This past week Steel City Endurance Bicycle racing team, sponsors, and friends gathered at ProBikes in the Squirrel Hill of Pittsburgh, PA to celebreate our 4th year of racing. While putting together a short list of season highlights I realized (once again), what an incredible group of dedicated and talented cyclists we have, along with sponsors who have been with us since Day #1.

The team’s accomplishments are many, but here are the highlights, starting with the incredible Women’s Racing Squad, now in their 4th year of racing, and comprised of Cat 3 & 4 road & cyclocross racers.

Women’s Team

Kate Bennet #1 Cat 4 ABRA Crit Series
Stacie Truskowski #1 ABRA Cyclocross Series
Rachel Weaver #1 Womens ACA Criteerium Series
Patty George #1 Overall Tour of the Valley
Anne Marie Alderson – First Place Fort Classic (#6 ABRA Road), Dirty Dozen Overall Women’s Winner 2011

SCE Women’s Team – Team Champions, Cat 3/4 , Tour of the Valley Stage Race

It goes without saying that these accomplishments of individuals are all team accomplishments as well. The ladies have truly learned how to function as a bike racing team in order to support individual goals. Special thanks also to Barb Grabowski, now retired from racing, a Cat 2 racer who made the podium in every event (road, time trial, criterium) in last year’s Masters Nationals. Barb has provided excellent mentorship and guidance to the women’s team, and has organized our annual team training trip over the past several years.

Men’s Team

Mens Team Overall: B Series Winner, Allegheny Cycling Association
Doug Riegner B Series Winner ACA
Joe Lydic First Place Connelsville Criterium (ABRA #2)
Mike Quigley First Place Pro Bikes Criterium Championship (ABRA #5)

Again, I stress that these are all team accomplishements and season highlights. There were many, many more podium finishes and I’m certain I’ve missed some accomplishemnts of several of the team members.

Sponsor Highlights include the sponsors who have been with us every year since our inception, allowing us to supply the team with racing kits as well as supplement travel expenses and race entery fees.

4-Year Sponsors:
Pittsburgh Pro Bikes
Tuscano Insurance (Rob, Terry & Ginny Tuscano)
Padgett Business Services (Jim merante)
Square Cafe (Sherree Goldstein)
Feldstein Grinberg Stein & McKee (Jeff Balicki & Partners)
Allegro Hearth Bakery (Omar Higley)

Finally, for the first time, we awarded a”Sponsor of the Year” award. This year the award went to Tuscano Agency, located in Greensburg, PA, for their ongoing support and the largest dollar amount given to the team so far. We have been proud to wear our kits displaying their name so that everyone who has seen us race is familiar with the name. Please keep an eye out for a coming feature story on Tuscano Agency so you can become familiar with the company as well.

Thank you to our sponsors and team members for a fun season. We look forward to an exciting year in 2012!

Coach Suzanne

While our website activity has been quiet, Steel City racers certainly have not. After Labor Day, Stacie Truszkowski and Rachel Weaver have been competing successfully race after race – on the trails on on the cyclocross courses – throughout September and October. To be honest, the Fall has been the Stacie and Rachel show on our team, as they consistently have been racing back-to-back weekend races. We’re super proud of our teammates for taking the Steel City colors to Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and the DC area.

In the West, Stacie has been balancing her time between the ABRA cyclocross series and Month of Mud series. Meanwhile, Rachel has taken her cyclocross bike mainly East, putting in several strong showings among big women’s 3/4 fields.

Here are some highlights from their races:

September 17-18, 2011 - Stacie rocked out 4th place in her first sport MTB race at Brady’s Run, while Rach represented 2 days straight in huge fields at Charm City Cross, taking a top 20 spot on Sunday.

October 1-2 - Stacie wins back-to-back cyclocross races, with a Saturday win at ABRA Kickoff Cross Women’s Cat 4, then a 2nd W on a muddy Sunday in the first Month of Mud cyclocross race.

October 8-9 - Steel City was out in numbers today at MOM at North Park. Stacie took Congrats again took 3rd , and was joined in this race by Greg Flood, Dustin Wehler, and Patty George. Meanwhile Rachel Weaver tore it up our East, taking 6th at Hyattsville Cx!

October 16 - Stacie took another WIN at ABRA Morgantown Monster Cross.

October 22-23 - Big weekend for women’s cyclocross racing – Stacie again with the win at Bruceton Mills on Saturday, and Rachel finishing TOP 10 in a big, fast field at DCCx on Sunday! Stacie rocked out a super fast time at the MOM Super D mountain bike race on Sunday and taking 2nd place, missing 1st by less than one minute – 2nd day, 2nd podium.

Make sure you keep following our teammates on Facebook and here on our website. October and November are going to be a lot of fun as MOM winds down, and cross continues to heat up.

Coach Suzanne continues to expand opportunities for women to ride and race bikes. In addition to continuing to support the development of the Steel City Endurance women’s team, she has now started Velo Femme, a new bike club for women new to the sport. With new faces at the track and on the trails, we are also excited about more women’s teams hitting the Pittsburgh scene.

Check out the article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review published on August 20, 2011.

Steel City Endurance Women’s Racing Clinic

May 7, 2011

Pittsburgh, PA

Now in our 4th season, the team looks forward each year to “giving back” by putting on an introductory women’s bike racing clinic. This year was no different. Coach Suzanne began this team in the mission to give women an opportunity to ride and race bikes, and introduced us to this fabulous sport. We all remember when we didn’t like to ride inches away from someone else’s wheel, or didn’t even know what a paceline was. This clinic is a chance for us to pass on what we’ve learned these past 3 years, and evangelize a bit for our sport. It is fun to see women show up, nervous at first, then get a look on their face of an aha moment or smile after a fun skills workout. This year was even more fun than years past.

This year 14 women attended the clinic, and many more experienced riders came to help out as well. All-in-all there were about 20 riders, working figure 8′s, pacelining, and lead outs.

We are excited to see new club team, Velo Femme, grow out of last year’s skills clinic, and look forward to riding and racing with more women in the coming seasons!

Our continuing series of interviews with our team sponsors finds small business owner, James Merante of Padgett Business Services. Thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions about yourself and your business, Jim.  If you are looking for small business accounting services in Pittsburgh, consider contacting Jim for a free consultation.

Steel City Endurance: Tell us about your business. What do you do, who do you serve?
Jim Merante: We are an outsourced accounting department for Small Business Owners. Your local Bike shop would be a typical client for us.

SCE: How long have you been in Pittsburgh?
JM: 22 Years. Grew up in Monroeville, graduated and moved to Southern California. Then moved back 19 years later

SCE: What made you sponsor a local bicycle racing team?
JM: I’m a believer in Steel City Endurance.

SCE: Do you ride a bike?
JM: Rarely.

SCE: How can people contact you to visit or find out more?
JM: start with www.padgett.biz – our names and numbers are there!

Hey Women!

Want to ride your bike really fast? Have you ever thought about bike racing?

Mark you calendars for Saturday, May 7, 9AM-noon at the Bud Harris Cycling Track on Washington Boulevard.

Come join Coach Suzanne and Team SCE and check out a growing sport in Pittsburgh at the Women’s Bike Racing Clinic.

- Learn basic bike skills

- Practice riding in a slipstream and riding in a paceline

- Discuss bike strategy 101

- Meet new friends: other women who love to ride bicycles too!

- There will be discussion, lots of practice, and races for prizes!

- All levels of experience welcome

- Registration: $20.00, includes 1-day 1-day USAC license & insurance

- Requirements: helmet, bike, & adventurous spirit!

Coming soon to 2 bridges near you – the Steel City Showdown. Team Steel City Endurance has partnered with Iron City Bikes Racing to bring back Pittsburgh’s famous bridge crit, now only 3 weeks away!

Racers will learn why Pittsburgh is known as “The City of Bridges” as they race a closed 0.8 mile loop over the majestic Allegheny River. Located on Federal Street next to PNC Park, the start/finish line will be backed by the waterfront and downtown skyline. The roads are wide and smooth, and bridge sidewalks provide numerous vantage points for spectators to cheer.

Cash and prizes totaling more than $4,000 will be awarded in categories ranging from kids and junior racers under age 19 to over-50 Masters. The event also features competitive women’s races, offering prize money equal to the men’s top fields.

Allegheny General Hospital Sports Medicine is title sponsor for this unique event that promotes fitness, bicycle racing, and the city of Pittsburgh. “We are very happy and honored to serve as title sponsor for the first Steel City Showdown,” said Dr. Patrick DeMeo, Director of AGH Sports Medicine. “We expect the event to serve as a showcase for Pittsburgh, and we hope the sight of these amazing athletes in action will spur interest in bicycle racing and prompt others to consider biking for fitness and transportation.”

The Steel City Showdown was first run in 2008 as a collegiate race, and was remembered fondly as the “bridge crit” by local and regional racers. However due to lack of a promoter, the race did not return. Last summer, we decided to bring the Showdown back to Pittsburgh, for the love of bike racing and our hometown. This is the first year under our teams’ promotion, and we aim to work with AGH Sports Medicine in making it a huge success.

With hundreds of racers and spectators expected, organizers aim to create an event that is fun for everyone. The Showdown Tailgate, located between the racers’ parking lot and starting line, will provide a sideline festival atmosphere. In addition to local bike shops and national cycling brands, the Tailgate will feature sponsors, such as AGH Sports Medicine, charity organizations, such as Team H2Ope and Bike MS, and local nonprofit organizations, such as Venture Outdoors and Bike Pittsburgh. Our featured sponsor, Cycling Fusion – Bringing Indoor and Outdoor Cycling Together, will also have a tent where they literally bring indoor cycling to racers and spectators, introducing the community to their awesome fitness experience.

“The Steel City Showdown is incredibly important for the city” said Scott Bricker, Executive Director of Bike Pittsburgh. “It’s been far too long since Pittsburgh has been host to a bike race that attracts people here from all around the region to watch and participate. Kudos to the organizers and sponsors for putting Pittsburgh back on the map as a bike-racing city.”

This event would not be possible without the support from the 2011 race’s generous sponsors, who have helped bring back urban racing to Pittsburgh. Allegheny General Hospital Sports Medicine, Cycling Fusion, Eat’n Park, Bruce Construction, Brunner, Sota Construction, Hyatt Place Pittsburgh North Shore, Northwest Mutual Financial Services, PNC Bank, Print Scape, and more.

Registration is available at www.bikereg.com up to 48 hours before the first race. Race-day registration is available for an additional fee. More information is available on the website.

On February 26, 2011, our SCE women joined up with friends on the Bellas, Velo Femmes, and Pro Bikes to race to… anyplace. Kate, Stacie, Rachel and Donna raised money to help wipe out cancer, then took turns spinning their legs off in the US Steel Tower for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The event took place in heats of 15 min, and riders worked to get their team the furthest in mileage over the course of the day. We are so proud of the women for riding for a great cause, and winning the Women’s Open Division! Way to represent, women!

Steel City Endurance Coach Suzanne Atkinson caught up with Bruce Corna and Bruce Smith of Bruce Construction to learn more about them and their business.

Steel City Endurance: Tell us about your business.
Bruce Construction: Over a decade ago Bruce Corna, Jr. and Bruce Smith focused their passion for the construction and building industry, and founded Bruce Construction. With a platform founded on quality construction, efficient building practices, site specific designs, and sustainable strategies, Bruce Construction is proud of their building practices that are integral to the overall design and function of the projects they have constructed in the Pittsburgh area since 1999. Working under one design umbrella, Bruce Construction also provides additional solutions through their various divisions that focus on stormwater management, landscape design, and environmental consultation. Bruce Construction starts each project with a sustainable approach and the result is a site and a building that are socially responsible and function as a healthy place to work and live

SCE: How long have you been in Pittsburgh?
BC: The principles of Bruce Construction are Pittsburgh natives. Bruce Construction has been operating in Pittsburgh since 1999

SCE: What made you sponsor a local bicycle racing team?
BC: As a company we are cyclists. We love cycling and love seeing others enjoy it on a competitive level.

SCE: Do you ride a bike?
BC: We do [see photos - ed]

SCE: How can people contact you to visit or find out more?
BC:
Bruce Construction, LLC
795 Pine Valley Dr.
Suite 20
Pittsburgh, Pa 15239

Phone 724.327.0001
Fax 724.327.0076

http://www.bruceconstructionllc.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/Bruceconstructionllc
http://www.facebook.com/BruceConstruction

If you thought racing in the snow and ice was crazy (See Garycross I race report from 12/6), how about swimming in December? On a cold December Saturday, that is exactly what many of our Steel City teammates and friends decided to do. While one must admit there was certainly an element of insanity to this gesture, we are proud of Team Moe Szyslak for raising money for a good cause. The team raised $1505.00 for the Special Olympics Pennsylvania Chapter, and so their efforts in the Polar Plunge have certainly warmed our hearts.

Polar Plunge athletes on Team Moe Szylak:

Dustin Wehler

Jason Berardinelli

Ryan Coll

Greg Flood

Carrie Hammack

Tim Mould

Mike Quigley

Michael Roth

Todd Schoeni

Stephanie Swan

Stacie Truszkowski

Mike Walther