Erie TT

Ag3r Riders Steve Marlette and Ray Sielski headed NORTH for the season finale of the Iroquois Sports Boosters Presque isle Individual Time Trial.

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Ray writes:
Age is everything, just ask Steve Marlette.

Entering the State Park a flashing yellow board posts no advisories; Makes me wonder if there are no advisories why post?

Well, there SHOULD have been a posting, because the wind was WAY UP, with small craft warnings on the lake....and in the parking lot! 

This made for a strong headwind going out and sweet anticipation of putting up a spinnaker on the way back and breeze into the finish line. Not so fast, that wind was astern and blowing sand making for a teeth clenching and gritty finish.

Through all this, Steve puts up an impressive outing. Facing a strong headwind and stronger sandstorm assault from the side Steve manages to show the rest of the field how it is done by finishing in 2nd Place Overall...

...second overall to a rider 23 years his junior.... which should inspire all of the 50 plus class, to which Steve will join all too soon! Dammit Jim, bodes ominous for me.

Ray Sielski finishes in 7th Place of the 50-59 division, and 47th Overall.

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Meanwhile, Steve writes:
High wind gusts that attempted to yank the bike from beneath you, was the main feature of the September 8th time trial on the Presque Isle Peninsula. Ray Sielski, Dave Hickey and I were there to test our TT skills as well as our nerves along with the 98 other participants. As it turned out, we were all in for a pretty good beating by Mother Nature.

Dust Devils swept across the beaches at the far end and attacked riders as the came through and I heard many reporting nearly getting blown off course.

Despite many scary moments, we all made it to the finish line. 

At the end of the day I manage to slot into the second overall!! My first time in the top 3! Maybe I should whish for horrific conditions for every time trial.

6 hours in the Valley (of Death)

Hannah Brewer, Steve Brewer, Mark Briercheck and Henry Dimmick headed east to compete in the 6 hours in the Valley mtn bike race sponsored by the Bike the Wilds group.

The day started foggy and HUMID, and soon turned to rain :(

Luckily it stopped just as we arrived to the race venue....so we did not have to set up camp in the rain.

Hannah & Steve teamed up for to compete in the Mixed Duo Division, while Mark and Henry paired up (again), so to speak! You may remember THIS picture from the last time these two paired up(???)!!!

Anyway, Steve and Henry started the race, doing the first lap for their respective teams.

Lap 1:
Steve put down one of the fastest times of the day....which soon earned him the label as "Least Desirable Teammate"....since the faster he rode HIS laps, the less time Hannah had to rest and get ready for HER lap!

Meanwhile, Henry put in a solid top 10 lap time.

Lap 2:
Hannah put in a lap time better than Henry's...

...while Mark BREAKS his CHAIN...!

Did I mention, that Mark had JUST PURCHASED his mountain bike only 2 days before this race?

Did I mention that Mark has NEVER OWNED a Mtn Bike before?

Do I have to mention how radically crazy it is that Mark's first mtn bike RIDE is a RACE

...or that his first RACE is a 6 HOUR RACE...?!?!?!?!

RESPECT!!!

Lap 3:
Steve is still on the gas....and now has enough distance to ensure a win in the Mixed Duo Division, as long as nothing mechanical happens. 

Henry posts a lap time within 15 seconds of his first lap time.

Lap 4:
Steve pushes Hannah to be fast....in order to move their Mixed Duo time up into honorable ranking with the Men's Duo teams! No....he is not competitive at all, is he...???!!!

Hannah totally complies with a lap only 2+ minutes slower than Steve...and again faster than Henry!

Mark, on the other hand, GETS A FLAT TIRE on his second lap...learning painfully FIRST HAND what mtn bike racing is all about!

Lap 5:
Steve rides fast...again. 
Henry rides to finish, knowing that Mark's two mechnicals have dropped them out of the top 10 rankings.

Lap 6:
Hannah stays fast, while Mark FINALLY gets his gravy lap....posting a lap time on par with Henry's times.

Without the mechanicals, Team Smurf (Mark & Henry) would have finished in 8th Place Overall.

Lap 7 & 8:
Steve and Hannah (Team Wario) get to do additional laps....just because they are FAST  ...and WIN the Mixed Duo Division ...and take home all the best Prizes, while Mark draws a lucky door prize and wins a replacement tube for the one he flatted...

 

...while Henry wins NOTHING :)

 

A fun (inaugural) race ....close to home!

PMVC 25 mile TT

Ray Sielski, Mark Briercheck, and Steve Marlette attended the final Pittsburgh Master's Velo Club Individual Time Trial of the 2013 season....a 25 mile long endurance affair!

Ray said:
Another nice effort by the Ag3r time trial crew.

Perfect conditions for the second week in a row at the Bud Harris oval. 70’s, clear, no wind.

Steve posted a Personal Record and sub 1 hour ride to take 1st Place Overall.
Mark just missed the 1 hour bar by 18 seconds to take 6th Place Overall.
Ray put in a good effort for 11th Place Overall.

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Steve said:
What a way to complete the last time trial Race of the season at the Oval: first place, new PR, and my 12th 25-mile TT under one hour.

On top of all that, it was a beautiful night, two teammates (Ray and Mark) were there to suffer it out with me, and my wife and neighbors came to cheer us on.

A nice end to the summer series!

Two Mile Run XC

Rich Allen and Steve Brewer attended the Bike the Wilds Series race at Two Mile Run Park.

Steve took 3rd Place in the Men's Sport 15-29 Division

Rich took 3rd Place in the Men's Sport 50+ Division

With ONE race left to go in this SIX Race Series, Rich sits in 2nd Place Overall in his division....in a 4-way fight for the Podium.

Go Richy Go!!!

PMVC 10 mile TT

Ray Sielski was the sole Ag3r representative at the Pittsburgh Master's Velo Club's (PMVC) 10 mile Individual Time Trial.

Two things made this evening a special one....

FIRST, Ray finished in the Top 10...with a 9th Place Overall Finish!

...and SECOND, this was Ray's 101st race as a member of
Ag3r-ButlerHealthSystem!

Congratulations X-Ray  :)

White Park MTB XC

Story by Hannah Brewer:

The White Park Throwdown is one of my favorite mountain bike races of all times.

It may be the ONLY race course that does not feel like it is uphill both ways. Although it is not rocky, the tight turns, flowy single track, roots, and pump-track sections make it somewhat technical at race speed. And since there are no long uphills, there is no time to rest either: It is a "pedal hard the whole time" kind of course.

This year, the slip-n-slide mud made it extra technical, and small roots and log crossings became a challenge for me. I had to slow down and hit them at the correct angle or I would wipe out. Ok, I did wipe out. But only once!

Being that it is my first summer racing in the women's expert field, I've been trying to pace myself and not go out too hard since the expert distances are longer than what I am accustomed to riding on a mountain bike. I was in 4th place for the ladies when we dropped into the woods on the first lap. At this point, I was hoping to ride consistently and keep my 4th place spot.

As the laps went on, my legs held out and I managed to move into 2nd place. All that climbing in CO with Sam and Deidre and chasing Richy at Moraine must have paid off!

With two laps to go, I saw a (fast-moving) flash of Top Gear's ultra-fasty, Jill Dugan, through the woods. And then "poof", she was gone again.

But with three strong ladies on my tail and the anticipation of being lapped by Gunnar or Gerry Pflug, I knew I needed to keep my pace fast, even though I felt like I was riding alone in the woods.

As the mud finally started to dry up, I crossed the finish line in 2nd place for the Women's EXPERT field. It was a good day.

Getting on the podium and not getting lapped by the boys made for a great race...

...but sometimes the best thing about racing is feeling good on the bike and enjoying the ride.

-------

Hannah Brewer - 2nd Place Woman's Expert

Rich Allen - 3rd Place Men's 1/2/3 55+

Mr. TT

Steve MarleTTe went LONG at the Pittsburgh Master's Velo Club 25 mile individual time trial...

...notching his 11th sub-one-hour time...

...with a 3rd Place Overall finish...

...and a Personal Record of 56:29

Whew, that boy is built for speed....or at least for being aerodynamic!

Shannock Valley MTB

Story by Hannah Brewer:

Shannock Valley had the potential of being the driest, fastest, MTB course of the summer.

Three miles in, I was feeling great. The trails were dry and I felt good on the hills, riding some of the steeper, short climbs that I hiked up last year. Then the rain hit......hard.

It took about one full lap before the trails were REALLY soupy, and simply pedaling through the single track became a struggle. What started as my fastest race of the year turned into the wettest and muddiest race of the year.

As the lightening struck, I counted the seconds before the thunder boomed. It wasn't long before I stopped counting because there was no time between the lightening and thunder. The storm was EXACTLY where I was riding....

This is when I realized that I somehow feel exempt from making responsible choices when I on my mountain bike, and this might be exactly why I love this sport :))

The thunder and lightening finally moved on, but the rain kept coming and I kept pedaling.

Usually when I am doing a longer mountain bike race, I am ready for the finish line 8 miles before I get to it. This time, I felt good on my bike up until mile 18.

Ultimately, I finished in 6th Place Overall in the expert field; 1st Place Woman.

Mini Tour "day" France?!!

Story by Steve Marlette:

STAGE #1
The weekend racing started with the Pittsburgh Master's Velo Club 20 mile TT at the Bud Harris Oval in Pittsburgh on Friday July 19.

There were T-storms brewing at the start of the race and we got hit with rain and some strong gusts of wind during the race, but were able to complete the race. Since the conditions were horrible and I was planning to race on Sunday as well, I backed of the pace after about 10 miles.

I had thought that I had 1st place in the bag by that point but that turned out to not be true. However, I did TIE for 1st Place Overall!
 
STAGE #2
The next stages were on Sunday July 21, 2013 at the Eastern Ohio Time Trial in Deerfield OH. I signed up for both the Overall (full aero bike and equipment) and the Standard Class (road bike no aero equipment allowed).

The conditions were nearly perfect for the time trials with calm winds. I was able to set a Personal Record on the aero TT bike and took 1st Place Overall and 1st Place in my Age Group.

STAGE #3
After my TT bike performance, there was not much left in the tank for the "Merckx Standard", and I ended up finishing in 7th Place.

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
I was very happy with the overall results this weekend, especially setting a new PR in OH by 22 seconds!

Since our new kits are YELLOW and RASPBERRY, I also feel like I got a yellow jersey for my mini Tour de France...!!!

Mow? Mo? Moe?

Hannah Brewer, Rich Allen & Mike Maher, along with Larry and Curly, headed off to a Race to lil Moe's Place.

This was race #8 of the W.Va. Mountain Biking Association's Summer Series and the W.Va. State Championship.

Hannah finished as the 15th Expert, 3rd Place Expert Woman

Mike (book-ended below by Hannah and Richy!) finished as the 9th Sport; 2nd Place 45+ rider

Richy (flatted again?), finishing as the 5th Place 55+ rider; 31st Sport

It was a 3 Stooges kinda day!

sTiCk: rising to the top...again!

Turns out most every pack of "dawgs" has a "stick". 

Some look like THIS...

...but OURS looks like THIS....

...whoops.  I mean OURS look like THIS :)

...and beyond having a gifted ability to CLIMB up mountains on a bicycle...

...it turns out he can RUN like a gazelle! 

Just check out the hardware he has collected recently :)

.....and THAT ain't NO BULL...!!!

Ag3r in Italy

Here is a picture of stagiaire junior rider Leonardo Palma, rocking Ag3r kit...



...at his home in Montecchio Emilia, Italy.

The reach of Ag3r is far and wide....searching, and sometimes luckily finding, riders like Leonardo, who show great potential for the future, in both cycling and life.

Good Luck to you Leo!

ABRA Tomlinson Run XC

Hannah Brewer, Henry Dimmick, Ray Sielski and Rich Allen ventured south to the Appalachian Bicycle Racing Assocation' Tomlinson Run MTB Cross Country Race.

SHORT STORY = Only Richy finished!


Photo by Mike Briggs

LONG STORY = Hannah broke a pedal....and was walking when Ray came upon her... 



Photo by Mike Briggs

Ray swapped bikes with her because his pedals matched her (shoes/cleats).
 


Photo by Mike Briggs

 

BUT ...the conditions were SO MUDDY, SLIPPERY and BOG-LIKE, that Hannah could not refind her groove on Ray's bike, so demonstrating Ag3r's Borg-Like HIVE MENTALITY, when our QUEEN ABANDONED, both Ray and Henry...



Photo by Mike Briggs

...abandoned WITH her; all walking to the finish.  DNF x 3...!!!

Only "Honey Badger" Allen, who was off the front of our hapless trio, rode on to finish, "Cause HE DON'T CARE" ...finishing in 4th Place of the Men's Cat 1/2/3 55+ race.



Photo by Mike Briggs

 

You GO Richy!

PMVC 15 mile TT

Steve Marlette, Mark Briercheck and Ray Sielski AGAIN represented the ROADIES of Ag3r by attending the 2nd installment of the Pittsburgh Masters Velo Club Individual Time Trial Friday Night at the Bud Harris Track.

Steve took 2nd Place Overall
Setting a new Personal Record by 32 seconds

Mark took 10th Place Overall
Setting a new Personal Record by 43 seconds

Ray took 20th Place Overall

Way to REPRESENT boyz!

Fat Tire Challenge MTB

Rich Allen went SOLO to the Fat Tire Challenge....taking 2nd Place in the Men's 50+.

Rich said, "They have a photo of me doing a face plant in a rock garden about 1/2 mile from the finish. We'll I guess it's a photo of me on the ground after I went down. 

The guy that took the photo was surprised I got up and continued on, I told him, "They where only rocks!""