2017 Race to Anyplace Recap (written by Coach Dave)

Congratulations on another great effort in the Race this year!  Again, we threw the team together in a short period of time and won the competition!  We rode a total of 266 miles, which was around 15 or 16 miles more than our closest competitor. Our race was actually against last year's total mileage, since no other team was even close to us overall.  

The day started with Ken Presutti, who is a Beach Body coach and spin instructor at Mecka Fitness, in the saddle.  I informed Ken that he was expected to do 12 miles even though he didn't train for the event this year.  He did not disappoint!  He cranked out 12.1 and 11.9 on his first 2 rides, even though his seat dropped 3 times!  Too much bouncing, Ken!  The Pitt Football team was staring at him in disbelief and videoing him as he cruised along.  Things got a bit hot when he took off his shirt and fired up the team of mostly ladies next to us!  I told them there was no way my shirt was coming off!  I rode second and actually had my best mileages ever, despite the fact that I didn't train much either.  I rode 11.2 and 11.0 in my first 2 rides.  We were already up over 3 miles at this point.

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​After me, Dave Lusher, an avid cyclist and veteran of last year's race, significantly improved on last year's distances with blazing rides of 11.7, 11.6 and 11.1, each with only 15 minutes rest!  Ken had to leave early, so I convinced him to sneak in 1 last ride, and he did 11.5 miles.  Chuck Ejzak, a veteran of several races with Space Monkey Mafia, was his normal fast self and cranked out rides of 11.0 and 10.6.  Scott Replogle, another veteran who I personally begged to ride this year despite the fact that he said he wasn't prepared for the race (who is?), did 10.7 and then an even stronger second leg at 11.0.  He beat his mileages from last year also.

Up next was Nathan Coley, a newcomer to our team.  He spins with Angie Linn, who raced with us last year.  He had done the Race a few years ago, but on the Cycle Ops bikes, which have more resistance.  He definitely had to figure things out with the Kaiser bikes, but he did just that.  He too rode 3 segments, each with only a 15 minute recovery, at 10.0, 10.7, and 10.6.  I sneaked in my third ride next and finished strong with another 11.0. At this point, we knew no one would catch us.

That didn't stop us, though!

Up next was Melissa Pintar's family and friends!  (Aunt) Colleen Cangelier, another veteran of last year's Race, was again strong at 10.9 and 10.7.  She also said she deserved some extra kudos for being our most "senior" rider - her words, not mine!  Melissa, who teaches with me at The Pilates Body, went next and blazed to a 12.1 and 12.2, our fastest ride of the day.  She may be small, but she can move on a bike!  Next was Melissa's friend, Emma Romanko, a first year rider.  She cranked out very solid numbers, at 10.2 and 10.2.  Finally, Melissa's boyfriend, Mike Accardi, rode our anchor leg.  He came in very strong at 11.0 on his first ride.  When he got on the bike for the 2nd time, I told him he needed an 11.0 again to beat last year.  As he got off the bike at the end of the Race, the pedal spun, and the mileage hit 266, which slightly beat last year's 265.9.

Thanks again for a great day and another victory!  I hope everyone can come back next year!  Please send this out to anyone I don't have an email address for.  (There are some photos on Facebook.  If you look me up, I will tag you in them.)

-Coach Dave