Betsy collected 2 more wins for 2010 by taking first on Saturday and Sunday. Gunnar also claimed two podiums for the weekend. Here are some photos from this weekends racing. Enjoy!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Photos from this past weekend.
Much racing was done by Betsy, Gunnar and I this past weekend. Saturday we did the ABRA Cyclocross Series event, Little Washington Cross and on Sunday it was the Month of Mud race at Moraine State Park north of Pittsburgh.
Betsy collected 2 more wins for 2010 by taking first on Saturday and Sunday. Gunnar also claimed two podiums for the weekend. Here are some photos from this weekends racing. Enjoy!
Betsy collected 2 more wins for 2010 by taking first on Saturday and Sunday. Gunnar also claimed two podiums for the weekend. Here are some photos from this weekends racing. Enjoy!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Squeezing in one more MTB event!
AKA "This bike is for a little girl"*
Sunday Gunnar and I decided to head to Pittsburgh, PA to take part in the Month of Mud's North Park Mountain Bike Time Trial. Usually at this point in the year it is NBC (nothing but cross) however from what we heard about the trails up there it was too good to miss.
We left from Morgantown at 7am and sadly it was still dark outside but we were lucky in that the temps were not bad compared to the few days before. Gunnar is well known for showing up for races at the last minute, but luckily for him I was the one who drove us up and we arrived and hour before the start. As Gunnar got suited up and rode off to warm up it was less then a minute before he return.
Houston we have a problem!
Like I said usually we don't do mountain bike races this late in the year. Gunnar had already started to take apart his mtb bikes for the winter and the night before in a late night haze decided to race the geared bike instead of the SS. So after a bit of wheel tweaking and very quick test it was deemed sufficient for a 6 mile TT. Unfortunately both crank arm bolts had been taken off to get a CX bike together and in the haze he had forgotten this. AH HA!
The bolts are specific for those cranks and no one at the race had a set that would work. Gunnar was pretty bummed cause it looked like he was not going to get to race. I think it made it worse that we got up so early to get up there also.
After making phone calls and asking everyone there if they had the right bolts it was clear his bike was going to be a no go. After a few minutes we decided to change the pedals on my bike and send Gunnar off on my bike. Yes it is true by being Sponsored by Cannondale, I9 and Ergon much of the bike is set up the same however Gunnar rides a XL frame, I ride a Medium, lol! Problem solved...
But not really cause I run my brakes real close and rear is right while Gunnar being the old school tweaker runs his brakes loose and front is right.
With it being a TT Gunnar went off at 10:30 and I didn't go till Noon. That gave us enough time to change the bike back over for me before my start time.
With time on my hands I helped with the start of the race by calling riders to the start line. While doing so I witnessed Gunnar riding around on my bike. He didn't look too big for it however he was sitting straight up in the air like he was riding a cruiser bike due to my smaller frame. Even with the smaller frame Gunnar still put on his game face as he rolled to the start line. We did crack a few jokes but when the word go was sounded he was all business.
Fast forward to the Gunnar's Finish. Even while on someones bike that was set up for a toad he was able to finish 3rd in the vet class. Pretty darn good job Gunnar. Being just a few seconds back I figure on his own bike he may have won the thing. (ed. note- Damn straight skippy, but being how that wasn't what happened, I didn't get than winners $$)
I was at the car now and getting ready for my turn on the course when Gunnar showed up.
"Boy you got a fast bike there", he said. I was happy to hear that cause I figured he had a pretty good ride on my bike. As he jumped off the bike we both grabbed my pedals, reset the seat height for me, and adjusted a few other things that he had changed for him to ride the bike. Once the bike was back to my settings I headed out to warm up with 20 minutes before my start time. Perfect. I warmed up by riding some of the roads around the park, it was such a pretty fall day. The sun was out and the temperature was wonderful. Before I knew it, it was five minutes before my start and off to the line I went.
As I started it was a bit rough as the course zig-zagged it's way up the side of the mountain for the first mile.
I felt like I was going to blow. My friend Aaron Bennett (Steel City Endurance) was the next rider to start 1 minute behind me and I was just waiting for him to pass me cause I felt terrible. About another mile in I spotted Aaron behind me maybe 30 to 40 seconds back. However by then I started to feel a bit better and was able to get on top of the gear. I knew if I could just get to the road crossing before Aaron got to me I could hold him off (even if his time was better I couldn't let him pass me, lol). In the end I finished in 32:15 good enough for thirty in on the day. Aaron finished in 32:10 for 10th but he never passed me! lol! Nice job Aaron.
The rockstar award went to my bike for the weekend by finishing 3rd in the vet class and 13th in my class out of 40. Great job bike!
What a great race. Thanks to everyone who helped put on such a great event.
* From the movie "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World"
Sunday Gunnar and I decided to head to Pittsburgh, PA to take part in the Month of Mud's North Park Mountain Bike Time Trial. Usually at this point in the year it is NBC (nothing but cross) however from what we heard about the trails up there it was too good to miss.
We left from Morgantown at 7am and sadly it was still dark outside but we were lucky in that the temps were not bad compared to the few days before. Gunnar is well known for showing up for races at the last minute, but luckily for him I was the one who drove us up and we arrived and hour before the start. As Gunnar got suited up and rode off to warm up it was less then a minute before he return.
Houston we have a problem!
Like I said usually we don't do mountain bike races this late in the year. Gunnar had already started to take apart his mtb bikes for the winter and the night before in a late night haze decided to race the geared bike instead of the SS. So after a bit of wheel tweaking and very quick test it was deemed sufficient for a 6 mile TT. Unfortunately both crank arm bolts had been taken off to get a CX bike together and in the haze he had forgotten this. AH HA!
The bolts are specific for those cranks and no one at the race had a set that would work. Gunnar was pretty bummed cause it looked like he was not going to get to race. I think it made it worse that we got up so early to get up there also.
After making phone calls and asking everyone there if they had the right bolts it was clear his bike was going to be a no go. After a few minutes we decided to change the pedals on my bike and send Gunnar off on my bike. Yes it is true by being Sponsored by Cannondale, I9 and Ergon much of the bike is set up the same however Gunnar rides a XL frame, I ride a Medium, lol! Problem solved...But not really cause I run my brakes real close and rear is right while Gunnar being the old school tweaker runs his brakes loose and front is right.
With it being a TT Gunnar went off at 10:30 and I didn't go till Noon. That gave us enough time to change the bike back over for me before my start time.
With time on my hands I helped with the start of the race by calling riders to the start line. While doing so I witnessed Gunnar riding around on my bike. He didn't look too big for it however he was sitting straight up in the air like he was riding a cruiser bike due to my smaller frame. Even with the smaller frame Gunnar still put on his game face as he rolled to the start line. We did crack a few jokes but when the word go was sounded he was all business.Fast forward to the Gunnar's Finish. Even while on someones bike that was set up for a toad he was able to finish 3rd in the vet class. Pretty darn good job Gunnar. Being just a few seconds back I figure on his own bike he may have won the thing. (ed. note- Damn straight skippy, but being how that wasn't what happened, I didn't get than winners $$)
I was at the car now and getting ready for my turn on the course when Gunnar showed up.
"Boy you got a fast bike there", he said. I was happy to hear that cause I figured he had a pretty good ride on my bike. As he jumped off the bike we both grabbed my pedals, reset the seat height for me, and adjusted a few other things that he had changed for him to ride the bike. Once the bike was back to my settings I headed out to warm up with 20 minutes before my start time. Perfect. I warmed up by riding some of the roads around the park, it was such a pretty fall day. The sun was out and the temperature was wonderful. Before I knew it, it was five minutes before my start and off to the line I went.As I started it was a bit rough as the course zig-zagged it's way up the side of the mountain for the first mile.
I felt like I was going to blow. My friend Aaron Bennett (Steel City Endurance) was the next rider to start 1 minute behind me and I was just waiting for him to pass me cause I felt terrible. About another mile in I spotted Aaron behind me maybe 30 to 40 seconds back. However by then I started to feel a bit better and was able to get on top of the gear. I knew if I could just get to the road crossing before Aaron got to me I could hold him off (even if his time was better I couldn't let him pass me, lol). In the end I finished in 32:15 good enough for thirty in on the day. Aaron finished in 32:10 for 10th but he never passed me! lol! Nice job Aaron.The rockstar award went to my bike for the weekend by finishing 3rd in the vet class and 13th in my class out of 40. Great job bike!
What a great race. Thanks to everyone who helped put on such a great event.
* From the movie "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World"
Thursday, October 14, 2010
To the folks behind the scenes, thanks!
As you can imagine having a cycling team takes a lot of support. We here at Dynamic Physical Therapy Cycling have had a pretty exciting and successful year so far, and we are not even half way through cross season yet. I wanted to take a second to thank some of the local businesses that help support cycling. Please let them know that their support is appreciated by also supporting them and their services!
Afraid of going to the dentist? I know I was a few years back. Then out of necessity of needing a root canal I visited Mike Miller D.D.S. Lets just say I left the place shocked at how excellent he was at his job. This year I again had to make a visit to Dr. Miller's office and he even let me blog about it and he took pics. Read about the visit. Even if Dr. Miller was not a team sponsor I would still highly recommend him. His pain free approach and professionalism as a dentist is really refreshing, not to mention he has gotten a reputation as the "Dentist to the Cyclist" Thanks, Dr. Miller.
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People often ask us, how should I train or am I doing this correctly? Sometimes it is
hard to answer questions like that because every athlete is different and that is why we always suggest getting a coach if you want to reach your full potential on the bike. We at the Dynamic Physical Therapy Cycling Team count on Performance Coaching Services to help us make the right choices in our training regiment.
Performance Coaching Services is owned and operated by former Professional cyclist Rob Acciavatti. In 1995 at the age of 21, Rob turned professional and raced with the Scott-BiKyle-Flyers based out of Allentown, Pennsylvania. He spent the following two seasons in Europe racing with Kaiku, a semi-pro team from the Basque country in northern Spain. In 1998 he decided to leave competitive cycling and return to college to pursue a degree in physical therapy. Unable to stay away from racing, Rob returned for the 2000 season and began to coach and race with the West Virginia University Cycling Team. In WVU's first appearance at the National Championships Rob won two individual national titles in the criterium and omnium.
Rob and Performance Coaching Services offers bicycle fit and positioning evaluation, cycling specific strength training program as well as 3 different levels of coaching to help you obtain your goals.
Feel free to contact him and make sure you tell him we sent ya.
------------------------------------------
And when we need bikes, bike parts and pretty much any kind of outdoor gear where do we go? Pathfinder of course!
Not only do they have the best selection of outdoor equipment and products in the state of West Virginia, but they have been around for what seems like forever and can answer just about any question when it comes to your outdoor needs.
Pathfinder originally opened in Morgantown in 1973 just over on Wiley Street, just a few blocks from our current High Street location. Visit them today, you will not be disappointed.
Please support the companies that support the sport we all love so much!
Afraid of going to the dentist? I know I was a few years back. Then out of necessity of needing a root canal I visited Mike Miller D.D.S. Lets just say I left the place shocked at how excellent he was at his job. This year I again had to make a visit to Dr. Miller's office and he even let me blog about it and he took pics. Read about the visit. Even if Dr. Miller was not a team sponsor I would still highly recommend him. His pain free approach and professionalism as a dentist is really refreshing, not to mention he has gotten a reputation as the "Dentist to the Cyclist" Thanks, Dr. Miller. People often ask us, how should I train or am I doing this correctly? Sometimes it is
hard to answer questions like that because every athlete is different and that is why we always suggest getting a coach if you want to reach your full potential on the bike. We at the Dynamic Physical Therapy Cycling Team count on Performance Coaching Services to help us make the right choices in our training regiment.Performance Coaching Services is owned and operated by former Professional cyclist Rob Acciavatti. In 1995 at the age of 21, Rob turned professional and raced with the Scott-BiKyle-Flyers based out of Allentown, Pennsylvania. He spent the following two seasons in Europe racing with Kaiku, a semi-pro team from the Basque country in northern Spain. In 1998 he decided to leave competitive cycling and return to college to pursue a degree in physical therapy. Unable to stay away from racing, Rob returned for the 2000 season and began to coach and race with the West Virginia University Cycling Team. In WVU's first appearance at the National Championships Rob won two individual national titles in the criterium and omnium.
Rob and Performance Coaching Services offers bicycle fit and positioning evaluation, cycling specific strength training program as well as 3 different levels of coaching to help you obtain your goals.
Feel free to contact him and make sure you tell him we sent ya.
And when we need bikes, bike parts and pretty much any kind of outdoor gear where do we go? Pathfinder of course!
Not only do they have the best selection of outdoor equipment and products in the state of West Virginia, but they have been around for what seems like forever and can answer just about any question when it comes to your outdoor needs.
Pathfinder originally opened in Morgantown in 1973 just over on Wiley Street, just a few blocks from our current High Street location. Visit them today, you will not be disappointed.
Please support the companies that support the sport we all love so much!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Time for some cross!
It's that time of year when the amount of daylight starts to disappear and the weather starts to get a bit cooler. That means it time for Cyclocross. This past weekend Gunnar and I did the double by racing the ABRA event Kickoff on Saturday and the Month of Mud Cyclocross event on Sunday.
Photo by Benjamin Stephens
Gunnar was his usual self and was impressive all weekend long. He started off by doing the Masters race Saturday morning. From the start he found himself out front and was only matched by Andy Gorski of Allison Park, PA. The two took turns at the front and a solid gap emerged. For the remaining 30 minutes the two battled turn for turn. On the last lap Gunnar dug deep and attacked over the barriers. Gorski tried but was unable to match Gunnar's prance. At the line it was Gunnar taking his first cross win of the year.
As the promoter of the event it didn't leave me anytime to warm up before it was my turn to take to the course. All the other riders were already there and had taken up all the good spots at the front. I didn't pay it much mind cause I was going to ride my own pace and just see what happen. I had a slightly disappointing race because my fitness is not quite where I wanted it to be right now. However I tried hard and mustered up a 20th.
Gunnar was up again and going to do the Men's 1/2/3 race, his second of the day. The pace was fast. Five riders got away and Gunnar found himself in a chase group of 4 riders. The chase group where putting in hard laps and your could tell the riders in the group were just hanging on. Gunnar was able to use his skills and broke away from the group in the closing laps to take 6th in his second race!
Photo by Benjamin Stephens
Sunday we planned to head North to Grove City, PA for the Month of Mud Cross race. The drive was 2.5 hours so we had to leave butt early in the morning. It was clear early that the nice weather that we had the day before was gone on Sunday. It started rain pretty good about an hour before we reached the event.
Just like the day before Gunnar's race was first. At the start line it was cold, wet and a shock to the system. I told Gunnar, "harden up, it cross season". The race started and Gunnar didn't have the best start. Early on he was sitting in around 6th place as the rain started to fall even harder, Gunnar started to move forward. Joe and Andy where gone up front but lap after lap Gunnar picked off folks till he found himself in 3rd. That is were he found himself finish and he did a great job fighting back after a slow start.
Next was my turn. I was very cold, wet and even had some teeth chattering before the start. The field was big and we were starting on super wet blacktop. I was worried about someone taking out the field in the first turn on black top so I planned to take it easy on the start. No crashes during the prolog that was nice but I found myself a little ways back. I started riding hard and was having a blast in the mud and rain after I warmed up. I seem to do a lot better in the mud then most folks and in the next forty minutes picked off a lot of riders. By the end I finished 27th out of 81 riders. I felt like I rode better then the day before and the conditions made it so much fun that when I finished-fishing I had a smile from ear to ear! CROSS IS HERE!
Photo by Benjamin Stephens
Nate Annon member of the 2011 Dynamic PT team gets a jump start racing for the team by pulling on a jersey for the Cyclocross season. Welcome abroad Nate! More news of the 2011 Team in the months to come..
Gunnar was his usual self and was impressive all weekend long. He started off by doing the Masters race Saturday morning. From the start he found himself out front and was only matched by Andy Gorski of Allison Park, PA. The two took turns at the front and a solid gap emerged. For the remaining 30 minutes the two battled turn for turn. On the last lap Gunnar dug deep and attacked over the barriers. Gorski tried but was unable to match Gunnar's prance. At the line it was Gunnar taking his first cross win of the year.
As the promoter of the event it didn't leave me anytime to warm up before it was my turn to take to the course. All the other riders were already there and had taken up all the good spots at the front. I didn't pay it much mind cause I was going to ride my own pace and just see what happen. I had a slightly disappointing race because my fitness is not quite where I wanted it to be right now. However I tried hard and mustered up a 20th.
Gunnar was up again and going to do the Men's 1/2/3 race, his second of the day. The pace was fast. Five riders got away and Gunnar found himself in a chase group of 4 riders. The chase group where putting in hard laps and your could tell the riders in the group were just hanging on. Gunnar was able to use his skills and broke away from the group in the closing laps to take 6th in his second race!
Sunday we planned to head North to Grove City, PA for the Month of Mud Cross race. The drive was 2.5 hours so we had to leave butt early in the morning. It was clear early that the nice weather that we had the day before was gone on Sunday. It started rain pretty good about an hour before we reached the event.
Just like the day before Gunnar's race was first. At the start line it was cold, wet and a shock to the system. I told Gunnar, "harden up, it cross season". The race started and Gunnar didn't have the best start. Early on he was sitting in around 6th place as the rain started to fall even harder, Gunnar started to move forward. Joe and Andy where gone up front but lap after lap Gunnar picked off folks till he found himself in 3rd. That is were he found himself finish and he did a great job fighting back after a slow start.
Next was my turn. I was very cold, wet and even had some teeth chattering before the start. The field was big and we were starting on super wet blacktop. I was worried about someone taking out the field in the first turn on black top so I planned to take it easy on the start. No crashes during the prolog that was nice but I found myself a little ways back. I started riding hard and was having a blast in the mud and rain after I warmed up. I seem to do a lot better in the mud then most folks and in the next forty minutes picked off a lot of riders. By the end I finished 27th out of 81 riders. I felt like I rode better then the day before and the conditions made it so much fun that when I finished-fishing I had a smile from ear to ear! CROSS IS HERE!
Nate Annon member of the 2011 Dynamic PT team gets a jump start racing for the team by pulling on a jersey for the Cyclocross season. Welcome abroad Nate! More news of the 2011 Team in the months to come..
Find more swell photos of Gunnar from Ben at Ben's Super Cool Photo Shack!
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