Cross 2012

Cross 2012 season came to a close with the PA State Championships at South Park.
The season ran from a September start with double cross at Dirty Mikes and a close with a double weekend race at South Park. Plenty of competition and good teammates made the season a real success.

 Twelve races, plenty of action and no injuries.

Anyone Ready For Cross Season??? I Am

Colorado Calling

Team Select Ag3r traveled to Boulder Colorado to revisit last years climbing trip to the Rockies. Brew Crew was escorted by veterans Kirk, Rich and Ray. Diedre and Sam tried to keep a straight face as we tried our best to look good as serious cyclists in higher altitude.
Strava can tell the story best however I would be remiss not to expound on some of the hi-lites.
Somewhere up to Ward a rider was found carrying his bike barefoot. Not recommended.
The Gold Mill Hill climb cat hc reduced one of the riders to lap up spilled espresso off the table with his tongue. Not recommended.
Cyclists order pizza by the pound.
Often muttered was "Hannah where's my....Bring me a....WTF.....
Next trip a mechanic will be invited, and that will be for one specific individual. All others are good to go.
Sushi will have to be flown in to town in advance.
Directions will be inked for those who don't follow instructions.
Frozen Man will be summoned to clarify all the stories and keep it to a minimum.
Trout fishing is for weenies.

I need a caption for this photo.

These three kept me up at night with all the partying.

ITT Season rolls to a close

Sunday, Diane got up with me very early and we travelled together to Presque Isle in Erie PA. (Super Fan Alert) Bands of clouds brought rain and wind during the whole drive, the temperature dropped from a routine 80's to 56 degrees. When dawn gave way to daylight to our surprise the sun came out over lake Erie.
With a low head wind and basked in sun I started out. A good effort produced yet another PR for me at Erie for the 12.5 mile contest.

This year I PR'd the 5 mile, 10 mile, 12.5 mile and 20 mile ITT events.

2 x 12 MTB Relay, Big Bear

Team Ag3r sent 3 teams to support Dirty Mike with the running of the annual 2 x 12 race in nearby Bruceton Mills WV.
Kirk Morrison and I teamed up to form a Masters team, Kirk posted some very admirable lap time wil'st I provided the humor for the rest of the on lookers. Steve Brewer handed me his SS niner rigid fork hard tail at the start line and said "go get'em big boy". Riding the SS niner rigid hard tail puts me in "geek" status so I had to try it.  One minute into the race I realized I was in for a big surprise. This sports car of a bike was more like a bucking bronco at high noon. I was thrown and pile driven into the turf not one but two times in the first mile of the race. This left me looking for broken bones before I remounted this bronco that beat me for the rest of the first lap like a rented mule.
As I entered staging no one said nice ride, I got stares that said "what happened to you"?
Quickly I remounted race numbers on my full suspension and pounded out a new lap in five less minutes.
Lesson learned? Maybe not, we'll see.

Raystown Lake

Mike Maher put together a bike weekend at Raystown Lake, PA. Any guy named "Dirty Mike", a bike weekend and at a place called "Raystown" meant I had no choice but to attend. We rode Fri., Sat., and Sun. with a most excellent group of 12. It was Dirt Rag Bike Fest weekend which put riders all out over the course. Made for some good riding and stretching of the legs. Sunday I rode a 9'r SS, wow that was great, I am convinced one of those is in my future.

Here I am trying to locate Mike after one of the trail dusting's he took. Yes I did get wet and went for a swim in the lake.

Early Season Start

Steel City Showdown crit was to be the first race of the 2012 season. I normally do not race crits as they have been proven to be very embarrassing. This was the case once again. A beautiful day to spend at the venue of PNC Park on Federal Street. As soon as the race started I was put into a bit of difficulty. Masters and Juniors on the course together soon battled to see who could put me down a lap first. A very good effort on my part yet yielded another smack down by young and old.

Starting the day at 6 am speeding along in my race inspired bike hauler,I stopped on I-79 in Wexford to help three racers fix a flat tire. The jack, spare and then lugs were all fubared. With some of my tools, muscle and creativity I was able to get the tire fixed. We all made it to the races on time and I felt that I contributed in assisting the fine young racers get to their start times on time. They did not live up to their promise to lead me out for the sprint.

Winter goes easy on the snowblower

This winter the shovels, salt and snowblower were all ready for battle. Only to sit idle as the storms were a no show. We did get a good weekend of skiing in but the surprise was the opportunity to throw in a few mountain bike rides. March will be here soon and time to think about spring training for bike season. The road bike is rebuilt for a new season and ready to go.