Located in the Greater Annapolis area, ABRT is performance cycling club active in the Mid-Atlantic racing scene in all disciplines, road, time trial and cyclocross. ABRT promotes bicycle safety and is corporate sponsor of Bicycle Advocates for Annapolis and Anne Arundel County. We also hold some of the best racing events in the district, including the Church Creek Time Trials and the AACX Cyclocross Race. We welcome new members and sponsors who share our commitment to our mission statement: to promote the sport of cycling through excellence in competition, athlete development, and event promotion.
The Harwood Classic
If you have ever looked at the ABRT History Timeline, you will notice ABRT has only run a few road races over the last 30 years. Those included the Tour de Crofton (aka Crofton Classic Bike Race or Chris Strader Memorial), The Annapolis Classic (the only ABRT race actually run in the City in West Annapolis), the Snow Valley Grand Prix (a UCI level criterium in Bethesda) and the Tour of Walkersville out by Frederick. As is typical in urbanized areas, these kind of races raise the ire of locals as they are inconvenienced by traffic and lack of access in their neighborhoods and to make matters worse multiple field typically span almost a full day. So often these events only happen for a few years and then move on.
We have always wanted to have a namesake race close to where we ride. After the demise of the Tour of Walkersville, which became too logistically difficult so far away, in 2011 we attempted to move the race to our weekly “Tuesday Night World Championships” group ride course in Harwood, Maryland just west of Annapolis. Stu Waring and Iain Banks worked really hard to set the race up and get it permitted with Anne Arundel County. The planning and promotion for the race was spot on and we had 357 people registered in a large set of fields. Unfortunately, the County denied the permit two weeks out as this race got all twisted up with polemics around complaints from a recent triathalon and we had to cancel it. Since then, we have talked about another road race, but have not been able to make it happen.
Fast forward to 2020 and Team Bike Doctor has taken up the challenge to host this race and ABRT is proud to be a major sponsor. Fortunately, the conditions in Anne Arundel County are much more favorable to cycling (thanks in large part to Bicycle Advocates for Annapolis and Anne Arundel County which we sponsor) so Pat Hogan was able to get the permitting approval. We are all very excited for this race, which takes place on April 4th (BikeReg opens on March 2nd) and we hope the MABRA community will come support this race.
The Tuesday group ride starts early this year on March 10th at 6pm for those who want to get some race pace experience on the course. If you do come to the ride, please familiarize yourself with the route so you don’t get lost or have any miscommunications that cause a safety problem. We gather around the park and ride before so just introduce yourself and then stick around afterward for a post ride chat or bragging rights 😉 Here is an annotated course preview video we made in 2011 and it is still accurate:
Cross Season is a Wrap
ABRT had an active cross season with Alex Pline, Antonia Abadia, Charles Valade, Mickey Thaxton and Mike Roth participating in most of the MABRA races. Our own AACX At South River Famrs race hosted with Parvilla Cycles was a success as the course continues to improve every year. Antonio made good progress as a new cross rider and Alex hit his stride, steadily moving up the rankings in his second active year. Mickey Thaxton was always a strong performer and was on the 40+ 3/4/5 podium for Rockburn CX and the Season finale at the Capital Cross Classic. Alex reflected on the Cross season with an essay about the Art of Riding A Bike posted on his blog.
Cross Season Is Underway
Cross season is well under way! For a nice change of pace, the 2019 season so far has been quite a bit drier. Our AACX co-hosted with Parvilla Cycle & Multisport was a huge success and ABRT riders have been hitting the dirt at Charm City Cross and DCCX races. We’ll be at most of the MABRA races throughout the rest of the season through Capital Cross in December. Cross is such a fun discipline to ride and the environment at races is family friendly party, not to mention watching the amazing ability of the UCI level pros at these two races. It’s fun to watch and analyze the tactical choices.
The 40+ 2/3/4 crew at DCCX enjoying a post race beer on a beautiful day.
Weekly Ride Updates
The Saturday ride start time moves to 9am on SEPTEMBER 7.
The Tuesday Ride starts at 6pm through September 24. As we progress through September, we will shorten by removing the Polling House loop, depending on how sunny it is for daylight towards sunset.
See the training rides and team calendar pages for more details.
Church Creek TT 2 Results
Thanks to all who came out for the quintessential hot and humid August time trail. We had a lot of new racers out today as this edition saw the largest number of one day licenses ever. Great to see so many new people.
The links to results, podium pictures and free downloadable high resolution on course pictures are available on the Church Creek Time Trial 2 page.
Church Creek TT #2 Registration
The registration for the Church Creek Time Trial on August 17, is now open.
- Discounted Fee Deadline: Saturday, August 3, 2019 at 11:59 PM ET
- Online Registration Deadline: Wednesday, August 14, 2019 at 11:59 PM ET
New for 2019: The Mens and Womens category 4 and category 5 now have a “non aero” option. Prizes will be awarded for category 4 and 5 aero and non-aero categories, but will the aero/non-aero fields will be combined for USA Cycling reporting purposes.
Non-Aero requirements are no: time trial or triathlon bikes, aero helments, shoes covers, clip on bars, skinsuits (jersey and shorts must be separate garments) wheels deeper than 40mm, or foil shaped tubes/bars. The event organizer reserves the right to determine specific eligibility based on equipment.
The professional photographer Ted Morgan will be back taking on course pictures with free full resolution downloads!
More Details: http://www.abrtcycling.com/events/church-creek-time-trial-2/
Registration link: https://www.bikereg.com/church-creek-time-trial-no-2
Church Creek TT #1 Registration
The registration for the Church Creek Time Trial on June 29, is now open.
- Discounted Fee Deadline: Saturday, Jun 15, 2019 at 12:01 AM ET.
- Online Registration Deadline: Wednesday, Jun 26, 2019 at 11:59 PM ET
New for 2019: The Mens and Womens category 4 and category 5 now have a “non aero” option. Prizes will be awarded for category 4 and 5 overall (all aero and non-aero riders together) and for the subgroup of non-aero riders, but will be one field per category for USA Cycling reporting purposes. Non-Aero requirements are no: time trial or triathlon bikes, aero helments, shoes covers, clip on bars, skinsuits (jersey and shorts must be separate garments) wheels deeper than 40mm, or foil shaped tubes/bars. The event organizer reserves the right to determine specific eligibility based on equipment.
More Details: http://www.abrtcycling.com/events/church-creek-time-trial-1/
Registration link: https://www.bikereg.com/church-creek-time-trial-no-1
AACX Results Posted
Thanks to all that headed out to AACX today! The Results are posted at usac: https://legacy.
The only lost and found reported was an umbrella…..although on course takedown we did find a few lungs and broken dreams on the hills! As always if you have any feedback or comments please contact Race Director directly iainbanks1@yahoo.co.uk or through the Contact Us form on our web site.
AACX couldn’t happen without our many sponsors – Parvilla Cycles, Bobs Red Mill (hands-up if you love the gluten free pizza crust!), Shimano, SRAM, Hawley, Tifosi, Saris/Cyclops, Gu, Felt.
Photos of podiums and others shots and videos are on the facebook page: https://www.facebook.
See on you the race course!
AACX Is Two Weeks Away
The course and event prep is underway and you can register online at https://www.bikereg.com/aacxsportif-cross-cup-series and online Registration Deadline is Thursday, Oct 11, 2018 at 7:00 PM ET, but you can always register day of for a $10 addition fee.
The course is getting better and better every year! See the updates on our FB page: https://www.facebook.com/AACXcyclocross/
2018 Church Creek Time Trial #2/MABRA Masters TT Champs Results
It was another hot August Church Creek Time Trial, but luckily the forecast thunderstorms never materialized and all racers were treated to the quintessential August experience. As with last year, we paid photographer Ted Morgan come over from Annapolis and shoot pictures of all competitors and make them available to all competitors at full resolution free of charge without watermarking. We think this is a very welcome perk we can easily offer competitors.
The results are posted on the event page in both PDF and at USA Cycling along with links to the on course and podium photos. Thanks again for coming out to the Eastern Shore, we know it can be a bit of a hike, but we try and reward you with the best experience possible!