Luke Update #2

Here is the latest update from Luke. Enjoy!

We raced the "EKZ" Swiss cup race Monday. The course was a four lap race with punchy climbs and descents.  It was much more extreme than any course I have raced on in the States. It included a two foot log drop, a 4 foot gap jump (which was optional; it could be bypassed but you would lose about 10 seconds and get passed by about 5 guys), a super steep switchback that was almost impossible on a 29er, and, best of all, a super sketchy downhill steeper than any I have ever ridden. On top of that, the downhill was slick with mud and had a huge rut down the middle. I was so gassed in the race that I endoed here on the third lap in front of tons of spectators! Luckily, I landed on some nice orange pads laying on stacked hay. The course, however, did not have the rocks that we have at Buck Creek.

At the start line we got interviewed as team USA for German TV, which was totally awesome! We had to start at the very back of over 40 racers though, which was not ideal. One thing that is awesome about the Europe racing scene is the spectators are not just parents lining the course, but tons of fans yelling in foreign languages. I can happily say that there were at LEAST the number of spectators there as there are at a Wylie Bulldogs football game.

We moved up quickly once the race started and formed a train of me, Lucas (US national champ), and Keegan who was 2nd at Nats. Zach and Joe were not too far behind us.  The Europe kids were aggressive and had no problem elbowing you for a better position going into the singletrack. I ended up finishing the race in 12th, 56 seconds behind Lucas.  It was also pretty cool seeing juniors racing for the actual Specialized team, and beating them! The race was age category 15-17, so some of the top guys were older. I missed the podium by less than two minutes!  Our next race, the World Cup, is Saturday and should be huge. Racing in Europe sure does make you glad you are a bike racer, because it is the sport here! We Americans were some of the only guys that did not have someone holding an umbrella over us at the start line for shade, whereas in America only the pros do that.  The food here is duh-lish! I will probably not be ready to leave come next Monday!

-Luke Allen

Thanks for the update, Luke. It sounds like you're having a great time. Good luck at the World Cup!

Luke and Team USA

Luke Allen, Abilene native and BikeTown employee, got the chance to race over in Europe as part of the USA Cycling Development Team. He left for Germany on August 18th and will spend about a week racing over there. He's sending a few blurbs back to us to share with everyone here on the blog. So, read and enjoy a bit of Luke's adventure.

I arrived here in Germany yesterday. I did not sleep on the plane, except for about an hour before the flight attendant woke me up to ask if I wanted a drink... We met up with four other guys in the Frankfurt, Germany airport, the first and second place guys from nationals, the top 15 year old, my teammate Zach Carlson who was fourth at nationals, and then me.  USA cycling selected five guys based on results from nationals, the ProXCT series which is a national series around the states, and the regional camp we attended in Colorado Springs in early June. It is very cool here in Germany, and the mountains are beautiful. They are super thick with huge trees mixed with patches of green "golf-course" looking grass. Everyone speaks crazy German, but it's okay because I do, too. Well, just "your fly is unzipped" because my mom says that in German, because her mom said that to her brothers in German growing up. Today we are racing a "smaller" race in Switzerland with about 30 15-16 year old juniors registered. Our coach said the Swiss junior national team will be there and they are wicked fast, along with the Rabobank junior team. We race at 1:30, and got our "USA" team kits yesterday. They are sweet! My bike and gears are performing great so far thanks to Jim and Gary at BikeTown! Thanks everyone for the support! I will try to write again later this week before the big world cup at the end of this week.

-Luke Allen
 

We've known and ridden with Luke for many years now, and it's great to see him get the chance to race at this level. His hard work is paying off. Good luck, Luke!

GRAND OPENING!

Finally...it's time for the grand opening of our new location! Come join us this weekend, August 12-13, when we have the grand opening of our new building. The red ribbon cutting will kick things off at 11:00 am on Friday. On Saturday we will have a yard sale outside (bring your cash for this!) where you'll find all sorts of good deals. Inside, we will have door prizes every hour. Our new building is located at 1789 Industrial Blvd. We would love to see you this weekend, so make plans to drop by!

August ABC Road Time Trial Results

Wow...it was hot out there tonight. Not sure of the exact temp, but it was well over 100. Pretty impressive ride from everyone given the heat. Here are the results:

1. Luke Allen - 23:25
2. Richard McLamore - 24:22
3. John Freemire - 24:49
4. Patrick Stevenson - 25:40
5. Paul Patterson - 25:40
6. Christeen Hodge - 25:53
7. Craig Jones - 26:58
8. JR Brock - 27:07
9. Chuck Patton - 27:16
10. Ron Cost - 28:04
11. Manny Cortez - 28:11
12. Quin McLamore - 28:37
13. Mike Petty - 28:40
14. Tracy Jarvis - 28:52
15. Mark Spurlock - 28:53
16. (tie) John Pugsley - 29:17
       Jeff Messer - 29:17
18. (tie) Ronny Koehn - 29:22
       Todd Sage - 29:22
20. Allen Wilson - 32:31
21. Jim Leavenworth - 32:32
22. Mike Heddinger - 34:25
23. Genienne Koehn - 36:09

Thanks for coming out, everyone! See you next time on Thursday, September 1.

ABC Road Time Trial Tonight!

It's the first Thursday of the month which means it's time for the road time trial! Meet us at Mueller's on FM 18 for sign-up at 6:00 pm. The first rider will take off at 6:30 on the 10 mile loop. Please remember to bring a non-perishable food item for your entry fee. We're supposed to have record heat today, so bring plenty of water! BikeTown will provide Gatorade and cookies after the ride. We look forward to seeing you there!

Buck Creek Time Trial Results

The August time trial at the trails is in the books! It was a HOT night out, but that didn't deter you guys from showing up to ride. Here are the results:

1. Brian Miller - 25:51
2. Todd Sage - 26:56
3. Tracy Jarvis - 27:19
4. Ricky Wallace - 27:29
5. Chris Vachon - 27:33
6. Louis Anderson - 29:22
7. Richard McLamore - 29:26
8. John Freemire - 29:38
9. Rob Wiley - 30:31
10. Chad Walters - 30:59
11. Marcus Wiley - 31:22
12. Trent MacDonald - 41:19

A big thanks to Greg Allen for running the show. And thanks to everyone who stuck around for the cookout afterward. We might need to do that again next month!