20111230

Marilla CX

DESTRUCTION:
25 derailleurs/chains and 3 frames ...2 of them carbon. 
COST: ~= $10,000.

THIS sums up what a muddy course leading into a pea-gravel pit can do to a bicycle.

WARNING #1: 
DO NOT try this at home  :(
 
 
 

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A cold morning...


...did not deter a few riders from wearing "special kit" during the first race of the day....setting the tone for what would come for the rest of us! 

WARNING #2:
The following images are intended for "Mature" audiences!

 
 

..."uniforms" that may "look" cute, but do not lend themselves well to crashing...

..."uniforms" that should have been "ticketed" by THIS guy...

...and "uniforms" that should have been disqualified by THIS guy!

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Anyway ...on to some RACE RESULTS.

Men's 40+ Open
Mike Maher - 3rd Place

Mark Briercheck - 10th Place

Men's 50+ Open
Rich Allen - 3rd Place

Henry Dimmick - 4th Place ...running the last half lap after his derailleur broke off.

Kirk Morrison - 6th Place

Men's 3/4
Steve Brewer - 13th Place ...after wrestling with a squirrel's nest!
 
 

Single Speed - Open
Kirk Morrison - 12th Place

Women's Cat 4
Hannah Brewer - 1st Place...Queen for the Day, AGAIN :)
 

Amity CX

Continuing the trend of DRY cross races this season, the Amity (W.Va.) CycloCross race went off under sunny skies!

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Story by Kirk Morrison
For November, the weather was amazing with sunshine and temperatures in the low 50’s.
This was a fast, fairly dry course with a run-up (which could have used a rope ….. DX style !), some off-camber mud, and a steep downhill with a challenging off-camber right hand turn at the bottom.

The anticipated stream crossing (cold water!) was eliminated with the race-day construction of a make-shift running bridge.

Our group size was limited by the need for team members to set-up for tomorrow’s Murrysville CX (which Ag3r Promotes)...so "thank you to all the team members that actually “worked” this day instead of racing".

However, we were still able to make a good showing. Hannah had the top podium spot of the day.  Nice job Hannah !

A summary of our finish spots are as follows.

Women – Cat4:
Hannah - 2nd Place 

Masters 50+:
Rich - 4th Place 

Kirk - 5th Place

Ray - 8th Place

Men – Cat3/4:
Steve - 14th Place (11th Cat3)

Men – SS Open:
Kirk - 10th Place

Another excellent race from JR and Gina at ABRA racing. Great fun !

Ghostly Grey MTB

Timed perfectly with the FIRST SNOW of the season, Kirk Morrison and Mike Maher decided to do a mountain bike race over a rocky & wet course!  While we all aspire to be Smart, and Fast, and Tough, most of (us) are happy with 2-out-of-3   : )

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Tale by Kirk Morrison

Mike and I headed over to Camp Lutherlyn (Prospect, PA) for the annual 30K Ghostly Gray MTB race (3 laps of a 10K course). This is a fundraising event (including 5K and 10K trail runs) to benefit the PA State Police run “Camp Cadet” which is held every August at this camp.

The conditions were challenging with temperatures in the low 30’s, while rain & wet snow fell from above, leading to lots of hiking on the hills due to the slick, muddy conditions.

Mike had a great start and was part of the group of 3 lead riders. Unfortunately, Mike flatted about halfway through his first lap. I passed off my CO2 cartridge when I passed but unfortunately, his tire had suffered an irreparable torn sidewall (which forced him to abandon the race).

During the 2nd lap, I was able to pick off a number of riders to move up into 10th place when I finally made contact with the group of 4 riders that were in front of me. Unfortunately, I then started losing air in my rear tire. With the 3 or 4 stops to pump-up the leaking tire, I was not able to stay with this group. However I was able to hold onto my 10th position which ended up as my finish placing.

While the trails were extremely muddy and slick, the 7 stream crossings/lap actually helped to clean off some of the accumulating mud. Well marked trails, enthusiastic volunteers with pizza and a warm fire at the finish ! Excellent race. Highly recommended (12 minutes from Butler !).

Results link is below:
http://www.smileymiles.com/2011/RES%2011%20GHOSTLY%20GRAY%2030K%20MTN%20BIKE.HTM

Kirk