Pro Bikes, Pittsburgh, PA.

Black Friday Specials

2010-11-19T23:43:00.003-05:00

Pro Bikes will be having some great sales for Black Friday!

Click here for info on Black Friday Discounts starting 11/20

Click here for info on our New Old Stock Blowout Sale!

Amazing deals on everything in our store!

Murrysville CX: Revisited

2010-11-10T16:16:00.005-05:00

Write-up by Stephen (SteveO) Cummings:

Gerry Pflug, another PRObikes rider, has given the Murrysville cyclocross race the nickname “The Cyclocross championships of Pennsyltucky.” PA does have a real state championship, however it is a four hour drive away. This local race draws some fierce talent from the Pittsburgh area, Ohio, West Virginia, and even Virgina this year.

Going into the race, I knew everybody on the starting line, and knew that if I had good legs, and good luck, and no errors, I had a good chance of winning. The previous year, Mike Mihalik (Freddie Fu) and I got away together early, and he out rode me in the muddy conditions for the win. I would say that he and I were the favorites on the line, with a fresh Gerry Pflug and Pro mountain biker Ryan Fawley both in contention.

First lap chaos ensued as it does in most cross races. I missed a turn, tore some tape, and fell back to third. Just as this happened, Ryan Fawley slid out going pretty fast through a downhill turn. I really thought I was going to ride over his face. I don’t know how I missed, but Mike had about a five second gap after I got around him.

I caught mike as we went through the start finish. One lap down and I was already looking for lap cards... it was going to be a long race. Mike and I worked together, trading pulls up the hill and on the false flat headwind section. We wanted to build our gap before we started really going for it.

With 3 laps to go, I put in a dig on the false flat headwind section at the top of the course. Mike held my wheel. He answered this attack with a fierce attack through the barriers. He got about 3 or 4 seconds on me that I didn't get back until the pavement section that was the start/finish.

Two to go and I did a HARD dig in the same section. I got a few seconds on Mike, but his handling allowed him to keep it to a bike length or two. He got me back as we rode through the crowd and I heard his teammate Joe yell “that was all he had...” Part of me was worried that Joe was right. Luckily for me, Mike was also hurting when he caught me.

We rode through looking at one to go. If Mike had a lot left, he would have dug here, again luckily for me he didn’t. In retrospect, I should have attacked him here, but sometimes in a bike race, the easier thing to do is the easier thing to do. I dug again on the top section, hoping to get the gap I had gotten the previous lap, but Mike knew that might have been the race. He stayed with me, and immediately counter attacked.

This was where the boxing match ensued. We had 1/2 a lap to go. I don’t think he wanted it to come down to a sprint. He attacked me into a corner, and I attacked to get back in front of him. I didn’t want him to ride away from me through technical turns. We were slugging it out into every corner and on every flat stretch. We were trying to break onea nother.

Going into the barriers, I could see that Mike was hurting. I put in a small dig into them. Getting into the my pedals quickly could have been the difference between winning and 2nd place. As soon as my feet were in, I stood up and dug again. I have no idea where Mike was, but I raced as if he was on my wheel. I made it to the pavement without crashing and sprinted for the win. I had no idea how close Mike was, and pedaled until I was sure that he could not come around me.

Murrysville was a great race. Thanks to Freddie Fu cycling team, The Ag3r cycling team, and all the volunteers who made it happen. Thanks to Mike for setting up the course Saturday and making Sunday’s race one of the hardest I have had in recent memory. Maybe I shouldn’t thank him.

Cannondale CAAD10 Review

2010-11-03T15:44:00.003-04:00

CAAD10: first impressions.
By: Todd Schoeni, Pro Bikes

Ok, so I've had the lucky privilege of being able to ride many, many road bikes in my day. Super Six Hi-Mod, Specialized Tarmac SL, Specialized tarmac SL2, Specialized E5 Allez, CAAD7, CAAD9, and Cannondale System Six to name a few. So, when I put my leg over the CAAD10, I was well armed with the knowledge of how many other bikes ride.

My test steed: 2011 CAAD 10 Ultegra. CAAD10 frame/fork/hs ( tapered HT and BB30 BB), Ultegra shifters and derailleurs with an FSA SLK BB30 carbon crankset, tektro stoppers, Mavic aksium race wheels, and other Cannondale and ControlTech bits to round it out....

First impression: LIGHT. at 2k, this bike is really well spec'd and lightweight. With a frame weighing in around 1100 grams, this is a major contender in terms of weight. Considering most other companies have full CARBON frames at that same weight, the CAAD10 is a winner in that division. The ride of the CAAD10 can easily be described a many things. Snappy, fast, responsive, nimble, solid-tracking. Out of all of those I choose, 'all of the above.' The bike just reacts... period. The tapered headtube and the BB30 bottom bracket serve this frame exceptionally well in that the bike's front and rear wheels track solidly in line with one another. There is not one ounce of that squirmy torsional frame twisting you would find from other models. The bi-ovalized downtube and highly manipulated toptube mated to the tapered headtube make sure thing bike goes exactly where you point it. And for the record, feeling your bike squirm under you in a hard corner is a very, very eerie feeling.

The rear end of the bike is snappy, VERY snappy. Even my powermeter let me know that as I put the bike through the paces on our local "Oval" track. Every turn of the pedals goes into forward momentum. NO lag time, no wasted energy flexing the bottom bracket, and no lapses. The rear flat-ish seatstays mated to the oversized rear chainstays and BB30 make this bike scream down straightaways and through turns. Acceleration, some of the best I've felt in an aluminum framed bike that costs 1/3 of a full carbon counterpart. It felt solid, it felt real, it felt just perfect!

In terms of ride compliance, aluminum sometimes gets a bad rap. Sometimes it's as responsive as said above, with the downfall being a harsh, chattery ride that leaves you fatigued after a couple hours of riding and/or racing. Not here........ The CAAD10 has managed to take all of that stiffness and responsiveness and find a great balance of vertical compliance that most aluminum farmes would hope for. After 2 + hours of riding, I still felt fresh with the smoothness of the frame still eating up all the residual road chatter. Now, you do feel the ride, but in a good way. The CAAD10 gives almost an "alive" feeling that you can't find from some carbon frames. Carbon does a great job at vibration damping, but that can also lead to feeling a bit disconnected with the tarmac underneath you. The CAAD10 has done a great job of letting you acknowledge the road you're on, without FEELING the road you're on. I am sure this feeling is assisted by the carbon seatpost and full carbon steerer front fork. However, aluminum this nice can't be covered up by those two factors alone.

Want a great all-rounder that won't break the bank? CAAD10, all the way.... With the most Tour wins by an aluminum frame under it's belt, this is a leap into the newest technology that makes aluminum a winner...... AGAIN!

Check out the CAAD10 on Cannondale.com HERE

Stop by your nearest Pro Bikes and ride one today!

Dress For Success

2010-01-28T08:24:00.002-05:00

Time for the 2nd annual Lecture Series, Presented by Pro Bikes!! Like last year we're drawing from local experts to put together a series that should be informative and help strengthen the local cycling community. We hope this is an informative series, a great benefit, and have a great lineup for this coming year! Here we go......!

First up!! Jan 29th-Chris Mayhew (JBV Coaching) will present "Dress for Success". This lecture will be aimed at enabling you to ride in all weather and tips on thinking about how to dress for any conditions. There's a lot of great gear out there to help keeps you riding comfortably in any condition and Chris will share his expertise and knowledge on what works well! Chris is a fixture in the local cycling community and has been the Associate Coach for JBV Coaching for 4 years and specializes in training with power, cyclocross, and road racing.

Where: Pro Bikes, 5876 Forbes Ave. Pittsburgh, Pa. 15217
When: Jan 29th, 2010 at 7pm
Why: TO LEARN!!!!

If you have any questions, or need directions feel free to call our Squirrel Hill shop at 412-586-5497.

Hope to see you all there!

To get you "in the mood" for a lecture about cold weather riding, here's a look at a cool, motivating YouTube video featuring Pro mountain bike racer Dave Weaver about enjoying a ride in the snow....

Mmmmmm Gore-Tex....

Pflug In The Black And Gold

2010-01-19T21:18:00.003-05:00

2009 National Ultra Endurance series single speed champion Gerry Pflug will be racing in the black and gold of Pro Bikes in 2010! In addition to Pro Bikes, Gerry will also be racing for the spicy goodness that is Salsa Cycles as well as SPK Law in 2010.

Look Gerry's bio on the team page in the near future, but for now check out his new blog- Pfun With Pflug. You can also check out a cool interview with Gerry in Issue #4 of XXC Magazine.

Welcome to Pro Bikes Gerry! Good luck in 2010.

2009 Iceman Cometh

2009-11-10T20:11:00.012-05:00

Tim Carson headed up north to Michigan this past weekend for the 2009 Iceman Cometh Challenge Mountain Bike Race. There's some video of the event with a quick look at our hairy friend out there, and can be seen by clicking HERE.

Timmy finished up 32nd out of 69 Pro Men. Nice work on super fast course Tim!

Chagrin Falls CX

2009-11-01T21:01:00.002-05:00

So, while EVERYONE decided to hit up the gnarly cross race in WV, a few of us decided to venture west and see what Ohio had to offer at the Chagrin Falls CX race presented by Solon Cycles. Weather: leaving da 'burgh at 8 am gave us hope of a clear day, 65 degrees, somewhat overcast, and a lack of rain. However, that quickly changed to some good old cross weather, 48, drizzle, and windy...... just what you'd expect..... nice.

The course...... I would call it 'multiple personality.' A typical cross course with a mix of grass, the standard run-up barriers, one short sandy-mud pit, some fast lines through a pine tree section, two greasy singletrack/mtn bike sections, and a sharp right hand turn section that you could not miss because if you did, you'd end up in a river..... literally. But, that made for a great course that made you feel like you were riding a different race in every section. Kudos to the course designer

The first race of the day was the Men's C race. A solid field of about 30-35 started out with Mike Quigley representing Pittsburgh and Pro Bikes. Mike quickly got off the line and established himself in 2nd place and didn't look back. Mike slugged it out with an unknown Ohioan for the first three laps and then turned it on, passing the 1st place rider and putting a 20 second gap into him as he crossed the line for his first WIN in a CX race! Nice job to Mike and all the C racers.

The B race/women's race then hit the line ready to rock with a field of 50. Right off the start Pro Bikes riders Todd Schoeni and Jake Grantham got rolling, avoided the yard sale of a wreck off the start, made it into the in the top 7 and settled in. The race twisted and turned, Jake took a fast line and moved up to second and Todd followed him through the muddy singletrack with a Snakebite racer in tow. Things got hairy in the singletrack and Todd passed Jake on the 4th lap and moved up to second with Snakebite racer STILL on his wheel. Jake hung in and we sat three in a row for about 1 lap until Todd put a 20 second gap into Snakebite man and Jake. First place had a comfortable gap of about 35 seconds and couldn't be reeled in and Todd crossed the line in 2nd and Jake came in 4th. 2 podium spots in 1 race, nice job guys!!

The women's race was a little different.... 6 women started. The emphasis was on quality, not quantity, in this field. Lee-Ann Beatty ( Hershey Cancer Institute/Pro Bikes), Sam House ( Carbon Racing), Leah Halloran, and Michelle Johnson ( Trek of Pittsburgh) were four STRONG women headlining the field that took off about 1 minute after the men's B race. Once they hit the course, it soon became apparent that the C race and the flurry of B racers had done some significant plowing of that course. Lee-Ann took the hole shot and has Sam and Leah right on her wheel. Once they hit the singletrack sections though, Lee-Ann utilized her mtn bike skills and started putting distance between herself and the field; drilling it all the way to a 1st place finish! Leah finished 2nd and Sam came in shortly behind her in 3rd. Michelle missed the podium by ONE SPOT and finished 4th in her first cross race! Great job LA and MJ, and to all!

No report on the elite race, we were trying to lift our muddy 50lb bikes into the truck and high-tail it to Bob Evans. But, the pancakes were delicious.....

-Todd

Pro Bikes @ Murrysville Cross

2009-10-25T17:33:00.012-04:00

Awesome Race Weekend!

2009-09-23T19:16:00.002-04:00

WOW! What a great weekend for racing in the Pittsburgh Area! So many events, so little time! You had your choice of mountain bike, road bike, or time trial, all in the city or 2 hours away! First off, The G20 Summit race on saturday. Pro Bikes and affiliate teams represented very, very well with Craig Cozza taking a 3rd place podium spot in the men's 4/5 criterium and an overall win in the Men's 4/5 category prologue and criterium! Steel City Endurance women's rider, Rachel Teodori, took the win in the women's open criterium as well!

Saturday also had some great mountain biking in Bethlehem, Pa. at the annual Peanut Butter Festival. Pro Bikes rider, Justin Pokrivka, took a 1st place finish overall in the men's division and also SET A NEW COURSE RECORD!!! Congrats Justin! Don Powers took a respectable 2nd place finish in the men's age group 30-39, and Heath Neely took a 3rd place finish in the Single Speed class. Great job to all!!!

While those two races on Saturday were only going on for a couple of hours, three Pro Bikes riders set off to Ohio to race the 12 and 24hrs of Mohican mountain bike race. The Pro Bikes duo of Tim Mould and Lauren Mika took a well-deserved victory in the open duo class of the 12 hr race. They WON 1st place by one minute! Great job to both of you, way to race hard!! Also, Jacob Grantham tackled the 24hr solo division at Mohican and came back home with a 2nd place finish, completing 13 laps and tallying up almost 130miles of singletrack!

On Sunday, the annual "Month of Mud" series kicked off with a mountain bike time trial at Bavington. Pro bikes Rider Tim Carson took an impressive 1st place in the men's expert division, Justin Pokrivka took 1st place in the Single Speed division, Craig Cozza took 1st place in the men's veteran expert division, and Lee-Ann Beatty took a hard-fought 2nd place in the women's expert class only losing by 1 second!! Great job to ALL of you at the race!

And finally, we head North to Erie, Pa. for the Presque Isle Time Trial. UPMC Cycling Performance and Steel City Endurance showed up ready to ride. Steel City Endurance rider, Barb Grabowski, took a strong 2nd place finish in the women's overall. While Eric Milbrandt of UPMC Cycling Performance took an impressive 1st place finish in the men's overall with a fast time of 26:29, and Skip Rogers took a great 1st place win in the men's 55-59 age group. Congrats to all who made that trip!

Thanks to all the participants and spectators at EVERY event this weekend. We've got a great cycling community, some great races, and we're ready to help it grow! Thanks to all,

Todd Schoeni
Pro Bikes

Been A While (A Season Recap)

2009-09-18T14:18:00.005-04:00

Wow, I was the dude who helped come up with this here team blog thing and I have slacked BIG time this season. My apologies to the team and shop. It's been a busy season of endurance racing for sure. The season started off with the Camp Hilbert 5 Hour Enduro down near Richmond, Virginia, and then it was on to the Leesburg Bakers Dozen (solo). The LBD is an incredible race on some very Boyce Park like trails, but aborted after I hit my 100+ mile goal (I was coming off a DVT and didn't want to get too crazy too soon, at least that's my story and I'm stickin' to it!).

Next up was the Mohican 100. I got my goal of a sub 10 hour hundie at that one and had a great time along with teammates Aaron Shelmire and Don Powers. One month later it was off to The Lumberjack 100 in Michigan. I once again finished so far off the podium I'm not even sure what the podium looked like, BUT I did also once again, somehow drag my BONKED and sorry ass across the finish in under 10 hours. That was Big Ass Bonk #1 on the season (foreshadowing!).

Pre bonk at The Lumberjack (AKA The Big M'fer)

One week later I joined Don and Tim Carson on the drive out to the WVMBA Wayne Ultra. A 50 mile race one week after a 100 mile race SEEMED like a great idea. It was fun, and the trails were great, but I was happy just to finish and take a little rest. Of course "rest" is easier said than done being that I spent the summer looking after my 5 year old most of the day and considering that last spring I left my job and started up a web based endurance magazine called XXC. Both of those things are VERY cool and VERY fun, but also a lot of work, and combined with my lame attempts at "training" lead to very little rest.

Soon it was time for the Wilderness 101 crawled to the finish. But I did finish, and that's about all. I had sworn off any more . This race started out great and the first 50 to 60+ miles flew by. But not long after that I hit a bonk/wall of freaking EPPPPIC proportions! I practiclyenduros for the year, but endurance racing is sort of an illness. It wasn't more than two days after the race and I found myself signing up for the Shenandoah Mountain 100.

The SM100 could be the most fun you can have on two wheels! Epic climbs and some of the best down hill runs around! I had an incredible time at this race. The only downside was ONCE again bonking at about mile 75. Good God I have NO idea how I finished that race, but I did, even though it took me like 11 freaking hours! UG!! With that finish I qualified for the NUE Series this year. Sure I spent hundreds of dollars to finish MAYBE in last place in the series, but it was a goal, and I did it. And I'm damn happy about that. I owe Don Powers a lot of credit. I almost bailed on both the 101 and the SM100 and he shamed me into doing them. He's pretty good at that so if you ever need a good shaming to force yourself to register for a race, just call Don.

My racing is pretty much done for the year. There MIGHT be one more, maybe Iron Cross, but right now I'm just looking forward to some epic rides up in the mountains with the goal of having fun and drinking some good beer when I'm done. I wish the folks on the team gearing up for Cross season the best of luck this season. I thought about doing some, but with nearly 600 miles of endurance racing in my legs, I think chilling and enjoying the mountains are what's in store for me.

Big thanks to the Monroeville shop and especially Tim Carson for helping me keep my bikes in shape this season. Awesome job Tim! Much appreciated! I wish the season would have had better results for me, but anytime you can spend all day in the saddle of a mountain bike is a great day. EVEN if sometimes you bonk and vurp Hammer Gel all over yourself. Right? RIGHT???

Thanks,

Jason Mahokey

BikePGH's BikeFest 2009

2009-08-31T14:48:00.004-04:00

Pro Bikes is a proud of BikePGH's 2009 BikeFest.

BikeFest is BikePGH's annual celebration of all thing bike. Showcasing our incredible city and our amazing cycling scene. BikeFest brings together roadies, mountain bikers, BMXers, and casual riders to enjoy life good times on two wheels, and raise money to support a bike friendly PIttsburgh.

For more information on BikeFest and BikePGH, visit bike-pgh.org or stop in a Pro Bikes location near you and ask us what this whole BikePGH BikeFest thing is all about!

Race to Lil Moe's Place

2009-07-05T19:25:00.002-04:00

WVMBA #6

7/5/09

By Don Powers

Well here are the stats....

Distance driven - 269 miles

Drive time - 4hr 30 mins

Race distance - 1.83 miles

Race time - 8 min 12 sec

Then this happens:

That is 6 broken spokes! How does a spoke get that tangled around you skewer and brake rotor?

2009 24 Hours of Big Bear

2009-06-16T12:08:00.008-04:00

ProBikes had a huge showing of teams at the 24 hours of Big Bear this year, and was possibly brought to victory by the new jerseys the team got in over the past week.

LeeAnn Beatty, Michelle Johnson, Lauren Mika and Cristina Frentiu made up the VeloBellas team that was engaged in a back and forth battle to the finish for a win in the Womens Expert Category. Jake Grantham, Jason Durba, Craig Cozza, Jimmy Holl, and Brian Parker dominated the Men's 5 person teams as the ProBikes Fab Five. Mike Rosenberg came in 2nd in the trials competition and was part of the Pro Bikes Sport team.

ProBikes riders nearly monopolized the Women's Solo Class Podium with 1st and 2nd place locked up by Suz Falvey and Chrissy Buerkle respectively. In the men's Solo Category ProBikes rider John McClurg came back from some early stomach problems in the hot and humid weather to finish out 7 laps.

Pro Bikes riders Todd Schoeni and Tim Mould joined forces with West Virginia's Andy and Larry to battle it out for a win in the category that most slightly insane 24 hour racers never even think of entering, the HardMan's Rigid Singlespeed.

ProBikes riders Don Powers and Aaron Shelmire rode on their Argyle clad team once again coming into a 3rd place finish in the Men's Expert Category, and barely holding off the ProBikes 5 person team to finish 4th place overall to their 5th place finish.

Congrats to all the Pro Bikes racers
at this year's 24 Hours of Big Bear!

Tour of Tucker County Road Race

2009-06-08T14:30:00.004-04:00

Justin Pokrivka, Aaron Shelmire and Chrissy Buerkle made the long trip to one of Velonews' featured road races. It's touted as being "hard like racing in europe."

This race is relentless. The race starts at the bottom of the hill you will eventually finish on. They could just send you up the hill and call it a day. The race would end the same, only about an hour and a half earlier. Instead they send you into the wilderness of West Virginia.

In that wilderness you will encounter bears, deer, and small puppies attempting to take on delivery vans. The roads will be covered with cinders and sometimes freshly cut grass. No matter where you are on the course it will either be up or down. At mile 5 there you encounter the "little hill." The little hill takes about 30 minutes to ascend, and then you somehow end up climbing even more.

It almost doesn't matter if you get dropped in this race, b/c the entire race is spent either climbing or descending. It's almost more like a mountain bike race than a road race. Then at the end of it you encounter the mountain top finish. 45 minutes of climbing inclines of up to 21%.

In the car of 4 people, I was the only one to finish. Throughout the race I encountered many racers standing on the sides of the road awaiting the sweep vehicles.

It was hard. It was tough. I did poorly(hopefully I'm just tired from the Mohican 100 last weekend). But to put it into perspective: Alpe D'Huez is approximately 8 miles long.
Alpe D'Tucker is 5 miles.

Alpe D'Huez climbs 4,800 feet over those 8 miles.

Alpe D'Tucker only climbs 1,800 feet.

Finally Alpe D'Huez is usually at the end of a 112 mile day.

Alpe D'Tucker is only 34 miles away for the 4/5s and ladies, and 54 miles away for the 1/2/3s.

Honestly, I can't wait to tackle it again next year.

Mohican 100

2009-06-02T07:31:00.004-04:00

NUE #2
May 30, 2009

This past weekend a large contigency of Pro Bike riders made their way to Loundonville, OH for the Mohican 100. A good time was had by all and just about everyone came away happy with their results. Here are some of the time posted by the various Pro Bike riders:

100 Mile Course
Jake Grantham - 8:41.30
Aaron Shelmire - 9:13.36
Donald Powers - 9:25.28
Jason Mahokey - 9:47.14
Ruth Cunningham - 12:33.53

100 KM Course
Tim Mould - 5:45.45
Lauren Mika - 6:53.44

Tim Carson was running in the top 3 of the 100k couse when with about 5 miles to go he missed a turn & cut the course short causing a DQ.

Full results & a race recap can be seen at Cycling News

You can also read Aaron's recap of the race on his Blog & check out Jason's recap on his Blog.

Tour de Lake

2009-05-19T17:25:00.003-04:00

WVMBA #3
5/17/09
By Don Powers

I made the long trip to Spencer, WV by myself & I must say that 119S/33W is one strange road. Does anyone that lives on this road sell or trade in old cars? What are they saving them for? Also how do cows graze on the slopes that steep.

Anyway, once at the race I was surprised that the turnout was as good as it was even though it rained the night before. I remember last year's race had a low turnout due to the weather. So much for my hopes of a low turnout that would result in some nice points for the '09 WVMBA series.

After warming up some & talking to some friends & fellow racers it was time to line up for the start that shoots you straight up a rough road climb. After a short level area through the parking lot the course dumped us into some new singletrack. I was about top 10 going into this & it instantly turned into a clusterf*ck! As soon as one person had to push their bike everyone behind them was forced to do the same.

As we entered some wider trails the riders started to thin out and I found myself behind Scott Root. While riding behind him I longed for the ability to handle a bike like him. He is one smooth trail rider, always picking the right line and making every obstacle look easy. I on the other hand, hit everything he missed and had to work twice as hard as him to keep up. While going over a log, I got my chain jammed between the frame and one of my rings. As I swung my leg over the crossbar to get off my bike, I nearly drop kicked one of the WV Night Club guys (I think LB)....Sorry about that.

Once back on the bike I was able to get back into a rhythm and was moving along at a respectable pace, after the dirt road section there was a tough climb for the better riders or in my case a steep hike a bike. While pushing my bike up the hill I looked back to see the familiar red & white Trek outfit of Steve Rowand. He was riding up the hill & I thought damn how the hell is he doing that. Once I got to the top, I started to push the tempo to keep the lead & that caused me to crash about a half mile later. Soon after the crash Steve passed me. I figured that I would use my Big Bear race strategy and try to hold his wheel. So for the rest of race it was me trying to stay on his wheel. On the climbs he would put a gap on me and then I would catch back up on the flats. This yo-yoing went on for 10+ miles. About halfway through the second lap Singlespeeder Montana Miller & his familiar Twin Six Argyle jersey caught up to us after his earlier mechanical. This kid got super human endurance, he was running up the steeper hills faster than Steve was pedaling up them. Just crazy!

With about 2 miles left in the race, the three of us were all together with the order being Montana, Steve, then Me. This is were Montana got caught up on a tight switchback which caused all three of us to stop. Shortly after this Steve was able to get around Montana and put a small gap on the two of us. As the trail dumped us onto the dam it was a sprint for the finish line for Montana & myself. At the line, I was able to edge him by half a wheel. Thank God for gears or I don't pull that one off. I was able to take 7th in the Expert class, my best result so far this year.

Results can be seen here

Also as I post this (May 19th), I currently sit in 6th place in the Pro/Expert Men WVMBA Standings. Look at it now because this is probably the highest you will see my name all year. Trust me it won't last.

Pro Bikes Takes Care of Phil Keoghan

2009-05-05T06:51:00.004-04:00

Phil Keoghan of the Amazing Race is riding across America to raise money for M.S.. On day 32 Phil took a tumble and his Specialized Roubaix needed some wrenching. Chas Duboy of Pro Bikes got the call and headed out to help Phil and get him back on the road.

2009 Leesburg Bakers Dozen

2009-04-21T19:58:00.003-04:00

Leesburg Bakers Dozen (Solo)
4/18/09
By Jason Mahokey

I headed down to Leesburg Virginia for the 3rd Annual Leesburg Bakers Dozen this past weekend.

Since I'm focusing more on doing the the N.U.E. races this year, this race was my first (and most likely only Solo race) of the year. The weather and the trails were perfect and I achieved my goal of laying down a quick (for me) 100+ miles in 9:36, which was good enough for 21st place out of 61 Solo Males. My complete write up on the race can be found over on The Soiled Chamois.

Thanks,

Jason

Big Bear Lake Bike Classic

2009-04-21T08:10:00.002-04:00

WVMBA # 1

4/19/09

By Don Powers

With the Pro Bikes riders split at several different races this past weekend, a couple of us made it down to Big Bear for the official start of the WVMBA season. In the Expert class it seemed like Justin & myself had the task of taking on the RowMan+ team and their fleet of GF Superfly’s (& one Trek 69er). Justin did battle with Jeremy Rowand for the overall win & I was left to battle Steve Rowand, Ryan Hobbs & Josh Chapman for places 7th thru 11th . In the end, was the home course advantage they had too much to overcome? Who knows? But, Jeremy got the best of Justin by 6 seconds for the win and I took 10th place, 5 seconds ahead of Josh & about 25 seconds behind Steve & Ryan. Congrats to the entire RowMan+ team for putting on a good showing at the race.

In the SS class Todd “Hoss” Shoeni rolled to an 8th place finish with a broken seat post. For the ladies Chrissy scored a 3rd place finish, LeAnn came in 4th, & Ruth came in 7th.

See the all the Big Bear results here

The start of the Expert race

The start of the Women's Expert Race

TOP 100 BABY!!

2009-04-16T20:58:00.002-04:00

Pro Bikes was just named to the
TOP 100 bicycles dealers in the US!! WOO HOO!!

SERC #3 Tsali Trails, 4/5/09

2009-04-13T21:10:00.007-04:00

SERC #3
Southern Classic series #3

Tsali Trails - Bryson City, NC
4/5/09
By Tim Carson

So I get off of work at 5 o'clock and head straight south a short 8 hour drive and I arrive at like 1 am in Ashville. Get to bed, sleep barely and get up have coffee and don't eat enough as I should. Get to the venue and it is packed and its 75 and sunny! There are close to 40 pro 's signed up so I get warmed up and find the start line so I get a good starting position. Good thing I did cause the start is nuts! Double track for about a half mile it starts on a climb and then twists around on a slight decent and were drifting corners 3 and 4 wide racing for the single track! I drop in the woods top ten and am pretty happy with that.

I immediately realize the speeds we are going when I overshoot two corners and just keep from crashing! This course is soo fast! We are scheduled for two 14 mile loops and a short 4mile connector to the finish. I settle in and am running comfortable in about 6th place when on a super fast decent I stuff my front wheel and go over the bars going a million! This was by far the fastest I have ever crashed my bicycle! I land flat on my back and it knocks the wind out of me ugh. When I look up my bike is flipping in the air and going off a embankment towards the lake where it is stopped only by a sapling. Believe it or not I get on my bike and everything works it was even still in gear!

Needless to say the rest of the race was really hard and I was in some pain but I managed to finish 15th just a few minutes out of the top ten. With the amount of fast guys racing I am still happy with my results and it was a perfect setup for Sea Otter next week!!

Mingo Road Race #2 - 4/5/09

2009-04-08T09:49:00.008-04:00

There were a lot of black & gold Pro Bikes jerseys at the April 5th Mingo Road Race. Here are the results

Justin Pokrivka - 14th - Cat 1/2/3 - 1:33:50
Jake Grantham - 3rd - Cat 4/5 - 1:18:16
"Hoss" Schoeni - 14th - Cat 4/5 - 1:19:05
Aaron Shelmire - 23rd - Cat 4/5 - 1:19:05
Chrissy Buerkle - 6th - Women's - 1:41:40

Read Aaron's write up of the race here

"Hoss" Schoeni & his white shoes

Jake Grantham

Justin Pokrivka

Chrissy Buerkle

Too See additional photos click here.

Also look for a large Pro Bikes showing at the MorganTown Road Race this Saturday 4/11/09

Mohican Wilderness 3/29/09

2009-04-01T09:37:00.007-04:00

Mohican Wilderness
3.29.09
Race report by: Don Powers

Welcome to the big leagues rookie!

That pretty much explains my performance at this race. I finished 8th out of maybe 13 riders in the Expert Open class....41 minutes behind the winner, teammate Little Ball of Hate - Tim Carson. The weather for this race was the type that PTAG would be warning riders to stay off the trails. But no chance today....It's time to race.

About 15 minutes before the start we got our first torrential down pour of the day, but it stopped just prior to the start of the race. As the race started, I saw LBoH take the hole shot & get to the woods first. I entered the woods about 7th or 8th (The SS class started with us also). After the first wooded section we got dumped out into a long field section and near the end of this field section I see another Pro Bikes jersey come flying past me. It was Justin Pokrivka who was racing the Expert Vet class, he started 1 minute after us and it didn't take long for him to put me in my place....which was far behind him.

The first lap went along as well as could be expected, but I kept hearing a weird sound from my drivetrain that I couldn't figure out. Then about 3/4th's of the way through the lap, I realized what the sound was - chainsuck! I had to stop 3 times to unravel my chain from the frame & chainrings between there and the end of the lap. After I got back to the open field at the beginning of the 2nd lap my chain got stuck again. At this point, the rain turned to sleet & the wind felt like it was blowing 25mph. I honestly thought about quitting at this point & calling it a day. But I decided, I should get my $'s worth & finish the race no matter how long it took. So I had to stay in the little ring up front & spin my way around the course. Honestly it wasn't that bad, it helped on the uphills, but on the flats it was hard to generate any speed.

The mud on the course was unrelenting. On the 2nd and 3rd laps the field turned into a peanut butter parfait of horribleness. It honestly felt like you were riding on a 15 degree climb even though the field was pretty much flat. The mud made for many hike a bike sections on the course. So that also made clipping back into your pedals a chore.

Half way through the 2nd lap, I hear my name called out & look up to see teammate Chrissy Buerkle. Damn I am getting "girled"! Can this race get any worse? (Background to this....Chrissy rode out to the race with Brad Schmalzer & me. I told her one of my goals for '09 was to not get "girled".) So there I am about to not achieve one of my '09 goals on my 2nd race of the year. I caught her a couple minutes later & we joke about how she is girling me. Then we hit the women's / men's split. What's the women's / men's split you ask? Well this is were the ladies get to cut the course lap shorter by about a mile.

On the 3rd lap, good old Mother Nature had one more surprise for us. Is that hail I see? Sure is! Damn will this race ever end? It eventually did, some 3 hours 23 minutes and 3 seconds after I started. Do you know what can make you feel like an 8th place finish sucked? Seeing LBoH & JPOK at the finish line already changed out of there racing gear & cleaned up. Like I said at the beginning of this race report. Welcome to the big leagues rookie!

On a good note my racing nemesis/friend, Brad Schmalzer finished 7th & beat me by 7 minutes. His results are a good gage if I did good or bad at the race. So I didn't have as bad of a race as I first thought coming across the finish line. But I am in for a long season of taking my lumps in the expert class. The difference between a Pro & Expert racer is huge. I can see why so many racers who move up from the Sport class to Expert get frustrated and stop racing.

Congrats to the other Pro Bikes racers who made me feel like the team's red headed step child. Which of these results doesn't look like the rest?

Tim "Little Ball of Hate" Carson - 1st Expert Open (Best overall time)
Justin Pokrivka - 1st Expert Vet Open (2nd best overall time)
Chrissy Buerkle - 1st Women's Expert
Don Powers - 8th Expert Open

Oh well better luck next time rookie.

Chrissy Buerkle

Justin Pokrivka

Photos courtesy of: www.photosbydaryl.net

Here Comes The Season!!

2009-03-29T10:16:00.002-04:00

The 2009 race season is starting.... NOW! Here is an preview of races to come...

Tim Carson (AKA The Little Ball of Hate) and Don Powers are heading to the OMBC Mohican Wilderness race on 3/29, and Aaron Shelmire and maybe Jake Grantham will be at the Mingo Road Race the same day.

Jason Mahokey will be heading down to Richmond, VA for the Camp Hilbert 5 Hour Race on 4/4 and to Leesburg, VA on 4/18 for the Leesburg Bakers Dozen 13 Hour race.

Aaron Shelmire and Don Powers will be getting out the skinny tires for the Morgantown road race on 4/11 and then the fat tires for the WVMBA Big Bear race on 4/19.

Look for reports and photos from Pro Bikes racers in the coming weeks. Good luck!!

CORE 'N' MORE LECTURE

2009-02-12T08:46:00.002-05:00

The second installment in The Pro Bikes Lecture series! We had a great turnout for the last lecture, "Winter Base Training Myths EXPLODED," by Dr. Suzanne Atkinson who is the founder and coach of Steel City Endurance. I hope all who attended enjoyed the lecture and the information Suzanne shared with us. THANK YOU SUZANNE!

And onto the next......

What: CORE 'N' MORE... Core strength training and Cycling-specific strength training.

When: Friday. Feb. 27th, 2009 at 7pm

Where: Pro Bikes, 5876 Forbes Ave. Pittsburgh, Pa. 15217

WHO: This lecture will be given by none other than SUZAN FALVEY, ACE Certified Personal Trainer and a member of the American College of Sports Medicine. Suzan is a personal trainer at the Center for Health Promotion in Shadyside, an avid cyclist, and a seasoned adventure racer! She most recently turned in an outstanding 2nd place finish in the Women's Solo division at the 24 hours of Seven Springs Mountain Bike Race. This summer she also completed the GRUELING Primal Quest 10-day adventure race ( formerly known as Eco-Challenge) that consisted of cycling, trekking, kayaking, orienteering, climbing, and river boarding. Suzan has a wonderful passion for health and fitness, and her energy and enthusiasm is evident in all she does. She is very excited to share her knowledge with us!

Details: This lecture will focus on CORE strength (abdominals and surrounding muscles), how it relates to cycling, and how to increase that strength on your own. It will also touch upon some specific exercises that will increase leg and back strength and make pedaling that bike a lot easier and a lot more enjoyable!

NOTE: This will be held in a "workshop" type format. Participation is completely voluntary and not required by all. Suzan will be showing us how to perform many of these exercises and your participation is very welcome! We ask that if you are planning on participating that you wear some comfortable workout-type clothing and bring a towel with you ( leotards, unitards, and 80's style leggings are at your discretion). We will not be doing a full workout or do anything too difficult, but hope you can take some of this information with you and use it to your advantage.

Please feel free to email me or call the shop with any questions. Please feel free to invite anyone you who might be interested as this is a FREE event and open to everyone. We hope to see you all there!

For more info call Todd Schoeni at Pro Bikes 412-586-5497

Snotcycle (Brief Recap/Pics)

2009-02-01T08:09:00.006-05:00

1st Annual Snotcycle XC Race
Leesburg, VA 1.31.09

Pro Bikes Results:

Expert/Pro Class (24+ Racers):
1st- Tim Carson
9th- Don Powers

Sport Class: (60+ Racers):
10th- Jason Mahokey

Timmy C popping one (ewww!) at the finish.

GO STILLERS! Don Powers busted out the Terrible Towel
deep in Ravens/Redskins Country.

More race reports n'at later.

Pro Bike Lecture: Winter Base Training Myths- EXPLODED!

2009-01-26T20:50:00.001-05:00

Learn how to supercharge your Winter Training by dispelling some of the myths that may be holding you back from peak performance this season.

Join Suzanne at Pro Bikes at Pro Bikes in Squirrel Hill on January 30th at 6 pm as she discusses several persistent Myths of Winter Base training including...

-Base Training consists of long, slow distance rides & runs
-Your HR / power should never get above Zone 2 during base training miles
-Doing high intensity work during the winter will lead to early peaking and burnout

Don't let outdated training information hold you back!

Please pass the word to your cycling and triathlon friends!

Snake Creek Gap Time Trial, 1.3.09

2009-01-13T22:11:00.006-05:00

Snake Creek Gap
34 Mile Mountain Time Trial
Dalton, GA 1.3.09
Tim Carson race report

I have been riding more this winter than ever! Between commuting and just riding to deal with some personal issues I have a lot of base miles getting logged in. So I went to Georgia feeling pretty good about my overall fitness and I am really diggin' my new Caffeine 29'er 1 it is really fast in the rough stuff! Well Northern Georgia is rough as it comes and it rained the night before and was still raining in the morning and continued all day so conditions were not exactly good

It was the biggest turnout I have seen and lucky for me I know some guys so I caught a ride up to the start and got out in the first line of riders. Thomas Turner and Harlan Price both lined up behind me. I tried to put them out of my mind and just ride my race! Hard to do considering Turner has won for the last 4 years and he and Harlan were the two top American finishers at La Ruta!

I start off and set a hard pace I know I can hold and soon I am riding alone me and sweet Georgia single track!! I am feeling amazing pushing huge gears up long climbs "no chain" and about 6 miles in the dreaded feeling of the rear tire going flat. Go figure! I stop and find a very small hole in the sidewall and hit it with a Co2 move some Stan's to it and it seals up, just then I see Turner coming and drop in behind him and we shred the trail for about a mile and my flat decides to return! This time I just stop and tube it up but am passed by Harlan and another fellow I quickly get going and catch the first guy and drop him on a long gravel grinder but Harlan was not going to come easy.

At the halfway point I looked at my Garmin and realized I was going at a really good pace. If I could only keep it up for the last 14 miles which by the way get a lot harder and really punishing rocks! I came on to the second creek crossing and went to manual threw it and ended up getting sucked up and going for a ride over the bars, it was a lot deeper than I had ever seen it.

Up to the ridge line and there is Harlan on the trail with a flat!! This is my chance I give it everything I have and end up just beating him by around 30 seconds. Needless to say I am really happy with my results and am excited to see what I can do at the last two races if conditions improve and I can stay away from mechanicals. If anyone can make it down they should consider it the people, the trail, the atmosphere is just awesome!

Full Snake Creek Gap results can be found HERE.

-Tim Carson

Pro Bikes Holiday Party

2008-12-15T14:26:00.004-05:00

The Pro Bikes Thursday Night Ride

2008-12-11T20:06:00.002-05:00

Starting next week (December 18th) Pro Bikes will be holding a standing Thursday Night Mountain Bike ride in Frick Park. The ride leaves the Squirrel Hill shop at 6:15. Jake and Todd will probably be leading. For more info call the Pro Bikes HQ @ 412. 586.5497 .

Murrysville Update: Pics

2008-12-09T07:09:00.003-05:00

Jason B. sent a link to some pics from the Murrysville Cross Race. Check out the originals at www.chuckphotography.com . There are a couple sets from the "C" and "B" race. Really great pics from a really nasty day.

Aaron, Don, Tim, and "Stick" at the "B" race start.

Murrysville CX 11.30.08

2008-12-03T21:08:00.007-05:00

Murrysville CX 11.30.08
Murrysville, PA
11.30.08

The Sunday after Thanksgiving brought one of the only true Cross races in Western PA to Murrysville, PA. Several Pro Bikes racers were on hand to throw down in the slop. I believe Soupie and Jesus Jason were also sighted amongst the spectators willing to come out and stand in the cold rain and mud.

First up was the 40 minute "C" race. Todd Schoeni and Jason Mahokey took part in this one. With Todd coming 2nd and Jason coming in 11th out of 16 "C" class racers.

Tood used the powers of the white shoes to come in 2nd. Congrats Todd!!
Photo by: boulder.inotion.com

Jason (that would be me-... your editor) is finding that a 40 minute Cross race JUST might be as hard (or harder ) than a 24 Hour Solo! The above photo is by Pro Bikes racer and master cow-beller Don Powers. For Jason's full race report check out T he Soiled Chamois .

Next up was the "B" race Tim Carson, Don Powers and Aaron Shelmire would all be taking place in this one and ALL would finish in the top 10 with Tim taking the win! Congrats on a great finish guys! For Aaron's view on the race check out his blog.

Note: Jason, Tim and Don raced on 29er mountain bikes. Jason and Don once again raced Salsa Mamasitas and Tim would of course take the win on an '09 Cannondale Caffeine 1 29er! Nice to see the mountain bikes keeping up with the Cross rigs. Of course Jason and Don are NOW lusting actual Cross bikes, but that's another post!

Don Powers- 10th Place "B"

Aaron Shelmire- 7th Place "B"

Tim Carson- 1st Place "B"

Big thanks to the Freddie Fu Cycling Team and UPMC Sports Medicine and all the other sponsors for putting on a great race. Hopefully in 2009 there will be more Cross races in Western PA. For full results check out THIS link.

WVMBA Bruceton Mills CX 11.23.08

2008-11-25T21:30:00.000-05:00

WVMBA Bruceton Mills CX 11.23.08

Three Reports In One...

Jason Mahokey: "B" Race Report

The last time I attempted a Cross race was 5+ years ago at a Month of Mud cross race. That race was more of a bastardized mountain/cross race. Since then I've been steeped in the world of endurance racing. Races lasting 5 to 24 hours. Races where I try to find a groove, ride 'till I bonk, puke, and nearly pass out. Good stuff. Who knew I could do all that, and do it in under an hour racing Cross??? OK, OK, A bunch of Cross Heads knew!

Even though I'm still ridding myself of the DVT and on blood thinners, my Doc gave me the all clear to race. So I signed up for the Murrysville Cross Race on 11/30. Then I saw that there was a W.V.M.B.A. CX race happening down in Bruceton Mills, WV. I was interested, but not sure if I wanted to do it or not. I mentioned it to Don, Aaron, and Brad. They were all doing it, so NOW the peer pressure was on.

Race weekend came, and like sorority girl hopped up on Rohypnol and Wine coolers, I caved easily, don't remember much, wanted to puke. I also feel more than a tad violated to boot! Even though the race's web page was updated Saturday to say "YES! We are Racing.... The snow is only a few inches and the course will be plowed down to the grass/dirt/gravel." I STILL found myself in the Soob, on snow covered, narrow ass WV back roads looking for dirt road turns, mail boxes, and barns.

Not being a Cross racer, or really even that much of an XC racer, I did the born again virgin type thing and signed up for the 45 min. +1 lap "B" (Sport) race. The other guys would be doing the "A" (Expert) 60 min. +1 lap race after mine.

Pre riding the freshly plowed 1 mile-ish course, was nice. The ground was still a little frozen and the course had not been ridden too much, so there were no real issues. This would of course all change over the next couple hours. Lap times would be pretty quick, even with the snow and mud. There was only on pair of barriers, and one small climb. There were tons of twists, turns, and slick false flats.

12:30 brought race time and 13 "B"s lined up at the bottom of a gravel road drive way. I was unsure about how my start would be. I haven't had to do a fast start in close to 6 years! The "gun" went off (OK, it was a dude yelling GO!) and I big ringed it up the gravel road as hard as I could.

I was surprised to see only 2 other racers with me when I hit the top. As I made my way around the twists and turns of the first part of the lap I tried to get in a groove, but I was freaking anaerobic and would pretty much stay that way for the next 50 minutes. The lead to riders in front of me were on cross bikes, by lap 2 I would be passed by some dude on a Cannondale MTB.

I was by myself a lot on the course and that made it hard to want to keep pushing as hard as I could. I just kept telling myself that folks were right behind me. The laps were quick and seemed to all run together. I have no idea right now how many I even did. I do remember certain events during laps but it was all sort of a haze. I remember thinking- "Wow, snot, spit, saliva, and sweat is just pouring out of my pores, nose and mouth. I really should close my mouth. NO!! DON'T YOU'LL PASS OUT!!" So I just let it fall out.

Don, Brad and Aaron were great! Every lap Don was in my face with a cow bell, and with there only being 13 guys and 4 women out on the course, around the mid way point Don, Brad and Aaron spun their legs on the course behind me. Don was "motivating" me the whole time and added such gems as "YOU'RE NOT WEARING A HEAR RATE MONITOR ARE YOU?? NEVER WEAR A HEART RATE MONITOR AT A CROSS RACE! YOU WON'T LIKE WHAT YOU SEE!!"

I wanted to tell Don "thanks, but shut the f*ck up!!" but my brain/mouth/lungs would not work together. So I just laughed and enjoyed it. Don's screams can be very soothing. OK, that's a lie. It did help though.

I was able to keep the Mamasita upright most of the race. I only had one dab/fall on a rutted section that was slick with mud and snow. My front tire shot to the left, I unclipped and saved it without too much damage to body or bike. Other than my boyz below yelling at me to be more careful!

Don Powers and I both ran Salsa Mamasita's today. Don upped his air pressure in his Fox F29 and I locked out my Reba. The Mamasita was great for today's course. Since there were no run ups today and only one set of barriers, There were only a couple times that I wished for a "real" cross bike. The Mamasita handled everything well. The Maxxis CrossMarks hooked up as well as they could in the slop, and I never missed a shift via my SRAM X9 drivetrain. Considering the amount of snow and mud, I thought that was pretty damn good.

I was SO freaking happy for the "bell lap". "ONE MORE!" they screamed at me as I passed under the Viagra finish line banner (I kid you not). I tried to keep the same pace, but every lap I could feel myself getting slower, especially on a couple of the muddy false flats. Just as I was about ready to hit the gravel road climb to the finish line I spied a dude on a mountain bike behind me. Frig! Who's this kat?? Where the hell did he come from?? I wanted to pull ahead put the hammer down and try to lose him. Yeah, that didn't really happen. I stood, put in a few hard RPMs and that's all she wrote. Dude spun up the hill for 4th place 5 seconds ahead of me and I had to settle for 5th.

Happy Mid Pack Shwag.

Awards were 5 deep, so I walked away with a small trophy and a tub of Heed from the prize table. A belly full of chili, a couple free beers, and some seared lungs. The 'Burgh area folks did well at the race. I got 5th in the "B" race, Don and Brad got "4th" & "5th" in the "A' race. Pittsburgh bike messenger/D.O.R.C. "Stick" got 2nd and WPA area fast-as-shit racer Joe Ruggery got 1st easily on board a sweet (or should I say spicy?) Chili Con Crosso. That makes two Mamasitas and one Chili Con Crosso with podium spots today. So a good day for Salsa Cycles!

Aaron was able to pull in 8th in the "A" Race despite stopping to pump up a slow leaking tire three times. And as Aaron was quick to point out, if nothing else he was one of the only guys to have his team kit match his bike. I really can't believe he had the finish he had with those tire issues. Great job!

All in all it was a nice re-introduction to Cross racing and a nice way to start things with my new team. It was cool to kill it for 55ish minutes and still have enough left in the tank to hang out, watch the "A" race and have some fun. In most of my races if I'm watching folks race, SOMETHING has gone horribly wrong, and I spend most of the time cursing those racing under my breath as I pack my shit up. This was a welcome change and I'm pretty geeked to try it again next week. If nothing else Cross is helping me get outside and maybe avoid doing intervals on the trainer one more week! And yes, I can also see why this racing could be addictive. Cross... It's the Devil' work.

- Jason

___________________________________________________________

Don Powers: "A" Race Report:

60 minutes + 1 lap in the pain penalty box, that is the life of cyclocross racing. After trying to "motivate" teammate Jason in the B race, it was my turn to enter the pain penalty box. The first lap of the race was basically Brad, Aaron, Stick & myself jockeying for position. Then things fell into their normal position which was me trying to hold Brad's wheel. In my previous 2 Cross races it has been that way. Brad is always just a little bit faster than me in cross races. In both previous races Brad has come in 8th & I have come in 9th and his largest margin of victory on me was 9 seconds.

Around lap 3 my lungs were burning & my stomach was trying to tell me something. That is when I started dry heaving. Brad could hear me doing this, but I was still able to hold his back tire. Somehow I kept the Powerbar & Red Bull I ate/drank before the race in my stomach. A couple laps later, going into a tricky of camber turn which lead into a climb. Brad's rear derailleur acted up. Upon hearing this clanging & skipping, I decided this is my chance and I made the move to pass him. Slowly over the next couple laps I was able to increase my lead over Brad while I was able to close the gap on the riders ahead of me.

Around lap 12, I lapped Aaron. I knew before the race he was having trouble holding air in his back tire and this was further proof. I wanted to say something encouraging to him as I passed, but I was in no condition to speak and I really couldn't think of anything to say. Aaron, Brad & I are all good friends and are pretty equal in riding ability, on any given day any of us could beat the others. Today just happened to be my day.

After all the "motivating" I gave Jason in the B race, he returned the favor to me in the A race. On several laps when I was climbing to the Start/Finish line, Jason was there to scream at me to go faster. Guess what it worked, it made me push harder. Thanks Jason. I took 4th place, got a trophy, $40, and some Hammer products. Overall, I had a great day.

-Don

___________________________________________________________

Aaron Shelmire: "A" Race Report:

In high school I was a distance runner. I've always gravitated towards the events that were the hardest. While I might have been best at the spectacle that is the steeplechase, I always preferred cross country. Something about fall sports, particularly the smell of fall, the dirt and mud, and the cold weather makes the fall sports that much harder but more enjoyable. This is probably why I like cyclocross so much.

With that said, in my honest opinion, I've really never raced cross until today. The course was snow covered, but became mud by the time we went off. Your wheels spent more time slipping around than hooked up with the dirt.

Three things were missing from today's race to make it a real cross race. There were only 13 people, so we didn't have the constant battling, moving up, and falling back that makes the races even more fun. There wasn't a quad-killing forced run-up, but there was a slippery up hill that I ran 4 out of the 12ish times. Finally, I never got into that "I'm going to puke any second now" zone.

The course was cool. A few of the regular suspects were in attendance. Stick and Don killed it, but Ruggery calmly lapped everyone! Brad thinks Don is an animal. I think Brad isn't giving law school the fitness-sucking credit it deserves. I flatted about 10 minutes before the race. Didn't change the tube, put my pump next a slight uphill, and stopped to pump up my flat tire to 65 psi 3-times. And Jason entered his first cross race ever!

It was cool to get out and race. Hopefully it helps to return some oomph to my legs, and lets me take it to the edge this upcoming weekend.

-Aaron

___________________________________________________________

Full results from this weekend's race can be found HERE. And full entries and additional photos can be found on Jason's blog "The Soiled Chamois" and on Aaron's blog. Big thanks to our friend Brad Schmalzer for some pics, support, and future legal advice. Also a big thanks to Don Parks for putting on an excellent event!

Pro Bikes team members Jason, Don, Aaron and Todd (and hopefully some others!!) will be racing this coming weekend's Murrysville Cross race. Come out and race or just scream at people and drink a beer.

Marilla Cyclocross Race 11.1.08

2008-11-03T13:17:00.000-05:00

Marilla Cyclocross Race, "Raza De Los Muertos" 11.1.08

By Don Powers

I have to say that I am definitely taking a liking to Cyclocross race. There is something about all the cowbells & spectators cheering you on that makes you try harder. I also like how open the courses are in that you can always see other riders, that way there is always someone to chase & someone to try and gain a larger gap on. I entered the "A" class race and of the 26 or so racers only 3 of us were on mountain bikes, but one of the three had cross tires on his mountain bike.

The field was pretty stacked with really good riders...Wes Schempf, Steevo Cummings, Gerry Pflug, Gunnar Shogren, Justin Pokrivka, Jason Cyr, Sam Morrison to just name a few. With that said my expectations were not that high. As some may know I recently made the move from Sport to Expert class at the beginning of the M.o.M. series. So I was thinking a mid pack finish would be great, but the more I looked around the more I just hoped to not finish DFL. Besides the names I listed above I recognized many other fast racers from the WVMBA series expert class, a couple guys from the UPMC Cycling Team, and several more in speed suits that looked like they knew what they were doing. Then you got me looking like an idiot trying to race an "A" class cyclocross race on a mountain bike.

I started on the 2nd row and as soon as they say go, the guy in front of me drops his pedal & comes to a dead stop. So now my fears are coming true, I am about 2 or 3 places from last place as we hit the grass. I slowly start passing riders in some of the more rough areas of the course. I feel that is were me being on a mountain bike helps. I come up to the barrier section and I looked like I knew what I was doing here as my dismount & strides through the barriers were as smooth as any other racer's were. I do wish I was a little faster with clipping back into my pedals, but all in all I can't complain.

Shortly after the barriers, the race takes you though a deep gravel pit. This areas sucks all the speed & power out of you. Many riders ran through this section, but I kept spinning through it in a smaller gear. I don't think I gained or lost any time doing it that way. After several switch backs though the trees and roots we hit one of the coolest parts of the course, the steep climb.

Going into this climb there is a quick downhill that has an off camber turn right before the climb. Most of the racers had to walk up this hill. The better cross guys were able to clear the hill and I was able to clear it 10 out of the 11 times I went up the hill. Being on a mountain bike definitely was an advantage here. Shortly after this hill on the first lap, my friend Brad Schmalzer crashed & I was able to pass him.

Over the next couple laps, I could tell he was closing the gap on me and he eventually passed me on around lap 5. I stayed within 5 to 15 seconds of him for the remainder of the race. We slowly kept picking off riders as we rode, but also the really fast guys were getting close to lapping us. Damn! First it was Wes Schempf, then about a lap later it was Steevo Cummings & Gerry Pflug. I could see Gunnar in the distance & I was hoping he wouldn't be the next.

Going into the last lap, Brad had his biggest lead on me. I would say it was a good 50 to 60 yards. Then I hear loud BANG, and look over to see Brad picking himself up off of the barriers, great here is my chance to catch him. Brad was having none of it. He got back on his bike and rode like a man possessed. At the finish he beat me by 9 seconds, Brad took 8th & I got 9th. Too say the least, I was extremely happy with this finish and I was only lapped by 3 riders. Big props to Pro Bikes Team leader Todd Schoeni for finishing 1st in the "B" race & to his girlfriend Lee Ann for taking 3rd in the women's race.

More race information and photos can be found HERE.

Mohican Wilderness Race 10.26.08

2008-11-01T11:00:00.000-04:00

We don't have a ton of info on this race, but what we do know is that Tim Carson kicked some ass at the October 26th O.M.B.C. race at Mohican Wilderness in Ohio. Tim finished second in the Expert Men's Class with a time of 2:13:40.

Check out the bike Tim used. It was a sub 20 pound Cannondale Taurine. When I say Sub 20 pounds I'm talking around 18.5 pounds! EESH! Tim is a killer wrench at the Pro Bikes Monroeville location and is recovering from a pretty messed up hip injury he received this summer. Congrats on the finish Tim! Sounds like that hip may be close fully recovered. If it's not, I'd hate to see what you're like when it is!!

For a whole bunch of pics from the race, check out THIS FLICKR LINK.

Camp Cadet Ghostly Gray Race Recap

2008-10-27T09:26:00.000-04:00

Camp Cadet Ghostly Gray Race 10.25.08
By Don Powers

Saturday morning Brad Schmalzer and I made our way to up Butler for this race. Along the way we were asking ourselves why we were going to race in all this rain & mud and we both had hoped that earlier in the morning that the other would have called to cancel on going to the race. But alas we were on our way and decided to make the best of it, knowing that the course was pretty close to Moraine St Park we were hoping that the course would be nice & rocky like Moraine.

The directions took us right past Moraine St Park and had us going to a place called Lutherlyn. As we pulled into "Lutherlyn" we start seeing people dressed in camouflage and we started to wonder if we just pulled into some militant religious compound. We are a little freaked out by the fact that everyone is in camo, but we proceed on anyway.

We found out later that the camouflage people are volunteers from the local ROTC or something like that, but the Lutherlyn facility is a faith based camp retreat. So we park & start to get ready and looking around we don't see many other riders let alone many good riders that will challenge us. We first see PORC / MTBR forum super poster Josh Matta (aka Bushwacker). The Bushwacker recently won the Sport division at this years MoM series. I mention to Brad that we need to crush this guy to show him that guys on hardtails are faster than full suspension bikes....in one of the Bushwacker's forum post about Moraine he talks about how people on hardtails go slow in the rocks.

Then a little later we see Matt Tinkey, that's right the MoM Hall of Famer. Actually he is in the MoM HOF more for his contributions to the series rather than his racing history, but he is still a good racer. Matt & Brad have a friendly rivalry and have been keeping track of who beats who the most at local races, BTW Brad has the lead. Brad & I decide to preride some of the course, the course starts out going through the park & camp area and then down a very fast & slippery downhill, then crosses a wooden bridge that is also very slippery since everything is wet.

After climbing the first hill, Brad realizes that his back tire is losing air & he needs to get back to the car to put a tube in it. From what we pre-rode the course seems pretty nice & somewhat like Moraine, but about 1/3 of rocks. As Brad finished up fixing his tire, they call everyone to the start line for the pre-race meeting. They proceed to tell us that it took them 2 full days to mark the course & that green ribbons mean turn left, orange ribbons mean turn right & pink ribbons just mark the course. Looking around it become evident that this will and probably should be a 3 man race for the win (Brad, Matt & Myself). They start us off following a cop car around & then he turns the siren on & off we go.

We hit the downhill & use some caution so we don't kill ourselves which keeps a bunch of riders close, after the downhill we crossed the bridge and Matt was leading and missed the first left turn and caused a big bunch up as everyone had to backtrack a little get back on the correct trail. With the order all messed up we proceed through the next miles or so of the course. We go through a very nice section of trail were they decided it would be a good idea to place wooden planks on the trial to ride on, with it being wet & the wood not having any grip tape it was like riding on ice. Just as the pack start to thin & separate again with the better riders up front, Matt proceeds to miss another turn & lets everyone bunch back up & mess up the order of riders.

We cross a creek & ride through some "deer like trails" they are not really well formed but whatever. This dumps us on a double track climb were Matt, Brad & Myself regain our advantage & start to drop the other riders. As we climb this hill it is Matt followed by Brad then myself, we then hit a part of the trail were a tree is blocking the double track so the course ribbons have us riding though the woods on no trail & then back up a hill. Going up this hill, Brad tries to ride it & I decide to just run up it. Running up it was much faster as I put a small gap on Brad.

Another mile or so we had another climb and as the 3 of us hit the top Matt asks if we have a gap on everyone & I tell him we do. Matt then says something to the effect of "good we can take it easy some". I decide this is a sign of weakness & decide I need to go faster. We then go down another cool downhill followed by some fast double track. I now have put a pretty decent gap on Matt & Brad as I head into what I would describe as the "labyrinth". It is a section of woods with no trails, only yellow tape, scattered with pink, green, & orange ribbons with fallen trees everywhere. I find it easier to run with my bike than to try & ride through everything. I think my gap increases with this decision & it is off to more double track for the next mile or so.

At the top of a double track area there is a girl all decked out in camo telling us to go left into the woods. As I make the left I once again realize there is no trail and we are again doing more wilderness riding. This section of the course had me playing connect the dots in the woods with the pink ribbons hanging from the trees. After you connected all the dots, it took you up to the start / finish area of the course. Nice, 1 lap down 2 to go. The second lap was pretty much the same, but now I know the course and wouldn't make any wrong turns.

Going into the third lap I had a sizable gap & didn't see anyone behind me. During one of the rocky / wooden plank areas of the course I lapped a guy while running with my bike. He asks why I am not riding my bike & I proceed to tell him that it is faster to run this section. Meanwhile I wanted to say this is a race and the object is to go fast, not to get style points for riding over obstacles, also who is he to question me, he just got lapped!

As I hit the double track climb on the third lap I could see Matt Tinkey in the distance behind me, I then give it my all up the hill & never see him again & off to the finish it was for the victory. It is not a race to brag about winning because of the size of the field, but it was still cool to win. After the race, we got medals & a nice kiss from a 65 year old lady as she put the medals on our necks, Nice! Here are the results.

Our Procrastinating New Team Member

2008-10-21T22:50:00.000-04:00

Sometimes you just have to say "the hell with work" and go ride!

One of the newest additions to the 2009 Pro Bikes team is Pittsburgh's Aaron Shelmire. Aaron recently took time to NOT work on his grad school project and show members of the CMU Cycling Club some of the sweet trails around Hartwood Acres.

In 2009 look for Aaron to make the move to Expert in the W.V.M.B.A. series. You can read more about Aaron's day at Hartwood and some of the other rides he squeezes in between work and grad school on his blog- "Aaron's Bike Adventures". Welcome to the Pro Bikes team Aaron, and good luck in 2009.

It All Starts Here

2008-10-20T11:01:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Pro Bikes team blog. Here you will find race reports, results, photos and general nonsense concerning the team. Mountain, road, cross, it doesn't matter. This is the place to find out what the Pro Bikes team is up to. Enjoy.