7-7-12 ABRA Tomlinson Run XC Challenge

This past Saturday Rich Allen, Hannah Brewer and I traveled to the far northern tip of the WV panhandle for the ABRA Tomlinson Run XC Challenge. In spite of forecasted high temps of 101F, almost 100 racers ignored the weather station warnings (and the threat of heat related exhaustion) and showed up to compete.

(photo courtesy of Fred Jordan)

As predicted, things were getting pretty hot by the noon start and the high DNF rate indicated the difficulty of the conditions. Towards the end of lap one, I came across Hannah who was having problems with a stuck chain and possibly a bent rear derailleur hanger. High kudo’s to Travis Olson (of Consol Energy Racing) who had stopped to help Hannah with this mechanical issue. Thanks to Travis, Hannah was quickly back on the trail and able to finish the race (relatively) trouble free.

My only fall of the day was towards the end of the 2nd lap in the stream crossing. As I tumbled into the cool water, I realized that this was the smartest thing that I had done all day.

(photo courtesy of Mike Briggs ... who was gracious enough to let me pick myself up before shooting this pic)

The course was mostly flowing single track with a few brief road sections and a some steep, loose downhill trails. By the 2nd lap, Richy and I were both feeling the effects of the heat (my car showed 100F, parked in the shade !) while Hannah continued to ride strongly. Thankfully, we were all able to hang on for good finishes.

Hannah – 2nd place, Women - Cat 2/3 - Sport
Richy – 3rd place, Men - Cat 1/2/3 - Masters 55+
Kirk – 3rd place, Men – Cat 1/2/3 – Masters 45+

(photo courtesy of Fred Jordan)

After this 2nd race of the ABRA Mtb Series, Richy and I are both in 2nd place in our divisions while Hannah is tied for 3rd place in an extremely close grouping (only one point away from 1st !!). The final event of this series is the White Park XC Race on August 5th in Morgantown, WV. Should be exciting !

Once again, the organization, course conditions and markings were exceptional. This was another great race hosted by JR and Gina (who both never stopped smiling in spite of the oppressive heat) ! Highly recommended.

Race Results: https://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2012-691

Mtb Series Standings: http://www.abraracing.com/Results/2012mtbSTANDINGS.pdf

7-1-12 WVMBA Race to lil Moe's Place

Hannah Brewer, Richy Allen and I headed down to Philippi, West Virginia to check out this WVMBA race and found that it was plenty challenging with lots of hills, rock gardens as well as some fast single/double track sections.

Unfortunately, this years "Race" never made it to lil Moe's Place (a local bar where awards are traditionally dispersed) since all the power for the entire area was knocked out by trees downed in Friday night's storm (!). However, high kudo's are due to the race organizers (headed by Thad Kelley) for working overtime to clear the trails of fallen trees and carry on with this race in spite of the adverse conditions (Note: almost a week later and many of these areas are still without power !!).

The conditions were hot (mid 90's) and muggy with plenty of sunshine. The day was filled with challenges as Richy and Hannah got lost on the course (as well as from each other) on their warm-up ride and ended up riding the entire 6 mile beginners loop (barely getting back in time for the race start). Richy's luck was the worst with a hard fall on the warm-up lap, a flat tire during the start sprint, another hard fall on the course, another flat, a bent rim, a back injury and two heel blisters from the hike back to the start area (bummer !).

My day went a bit better with a good first lap. On the 2nd lap I had just passed a competitor to move into 2nd place (in my Masters Sport class) when I tumbled in a rock garden. I quickly recovered from this and was back on the chase when I took a more notable fall resulting in a cracked helmet, torn jersey and the need for a number of bike adjustments before continuing. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to catch back on and ended up in 4th place (45 seconds behind 2nd place !). Oh well.

While Richy and I were busy with our most excellent “3 Stooges” impersonations, Hannah was laying down a great ride to take 1st place in the Womens Sport class !
This was especially impressive in light of yesterdays race at Yellow Creek (with a 2nd place finish), an "extended" warm-up ride and showing up at the start line just as the race began. Nice work Hannah !

After the race, we joined the other racers for a refreshing swim in the Cheat River.

Results:
Hannah - 1st place, Sport Women
Kirk - 4th place, Sport Masters
Rich - DNF, Sport Grand Masters

Results link

http://www.iplayoutside.com/Events/?eid=2012/07/13904r.html