2011 Scarlet Fire 2-Person TTT Recap

Scarletfire Racing’s 2-person TTT marked the fourth stage on the Mid America Time Trial Series outdoor tour. While it was Mother’s Day, the race still produced a great turnout. I heard one racer say “I do not care what day it is. If there is a race, I am there!” Yah, that is what you ex-wife said. Anyways, back to the story. The weather was awesome, the roads were mostly smooth, and Mark Swartzendruber and Co. did a stellar job putting on another excellent MATTS event.

As my crew and I pulled into the parking lot for this race, we saw a guy sporting a Cubs hat and aviator sunglasses. Hey, who is that dude, I thought? Oh, it was Mark Swartzendruber of course. He traded in his spandex for race director duties for the day. In fact, most of Scarletfire Racing’s squad traded in their racing kits for the day to help out in the corners

Garden Prairie has gone from a touch and go pavement operation of the past to a time trial with some very nice, smooth roads.  This year's race featured new pavement over 1/2 half of the course, with good older pavement and a 1/4 mile section that needed some patch work.  Riders faced heavy head and crosswinds on the way out to the turnaround with smooth sailing on the way home (speeds reaching close to 40 miles per hour in some sections). A small section of patched potholes just before the bridge on the way to the finish, and it was a wrap.

Charles Gerlach and Jeff Otto (Lamb Little Racing) rode the best time of the day, followed by Fabio “the Legend” Orlandi and Brian Harris (PYOC /Scarletfire Racing). Rob Jungles and Curtis Bice (ABD) rounded the men’s podium with a 52:14.

On the women’s side, Kelly Richter and Leigh Thompson (Vision Quest) rode a stellar 55:10 to take the women’s TTT title. Shirley Crocker and Arietta Clauss (Brazen Dropouts /Mad City) rode a 56:56 for second place.  Candy Chintis and Francine Haas (Abertos) rode a 1:01.14 for third place honors.

Other notable teams who rode excellent times on this day were: Mike Heagney and John Angelatos (Vision Quest), Russ Kuryk and Jason Knaff (Iron Cycles /Burham Racing), Ryan Fay and Jeremy Anderson (XxX), Jerzy Trzeciak and Stanley Trzeciak (PLUS), Alain Villeneuve and Edward Gradient (Well Fit Elite III), Mark Serafin and Doug Peterson (Lamb Little Racing), Tom Kalstrup and Nels Hackl (PYOC/RRB), Darin Steiner and Don Lowe (Team Mack), Bob Burke and Ziggy Demel (PACT Dish-Network), Bob Burke and Terry Martin (PACT Dish-Network / Team IE), Richard Kreutzfeldt and Dave Goetzinger (PACT Dish-Network / Big Ring Flyers), Max Hall and Gina Johnson (Village-Verdigris), Kyle Mindick and Ben O’Malley (XxX), and Elise Kikis and Wendy Gaddey (Albertos).

Thanks goes out to Scarletfire Racing team members Mark Swartzendruber, Michael Zellmann, Chris Mosora, Tom Doughty, Brian Harris, and Ian Lochridge (with help from Stacy Applewick (ABD)) for putting on another great MATTS event.

Lastly, there have been some whispers in the peleton of a new team forming in the Chicago cycling ranks. From what I hear, Jerzy Trzeciak, his brother Stanley Trzeciak, and fomer pro cyclist Krys Wiatr are starting a new team called PLUS made up of Polish, American riders. The team’s philosophy is racing competitively while having fun without drama or politics. I wish them success with their new endeavor.

For those of you who are looking for a time trial this weekend, you are in luck.  This Barstow 20k is a bit of a haul and well worth the drive.  This is the flatest 20k course in the Tri-State area.  The flyer and on-line registration went up last week.  The race is a ROTY, TOI/W event.  Race start is 9:00 a.m. 

Registration is available on-line at: 
http://www.getmeregistered.com/ 

You can view the race flyer at: 
http://www.ambikerace.com/2011/flyers/Barstow2011flyer.pdf

That’s a wrap-DP

2011 Single Bong 20k Results Recap

O.K  Chicago area time trial freaks, the wait is finally over.  In this addition of Time Trial Track Chicago, I will be reporting on the Bong 20k.  The Single Bong was held on May 1st with a great turnout.  The weather was crisp, and the winds again were the star attraction of the show with gusts out of the Northwest at 20-30 miles per hour. 

The usual suspects and teams showed up in Kansasville for stage number 3 on the Mid-America Time Trial Series outdoor season.  Jeff Otto (Lamb Little Racing) posted the two fastest  two times of the day.  His first time of 25:24 was stellar enough.  Jeff then went out in heavy winds and posted the second fastest time of the day with a 25:46! Take that to the bank Time Trial Track faithful!  Not to be undone or underestimated, Mark Swartzendrubber (Scarletfire Racing), who is slowly reaving up his jet engine program of his own, posted the third fastest time of the day with a time of 25:56.  Mr. Consistency, Charles Gerlach (Lamb Little Racing) was 4^th with a time of 26:18.  Rounding the podium was new up and comer to the elite TT ranks, Reed Oliff (Lamb Little Racing) with a time of 26:21.

On the Ladies side, Leigh Thompson (Vision Quest) was the winner with a 29:26.  Shirley Crocker (Brazen Dropouts) was second with a 31:36, and Wendy Gaddey (Albertos) was third with a time of 32:30.

Other riders posting excellent times at Bong were:  Curtis Bice (ABD), Brian Harris (Scarletfire Racing), Andrew Toftoy (Nature Factor-Finer Finish),  Joe Berenyi (PSIMET), Robert Burke (PACT), Jerzy Trzeciak (PLUS), Mike Wolfgram (Gear Grinder), Kevin Stephens (Project 5),  Dan Norbeck (Vision Quest), Don Lowe (Team Mack), Doug Peterson (Lamb Little Racing), Richard Adamczyk (Midwest Masters), Marek Serafin (Lamb Little Racing),  Micahel Redlich Jr. (ABD),  Angela Rochester (Albertos),  Marie Couris (Albertos), Elise Kikis (Albertos), Glenda Sunberg (Fitness Pursuit), Diane Roanhaus (Midwest Masters), Ann Mattson (Freeport Bicycle Co.), Lynn Rivier (Albertos), and Pat Beam (ABD).

In the Team Competition, on the men’s side, Lamb Little Racing (by category) took the most podiums, followed by Vision Quest, Scarletfire Racing, and PACT-Dish-Network.  On the women’s side, Albertos was the class of the field followed by Vision Quest, and Fitness Pursuit.

Thanks goes out to Carl Wilkins and his niece, Gina for hosting another stellar event.  I would be remiss not to thank Bob Lundberg, the timer on the day, for not screwing up the 30 second starts.  Bob, you made it look easy!  Last but not least, the series could not run like a well oiled machine without the services of Bill Cassidy at the timer's table.  Results and report for Scarletfire 2-Person TTT will be up shortly.  The next MATTS outdoor event will be held in Harvard on 6/11.  Information on the Harvard 33.3K can be viewed at:

http://www.ambikerace.com/2011/flyers/Harvard_TT_Flyer_2011v2.pdf

Online registration is available for this event at:   http://www.truesport.com/

See you at the next race!