20110524

Dan Spencer Memorial Road Race

Brian Hopkins installed his Interval-Lungs in order to compete in the Dan Spencer Memorial Road Race!

Apparently they worked quite well, since Brian finished in 13th Place of the Men's 3/4 category.

Stay Tuned to RIDER BLOGZ for a post from Brian.

Sonic Boom Crit

Sam Morrison set off a SONIC BOOM (with his rear tire) during a criterium in Colorado.

The reason was likley due to the tire (and knee tape) being a mis-match in color to his front tire (and kit!)...or possibly due to a hasty last minute tire change right before the race(?)

YOU decide!

Tour de Montour

Hannah Brewer got MORE than she bargained for when agreeing to ride the Tour de Montour!

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Hannah Writes:
I rode the 75 mile Tour de Montour this Saturday, commonly referred to as the "MonTourture." Check out the elevation!


This was my first time riding 75 miles...ever..but my mother signed me up for it, so I had to go! Turns out the course was actually 77 miles!!!

It was a fun course and there were some fast downhills that helped make the climbs worth climbing!  It was a tough course and there were some dirt sections of road but there were BEAUTIFUL views after every climb.

For the "75-mile" distance, I finished 1st place in my age group and 6th overall for women.

...and TMR Roofing is popular in Eastern PA too because one rider passed me and said Oh, TMR! Do you know Mike Maher?!?!?!

Pittsburgh Half Marathon

Hannah Brewer RAN further today than seven of us RODE our bikes.  Men are WEAK!

During this year's Pittsburgh Half Marathon, Hannah finished:
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Hannah Writes:

While my teammates were pedaling 12.6 miles at yesterday's tt, I was running 13.1 miles in Steel City!!!

It was the third year in a row that rain graced the Pittsburgh 1/2 marathon. By now, it wouldn't be the Pittsburgh Half if it wasn't raining! As always, it was a well-organized event and the crowd support was amazing!

I ran an 8:39 pace and finished in 1:53:10. This was the third year that I ran the Dick's Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Half Marathon and apparently I keep getting slower. Yet, I am pleased with my pace since 90% of this year's training was on my bike.

2009: 1:48:12
2010: 1:51:57
2011: 1:53:10

Every year at mile 9 I vow to never sign up for a race longer than 6 miles again UNLESS it is on my bike. I don't know if its the popularity of the event, the peer pressure from all of my lady friends, the excitement of crossing the finish line, or sheer stupidity, but no matter what, I always give in and decide that running 13 miles will be fun.......and for the most part, it is :)

20110523

Colovita TT

Despite what has now become commonplace "May Rain Showers", SEVEN Ag3r/FoxVelo riders headed into Ohio to compete in the May Edition of the 12.6 mile Colovita East Ohio TT.

Photo by Some Guy, with Ray Sielski's Phone!

Steve Marlette - 1st Place Overall / 1st Place Mens 40-49 yrs (PERSONAL RECORD)

Photo by Ray Sielski

Steve Brewer - 2nd Place Overall / 1st Place Mens 20-29 yrs

Photo by Ray Sielski

Kirk Morrison - 4th Place Mens 50-59 yrs (PERSONAL RECORD)

Randy McCracken - 5th Place Mens 50-59

Henry Dimmick - 8th Place Mens 50-59 (PERSONAL RECORD)

Rich Allen - 11th Place Mens 50-59

Ray Sielski - 13th Place Mens 50-59

The Race Organizer are (now) planning to open a 2-man TT division for the June race, in addition to the other categories he already has: (1) Individual Age Grouped, (2) Single Speed FIXIE, and (3) The STANDARD Category (?)!!!

As always, we were the LAST to leave the parking lot  :)

Photo by Ray Sielski

Race at the Lakes #4

Kirk Morrison headed off to the Race at the Lakes (RATL) race #4 with a chip on his shoulder!

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In Kirk's Words:


I had a great time this past Saturday racing in the RATL series finale Masters Crit race with Dan Schar and Mark Briercheck at this scenic Munroe Falls Metro Park venue. Dan and Mark were competing in the Mens 35+ field while I was in the 45+ group.


The weather was a bit sketchy since there were bands of rain and thunderstorms passing through Ohio. However, the weather cooperated and we started on time at 11am. Wet roads did allow for a few tire skids in the corners but all of the racers were able to keep the rubber side down in our event.


I ended up finishing this 23 mile race in 14th place in the main pack (in 1 hour, 15 sec). This was a good accomplishment for me since I had been dropped in the previous 2 RATL races. I even felt good enough to follow the fine examples of Dan and Mark by sprinting off the front for for a brief solo break.


Mark was the star of our group with a 5th place finish (in the money !).


Dan was right on Mark's heels finishing in 9th place.

ACA Wednesday Criterium

Dan Schar and Mark Briercheck took a weekday evening "off" to race in the Allegheny Cycling Association Weekly Wednesday Night Criterium Series.
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In Mark's Words:

ACA Summer Series - 5/11/11 - The A Race Summary

A Wednesday nighter is a Wednesday nighter is a Wednesday nighter.  Thank goodness that warm weather has finally arrived.

The A's were a pretty fast pace (high 20's/low 30s) for most of the race. 5 or 6 guys got in a break away and took it. 

Schar and I mostly sat in. I took one flyer to chase the break but didn't get very far.

Other than wearing my fancy new Specialized shoes I picked up from Pro Bikes in Squirrel Hill...


...the only thing memorable about this race was a conversation I had with Schar at approximately 35 laps in to the race:

Briercheck: "Schar - how are you feeling?"
Schar(with a cross-eyed look on his face): "Only 8 laps to go."
Briercheck: "Actually, we only have 6 left"
Schar: "Oh."

Race at the Lakes #3

Kirk Morrison traveled solo to edition #3 of the 2011 Race at the Lakes Series.

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Here's Kirk's story!


This past weekend I enjoyed my second 22 mile Crit at the Munroe Falls Metro Park, RATL Masters race . I was the only Ag3r rider that made this weekends drive but the field was a bit larger and the weather was excellent (59F, partly cloudy and light winds).


My goal this weekend was to gain some experience working in the main group. I was able to ride in this group for most of the race and finished in 15th place in the Mens Masters 45+ field.


My only claim to fame is that I was the highest placed Cat4 in this event. The pace was brisk with lots of hard accelerations.


I’m hoping to head back for next weeks final RATL event. A beautiful park with a great course !


Unfortunately, no pics !

20110510

C-130 Hercules TT

Brian Hopkins got POOPED OUT the back of an airplane ...on his bike  :)

Check out his story on his Blog: BIKENURSE, or from Rider Blogz along the right sidebar!

Erie TT

The Spring version of the Iroquois Sports Boosters Presque Isle Individual Time trials is always a sketchy weather event.  Luckily for us, this year we only had to deal with 25 mph winds...and a light-to-slight spritzing of off-and-on rain! 


Understandably, there were NO PERSONAL RECORDS set this day...but three Ag3r racers did come home with Trophy Hardware :)


Hannah Brewer
1st place Women's 20-29 yrs
82nd Place Overall
-2.5% off her Personal Record
2nd best "Spring Time"

Steve Brewer
1st Place Men's 20-29 yrs
7th Place Overall
-1.1% off his Personal Record
BEST "Spring Time" ever for Steve!

Steve Marlette
3rd Place Men's 40-49 yrs
9th Place Overall
-2.3% off Personal Record
2nd best "Spring Time"

Randy McCracken
6th Place Men's 50-59 yrs
28th Place Overall
-2.7% off his Personal Record
BEST "Spring Time" ever for Randy!

Henry Dimmick
8th Place Men's 50-59 yrs
34th Place Overall
-6.7% off his Personal Record
5th best "Spring Time"

Rich Allen
18th Place Men's 50-59 yrs
71st Overall
-7.1% off his Personal Record
3rd best "Spring Time"

Ray Sielski
19th Place Men's 50-59 yrs
75th Place Overall
-7.5% off his Personal Record
3rd best "Spring Time"

Afterwards, Hannah, Steve, Ray, Richy and Henry went to a micro-brewery ...for carbo-reloading (of course!), and some food(?)  BUT, the fryer was off ...and they were out of mushrooms... and they were out of bread ... so.......!!!

20110509

Race at the Lakes

Hannah Brewer, Steve Brewer, Kirk Morrison and Dave Shaffer took 20 or so spins around the lake at The Race at the Lakes Series Race #2.

Dave took 3rd Place in the Men's 35+ race :)

Hannah took 10th Place in the Women's Open race.

Kirk finished in 17th Place of the Men's 45+ race.

With Steve taking 2nd Place in the Men's Cat 4 race!

HERE is an awesome video
of the Men's Cat 4 race,
where you can see Steve (#142)
LIGHT the AFTERBURNERS
in the final sprint,
BLOWING by multiple riders
like they were standing STILL!!!


Fast Forward to the 46 minute mark.
Just after a three rider attack,
Steve comes into view
chasing down two of the the three attackers.
The finish is only 3 minutes after that!

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Kirk Wrote:
This was a well run race on a beautiful, closed loop course. The weather was nice with temperatures in the high 50’s, light winds and NO rain! Unfortunately (for me), the Masters were fast. After a few 24.5/25mph laps I was dropped from the main group. I ended up finishing the hour long, 22 mile race with an average speed of 22 mph which left me in 17th place. I’m hoping to improve my capacity for quick bursts of speed with some short interval workouts.
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Hannah Said:
Basically I loved everything about the Race At The Lakes course. No steep climbs, and we could pedal through the corners. It was as pleasant as riding at race-pace can be!  I can really appreciate Steve's sprint for 2nd and Dave's 3rd place finish because the finish line was on the steepest part of the course. Way to go Ag3r.  I'm taking this weekend off since its Mother's Day and the next race on my list is the Pittsburgh 1/2 marathon (May 15th). Yikessss!!!
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Dave Texted from the Race:
A beautiful day at a beautiful park RATL,awesome smooth,wide sweeping FAST course,Steve Brewer was the 1st of us,AG3R'S to go off in the cat 4 race which he finished 2nd in,next to go off Dave Shaffer 35+ Kirk Morrison 45+,and Hannah Brewer womens started together,Shaffer 3rd 35+,Hannah Brewer 10th womens, Morrison top 10?