Police/Fire Challenge

The police/fire challenge and race benefiting the police unity tour was held this past Sunday and, man was it fun! It started with a 10.5 mile XC race, which our own Gary Fraser won. There was also a 2 mile race which Trent MacDonald won. Good job, guys!

The riders getting lined up before the race:

Travis Crisman just made it to the line in front of his competitor for 4th place.

Following the race was the police/fire challenge. Basically, several firemen and police officers squared off against each other to see who could complete a set of fire skills, police skills, and mountain biking first.

After being briefed on how things would go, the fun began. First came the sledgehammer challenge. Each participant had to use the hammer to move a heavy metal block the length of the boards they were standing on.

Then came the body drag. Each participant had to pick up a 175 lb. "body" and drag it around some cones and back.

Then there was the fire hose challenge. Just snake the hose through the cones...

...and knock the orange cone off the barrel. Of course, all this was being timed.

As soon as the cone was knocked over and the hose turned off, it was time to run to the bikes and head out for 2 miles of trail riding.

After the nice bike ride that got the heart rate good and going (as if all the other stuff hadn't already done that), it was time to pick up the gun and calmly fire 5 shots at a target. Getting the shots on the black circle earned the participant some time taken off their final score. Likewise, missing the target got them a penalty.

When all was said and done, the winner this time was Aaron Barr, firefighter.

Enjoy the bragging rights till next time, Aaron! And thanks to all the men and women from the police and fire departments who participated!

For those who missed it this go around, the next challenge will be in November in conjunction with the Bent Wheel Bash. We'll let you know as soon as the date is set.

Reminder for Sunday

Hey, everyone - remember that Sunday there is the mountain bike race at Buck Creek Trails benefiting the Police Unity Tour. Registration will be from 12:00 to 1:00 and the first race will start at 1:15. Entry fee is $10 and there will be raffles for all racers to enter. The normal entrance to Buck Creek will be closed tomorrow until the race is over. For the race, you will need to use the entrance to the police training academy. Just drive north past the regular Buck Creek Trails entrance and the next entrance on your right will be the Warren Dodson Training Center. Turn in there. For the schedule and all the other info about it, click on events over on the left sidebar of the blog and it will be the first post that shows up. Most everyone knows this, but just to be clear - helmets are required!

Y'all have a great weekend and hope to see ya out there!

The Warda Race Results

The 4th race in the TMBRA Spring Series took place in Warda on March 29th. This was a great venue. The camping areas were right by the start/finish and there were many places where you could easily watch the racers go by. Several Abilene folks made it to this one. Here are the results:

Cat 2 Men, 15-18
4. Luke Allen

Cat 2 Men, 45-49
5. Greg Allen

Cat 2 Men, 50+
3. Gary Fraser

Cat 3 Men, 1-10
10. Trent MacDonald
17. Troy MacDonald

Cat 3 Men, 19-29
3. Baylor Blessing

Cat 3 Men, 40-49
1. Jim MacDonald

Cat 3 Women, 1-10
1. Maggie Allen

Cat 3 Women, 11-12
3. Claire Allen

Once again, good job everyone!

Bicycles Outback Blowout Results

All right - here are some more results for the TMBRA spring series. Bicycles Outback Blowout took place at the trails at Cameron Park in Waco on March 22. Here are the results for the Abilene folks:
Cat 2 Men 19-29
18. Chester Blessing

Cat 2 Men 40-45
13. Greg Allen

Cat 2 Men 50+
9. Gary Fraser

Cat 2 Women 30-39
3. Brenda Andress

Cat 3 Men 1-10
12. Trent MacDonald
20. Troy MacDonald

Cat 3 Men 19-29
4. Baylor Blessing

Cat 3 Men 40-49
1. Jim MacDonald

Cat 3 Women 1-10
2. Maggie Allen

Cat 3 Women 11-12
3. Claire Allen

Good job,everyone! Look for the next set of results soon.

More Hammerfest Results

Edited to add: Brian was 1st in the hill climb, not 5th. Sorry for the mistake!

Thanks to Richard who let me know about some other Abilene riders who raced in the Ft. Davis Hammerfest. They also fared quite well. Brian Chung, racing cat 5, placed 5th in the hill climb, 1st in the time trial, and 6th in the road race. He ended up 3rd overall. Way to go, Brian! Richard McLemore, racing cat 3 masters, placed 25th in the hill climb, 26th in the time trial, 26th in the road race, and 26th overall. Good job, Richard! Great to see the Abilene folk out racing and doing well. Keep it up, guys!

Police Unity Tour Benefit Race

Attention All Mountain Bikers
(And anyone willing to give off-road racing a try)

Come join us for a great mountain bike event at Buck Creek Trails benefiting the Police Unity Tour.

Sunday, April 26, 2009
12:00 - 4:00 pm
Buck Creek Trails - Police Academy entrance

Schedule of Events:
12:00 to 1:00 - Rider registration
1:15 - XC Race (Open to all) - 10.5 mile loop
1:30 - First-timer’s Race - 2 mile loop
3:00 - Police/Fireman Challenge
Two-person teams of police and firemen will compete against each other in a bike race/skills course - the rest of us get to watch and cheer them on as they show just how talented they are at being emergency responders

Entry Fee
$10
Police and firemen - no charge

All proceeds will benefit the Police Unity Tour
Several members of our police force will be going to the Police Unity Tour in Washington DC to honor police officers killed in the line of duty. Let’s help them get there!

All racers will be entered in a swag raffle
There will be a variety of BikeTown shirts for sale at the event. Race-day profits will be donated to the Police Unity Tour.

Even if you’ve never raced before, come give it a try. It will be a very relaxed, laid-back atmosphere - Perfect for a
first-time racer!

Ft. Davis Hammerfest

On April 4-5, this year's Hammerfest took place out in Ft. Davis. It was a two day, three event race consisting of a hill climb, a time trial, and a road race. One of our local riders, Jason Frazee, participated and did quite well! The first event was a 16 mile hill climb up to the McDonald Observatory. For those of you who have not been out there before, it is quite a climb! Jason finished 13th out of about 50 riders in Cat 5 in that event. Later that day, he placed 8th in the 16 mile time trial. I hear the winds were gusting around 35-40 mph during that event. On the second day, Jason WON the road race. He ended up placing tenth overall in GC. Way to go, Jason!

Here's a link to a cool picture of Jason crossing the finish line of the road race:
http:http://gallery.jbuntz.com/p/2009_fort_davis_road_race/dsc_587214

Congrats again, Jason. Can't wait to hear how your next race goes.

April Time Trial Results

Thanks to everyone who came out tonight. What a great start to the time trial season - despite the wind! On to the results...

1. Josh Brown - 24.57
2. Mark Rogers - 25.18
3. Greg Allen - 26.12
4. Joel Thompson - 27.21
5. Brian Chung - 28.18
6. JR Brock - 28.30
7. Luke Allen - 29.04
8. Baylor Blessing - 29.22
9. Travis Crisman - 29.55
10. J Wilson - 30.33
11. Allen Wilson - 30.53
12. Rob Atkinson - 32.23
13. Craig Jones - 33.25
14. Heidi Hofstetter - 33.27
15. Mark Spurlock - 33.34
16. Kayla McNeese - 35.44

Way to go, everyone! See ya next month.