Moraine MTB

The Month of Mud ends as it always does....at the end of the month! 

On a more serious note, the MOM ends with the Moraine State Park mountin bike race.  A two lap loop over some of THE most technical riding to be found within 6 hours in any direction!  Seriously.
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Thanks to photographers Mike Briggs, Brian Parker, West Liberty Cycles & Sonic Images.
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Ag3r riders this day were Sam Morrison, Rich Allen and Mike Maher.

"Handling Support at the Start/Finish was Kirk & Leslie Morrison,

...while Henry Dimmick took post at the Aleksander Ridge parkinig area.

In the Sport Race:
Mike Maher finished in 13th Place

Rich Allen finished in 15th Place

In the Expert Race:
Sam Morrison finished in 2nd Place of the Men's Expert Division

Quite the weekend for Mr. Morrison...home for two days from Boulder...and finishing on the Podium on both days in two different cycling disciplines!

Little Washington CX

Little Washington is really Washington Pa... called "Little" so as not to be confused with Washington DC.

Really?  Is this an actual  problem?!?!?!

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Thanks in advance to Vaughn Wallace, Dan Schar & Sonic Photos for the images in this post  : )
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Anyway ... Henry Dimmick, Kirk Morrison, Sam Morrison, Ray Sielski, Mark Briercheck, Steve Marlette and Dan Schar all showed at this beautiful Fall day event held in an (American Legion Park) ...or maybe in Occupied Territory(?)

Soon after setting up camp...

...and some warm-up runs at the barriers...

...the racing began.

First Up - Men's Cat. 4
Mark finished in 15th Place

Kirk finished in 25th Place

Ray (finished) DNF ... with multiple rear tire flats.

Next Up - Men's Masters 40+ yrs
Steve finished in 9th Place

Henry finished in 11th Place

Kirk finished in 14th Place

Then - Men's Cat. 3/4
Henry finished in 25th Place

And Last but NOT Least - The Men's Cat. 1/2/3 Elite
Sam finished in 5th Place

All throughout the races, Dan and Mark could be seen...and HEARD...cheering! 

Like HERE...

HERE...

HERE...

 ...and HERE...

...before finally running out of steam...HERE... with Kirk giving him some crap as he passed by for sitting down on the job!

It was a great day for Cross....as most days ARE.

Double Cross II

Strobe Johnson hosted another Double Cross Race (Party), this time adding something called "Clunker Cross" to the evening's events!

Attending from Ag3r were Mike Maher and Mark Briercheck, finishing the Omnium in 2nd Place and 3rd Place respectively.

Also NEW to this version of Double Cross?

FLAMING BARRIERS

Watch for a possible Blog Post from "Pale & Scrawny"!

In the mean time, you can read all about Double Cross I...right HERE

North Park MTB TT

Rich Allen and Kirk Morrison were able to stay "local", racing in the Month of Mud, North Park MTB Time Trial.
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In Kirk's Words:
It was a beautiful day in the low 60’s with a dry, twisty single-track course and lots of opportunity for speed (for those more skilled than me). This was an extremely well attended event with a record setting # of racers for any M.O.M. event (201 riders !).

I enjoyed the 6 mile loop and ended up with a 25th place finish in the Masters 45+ class (race # 439). This outing has motivated me to get out to Alameda and Moraine over the winter to try to develop some off-road skills before the start of next year’s MTB races.

Photo by Mike Briggs

Rich ended up with an 18th place finish in the Sport Class (race # 543) and with (unfortunately) more back issues.

Photo by Mike Briggs

Here is a link to the results (listed by race #): http://monthofmud.org/?page_id=1275

Wyalusing Triathlon

Hannah Brewer tried her hand, or rather her arms and legs, at something new!
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In Hannah's Words:
I drove (way too far) to participate in a run/kayak/bike triathlon. This was my first kayak-tri experience, and lets just say that I did NOT miss the swim.

There were two categories, "competitive" and "recreational". These categories were based on the type of kayak used. If an entrant's kayak was less than 17.5 feet, they were automatically in the recreational category as competitive kayaks are longer and skinnier (over 17.5 feet).

Considering my 1st Place "Recreational Time" was only (45) seconds off the "Competitive IronWoman" time... 

...for Christmas, I'm adding a "competitive kayak" to my sports-related Wish List (along with a new mountain bike and new cx bike). I guess I AM more like STEVE than I'd like to admit  :)

Results are posted HERE.

Also, check out my Mama ...who took 2nd Place in the Woman's 50-59 Category!

Clearfield K.O.M.

Ag3r/FoxVelo Club Member Randy McCracken dusted off his "wings" to compete in the hillclimb King-of--the-Mountain Challenge in Clearfield, Pa.

Finishing in 16th Place Overall, 2nd  Place in the Men's 50+, Randy reminds us all that he remains a contender when the road turns "North".

Complete Results can be found HERE.

Cincinnati CX Festival

Steve Brewer and Brian Hopkins drove WAY over to Cincinnati (8 hrs one-way for Brian) to race CX!

Cincinnati is a BIG race....ranked UCI-C2/C1, and is part of the (traveling) USA CycloCross Season Circuit.  So it is no suprise that good racers travel from MILES AROUND to go head-to-head with the best, then follow that up by watching the PROS "do it" on the same course. 

Racing Friday, Saturday AND Sunday, they mixed lots of car-miles and lots of leg-miles with lots of photo-ops with famous racers, whose pictures continue to populate Steve and Brian's FaceBook Profiles Photos   : )

Friday - Devou Park (Cat 2/3)
Steve finished 41st
Brian finished 45th

Steve goes +4...!

Saturday - Sunset Park (Cat 2/3)
Brian finished 60th
Steve finished 66th

With Brian "Leaping Over" both the barrier (below) and Steve, to go into the "Ag3r Cup" lead +2 over Steve!!

Sunday Harbin Park (Cat 2/3)

Brian finished 50th

Brewer finished 53rd

And with that, Brian comes away as Ag3r Cup Winner, finishing +5 over Steve!!!

What a GREAT road-trip weekend of Cross-Immersion for the boys!

Pa Senior Games - Qualifier

Kirk Morrison is OLD...but age is only a number   : )

To prove he is still young at heart, AND young of body, Kirk had a go at the Pa. State Qualifier for the 2011 National Senior Games! 

Complete results can be found HERE

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Here is Kirk's Story:
This past Saturday morning (Oct 2nd) I participated in the PA Senior Games cycling event at the Bud Harris Oval. This is the qualifying race for the Senior Games National event which will be held in Houston, Texas at the end of June 2011. It was a great event coordinated by Skip Rogers/Mark Bedel and run by Oscar Swann. Many volunteers were on hand including Ed Johnson, Bill Ehler as well as several personnel from the WPW.

The highlight of the morning was watching the 80+ age group races ….. both Men and Women (!). Believe it or not, there were two married couples in this group. Both couples finished as Gold or Silver medal winners (see these amazing athletes in the front row of the group photo).

I ended up with 2nd Place (Silver) in the 5K TT (50-54 age group) behind a speedy Mark Bedel (missing Gold by 2 seconds …).

In the subsequent 20K TT (50-54 age group) I took 1st Place (Gold)!!! 

I would highly recommend this to everyone when the next qualifier comes around (2012). The sight of these senior athletes racing around the Oval is phenomenal.

Next stop …….. Houston in June(?).

Kirk

Grove City CX

Mark Briercheck, Kirk Morrison, Steve Brewer, Rich Allen attended the Grove City CycloCross round of the 2010 Month of Mud Series over the weekend.

When the (mud) settled...(!)...the results were:

Steve - 15th Place in Race
.....(11th Place Sport)
Mark - 17th Place in Race
.....(13th Place Sport)

Rich - 18th Place in Race
.....(14th Place Sport)

Kirk - 42nd Place in Race
.....(11th Place Master)

Complete Results can be found HERE

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In Mark Briercheck's Words:
(Four of us) headed up to the Month of Mud CX and were treated with the best weather possible for such an event. High 40's and rain. YAY!

The whole team signed up and raced the 'Sport' category and quickly realized that there were 80+ others in the same starting group...it was going to be interesting.

The 'Expert' class rode first and adequately shredded the entire course to a brilliant thick brown paste. Think raw chocolate cake batter for 4 grueling laps. Absolute Heaven.

The pack quickly spread apart and Steve Brewer managed to start a race without breaking a chain!  The course had very few climbs but everything was so wet that going down hill was just as hard as going up.  Brewer was definitely in the top ten for the group finish and I think that Allen and Briercheck (finishing within a few seconds of each other) are probably top 20. Morrison was close behind. 

At the end of the race we attempted to find out our results but none of us could remember our race numbers so Gary Bywaters put the kabash on us and said he only speaks in digits now.  So without knowing the actual race outcome we sort of leave the day in a spot of mystery!

C'est la vie.

Kick Off Cross

Steve Marlette was the sole Ag3r racer to attend the Appalachian Bicycle Racing Association (ABRA) Kick Off Cross.

While managing an 11th Place in the Men's 40+ race, it sounds like his experience was still all positive...for the race and the course ...as he experienced another equipment failure PRE-RACE (see the previous post on the Erie TT where he broke his TT bike seat mast before the race.)

Steve (Marlette) and Steve (Brewer) are two birds of a (similar) feather!!!

Complete results can be found HERE

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In Steve's Words:
I raced the Kickoff Cross yesterday in the 40+ race. It was a very nice event and a good cross course, what I always thought a cross course would be, a flat grassy field with a steep, short, up and down hill section and a set of barriers. It was a beautiful day as well.

Also, my Cranks Brothers petal broke before the race. The folks from Pro Bikes helped me out with some loaner pedals so I was able to race.

ProBikes is awesome! --Crank Brother's Candys not so awesome :(

Brady's Run MTB

Rich Allen traveled to the Month Of Mud: Brady's Run Park Mtn Bike race.
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In Rich's Words:
...had a bad start because I'm stupid and not aggressive enough! But last year on the same course I finished with a time of 123.57 (40th in the combined category race) ...and THIS year I finished with a time of 107.31 (19th in the combined category race), so I am getting better!
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Despite qualifiying for the 45+ division, Rich still races Sport, finishing in 12th Place in that Division.

Complete Results can be found HERE

Kent State CX

Mike Maher & Brian Hopkins left Double-Cross to race the Stark Velo Kent State Cyclocross.

In the Men's B Race:
Brian took 9th Place Overall

In the Men's C Race:
Mike took 2nd Place Overall

Full Results can be found HERE

...quite a busy weekend for Ag3r riders.

JBV/ProBikes CX Clinic

After a late night at the Double-Cross, Ray Sielski and Steve Brewer met up with rested (and sober) riders Kirk Morrison, Rich Allen and Steve Marlette to attend the JBV/ProBikes CycloCross Clinic in Frick Park.

A potential LOW-light for the day was Steve (max torque) Brewer breaking yet ANOTHER chain...a brand new one put on just that morning after (last night's) Double-Cross chain break episode.

Brewer's is much like an electic motor... : )

Saltsburg Double-Cross

Mike, Maria, Sierra & Casey Maher organized an invitation-only CycloCross race party as a warm up for the weekend's "official" cross racing!

The Saltsburg Double Cross was a 2-race, back-to-back, one-in-the-light and one-in-the-dark...

Night Photo by The Happy Trout

...beers BEFORE, DURING & AFTER race format, with both classic barrier and extraordinary barrier obstacles!

4 Fanged Snake Bite Rumble Strips

 Thorn (in the tire, now you gotta) Run Trail

Lethal Farm Implement "Climb"

(w/broken glass encrusted rope!)

Night Photo by The Happy Trout

In the end, the Overall Combined results were:
Brian Hopkins - 1st Place

Mark Briercheck - 2nd Place
Henry Dimmick - 3rd Place

...with Saltsburg Style podium girls!   ...squishy trophies...

...and strange spectators!

Mike skipped Race #1 to make sure things got going as planned...and then joined in on Race #2 and took the WIN.

Hannah Brewer was the only Brew-Crew member to sucessfully finish both races.

...and Steve (legs like locomotives) Brewer broke most everything in site ...including exploding his chain into 3 pieces in the first pedal stroke of Race #1...!!!

Learn more HERE, about the OTHER definition of Double Cross riders had to endure during the night race! (written by the The Happy Trout)