My Area 106

Going UP....... To the 18th Floor actually

Going up to the 18th floor I am. Well, I ventured to downtown Pittsburgh yesterday to watch the final stage of the Tour of Pennsylvania (a under 23 road race that finished up on the streets of downtown Pittsburgh) as a guest of Don Mosites.

Don (owner of the Trek Stores of Pittsburgh) held a party on the 18th floor in one of the downtown Pittsburgh towers inviting family, friends and a bunch of cyclists to observe the race from an "overhead" perspective. This particular tower (located on Fort Pitt Blvd) is made up of many condo's and apartment suites that have some excellent views of this fabulous city. Great views of downtown, Station Square, Mount Washington, just to name a few.

Several guests decided to check out the race up close till the big rains and threatening storms moved in which actually caused a suspension to the race for approximately 15 minutes (tornado warning). 

It was a really good time and I'm already working on pitching my wife that it might be time to relocate to Pittsburgh. What a great cycling city. So many of the spectators that came to watch the race came via bicycle; quite a few messenger bags strapped to a lot of backs throughout the evening.

Thanks Don for hosting the party and all the great views!!!

Bob

Factory Demo at Mohican coming soon.....

• What: Trek Factory Demo Tour Event (Free Bicycle Test Rides)
• When: Saturday, July 19th (10am - 4pm)
• Where: Mohican State Park (MTB Trail head Parking Lot located on Ohio State Route 3)
• The Skinny: Trek Madones, Fuel EX, Remedy, Session and 69ers as well as Gary Fisher HiFi's and 29ers

Sponsored by Trek and the greater Ohio Trek Retailers

Jeff Schalk (TrekVW) wins at Mohican

The 2008 edition of the Mohican 100 is in the books. For the 2nd year in a row, the winner of this 100 marathon mountain bike race was wearing the red and black team colors of Trek. The only difference being, the jersey belonged to Trek East Coast Rider "Jeff Schalk" has he won in a time just over 7 hours as teammate Chris Eatough was just off the winning pace by a minute or so. Sam Koerber (Gary Fisher 29er Crew) rode most of the race with his Trek companions but dropped back and finished 3rd as he stopped and loaded up with needed water late in the race. The 100 mile womens winner was Sobe Cannondale rider Betsey Shogrun.

What a weekend! I met up with Travis Saeler and Michelle Johnson at the Little Brown Inn in Loudonville, Ohio. This little motel is not even a mile from the starting point which was on mainstreet in downtown Loudonville. This would make an easy warm up ride into town for the start of the race on Saturday morning at 7am. We hung out in front of the motel prepping the bikes when Chris, Jeff and Chris Beck (Gary Fisher) arrived at the hotel. They had arrived a bit earlier in the afternoon and went for a light ride before getting to the motel.

Off to dinner we all went and since I like to treat my guests to the "Area 106" to the best dinner money can buy, I thought a drive next door to the local Pizza Hut was in order. Heck, I think they were impressed with the immense choices the menu presented us. Well, we finally settled on pizza and pasta. Yes, we agonized over the choice, but carbo's were going to be needed for tomorrows race.

Bicyclings "Biketown" - Columbus, Ohio

Biketown came to downtown Columbus, Ohio (set up was right outside of City Hall) this morning courtesy of the crew from Bicycling Magazine, Shimano Coasting, Trek Bicycle Corporation and the Trek Bicycle Store of Columbus. This was formerly the summer kickoff for the Biketown program and it all started in "MY AREA".

Biketown was created about 6 years ago when the editors of Bicycling started asking consumers (that weren't cyclists) why they didn't ride. Many answered that they were intimated because they didn't know much about cycling, how to shift gears, where to ride and even feel safe on a bike. That's when Bicycling came up with the Biketown idea and went on a search to find other industry bigs to see if they would be willing to join them in getting the word of cycling out to the masses.

OMBC Race: "The Wilds"

Another busy weekend. I spent all day Saturday with my daughter Hanna in Columbus, Ohio competing in the Ohio Valley Junior Olympic Volleyball Regional Championships as her team took the bronze medal after a long day of competition. We began the morning at 5:45pm and got to our home at 10:00pm Saturday night.

Today, I drove to Cumberland, Ohio to support all the racers at the OMBC "The Wilds" race and to lend some of my grassroots riders a helping hand if I could. Actually turned out to be a great day as the rain stayed away, but the mud certainly didn't. Check out the photo album I've loaded with all the pictures from today's event. Thanks again to Ryan O'Dell for giving all participants a venue to race.

Ben Ortt (Gary Fisher) took top overall honors, followed by Dave Walker (Mongoose), Travis Saeler (Fisher 29 Crew)and Steve Twining (Trek/VW). Not a bad day for the good guys, hey?

Full race results should be posted here within the next few days.

Bob

Looking down "Main Street" Loudonville, Ohio

Saturday, May 31st will find this same picture location here (looking down main street) loaded with racers as they begin the mass start of the Mohican 100 and 100k race event (which takes off this year in downtown Loudonville). The riders will head west out of town up a good road climb which will certainly break up the group prior to heading into the state forest trails.

I was in town to line up some hotel rooms for the upcoming event and of course I purposely chose this later time in the day so I could ride a few miles of the trail before heading home. The trail was so dry (as usual) as I parked in the lot which is just near the 7 mile mark of the trail.

I've developed my own 12 mile loop since I rarely have the time to devote to the entire 24 miles, as I  actually ride clockwise for the first few miles then access the short loop trail which drops me out at about the 22 mile mark of the main loop. I finish this then continue my ride at the actual trail start.

Area 106 well represented at the Maximus (Michaux)

Thought I would jump outside "Area 106" and share the race report from this past weekends Michaux Series kickout (Michaux Forest area near Gettysburg) by Steven Hoover (Trek East Coast Factory Team Manager/Wrench/Racer, heck jack of all trades). We had a few riders from the 106 participate with some very good results: TJ Platt (29er Crew - TOP) took 3rd in the Pro/Elite race just behind the two Trek riders (Eatough & Schalk), Travis Saeler (29er Crew - TOP) placed 2nd in his class, Chrissy Burkle (Pittsburgh rider) placed 3rd in the women's Pro/Expert field with Michelle Johnson (Trek Ohio) finishing strong in the top 10.

race report continued:

Super Sale Begins Today!!

I don't know about you, but to me this has been a very long winter. I'm ready for spring temperatures, shedding the winter clothing and riding my bike a heck of a lot more. Now, time to replace some of that old riding equipment with some new garb, right?

This is your lucky weekend! Now through this Sunday make sure to check with your favorite Trek retailer and see if their participating in Super Sale (be aware of imposter's)! You can check the Trek web site and use the dealer locator's for your zip code to see which dealer in your area is participating with the sale. Trek passes along some excellent pricing on many popular products and many of the stores add on a ton more (sale bikes, added bonus bucks, etc).

Snake Gap Creek #2

Race Report: Posted by Guest Author "Brad Wilhelm" (Ray's/Gary Fisher Racing Team)

A few weeks ago I traveled to Dalton, Georgia to compete in race #2 of The Snake Creek Gap 6 Mountain Bike Time Trial. Unlike the first race, the bus trip to the start line was rather uneventful. Our driver decided to take the long way around the mountain instead of up and over which over heated the brakes last time and nearly put us in the ditch. Upon arriving at the start I took my time getting my bike and body ready for the grueling course and was among the last racers to leave the start line. Within a very short time I realized this time trial very well could be just as difficult as the last if not more due to the heavy rains that had flooded the area just days before. Dodging knee deep puddles and slogging up the first muddy climb I took my time and slowly worked myself up to race pace. 25 minutes in I crested the first major climb and assessed my situation. I was feeling really good!

Dirt Rag's Womens Weekend @ Ray's MTB

Hey Ladies out there. If you missed today's Dirt Rag/Ray's Women's Clinic Day make sure you make a mental note to make it mandatory for next year. Pictured above are most of the riding faithful as they posed for a group picture at the end of the day today. It all began at 10am and pretty much was non stop riding till 4pm today (minus a quick break shortly after noon for lunch and swag handouts). The riders broke into several groups throughout the day for some individual instruction and riding techniques from various pro riders, including reigning World Downhill Champion "Jill Kintner"and Trek/VW Pro Rider Sue Haywood. There were several other pros on-hand to assist and share riding skills with all interested in learning a bit more and just ride with friends.