Brian Hopkins - 3rd Place Overall (Personal Record)

Steve Marlette - 9th Place Overall, 3rd M40-49 (PR)

Steve Brewer - 10th Place Overall, 1st M20-29

Mike Maher - 20th Place Overall, 6th M40-49 (PR)

Randy McCracken - 29th Place Overall, 6th M50-59

Dave Shaffer - 40th Place Overall, 12th M30-39

Kirk Morrison - 45th Place Overall, 12th M50-59 (PR)

Donnie Panizales - 47th Place Overall, 13th M40-49 (PR)

Ray Sielski - 51st Place Overall, 17th M50-59 (PR)

Sam Morrison is reported to having taken pictures with Brian Hopkin's camera...and when we get our hands on them, we will post a few.

Friday Night at the Track

This week's edition of the PMVC / Iron City Cycling Friday Night at the Track Time Trial Series featured the 10 mile distance.  (wow...THAT was a mouth full!)

Not Racing this night were:
Sam Morrison (injured knee) and Henry Dimmick (forgot his shoes...again!). 

Instead, they both went to work helping to run Registration, Bike Computer Calibration, Race Staging/Starting, and Timing.

Racing this night were:
Mike Maher - 8th Place

Ray Sielski - 23rd Place (Personal Record)
T.Lyle Ferderber - 19th Place

Kirk Morrison - 20th Place

Rich Allen - 29th Place

Everyone was just happy that it didn't rain!