Tartan Cycling Blog

Sometimes, you gotta race...

2011-09-19T21:20:00.001-04:00

Mountain bike racing season has begun!

Chris, Bobby and I (Kyle) loaded our bikes on the car and drove 5.5 hours to Bethlehem, PA for a race at Lehigh University. As far as I can tell, this is the only ECCC MTB race within 10 hours of Pittsburgh this year.

After convincing some wedding party guests to calm down and let us sleep, we woke up bright and early Saturday morning. We pulled into a nearly empty parking lot and made some friends with some folks from Northeastern.

The parking lot filled up and before we knew it it was race time...

Bobby tearing up the rocks with his rigid fork.

Kyle attempting to stay ahead of the one other singlespeed rider.

Chris looking pro as usual.

The course consisted of a rocky descent down a mountain, then a seemingly endless climb back up it. Bobby and I were 2 of 3 people rocking rigid forks in the C race.

Bobby's technical prowess and bike-shouldering ability led him to a win in the C race! My 6th place finish was good enough to hold off the other singlespeed rider. Chris would have beat me had he not flatted with no time left to make up lost time.

After convincing the Lehigh guys to give Bobby a free t-shirt for his win we made a quick stop at the downhill course. Chris and Bobby took turns riding Chris's hardtail with a 100mm fork and the seat removed alongside guys with body armor and forks with like 2 ft of travel. Then we packed up the car, grabbed some lunch, and drove back to Pittsburgh.

____

Bobby, Brian, Cajer, Issac, and I met up at 7:30 Sunday morning to head out to the first Month of Mud race at Brady's run park. This was the first-ever mountain bike race for Cajer and Issac. It was also my first attempt at racing with the big-boys in the singlespeed category.

The course consisted of 2 6 mile laps of singletrack with lots of climbing. Bobby finished 9th in Sport, Brian finished 12th in Beginner, and I was surprisingly not last in singlespeed. Thanks to John Pratt and Mike Briggs for the photos.

Clearly still sore from the day before.

Sheer determination.

Brian tearing it up.

Cajer's first MTB race.

Isaac's first MTB race.

Overall, a great weekend of racing!

Road Racing Season 2011 Begins

2011-03-16T17:15:00.012-04:00

Took a whole squad to Rutgers

Everybody is happy to be racing!

Travis looking fast

Bobby and Kyle showing some teamwork

Bobby giving "the look"

Erica in her first ever bike race

Bobby finishing the Morgantown Road Race

Erica at the Morgantown Road Race

Travis at the WVU Criterium

Kyle racing up the climb at the WVU road race

Photos credit to Chatura Atapattu, Fred Jordan, Benjamin Stephens

Month of Mud Bavington

2010-09-24T11:29:00.003-04:00

Kyle and Ben drove out to Bavington for the Month of Mud time trial on Sunday. It was Kyle's first mountain bike race ever. Weather was excellent for an hour of twisty singletrack riding. Below are some pics of Kyle from the event, sporting the CMU kit:

And here's one of Ben who rides for the local Steel City Endurance team.

Labor Day Group Ride

2010-09-06T21:30:00.003-04:00

We had an excellent group ride today for Labor Day. Perfect weather, low traffic, no classes, nice roads, lots of ups and downs, it was great. Check out the GPS from the ride:

Fall 2010

2010-08-21T13:52:00.001-04:00

Philly Phlyer

2010-04-06T16:43:00.005-04:00

Ben, Travis and Chris made the journey across the state to Philly for the Philly Phlyer Collegiate races. The three participated in the team time trial (TTT) and circuit race in Fairmont Park and a criterium in Navy Yard. Below are some pics from the weekend.

The Bicycle Advocate

2009-10-18T08:32:00.006-04:00

Scientific tests have shown that...

four out of five cycling club members prefer...

the Bicycle Advocate Burger from OTB.

Group Ride to North Park

2009-10-13T16:29:00.004-04:00

This Saturday we did a group ride to North Park from campus. Below is a map of the route we took:

CMU To Thompson Run To North Park
Find more Bike Rides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The fall weather was terrific! Nice and cool and lots of colorful trees to see. We did a single loop around the lake once we got to North Park, which is an excellent place for running and cycling with very little traffic. So little traffic in fact that we took a bunch of pictures:

Saturday Group Ride

2009-09-12T13:24:00.007-04:00

Just got back from a really nice group ride with 6 guys. We headed out from campus a little after 10am, across the Highland Park Bridge, out Freeport and up and over Guys Run. The climb was very nice and the descent through Fox Chapel was beautiful. Here are a few photos I snapped:

Here is a GPS map of the ride.

Weekend Group Riding

2009-08-22T12:39:00.004-04:00

School is back! And so is the Tartan Cycling Club. We're holding regular weekend group rides. Anyone is welcome to come. Sign up on our email list to stay informed. Below are a couple photos from the ride today. Look at all those Tartan kits!

Fall Flyer

2009-08-19T14:16:00.002-04:00

Friday Night Time Trials

2009-08-11T17:11:00.003-04:00

Aaron S. and John H. before the start of the Friday Night 10-mile time trial at the Washington Blvd oval on 8/7/09. Check out those sweet tartan skin suits.

Results:
1) Steve Marlette 22:04
3) John Jeffner 22:22
7) Ben Stephens 23:47
10) Aaron Shelmire 24:05

Featured in Carnegie Mellon Today

2009-07-17T17:59:00.003-04:00

NEWS FLASH: The club and club president Benjamin Stephens were recently featured in the Carnegie Mellon Today Alumni magazine. Read the article and share it with your friends and family.

Aliquippa Ride/Race Report

2009-04-26T19:06:00.005-04:00

Dan and Ben attended the first race of the Aliquippa crit series this morning. They made a day of it by riding to and from the race from school. 25 miles each way! The weather was amazing, but extremely warm compared to what the guys have dealt since last summer. John Heffner, a former associate tartan cyclist joined the guys for the ride and the race.

The field was small, with 20ish guys. They did 14 laps of the 1.5-mile rectangle. It was fairly slow until about 7 to go when Ben broke away after a prime lap. He proceeded off the front for a while but suffered a dumb mechanical and by the time he got it fixed had missed the group and dropped out. Dan, however, attacked with Heffner with about 3 to go and ended up winning the race!

Some excellent photos of the race have been posted by Fred Jordan. Here are some of the good ones featuring Ben and Dan:

The guys will be heading to Penn State for the ECCC Conference Championships.

Mingo Creek Race Report

2009-04-05T17:23:00.003-04:00

Ben, Travis and Chris contested the Mingo Creek road race this morning. The course is a rolling 6-mile loop with two short kickers and a long downhill section. All three of the guys raced in the Men's Cat 4/5 race. Ben joined a breakaway group of 5 during the 5th lap (out of 6) and sprinted to a 2nd place finish. Chris suffered a minor crash after a close encounter with a loose dog on the course. Travis finished in a sizeable chase group.

UPDATE: There are a bunch of photos by Fred Jordan from the Mingo Creek Road Race this past weekend. Here are some of the good ones featuring CMU riders:

Travis

Chris

Ben

Ben gets 2nd!

Philly Phlyer Weekend

2009-04-02T09:42:00.011-04:00

Carnegie Mellon University was represented by four racers at the Philly Phlyer collegiate race weekend. Ben, Dan, Travis and Chris loaded up their bikes and drove out to Travis's house in NJ Friday afternoon.

Saturday morning came early, and after munching on some bagels and fruit salad, the guys headed for Fairmount Park near downtown Philadelphia. The race has been held here for at least the past 2 years (the longest any of the guys has been in the club), so they knew the routine.

The only race for Saturday was a road race, consisting of a 6-mile loop featuring a long flat riverside drag, a gradual climb about half way through, and a short punchy climb right before the finishing circuit. Travis and Chris were first to go, both racing in the Men's D Division 2 field, which would do 2 laps. The pair looked good during the first lap, staying with the front group. By the time the 2nd lap came around the field had splintered and they came home in mid-pack. This was Travis's first race as a D racer.

Next was Ben in the Men's C race. The two divisions were combined, making for a 71-man field, all of whom would do 3 laps of the circuit. After a very animated race, Ben emerged in good position after the final hill, shot off the front and sprinted for the line. Not known for his sprinting ability, he was caught at the line and finished 2nd by a wheel-length. Still, this was one of his best results ever.

Dan was next to contest the Men's B race (his first). The Men's B field did 4 laps, but did not seem as animated as the C field. Dan held on for a solid pack finish.

The four guys spent the rest of the day eating, resting and catching up on some homework (and watching movies). Sunday morning meant the first Team Time Trial of the year for the club. All four of the guys lined up in the Men's B TTT and headed out for a rainy 8 miles of pain! After a very akward start and a little yelling, it came together. Slowly, Chris and Travis peeled off leaving Ben and Dan to finish the race (time goes by 2nd wheel). Dan ended up pulling Ben around the course and the two finished a respectable 7th out of 12 teams in Men's B.

Finally... "The" Philly Phlyer. A oval-like crit around Fairmont Park. It was still raining during the Men's D race. Chris and Travis again held their ground and finished mid-pack. By Ben's race, it looked like the rain would stop and the sun would come out... and it did... right after he finished at the back of the pack. Dan had the best crit of the group. He sat on like a good crit racer and at the final lap gave it a go and pulled off the front. We watched him cruise the back stretch, but then when the pack rounded the final corner he had fallen backwards. Still, he finished strong and survived to fight another day!

Next race will be a local race, Mingo Creek, on Sunday. The next collegiate race will be the Penn State Conference Championships first week of May.

Tartan Cycling Blog Launched

2009-04-01T12:12:00.003-04:00

Everybody is doing it... so shall we! Stay tuned for updates and media from our recent rides and races.