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.

Downtown Townie Ride

Want to join a nice leisurely ride around downtown Abilene? Meet at Monk's at 8:30 Saturday morning and cruise around the downtown area. Check out the farmer's market and just have fun!

No, you don't have to have a Townie to participate. Just plan on a nice relaxing pace. Bring the kids and let them ride, too - on their own bikes or in a trailer behind yours!

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!

ABC July Road Time Trial

Can you believe it's July already? Only a few more time trials left this season! We had a good night for the time trial tonight. The wind seems to have moved elsewhere for now, so it was just a normal, hot July evening in West Texas. A great time to be on a bike. All right - on to the results:

1. Thomas Talley - 21:52
2. Richard McLamore - 24:06
3. Josh Brown - 24:33
4. Jason Frazee - 24:39
5. Greg Allen - 25:32
6. Paul Patterson - 25:37
7. JR Brock - 26:35
8. John Sharp - 27:12
9. Chuck Patton - 27:15
10. Mike Cornielison - 27:54
11. Allen Wilson - 29:30
12. Travis Crisman - 29:41
13. Baylor Blessing - 29:51
14. Manny Cortez - 32:42
15. Ronny Koehn - 33:02
16. Adam Gerow - 33:09
17. Joel Whittemore - 33:19
18. Larry Ford - 36:02

Prior to tonight, the fastest time trial this season was finished in 23:34. Great ride tonight, Thomas! Must be the helmet. :) It's impressive how much everyone's times are coming down. Keep up the great riding and see ya out there next month!

Tour de Gap Route Map

Here is the route map for this year's Tour de Gap. Remember - there is construction going on, so the 70 mile route looks a little different from years past. There are two different maps. One shows the 10, 25, and 48 mile routes. The other shows the 70 mile race.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/3768961/Tour-de-Gap-Maps-2008