Winter Weather

Have we really been in Abilene the last few days? Since when do we get such cold weather this early? We never know what type of weather will be thrown at us this time of year in West Texas. Make sure you're prepared for whatever weather shows up. Rides can be miserable if it's cold and you don't have the right gear to keep you warm. Come on in to the store and see what we have to help make your winter riding much more enjoyable.

Bent Wheel Bash 2009 Results

What a great event! The 2009 Bent Wheel Bash had terrific weather, an awesome off-road course, and a bunch of great riders. Top it off with the police/fire challenge, and it was a fun-filled day. We doubled the number of racers at this event from last year. Let's keep growing it! Thanks to everyone who helped out with it. A special shout-out to Gary Fraser for organizing the event. Events like this are a lot of work. We appreciate all you did, Gary! For all you racers, check out this link for the results: www.usacycling.org/results/?permit+2009-2857 The event name is Buck Creek Bent Wheel Bash.

After the race, the police/fire challenge began. This consisted of a sledgehammer challenge, body drag, fire hose challenge, 1.5 mile mountain bike course, and, finally, target practice. This might not sound like much, but string all those things together, and you have a pretty challenging event. Last spring, the police took home overall bragging rights. Apparently, the firefighters didn't like that. Aaron Barr (firefighter) defended his first place finish from last time, and the rest of his team helped the firefighters win overall this time. Here are the results for their challenge:

1. Aaron Barr (AFD) - 12:37

2. Marty Sanders (AFD) - 13.02

3. Brian Scalf (AFD) - 13.47

4. Tony Hay (AFD) - 13.55

5. Clay Grothe (APD) - 13.57

6. Joe Tauer (APD) - 14.30

7. Richard Valdez* (APD) - 15.19

8. Scott Wilkerson (AFD) - 15.40

9. Pat Edwards (AFD) - 16.26

10. James Young (APD) - 20.58

11. Greg Valentine (AFD) - 24.21

12. Stephanie Rollins (APD) - 24.29

13. Kimberly Scalf (APD) - 11.32 (modified course - no off-road)

* FYI - Richard completed this challenge AFTER competing in the Bent Wheel Bash Race of 18 miles AND he's 60+ years old. Way to go, Richard!

Thanks to everyone who came out and rode. We can't wait for next year!

Change is Good

If you haven't been out to Buck Creek Trails lately, you might notice some changes the next time you go. There has been a lot of work going on!
Several people got out there and made the trails better for everyone.


The first thing you'll notice is the improved parking area. It is wider which will allow for a lot more cars. Also, it's not just dirt anymore. Hopefully, this will help prevent the deep ruts that occur when it rains.



There are also some new burms out on the trail. Have fun trying those out!

But, of all the improvements, this has got to be the most exciting one. There is now a pump track right between the parking area and the trail. It's awesome! Chris Smith planned it out and Grady Johnson, Bob Sanderson, Richard Valdez, Aaron Barr, Gary Fraser, Jim MacDonald, Troy MacDonald, and Trent MacDonald spent several days helping him build it. If you've never tried one, the point is to see if you can make it all the way around without pedaling. It's harder than it looks! Better yet, it's great for adults and kids so the whole family can give it a try.

Thanks so much to everyone who has helped out at the trails. They just keep getting better and better, and it wouldn't happen without everyone pitching in. Thanks!

Bent Wheel Bash

It's time for the Bent Wheel Bash 2009! This XC race is part of the West Texas Series and will take place at Buck Creek Trails on Sunday, November 1. The Bent Wheel Bash is the final event in our Buck Creek Trails Fall Series. There is an entry fee for this event. Check out the flyer for all the info:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/21679391/Bent-Wheel-Bash-Race-Flyer-2009

Registration, as well as the start and finish, will take place at the Abilene Police Dodson Training Center, located directly north of Buck Creek Trails. Instead of turning in at the normal parking area for the trails, continue north on East Lake Road to the next entrance on your right which is the training center. Turn in there. All the profits from race registration will be benefitting the Abilene Police Bike Unit. So, not only do you get to ride in a fun, off-road event, you also get to help support our local police officers. We will also have event t-shirts for sale with the profits going to the police bike unit.

There are several different categories to race in, including several for kids. Their course will be shorter, and juniors under age 18 race for free. Once again, check out the flyer for more information. This is a USA Cycling sanctioned event, so everyone has to have a USA cycling license. If you don't have one, a one-day license can be purchased at the event for $10.

After the race is over, there will be a police/fire challenge. Police officers and firemen from around the area will be competing against each other in a challenge including firefighter skills, police skills, and, of course, some mountain biking. Most of this challenge will be in full view of spectators. We had a practice run at this challenge last spring, and it was a lot of fun to watch. While all this is going on, the Firefighter's Association will be selling hamburgers, etc. All the proceeds from lunch sales will benefit the local firemen.

For those interested, there will be a cowboy church/devotional service at 9:15. Also, remember that the day of the event is also the day to set your clocks back one hour!

Fun Ride Today - Thanks!

Wheels for Life is officially over for another year. It was a tad cool out this morning, but the ride was fun! The routes have some pretty scenery as well as several chances to pick up raffle tickets along the way. I hope some of you cyclists that participated were among the winners! More cyclists showed up this year than last which is always good. We'd love to see this ride continue to grow every year. It's a great mix of bicycles, motorcycles, and cars all out on the road to support Christian Homes & Family Services. From what I understand, quite a bit of money was raised for this organization today. Thanks to all of you who participated and helped out this cause.

I'm afraid that I don't have any pictures to post from today. I was riding the short route with my kids and neglected to get out the camera. If anyone has any pictures to share, feel free to send them our way!

Wheels for Life and Pro Cyclist

Wheels for Life, benefiting Christian Homes and Family Services, is this Saturday morning, October 24th! Registration is at 7:00 am and the ride will start at 7:30 am. It will take off from the Prime Time parking lot. The cost is $25. There are three route lengths to choose from: 6 miles, 22 miles, and 58 miles. Go to www.christianhomes.org and click on Wheels for Life on the left hand side. You can view the route maps from there. Christian Homes is a great organization that helps change lives and build Christian families through maternity, foster, and adoption services. Come on out and ride and, in the process, help raise funds for an organization that does so much to help others. We'd love to see you there!

Also, many of you got an email last week about Robert Schrank, a professional cyclist, who is going to be at BikeTown tomorrow, October 23rd at 4:00 pm. He'll be sharing about living with diabetes. Encourage anyone who is living with this illness, or anyone interested in learning more about it and how to manage cycling with diabetes to come on in and listen.

Buck Creek Fall Series Time Trial Results

Thanks to everyone who came out last Saturday for the latest event in the Buck Creek Fall Series. We had a time trial of about 6 miles, some hot dogs on the grill, and then a mini-time trial for the kids. Here are the results:

Time Trial
1. Josh Brown - 23:53
2. Gary Fraser - 24:10
3. Jim MacDonald - 25:15
4. Tracy Jarvis - 27:57
5. Grant Woods - 28:15
6. Todd Sage - 32:22
7. Ryan "Grady" Johnson - 32:50
Brian Chung* - 22:09
Trent MacDonald* - 27:57
Ryan Ware - DNF

* Brian and Trent missed a turn somewhere along the way, so their course was a tad shorter.

Short Time Trial around Little Mac's Meadow (supposedly for the kids, but some big kids got involved, too)
1. Gary Fraser - 1:50
2. Jim MacDonald - 1:51
3. Trent MacDonald - 2:20
4. Troy MacDonald - 2:36
5. Paige MacDonald - 3:57
6. Reese MacDonald - 7:12
7. Grant Woods - 7:14 (Grant added a bit of mileage to his time trial.)

Thanks to everyone coming on out for the fun! We've had new faces at each event - we love that! We love riding our bikes and love it when others enjoy their bikes, too.

There is one more event in the Buck Creek Fall Series: The Bent Wheel Bash. It will take place on Sunday, November 1. This XC race is part of the West Texas Series and will benefit the Abilene Police Bike Unit. There will be all sorts of stuff going on at the Bent Wheel Bash: an XC race, a kids' race, good food, and a police-fireman challenge. It'll be a lot of fun, so make plans to be out there! I'll be posting some more info about it soon.