Mountainside Ski & Sports Cycling

December 23, 2011

Mountainside Racing on Facebook

September 29, 2011

Mountainside Races to the Finish!

It may not make the September cover of Dirt Rag or be the feature article on the IMBA Facebook page, but there is no doubt that the 2011 Mountainside Mt. Bike Race Team gave it their all this season, especially at the MASS Finals at Bear Creek.

The only way to start this article off is the way you start mt. bike races, you typically put the best first. So the first thing to do is highlight two of the best ... Mike Laub and Janice Morris. There is no question that winning is the prize jewel, but sometimes the real "winning" isn't a result of a 1st place trophy, but maybe it's about the intestinal fortitude and down-right "digging-deep" to get the job done. Both Mike and Janice were subject to mechanical problems at Sunday's race. Even with a flat in the first lapfor Janice and a run down the mountain and back up for Mike to fix a chain, both finished with impressive times and proved once again why they lead such a successful race team. Mike finished 19th in the Elite Open Men and Janice swept up 6th place in the Women's Elite Class. A big "Thank you" to Mike and Janice for a great season and for showing us what it means to be the best!

The Mountainside men had a stellar day at Bear Creek. Andy Hoover ripped the 3-lap course with a time of 2:28.39 and took 10th place in the Elite Men's Open Class. Andy then took center stage as the Champion for the Individual Endurance Series with a point total of 1,674.

You would almost think he is a native to Bear Creek with a super fast time of 2:30.15, but quite the contrary, Chad Cherefko never raced or even rode this course prior to Sunday. Not only did Chad have his best race of the season that day, but he also swept up 2nd place in the Men's Expert Class 19-39 and took 3rd in the overall Cross Country Series for Expert Men 19-39 with a total point score of 1,899.

To Mike Funk - apparently blue is his color. It has to be because he simply refuses to take anything but 1st. Mike once again took 1st place in the Men's Expert 50+ Sunday with 2:32.47 registered on the clock. Wait, he's not done yet, Mike also was the Champion for the Men's 50+ Cross Country Series with a total accumulation of 2,415 points.

Nathan Goates raced in the Expert Men's 19-39 Class and rode to an impressive 12th place finih with a time of 3:01.22.

Sally "Speedy" McClain led our women to some awsome finishes for the day. Sally traded places through the race with competitor Susan Mrugal and she came away with a tough fought 3rd place overall for the Women's Elite Class and tore up the course with a time of 3:02.33. But Sally wasn't finished with the podium yet, she also took 2nd in the overall Women's 40+ Elite Cross Country Series. No doubt this woman thrives on the gnarliest of trails. Awsome job Sally.

Melissa had one of her personal best races of the year as well. Melissa finished 2nd in her class andd 4th overall for the Women's Elite Class with a time of 3:16.11. To her surprise, Melissa also took 3rd for the Women's Elite Under 40 Cross Country Series. It was a very satisfying finish to her first year racing in the Elite Class.

In the Sport Division, Ben Moore represented Mountainside well with a time of 2:47.26. Ben has been a solid racer in the Sport Division and has helped Mountainside with additional points.

All this indivual effort brings us to the team awards. Mountainside went pedal to pedal with Bikesport for 1st place in the Cross Country Series and the Endurance Series. After tallying all race points, Mountainside took 2nd to Bikesport in Cross Country and 1st in the Small Team Endurance Series for an overall 2nd place in the Endurance Series, which includes all the big teams.All team members agreed that we gave it our best and applaud Bikesport for their 1st place finish. Now that the dust on the trails has settled, next year's goal is within site - 1st place!

Written by Melissa Mertz

Photos by Chad Cherefko

August 17, 2011

Duathlon - Troegs Greenbelt Ride/Harrisburg Mile

Janice stormed through the pack at the impromptu duathlon that included a Greenbelt ride from Troegs and finished up with the Harrisburg Mile. In a strong women's field she took a third place in the Mile!

July 25, 2011

Midnight in Milford Mills

Race Report by Sally McClain

Thunder rolled and lightening streaked across the dusky sky over Marsh Creek, just as Mike L., Andy, and Sally pulled in to race XC #8 of the Mid-Atlantic Super Series.

As the rain poured down, thoughts of 'it was a dark and stormy night...' horror stories went through their minds. Fortunately the severe weather only lasted for a short while and the 98 degree air cooled off considerably, a welcome change that didn't stick around long enough, with the humidity intensifying.

Since the storm caused a 30 minute delay to the 9:15 p.m. start time, the Mountainside racers took their time rigging up lights and prepping for battle.

Once the clock started, a great contest ensued for Sally with Amy Breyla of Team C3 Athletes serving Athletes. The two exchanged places throughout the 19 mile course, each suffering a crash, and then back at it again. It looked like it would end in a sprint finish, but Amy washed in a turn on the final lap. Sally took the advantage to finish ahead as 4th overall Elite Woman and 2nd place for the Elite Women's 40+ class.

Meantime, Andy and Mike took on the Men's Open Elite Field that is completely stacked with wickedly fast racers, including themselves. They both tore it up and spanked the course, despite each of them suffering some light malfunctions, of which caused Andy to be edged out of the top 10 into a strong 11th Place finish and Mike in 17th.

The Mountainside Racing Team is currently in 1st Place for the 2011 MASS Team Cup XC Competition, as well as 1st Place for the Team Endurance Series. There are only 3 XC races left in the series and the Team shows no sign of letting up.

Thanks to all our Sponsors for allowing all the fun and excitement to stay alive !!

July 1, 2011

Wednesday Night Ride - Greenbelt

From Sally:

Mike, Janice, me, Mark, Jen Kulas, and friends rode Greenbelt for our weekly Wed ride. Too bad Troegs wasn't open.

June 20, 2011

Keystone Warrior Triathlon - June 11

Kera took 3rd place in her age group at the Keystone Warrior Triathlon on June 11.
Mark had an unfortunate tire incident right away on the bike that forced him out of the race.

June 15, 2011

Stoopid 50, June 12, 2011

Andy at the start

Congratulations to Melissa (Missy) Mertz for her awsome 7th place finish in the Open Women catagory at this years running of the Stoopid 50 - proving that she belongs racing against the best in the Mid-Atlantic!

Mike F.

Mike Funk had a great 6th place in the Master Men catagory and Andy finally got going after a slow start for a 16th overall, 13th in Open Men. Mountainside Racing was greeted by mostly good weather for this years running of the Stoopid 50 - except that little thunder banger and deluge about halfway through the race, but who even noticed ...

For full results:

http://www.midatlantictiming.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=163&Itemid=1

Photos by Ken Roth

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Mike Funk

Mike has been racing for 21 years and says his favorite race is Michaux Maximus because he “loves the rocks!” Riding his Specialized S-Works Epic , in 2010 he placed 1st Expert Master at Greenbriar, French Creek, Cascade Classic, Long Pine, Neshaminy, and 2 of the Bear Creek race series. He won the overall MASS Series Expert Master 2. He took 2nd at Tour De Tykes and Massanutten Hoo Ha. And he placed 8th Expert Master at the Windham Race the Worlds event. His 2011 racing goal is to win the MASS Expert Master class. Mike also enjoys road cycling, skiing and spending time with his 20 year old daughter.

Nathan Goates

Nathan, also known as Dr. Goatsauce by his students, is a professor of management at Shippensburg University, where he also volunteers as coach for their cycling team. His competitive racing experience began in 1987 when he started showing up to the local mid-week club “training races” at age fourteen in Boise, Idaho where he grew up. In 1989 he bought a USCF racing license and raced as much as he could through 1992. He was almost always the youngest rider in those groups. After high school he took a ten year hiatus, and then started riding again in 2003, while living in Nashville. It wasn’t until 2005 that he started racing again as a 32 year-old graduate student, where he was the oldest rider. In 2006 he raced in the Collegiate National Road Championships, a career racing highlight for him. Nathan owns a bike (or two) for every occasion and particularly enjoys racing them in extra long and extra hard races. “In the great races, the racers suffer. That truth is the heart of bicycle racing.” While suffering in those great races he is cheered on by his wife, who is a class C USA Cycling official, and his three children, ages 12, 9 and 2.

You can follow Nathan on his blog: goatspeak

Janice Morris

Three years ago was Janice’s first year racing and she quickly claimed the following wins: MASS series Championship Womens Sport II, National Championship Mt. Snow Womens Sport 35+, State Cross Championship 3rd. It’s too hard for her to pick a favorite race, she liked Greenbriar, Iron Hill and Mt. Snow. Her 2011 goal is to not fall as much while riding her Independent Fabrication Hardtail and Specialized Women’s epic comp full suspension. Janice is a Territorial Manager for Lackawanna Casualty.

Sally McClain

Sally recently traded in her 10 year reign as a stay-at-home-mom for a full-time job as a speech/language clinician and graduate student. She was dubbed “Smiley”by another racer who thought she wasn’t working hard enough because she was smiling rather than drooling. Since she was the 2007 MASS Expert Women Series Champ, I think we can disagree about the smiling vs. drooling theory. Sally prefers riding her Specialized Epic on rocky terrain and says there’s no way she could race without the support of her husband and sons. Her favorite cheer is “Go Mommy, go Mommy!”

Mike Laub

Mike’s the ring leader of the Mountainside race crew and a Coach of the Year award recipient. When he’s not on the bike he’s earning race entry money working at Tyco. Mike’s impressive race results for 2007 include National MTB Series Champion Master 45+; 1st, Deer Valley National, UT; 1st, Sugar Mountain National, NC; 1st, Maryland State Champion, Greenbriar; 2nd, Bulldog Rump, NJ; 3rd, Arizona National; 4th, Fontana National, CA; and 2nd, Master 45+, PA State Cyclocross Championships. He rides an Ellsworth Sub 22 & Ellsworth Truth and his favorite race is Mt. Snow because “it has lots of climbing and a great technical downhill, and its always wet and gnarly.”

Dave McClain

Dave started racing competitively five years ago and in 2009 took first place (master men) at Michaux Dark Hollow 10 miler. Riding his Yeti ASR, his 2011 goal is to just do his best in the Sport Master class and to make sure he is never in front of his wife (and also fellow teammate), Sally, on a technical, killer downhill. Dave is a custom woodworker, enjoys fly fishing and being outdoors with his family skiing, hiking, camping and backpacking. He is thankful to have a “super awesome wife and boys.”

Melissa Mertz

This is Melissa's first year with Mountainside Racing, although she's been racing for two years on her Niner - EMD. Which she affectionately calls "Amanda" after a SUM 41 song she likes. In 2010 she racked up a few podium spots: 1st Rattling Creek Marathon, 2nd On the Rocks at French Creek and Bear Creek Challenge, 3rd Bear Creek MASS Finals. Melissa, also known as Nash, enjoys racing the most at Bear Creek because "it's fast and swoopy on one side and then extremely technical on the other." When off the bike, she works for PIAA and plays field hockey, soccer, basketball and adventure races. She has six year old twins, Ryder and Hailey.

Jennifer Kulas

Jen has been riding road and mountain bikes on and off for the past 20 years. It all started when husband, Judd, took her out for her first mountain bike ride on “graves ridge” in Michaux. Her college roommates hated every minute of the rocks, heat, and bugs and vowed never to go back. For whatever reason, Jen kept returning and has been hooked ever since. In the years that followed, Jen raced mountain and road bikes and developed a passion for being in the outdoors on bikes, hikes, kayaks, and canoes. To support purchasing a garage full of toys, Jen enjoys a career as a High School Counselor. It has been about 4 years since Jen’s last race. She is looking forward to getting back into the racing scene in 2011 on her Giant Anthem with the Mountainside Team.

Judd Kulas

Judd has been riding bikes and racing for about 30 years. It all started for him on the local BMX dirt tracks as a young kid. His passion for bikes and being outdoors only grew stronger over time. He has been a competitive road and mountain cyclist through much of the 90’s and early 2000’s. He very much looks forward to a great 2011 mountain bike racing season on his Turner Flux as part of the Mountainside Team. When not on a bike or doing something outdoors, he enjoys a career as a Licensed Professional Counselor with practices in Carlisle and Camp Hill.

Chad Cherefko

Age 32 - Category Expert - Years racing 16 - Disciplines Mtn and Road.

Chad has been racing since he was 16, when he joined a regional Mtb team named ForceLyte based out of New Brunswick New Jersey. He went to college at WVU where he went to collegiate national championships for road, mountain, and cyclocross. Chad was on the team when they started the longest run of mountain bike series championship titles for the ACCC conference that lasted 10 straight years. He was president of the cycling team there and also began promoting a cyclocross race series in WV. Most recently, he raced in Oregon for Bicycleattorney.com team in cyclocross, road, and mountain, the latter of which saw him with routine top 3 finishes and a focus on endurance events. He promoted the Willamette Valley Cyclocross series and the Oregon Cyclocross State Championships for 2 years. Chad has competed in the Transalp Mountain bike stage race and rode his bike all over the US and Europe.He has 4 cadaver ligaments that were used to reconstruct his left knee, twice, but he still loves to ride and race and it drives him to work harder. Chad has been off the race scene since 2008, but looks forward to racing in road and mountain this year and seeing just how far he can push himself for that elusive Elite upgrade!

Don Pagano

Physical Therapist Assistant since 1995.

Mountain Biker since 1994.

Don's first race was the IronMaster in Michaux on a ProFlex! Riser with bar ends and flat pedals! He's been hooked ever since. Don loves mountain biking, was pretty serious about racing a few years back and won a bunch of races in his categories over the years, but got kiind of burned out after a few years racing expert. He won some expert races, mostly on a singlespeed, but really missed having fun, and that is what he concentrated on the past few years. Shoulder surgery to repair a bad rotator cuff tear in August kept him off the bike all fall and winter, but now he's anxious to get back in the saddle and do some more racin' in 2011. He's 49 and considers Mike Laub his idol! Don is honored to be part of the Mountainside team and hopes to put in some good performances this year while having fun.