Off to Nationals!

Just want to give a shout out to the riders who raced in the TMBRA series and qualified for Nationals in Colorado.

Cat 1, 15-18
Luke Allen (finished 3rd overall)

Cat 1, 50-59
Gary Fraser (finished 10th overall)

Cat 3, 10 and under
Maggie Allen (finished 4th overall)

Cat 3, 11-12
Claire Allen (finished 2nd overall)

We're excited for you guys! Good luck at Nationals!

TMBRA Spring Series Final Results

There were quite a few locals competing in the TMBRA spring series this year. The series consisted of eight races located all over the state, with the final results taken from the best five of the eight for each racer (four of seven for the kids). Here are the final results for the folks from around here:

Cat 2 Men 15-18

3. Luke Allen

Cat 2 Men 45-59

2. Greg Allen

Cat 2 Men 50-99

3. Gary Fraser

12. Michael Sparks

Cat 2 Women 30-39

7. Brenda Andress

Cat 3 Men 1-10

10. Trent MacDonald

12. Troy MacDonald

Cat 3 Men 19-29

1. 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

Here are some pictures of most everyone getting their series awards (in the same order as listed above).

Great job, everyone! See you at Nationals in Granby, Colorado!

X-Bar Results

X-Bar was the last race in the TMBRA Spring Series. It took place on May 17 in El Dorado. On to the results for the local folk...

Cat 2 Men 15-18
1. Luke Allen

Cat 2 Men 45-49
1. Greg Allen

Cat 2 Men 50-99
Gary Fraser - DNF

Cat 3 Men 1-10
9. Trent MacDonald
10. Troy MacDonald

Cat 3 Men 19-29
2. Baylor Blessing

Cat 3 Men 40-49
6. Jim MacDonald

Cat 3 Women 1-10
1. Maggie Allen

Cat 3 Women 11-12
3. Claire Allen

Enjoy a few pictures from the race.
Here is Baylor about to claim 2nd place.



Jim got to walk the last mile of his race thanks to a derailleur bent into the spokes. Oops. Notice Gary and Baylor already looking at the bike. Jim, Gary, and Baylor - always the mechanics.

X-Bar claimed another BikeTown victim. On his first lap, Gary ended up with a slash in his tire, so he made it to the end of the lap and then had to DNF. Not a good day for Gary and Jim.

These two had a little more fun. They were pretty pleased to be in the top ten.

Greg had a great race - 1st place!

Way to go, Abilene folk! You all did great this spring series!

GHORBA Big Ring Challenge

Time for the results from the 7th race in the TMBRA Spring Series. This one took place in Coldspring (near Houston) on May 3rd. The weather was a tad bit wet, and it was muddy. Very muddy. Even so, many people showed up to race. Here are the results for the Abilene crew.

Cat 2 Men 15-18
2. Luke Allen

Cat 2 Men 45-49
1. Greg Allen

Cat 2 Men 50+
1. Gary Fraser
8. Michael Sparks

Cat 3 Men 19-29
3. Baylor Blessing

Cat 3 Women 1-10
1. Maggie Allen

Cat 3 Women 11-12
3. Claire Allen

Hope everyone got bikes and gear cleaned up from the mud. Good job, everyone!

STORM Hill Country Challenge

The 6th race in the TMBRA spring series took place in Comfort on April 19th. Here are the results for the locals:

Cat 2 Men 15-18

1. Luke Allen

Cat 2 Men 45-49

5. Greg Allen

Cat 3 Men 50+

3. Gary Fraser

4. Michael Sparks

Cat 2 Women 30-39

2. Brenda Andress

Cat 3 Men 1-10

10. Trent MacDonald

12. Troy MacDonald

Cat 3 Men 40-49

1. Jim MacDonald

Cat 3 Women 1-10

1. Maggie Allen

Enjoy some pictures from the event. First up is Greg at the start of his race.

Gary at the finish of his.

Here's Brenda beginning her race.

And Jim finishing his.

Trent (on the far left) was excited to get into the top 10 for the second time.

If you'll look on the left of the next picture, you'll see the highlight of the whole weekend for many of those in attendance. The ice cream four-wheeler. Yes, a couple of guys drove that around all weekend with those white coolers attached to the front and handed out...yep...ice cream. No charge. As much as you wanted. All the kids were really excited. The adults were, too.

Good job, everyone! Next race coming soon.

Reimer's Ranch Results

The 5th race in the spring TMBRA series was held on April 5th at Reimer's Ranch in Austin. Abilene folk had a good showing. Take a look at the results.

Cat 2 Men 15-18
3. Luke Allen

Cat 2 Men 45-49
DNF - Greg Allen (He did come home with a fractured elbow and stitches, though!)

Cat 2 Men 50+
2. Gary Fraser

Cat 2 Women 30-39
1. Brenda Andress

Cat 3 Men 1-10
16. Trent MacDonald
23. Troy MacDonald
Troy and Trent both took a wrong turn and added a mile or two to their course. Oops.

Cat 3 Men 19-29
2. 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

Way to go, everyone. I'm almost caught up with posting TMBRA results - just in time for the 8th and final race of the spring series. Check back this week for the results of the next two races.

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.

Bar H Bash 2009

The second race in the TMBRA series, the Bar H Bash, was held on March 1 up in St Jo. It was a cold and windy weekend. Brrr. Despite the weather, several Abilene folk traveled out to the race and did well.

Here are the results:

Cat 2, Men 15-18
3. Luke Allen

Cat 2, Men 45-49
9. Greg Allen

Cat 2, Men 50-99
2. Gary Fraser

Cat 2, Women 30-39
3. Brenda Andress

Cat 3, Men 1-10
15. 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

There will be some pictures posted of the event later. Unfortunately, the computer is not cooperating with uploading the pictures right now.

Mas o Menos 2009

The 2009 TMBRA Spring Series has now officially begun. Mas o Menos, the first of the eight races, took place in Terlingua on February 14. Terlingua is located just a few miles NW of Big Bend National Park. A few Abilene folk turned out for it and they did well! Mas o Menos is a fairly large event with about 450-500 riders showing up for it every year. It has three different course lengths: 30k, 50k, and 100k. The Abilene crowd was competing in the 30 (cat 3) and 50k (cat 2) events.

In the picture below are Gary Fraser and Mike Sparks just after their age group started the 50k race.


Here is the view from the finish area. Aren't those hills great? At least they were from my perspective. The racers might not agree with me.


This next pic shows a crossover point. The racers finished with the trail on one side of the highway and then crossed over the road to get to the rest of the trail. See that trail going up the mountain in the background? That's where the racers are headed. They were so excited about it. Right.
Here's Jim heading around the last corner before the finish line. He was excited that he made it up that hill in the previous picture without breaking his chain like last year.

Here are the results for the racers from Abilene:

Cat 2 Men 15-18
3. Luke Allen

Cat 2 Men 30-34
7. Chad Walters

Cat 2 Men 45-49
6. Greg Allen

Cat 2 Men 50-99
2. Gary Fraser
11. Michael Sparks

Cat 3 Men 19-29
2. Jason Boone

Cat 3 Men 40-49
1. Jim MacDonald

Mas o Menos is a lot of fun and is a well-organized race. We hope a bunch of Abilene riders can make it down there next year!

Hello?

Yes...It has been a while since a post. Hopefully, they'll be occurring a little more often now. For all those who keep checking...thanks!

As you may or may not know, the 2009 TMBRA spring series kicked off today at Mas o Menos in Terlingua. There was a 30k, 50k, and 100k race. The BikeTown crew made a good showing. We'll be finding out the final results later on, at which point I'll post them along with some pictures. Well, that's assuming I still have internet connection.

Thanks for hanging with us. Check back soon!

Camp Eagle

The fall TMBRA series began at the end of August and several folks from around here got to go to the first event. It was held at Camp Eagle down in Rocksprings on August 30-31. Here are the results:

Cat 2 Men, 15-18
4. Luke Allen

Cat 2 Men, 40-49
10. Greg Allen

Single Speed Men, 1-99
4. Jason Frazee

Cat 3, Women, 11-12
2. Claire Allen

Super D, Cat 1 Men, 30-39
1. Jason Frazee

Good job everyone!

If you have any pictures from the event that you want to share on the blog, just let us know. We'll be updating the blog on the next few TMBRA events soon.

Hometown Crew on Podium!

A big congratulations to Claire, Luke, and Gary on their results at the USA Cycling National Mountain Bike Championship. They all did great and two of them made it onto the podium.

In the junior women 10 & under age division, Claire brought home 3rd place. In the junior men 13-14 age division, Luke placed 10th. And in the beginner men 40-49 age division, Gary brought home 5th place. Wow - way to go, guys!

We'll get some pictures posted from nationals as soon as we can.

Good Luck at Nationals!

Some people we know are heading out of town - to the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championship in Mt. Snow, Vermont!

Good luck Claire, Luke, and Gary! Have fun at nationals. We'll be waiting to hear all about it.

National Qualifiers

Lots of folks from around here participated in at least one of the TMBRA spring series races. For those of you new to this, TMBRA stands for Texas Mountain Bike Racing Association. TMBRA holds a series of races every fall and spring in different venues all over the state. Mountain bikers from all over Texas come and compete in these events. There are several different levels riders can choose to compete in, from the age 10 and under beginner kids all the way up to semi-pro (one level under professional). At these races, if you place in the top few spots in your category, you can qualify for the national race held in July. This year's nationals take place on July 16-20 in Mt. Snow, Vermont. And would you take a look at this! The following list is all the riders from Abilene who qualified for the national competition.

Women Juniors 10 and under
Claire Allen
Maggie Allen

Women Beginner 30-39
Brenda Andress

Men Junior 10 and under
Troy MacDonald

Men Junior 13-14
Luke Allen
Gary Tadvick
Jack Tadvick

Men Beginner 19-24
Baylor Blessing


Men Beginner 25-29
Aaron Andress


Men Beginner 30-39
Len Tadvick


Men Beginner 40-49
Gary Fraser
Jim MacDonald

Men Sport 25-29
Andrew Andress
Josh Brown


Men Sport 35-39
JR Ramon


Men Sport 40-49
Greg Allen


Men Sport 50+
Michael Sparks


Men Single-Speed Open
Jason Frazee


Congratulations everyone! You guys did fantastic! Check back for an update on who is actually making the trip to compete at nationals in Mt. Snow, Vermont.

TMBRA Top Ten

The TMBRA series finished up in May with several of our local people placing well in the overall standings. To be eligible for the final standings, riders had to participate in at least 4,5, or 6 of the 8 races (depending on which category they rode). Here are how the Abilene crew finished. (I only listed those who were eligible for final standings.)

Junior Men, 13-14
1. Luke Allen

Beginner Women, 1-10

1. Claire Allen
7. Maggie Allen

Beginner Men, 40-49

5. Jim MacDonald

Sport Men, 50-99
10. Michael Sparks

X-Bar Shootout

Here are the results for the final race of the TMBRA spring series. It took place at the X-Bar Ranch, just outside of El Dorado on May 18th. Once again, folks from around here had a good showing. Take a look at the results and some pictures from the event.

Beginner Men, 1-10
15. Troy MacDonald

Beginner Men, 19-29
2. Baylor Blessing

Beginner Men, 40-49
2. Gary Fraser
3. Jim MacDonald

Beginner Women, 11-12
3. Claire Allen*

Single Speed Open Men, 1-99
5. Jason Frazee

Sport Men, 15-16
3. Luke Allen*

* Competed in an older age group for this final race

Here's Jason on his first lap of the day.

Greg is still enjoying the ride at this point. His bike had some trouble later on. Luckily, he didn't have to walk too far.

Gary is finishing strong.

So is Troy.

Jason is loving the swag he won.

Great job, guys!

GHORBA Big Ring Challenge

All right - the next TMBRA race in the series took place in Coldspring on May 4. No pictures for this one, but here are the results:

Beginner Women, 1-10
1. Claire Allen
3. Maggie Allen

Beginner Men, 13-14
1. Luke Allen

Sport Men, 40-44
18. Greg Allen

Sport Women, 30-39
5. Brenda Andress

Once again - good job, y'all!

STORM Hill Country Challenge

The next TMBRA race was held in Comfort on April 27. Once again, BikeTown/Abilene folks had a great showing. Some pictures are included this time for your enjoyment. Here are the results:

Beginner Women, 1-10

4. Maggie Allen

Beginner Men, 1-10

17. Troy MacDonald

Beginner Men, 11-12

18. Max Tadvick

Beginner Men, 13-14

1. Luke Allen

10. Gary Tadvick

11. Jack Tadvick

Beginner Men, 19-29

2. Baylor Blessing

Beginner Men, 30-39

8. Len Tadvick

Beginner Men, 40-49

16. Jim MacDonald

Single Speed Open Men, 1-99

3. Jason Frazee

Sport Men, 50-99

7. Michael Sparks

Jim and Troy smile for the camera right before Troy's first TMBRA race

The Tadvic crew

Jason lining up for his race

I'm supposed to race with these guys?

Luke riding along

Jason on the course

Baylor's not sure if he's having fun yet

At this point Jim is still having fun

After two flats, Jim's just glad to see the finish line

Go, Luke!

Great job, Maggie!

The race at Comfort was a lot of fun and finished just in time. By the end of the awards, the cold wind and rain clouds had blown in. Glad the weather held off as long as it did!

Great job to everyone who showed up. Can't wait to see how we do out there next year!

Austin Ridge Riders Singletrack Stampede

All right - here are the results for the next TMBRA race in the spring series. This race was held just outside Austin on April 13.

Beginner Junior Women, 1-10
1. Claire Allen
7. Maggie Allen

Beginner Women, 30-39
4. Brenda Andress

Beginner Junior Men, 13-14
1. Luke Allen

Sport Men, 19-29
9. Andrew Andress
12. Josh Brown

Sport Men, 35-39
9. JR Ramon

Sport Men, 50-99
7. Michael Sparks

From what I hear, this was a pretty rocky, rough course. Good job to everyone who competed!