Shop Rag

It is Springtime and time to talk shop!

This coming Thursday, April 3rd, is the first Abilene Bicycle Club's Time Trial of 2008. Registration begins at 6:00 PM. Start and finish is at Tige Boat plant, 1801 Hwy 36 near the Abilene Regional Airport. First rider will leave at about 6:30 PM in one minute intervals. This year there is an Entry Fee of one non-perishable food item, per time trial, to be donated to the Food Bank of West Central Texas. It's a great way to help support a good organization! Time Trials will be every first Thursday of the month through September 4th. TigeBoat has asked that no rider go down the parking lot side roads toward the rear of the plant but warm up and preparation is all right in the main parking lot. The time trial is the usual 10 mile loop and all are invited to come out and ride. A good time to see where you are and set your goals!

Group Rides will be coming up soon as well. I'll get back to you on the exact dates we are starting, but here is the projected schedule:

Monday: Easy 12-14 MPH from Zoo parking lot - 5:30 - 10-12 miles
Tuesday: Moderate 14-17 MPH from Zoo parking lot toward Potosi - 5:30
Wednesday: Trail night at Buck Creek Trails 6:30-8:00 (this group is already meeting)
2nd and 4th Thursday: faster than moderate 17-19 MPH from Kirby Lake ballpark to Old Coleman Hwy and back - 5:30
3rd Thursday: Crit night at Shotwell Stadium parking lot at 6:00

We are open to a Saturday morning group ride but would like some feedback from you about what kind of ride, where, time that would suit you. So that means you need to get back to us with some thoughts. We always want to know what might work for you. So, input, input, input about the group ride schedule and a Saturday morning ride.

A little note to those of you who like to ride the trails at BuckCreek. There has been additional trail cleared at the end of Mesquite Forest. A helping hand to do a little more trail maintenance there and clearing of cactus would be appreciated. If you want to help out but are unsure how, just call us and we will be happy to let you know where the trails could use a little "face lift".

BikeTown Socks Are Here!

The BikeTown socks have arrived. Come on down and get a pair or two. With the weather getting warmer it sure is nice to have socks that will let your feet breathe!

Bicycles Outback Blowout

Another TMBRA race has come and gone. This one took place in Waco at Cameron Park. They have a nice trail going all over the city park. Once again, Abilenians had a good showing. The results are as follows:

Beginner Junior Women, 1-10

1st - Claire Allen

Beginner Master Women, 30-39

4th - Brenda Andress

Beginner Men, 13-14

1st - Luke Allen

Beginner Master Men, 40-49

6th - Jim MacDonald

Sport Master Men, 35-39

7th - JR Ramon

Sport Master Men, 40-44

19th - Greg Allen

Sport Master Men, 50+

2nd - Michael Sparks

It was a great day for the race. Great job to everyone who showed up. Can't wait to see you at the next one!

Way to go, JR!

Claire after her race

Nothing like getting cut off and going down hard on asphalt in the opening yards. Better luck next time, Greg!

Steam-N-Wheels Results

Here are the results for the 48 mile ride. We couldn't find out any times or overall results, but maybe this will help you figure out where you stand.

We do know that the top three overall were:
1. Geoff Godsey (30-34 age group)
2. Ian Sewalt (under 24 age group - he's 15, folks!)
3. Thomas Talley (35-39 age group)


Official results of the sixteenth annual Steam-N-Wheels Bike Race and Fun Ride held March 15, 2008, sponsored by the City of Abilene's Recreation Division and the Abilene Bicycling Club are as follows:

24 & Under Male
1. Ian Sewalt
2. John Paul Barrandey
3. Steve Novak
4. Blake Linebaugh
5. Joshua Cole
6. Zach Maxwell

25-29 Male
1. Ben Grimm
2. Matthew Helm
3. Chad Miller
4. Nathan Loucks

30-34 Male
1. Geoff Godsey
2. Jason Frazee
3. Stephen Dodd
4. Rolando Muniz
5. Faz Sharapov
6. Troy Smith
7. Carlos Muniz

35-39 Male
1. Thomas Talley
2. Peter Pape
3. Derek Leivestad
4. William O’Brien
5. J.R. Brock
6. Chris Milford
7. Rickey Wallace

40-44 Male
1. Kelly Thompson
2. Gaylon Knowlton
3. Richard Linebaugh
4. Dennis Andrew
5. Tom Pharris
6. Edwin Young
7. Randy Lucas
8. Joel Dement
9. Ronny Koehn

45-49 Male
1. Brad Fisk
2. Jonathon Sharp
3. Dan Fergus
4. Gary Cole
5. James Standlee
6. Michael Minter
7. Joe Castelli
8. Rory Randel
9. Darrell Sullivan
10. John Magill

50-54 Male
1. Doug Pierce
2. Chuck Patton
3. Michael Mathis
4. Robert Londerholm
5. Allen Wilson
6. Gary Evans
7. Carlos Valdez
8. Philip McDaniel
9. David Pait
10. Mark Merrell
11. Read Johnston
12. J.T. Morgan
13. Larry Ford

55-59 Male
1. Steve Betton
2. Dennis Harris
3. Gary Goodnight
4. James Page
5. Robert Stone
6. Ron Gray
7. Bill Minter
8. Patrick Whelan
9. Franklin Smith

60 & Over Male
1. Gary Ferguson
2. Ken Pittaway
3. Scott Sanford
4. Terry Essex
5. Frank Rausch
6. Herman Luce
7. Murray Bouquet
8. Delio Ortegon
9. Roy Jones
10. W.R. Hawkins
11. Gene Leeper

25-34 Female
1. Neyling Sanford
2. Sara Fusco

35-44 Female
1. Helen Romeiser
2. Shanon Harris
3. Mary Truss

45 & Over Female
1. Clare Murphy
2. Karen Polvado
3. Christine Jones
4. Linda Randel

Tandem
1. Kirk Merrell / Ciana Merrell
2. Rick Ogan / Velma Ogan

Steam-N-Wheels 2008

The weather cooled off a bit from yesterday just in time to start the 2008 version of Steam-N-Wheels. Other than some wind, the weather was nice - clear skies with not a hint of rain! That's a welcome change from the last few years. Jim and Gary were at their places early, helping out with any last minute bike fixes. They stayed pretty busy until the gun went off.

Lots of riders participated in this year's event. A good number of Abilenians showed up to support the local event. Thanks, y'all! At this point in time, we know that the top local rider was Thomas Talley. He was 3rd overall in the 48 mile event. Good job, Thomas! If anyone has results that you'd like to share leave us a comment, please. We'd love to publish it.

As I was walking around handing out fliers and getting kids registered and ready for the new kids' rodeo, the camera didn't budge from its place over my shoulder. So, you'll have to make due with a couple shots of the new event that took place after the cyclists left. As I mentioned a few sentences back, there was a kids' rodeo this year. It was nice for the younger family members to have something to do while waiting for mom or dad to finish the ride. For a new event, quite a few kids registered. Hopefully, it will grow every year!

After riding for a while, all the kids were treated to a snack and got the chance to see and pet a monitor lizard. Thanks to the Abilene Zoo for arranging that. Kids and reptiles are always a fun combination.

If anyone has some good pictures from today's events, email them to us (use the link at the bottom of the page) and we'll get them online. Thanks to everyone who helped with the ride today!

Check This Out

Hey, everyone - check this out. Make sure you watch the whole thing.

www.dothetest.co.uk

Pass it on!

Steam-N-Wheels

Steam-N-Wheels is almost here! The annual event put on by the city is this Saturday, March 15th. We would love to see all of you show up for it. Just come on over to the zoo parking lot Saturday morning. There are several different route lengths to choose from, so take your pick and be ready to take off when the gun goes off at 10 am. There is also a children's event this year so bring the whole family! Of course, we'll be there as usual, ready to help with any last minute bike fixes. Can't wait to see you there!

For more information, check out http://www.abilenetx.com/Recreation/documents/BikeRaceEntryForm.pdf

Bar H Bash

Well, the Bar H Bash in St. Jo was this past weekend. There were several riders from Abilene that made the trek out there. There were some great trails and good competition. Bar H is a large parcel of land just outside of St. Jo. For those who have never been to St. Jo, it is about 80 miles or so northwest of Ft. Worth. The ranch has done a great job of building trails. There is a lot of fun downhill, some good cross-country, and, of course, some beastly climbs. I guess you have to have the uphill to enjoy the sweet downhill. Those who showed up on Saturday had beautiful weather to preride the course. It was sunny and almost hot! Race day, however, dawned cloudy, cool and windy! Fortunately, the forecasted rain never materialized. The wind stayed strong the entire day, but that didn't stop the Abilenians from making a good showing. Here are some of the results:

Beginner Junior Women, 1-10

Claire Allen - 1st

Maggie Allen - 6th

Beginner Master Women, 30-39

Brenda Andress - 2nd

This was Brenda's first race and not only was she 2nd in her age division, she was 2nd overall for beginner women. Way to go, Brenda!

Beginner Junior Men, 13-14

Luke Allen - 2nd

Beginner Senior Men, 20-29

Aaron Andress - 13th

Beginner Master Men, 40-49

Jim MacDonald - 4th

Sport Senior Men, 19-29

Andrew Andress - 7th

Sport Master Men, 35-39

JR Ramon - 13th

Sport Master Men, 40-44

Greg Allen - 8th

Even with a broken bike for basically the whole race, Andrew still finished 7th.

JR on his first loop around the course

Greg about to start loop #2

Luke waiting for his group to start

Jim doing the same

And here we have Captain America!

Congrats to everyone who rode - keep up the good work! We'll see ya in Waco in a couple of weeks.