2023 September Touring Challenge
First Place
Ladies' Division Valerie Litznerski
Class of 2023 Road of Fame
2023 September Touring Challenge
Champion Joe Bartels
Class of 2023 Road of Fame
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2023 September Touring Challenge |
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2023 September Touring Challenge
Champion Joe Bartels |
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2023 Ladies' Division Runner-up Pamela Fennell
2023 Ladies' Division Third Place
2023 Men's Runner-up Mark Geiger
2023 Men's Third Place Marty Smolinski
Russ Stephens
Kevin Crews
Other Class of 2023
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The 2023 September Touring Challenge Review
Highlights of the 2023 Three Rivers Velo Sport September Touring Challenge Day 1 - UCI Masters Division World Time Trialing Champion Paul Mowery got off to the best start today with his power-packed 137 kilometer ride. Pamela Fennell is out front the Ladies' Division as she and Tim continue on their ride across America. Pam rode 107 kilometers today.
Day 2 - Today is the first day of a triple century weekend. Over 20 club members rode 100 miles or more today. Joe Bartels recorded the most kilometers or anyone. The 2021 September Touring Challenge rode 226 kilometers, placing Joe at the top of the Leaderboard. Get your rest 3RVS riders, the club has another 161 kilometers ready for you tomorrow.
Day 3 - Many club members enjoyed the 161-kilometer tour to Defiance, Ohio which followed along both sides of the Auglaize River between Oakwood and Defiance. Valerie Litznerski-Eichlotz holds onto the top spot on Ladies' Division Leaderboard with 348 kilometers; Elana Merritt made a big jumped to second place with 334 kilometers; and Pamela Fennell is third with 279 kilometers. The men's division took a big change today with all three podium places changing; Marty Smolinski rose to the top spot with 374 kilometers; Jonathan DeWitt holds down second place with 353 kilometers; and Mark Geiger is in third place with 332 kilometers. Drink plenty of pickle juice or chocolate milk, because tomorrow brings us another century tour.
Day 4 - Ten riders posted rides exceeding the century mark. The top three riders reached the first award level of 500 kilometers. Marty Smolinkski holds the top spot for the second straight day with 564 kilometers; second place is Jonathan Dewitt at 519 kilometers; and Joe Bartels not far behind with 517 kilometers in third place. In the Ladies' Division Pamela Fennell has regained the lead with 383 kilometers; Valerie Litznerski-Eichlotz is in second place with 348 kilometers; and third place is held by Elana Merritt with 334 kilometers. Congratulations to all of the riders who participated in the three-day triple century weekend event.
Day 5 - As of today, 92 riders have joined the challenge. In five day those 92 riders posted a total of 17.453 kilometers. Distances tamed down today, this is understandable after the long weekend tours. In the Ladies' Division Valerie Litznerski-Eichlotz bounced back on top of the leaderboard with 424 kilometers; Pamela Fennell is second with 383 km; with Elana Merritt third at 334 km. The rotation for the top spot in the Men's Division continues with Mark Geiger going wild on the road today. Mark has 602 km; Marty Smolinski, who led the past two days dropped to second with 601 km; and Jonathan DeWitt is third with 560 kilometers. Mark Geiger and Joey Bauers reached the 500-kilometer award level today bringing the total to five riders at 500 or more kilometers in just five days.
Day 6 - Pam Fennell and Joe Bartels both had a good day, Pam continues on her trek across America riding enough kilometers to regain her lead in the Ladies' Division with 508 km, Valerie Litznerski-Eichlotz dropped to second place and Elana Merritt remained in third place without riding today. Joe Bartels regained the top spot in the Men's Division. Joe now has 680 km, which slipped Mark Geiger to second place and Marty Smolinski to third place. Russ Stephens, Paul Mowery and Pam Fennell reached the 500 km award level. Eight riders have now reached the 500 km award level.
Day 7 - One week into the challenge, Joe Bartels along with Mark Geiger have both reached the 750 km award level. Joe holds on to the top spot for the second straight day with 842 km; Mark Geiger remains in second place with 758 km; and Jon DeWitt passes Marty for third place with 654 km. Pam Fennell retains the lead in the Ladies Division with 590 km; Valerie Litznerski-Eichlotz holds on to second place with 499 km; Elana Merritt is third with 334 km. We now have 99 participants in the challenge who have totaled 21,911.7 km in the first week.
Day 8 - All podium places on the leaderboard remained the same. Joe Bartles continues to roll becoming the first rider to pass the 1,000 km level. Michael Toole, Valerie Litznerski-Eicholtz and Darren Williams reached the 500 km level. Pam Fennell has increased her lead in the Ladies' Division.
Day 9 - Sorry I missed today's update. Life got in the way, and I just did not have time. Not to worry, all of your mileage has been saved and will be included in tomorrow's update.
Day 10 - Many riders had big kilometers over the weekend. Mark Geiger made a big charge to catch Joe Bartels for the top spot as Joe rested his legs after riding 434 miles the first five days of the week. Mark becomes the second rider to reach the 1,000 km level. In the Ladies Division Valerie Litznerski-Eichlotz regained the lead over Pamela Fennell. Valerie becomes the first lady to reach the 750 km level. In fact, she is over 900 km. Pamela Fennell is in second place, and Elana Merritt remains in third place. In third place on he Men's Leaderboard is Jonathan DeWitt with 979 km, less than 120 km behind Mark Geiger. Many riders have reached award level plateaus including Joe and Mark at 1,000; Jonathan, Valerie, Russ Stephens and Joey Bauers at 750 km; Michael Toole, Paul Mowery, Pamela Fennell, Darren Williams, Marty Smolinski, Tim Landrum, Ian Shelden, Steve Pequignot, Rick Bokern, Bill Crowley and Jody Thomas at 500 km level. Through ten days, 102 riders have recorded a total of 30,894 kilometers.
Day 12 - Joe Bartels takes a rest day while Mark Geiger strikes big miles. After six days chasing Joe, Mark Geiger makes it to the top spot on the leaderboard again riding 1,330 km through 12 days. Joe is second with 1,242 km and Jonathan DeWitt is third with 1,094. Valerie Litznerski-Eichlotz remains on top of the Ladies' Leaderboard with 1,005 km, while Pam Fennell has made big strides the past few days to climb into second place with 922 km. Susan Zuber has reached a podium place at third with 443 km. Jonathan DeWitt and Valerie Litznerski-Eichlotz have reached the 1,000 km level. Pam Fennell, Michael Toole, Darren Williams, and World Time Trial Champion, Paul Mowery have reached the 750 km level. Mike Miller, Kevin Crews last year's champion, Brent Lockwood, Rex Connelly, Dan Fineran and Zach Arnett have reached the 500 km level. Total distance for 105 riders is 34,918 kilometers.
Day 23 - We are finally back online. I am very sorry for missing the past 11 days. The leaderboard still has Joe Bartels on top, followed by Mark Geiger and Marty Smolinski. Valerie Litznerski-Eichlotz remains at first place in the Ladies' Division, with Pamela Fennell second and Susan Zuber third. A total of sixty riders have now earned distance achievement medals. 110 riders have compiled a total of 61,859 kilometers.
Day 24 - There were some big numbers posted today. Joe Bartels extended his hold on first place with a lead of 567 kilometers over Mark Geiger in second place. Marty Smolinski remains in third place in the Men's Division. Valerie Litznerski-Eichlotz also had a big day as she leads the Ladies' Division by 714 kilometers over Pamela Fennell. Susan Zuber holds down third place while passing the 1,000 kilometer level today. Seven riders have reached the top level of 1,000 miles; they include Joe Bartels, Mark Geiger, Valerie Litznerski-Eichlotz, Marty Smolinski, Jonathan DeWitt, Darren Williams and Russ Stephens. Twelve riders have reached the 1,000 kilometer level; 13 have reached 750 kilometers; and 23 have reached 500 kilometers. A total of 98 riders have ridden 63,009 kilometers this month.
Day 25 - Joe and Valerie both took the day off to enjoy some recovery. There are still 7 riders at the top level of 1,000 miles. Tom Lill became the 13th rider to reach the 1,000 kilometer level. Fifteen riders are at the 750 kilometer level including Keith Pulfer, who rode over 100 miles today. Twenty riders are at the 500 kilometer level. Joe Bartels remains in the lead with 2,577 kilometers; Marty Smolinski moved in second place with 2,264 kilometers; and Mark Geiger is third, only 15 km back with 2,249 kilometers. Valerie Litznerski-Eichlotz leads the Ladies' Division with 1,974 kilometers; Pamela Fennell is second with 1,303 kilometers; and Susan Zuber is third with 1,043 kilometers. To date 99 riders have ridden 64,948 kilometers.
Day 26 - The September Touring Challenge is heading into the final stretch. The Ladies' Division podium positions remain the same with Valerie Litznerski-Eichlotz holding a comfortable 680 km lead over Pamela Fennell. Susan Zuber is 280 kilometers behind Pamela in third place. Joe Bartels lead in the Men's Division has shrunk to 107 km with both Mark Geiger and Marty Smolinski making big charges early this week. Only three riders moved up in distance levels. Steve Vorderman joins the 1,000 km club with 1,150 km. Dan Fineran and Brent Lockwood also joined the 1,000 km level today. The final four days may be high mileage for the three big guns in the Men's Division.
Day 27 - Halfway through the last week of the challenge and Mark Geiger re-takes the lead over Joe Bartels. The rain did not slow down Mark as he completed another wet century bringing his total kilometers to 2,802. With three days remaining Mark now leads Joe by 59 kilometers. Mark has made a huge effort the past three days when he trailed Joe by 567 kilometers. Marty Smolinski remains in third place with 2,574 km. Valerie Litznerski-Eichlotz remains on top in the Ladies' Division with 2,061 km. Pamela Fennell is second with 1,324 km, and Susan Zuber is third with 1,091 km. It's going to take a huge effort for anyone else to grab a podium position as the top three riders in each division are well ahead of the remaining field. John Rodino and Dan Fineran reach the 1,000 km level today. Dave Shaw and Amber Toole reached the 750 km level, and Graham Wedeven reached the 500 km level. To date 101 riders have ridden 69,679 kilometers this month. With just three days remaining this year's challenge team of 101 rider are 5,219 kilometers away from the all-time highest September team distance 74,916.57 kilometers. That's only 17.3 kilometers a day for the next three days per team member. It's time to get organized and make a push during the remaining three days. Good luck everyone.
Day 28 - Mark Geiger rides another century plus to hold on to the top spot on the leaderboard with 2,974 km; however, Joe Bartels went right after Mark with his own century plus, pulling within 30 km from the lead at 2,944 km. Marty Smolinski holds down third place with 2,619 km. The Ladies Division remains the same with Valerie Litznerski-Eichlotz in first place with 2,061 km. Pamela Fennell holds down second place with 1.324 km; and Susan Zuber is in third place with 1,142 km. Joey Baures and Michael Toole become the 8th and 9th riders to reach the top level of 1,000 miles (1,610 km) and have earned their spots on the 3RVS September Touring Challenge Road of Fame. Steve Pequignot, Mike Neag and Hugh Smith reached the 1,000 km level today, while Helen Best and Bruce Fisher reached the 750 km level. Total kilometers during the month for all 101 riders equal 71,483 with two days remaining in the challenge. Keep it rolling Team 3RVS!
Day 29 - With only one day remaining in the challenge it appears the Ladies' Division is settled as Valerie Litznerski-Eichlotz holds more than a 750-kilometer lead ahead of Pamela Fennell. Susan is in third place over 900 kilometers behind Valerie. The Men's Division will go down to the final day. Today, Joe jumped into the lead with 3,317 kilometers. Mark has 3,110 kilometers in second place, and Marty Smolinski is in third place with 2,688 km. No one else is within 300 km of the podium. Today, UCI Masters World Time Trial Champion Paul Mowery, and last year's Septebmer Touring Challenge champion Kevin Crews, reached the top level of 1,000 miles (1,610 kilometers). Rick Bokern reached the 1,000 kilometer-level; and Sean Martin reached the 750-kilometer level. Through 29 days 101 riders have logged 73,579 km, just 1,338 kilometers from the record of 74,916 km set by 99 riders in 2021.
Day 30 - The men put on an exciting show the last week of the challenge. Joe Bartels was able to hold off Mark Geiger's last day effort for the top podium spot. Joe will be crowned Champion for the second time. Joe rode a total of 3,417 km during September. Joe's first September Touring Challenge Championship was in 2021. Mark Geiger finished second with 3,233 km; and Marty Smolinski completed the podium positions with a third-place finish riding 2,827 km. In the Ladies' Division, Valerie Litznerski-Eichlotz finished first with 2,312 km; Pamela Fennell was a strong second with 1,395 km; and Susan Zuber finished third place with 1,282 km. Congratulations to all of the podium place finishers. Today you have good reason to celebrate and rest your legs. On the last day of the challenge Steve Edmiston and Nancy Lichtensteiger reached the 1,000-kilometer award level. Jim and Denise Snyder finished the month riding over 750 kilometers, while Clinton Allen, Bill Meyer and Kyle Schwyn reached the 500-kilometer award level on the final day. A total of 60 members won medal awards. The top eleven riders reached the highest level of 1,000 miles (1,610 kilometers) for the month and are now enshrined as the Class of 2023 Three Rivers Velo Sport September Touring Challenge Road of Fame Members. Those members include: Joe Bartels, Mark Geiger, Marty Smolinski, Darren Williams, Valerie Litznerski-Eichlotz, Jonathan DeWitt, Paul Mowery, Russ Stephens, Michael Toole, Joey Bauers and Kevin Crews. Additionally, this month all 101 members of the challenge set a new one-month team distance record for the most kilometers ridden during the challenge. The old record of 74,916 kilometers with a 99-member team in 2021 was surpassed on the final day of the challenge. This year's challenge team rode a total of 77,147 kilometers surpassing the record by 2,231 kilometers.
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