The Whittell High School baseball team is No. 2 in the state.
The Warriors made it to the championship round on Saturday after winning two of three games in the previous two days.
Ultimately the boys succumbed to Virginia City 14-3 on May 16 in Las Vegas.
The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association is taking a deeper look at college ski racing as a viable component of the U.S. Ski Team pipeline with the introduction of a national university team for alpine ski racing. The National University Team will aim to provide support for athletes as well as a stronger post-university transition to the U.S. Ski Team.
There have been numerous athletes who have transitioned out of the university system to the U.S. Ski Team, but the USSA has identified a significant gap in physical development between these athletes and that of national team athletes. With the introduction of the national university team, the U.S. Ski Team hopes to provide continuity of elite-level programs while athletes attend university.
The new team will be led by former team America coach Peter Lange. Athletes will also receive coaching support from Lange during NCAA and NorAm competition and other tours, and will be eligible for scholarships through the U.S. Ski Team’s Borgen-Swartz Education Endowment.
In a triangle agreement between the USSA, the athletes and their individual NCAA coaches, the nominated athletes will still compete for their respective university teams while having expanded year-round access to and support at training camps and additional races.
By Chris Kozlowski
Biking season is in full swing for mountain and road riders alike. Here are a few pointers to keep you riding smoother, safer, and more comfortably throughout the season.
Don’t wear underwear under bike shorts. I’ve had this conversation with several patients and it’s worth mentioning, loudly and boldly. Bike shorts are supposed to be worn commando and without undergarments. It decreases chafing from seams and makes the ride more pleasant. I promise.
Chris Kozlowski
Wear bike shorts. The extra cushion and protection will make your ride better. A good pair is worth the purchase. Cycling shorts will also decrease hand pressure by limiting weight you push on the handle bars and putting less weight on your bum.
Inspect your bike seat. Increased pressure in the hands may also come from your bike seat’s position. If the seat’s nose is tilted up, your arms may automatically pushing you off the nose with the weight in your hands. If the seat’s nose is tilted down, you could be sliding down and using your hands to push yourself back up on the seat. Millimeters can make a difference in seat positioning.
Wear gloves. Cycling gloves offer protection and varying degrees of padding depending upon the gloves you buy. Some riders like the flexibility and accessibility of fingerless gloves, while others prefer the warmth and protection from full fingered gloves. Whichever you choose, gloves decrease the pressure in your hands and protect the hands and wrists from sudden unplanned vertical drops into rocks or pavement.
Bend your elbows. Keep about 10 degrees of flex in your elbows to absorb the road shock. Mountain bikers typically flex their elbows, but I see a lot of roadies locking out their elbows. A slight flex will decrease the shock absorbed and increase comfort from your hands to your neck.
Wear bike shoes. Mountain bike and road cycling shoes are built with a firmer sole to increase pedaling efficiency. Your tennis or running shoes aren’t optimal for pedaling due to the increased flex in the shoe. This little variation makes a big difference, especially when climbing uphill. If you’re riding platform or clipless pedals, the pedals that attach to cycling shoes, make sure the pedals have the proper grip and your shoes won’t slide off the pedal. Clipless pedals increase efficiency upward of 30 percent.
Avoid mashing. Your pedals should spin smoothly while clipped in. This increases efficiency and avoids “mashing.” Mashing occurs when you use your leg strength in an up and down piston motion, like mashing potatoes, on every stroke instead of spinning in a circle motion.
Ride on the right side. If a car is coming at you, you’re on the wrong side. California and Nevada bicycle laws state bikers ride with the flow of car traffic and as close to the right as possible. This is safer for you, other bikers, and drivers.
I know some advice is gear related and will cost money. But it will buy you comfort, which will make you happier and more likely to ride a bike, which will save you gas money, and cover the cost of the new bike shorts. Now go outside and ride.
Chris Kozlowski, is a physical therapist conducts professional bike fits at Barton Health’s Tahoe Orthopedics and Sports Medicine. She is a certified bike fitter and received her USA Cycling Level III cycling coach certification in 2011.
Like Memorial Day and Labor Day being the official start and end of summer, National Safe Boating Week is the official start of the recreational boating safety season.
The U.S. Coast Guard uses this event to stress the importance of safety on the water. One of the many divisions of the U.S. Coast Guard that is responsible for boating safety is the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. The Auxiliary, the all volunteer arm of the Coast Guard, provides a variety of services to our community. Safety and security patrols on the lake during the summer, boating safety and operational classes during June, July, and August, and vessel safety checks during the year are just three services carried out to help our water sportsmen and women be safe doing whatever they enjoy.
For more information on the Auxiliary and these services and how to become a member, feel free to call Vic Beelik at 775.588.1385 or me at 530.541.4654.
In the mean time, when you are out on the water, wear your life jacket or have immediate access to one and enjoy our beautiful Lake.
— Mort Meiers
By Outside
The California state legislature is currently reviewing a bill that would open trails, paths, and bike lanes to e-bikes, according to Bicycling.com. Bike lanes and paths are generally reserved exclusively for nonmotorized use, but the rising popularity of electric bikes in the United States has led local and state governments to consider allowing bikes with electric motors on bike paths.
Opening paths to e-bikes would help encourage more people to use bikes for transportation, but some local officials worry about the safety issues of allowing e-bikes on nonmotorized paths, particularly throttle-driven models that can propel a bike without a rider pedaling.
By Emanuella Grinberg, CNN
Cyclist Alan Crocker regrets flipping off the driver of the blue pickup that buzzed past him on a recent Saturday morning in Rome, Ga.
He’s not proud of it, and he’ll never do it again — especially now that he knows how unpredictable the response might be.
Crocker was wearing a helmet camera that recorded the driver getting out of his vehicle and knocking him over on his bike. He showed the footage to the Floyd County police officer who responded to his 911 call. According to a police report, the footage convinced the officer that the driver was “the aggressor,” refuting his claim that Crocker provoked him by kicking his car.
It’s National Bike to Work Week, but bike-friendly roads are still hard to come by in many states, according to rankings released Monday by the League of American Bicyclists. The uneasy relationship between drivers and cyclists can also keep would-be riders off the road.
It’s rare for drivers to respond to bicyclists with intentional acts of aggression. But with more bicycles and cars sharing the road, some cyclists are arming themselves with helmet or mounted cameras for the worst-case scenarios.
One of Squaw Valley’s most popular chairlifts is going from a four-pack to a six-pack this summer.
Siberia Express is being converted to the larger capacity lift in time for the 2015-16 season.
The ski resort said the new chairlift will improve reliability, efficiency and operational effectiveness. It is being designed to handle winds better. The current lift is often not operating on windy days.
Because of the high demand for the summer youth program at Zephyr Cove Tennis Club more sections have been added, which has changed the schedule.
The sessions are Mondays-Wednesdays-Fridays during the weeks of June 8, June 15 and June 22. Those who are in grades 1-3 (for the 2014-15 school year) will play from noon-1:15pm, while grades 4-6 will be on the courts from 1:30-2:45pm.
Cost is $100 per student. Register online.
Meet outside the clubhouse (next to Zephyr Cove Library) 10 minutes prior to the start of each program.
Zephyr Cove Tennis Club is on Warrior Way off Highway 50 in Zephyr Cove. For more info, email zctennisclub@gmail.com or call Bob Beut at 530.314.3588.
The U.S. Coast Guard plans to release its first boating safety app on May 16 as the kickoff to this year’s National Safe Boating Week (May 16-22).
The app was mainly designed to provide additional boating safety resources for mobile device users. It was not designed to replace a boater’s marine VHF radio.
The app will be available on the Apple and Google Play online stores.
Features include: state boating information; a safety equipment checklist; free boating safety check requests; navigation rules; float plans; and calling features to report pollution or suspicious activity. When location services are enabled, users can receive the latest weather reports from the closest National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather buoys as well as report the location of a hazard on the water.
The app also features an emergency assistance button which, with locations services enabled, will call the closest Coast Guard command center.
Outdoor plans may need to be changed late this week in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Long pants are likely to replace shorts. Furnaces are apt to be churning instead of windows open.
Winter is returning for a few days.
The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch for the bulk of May 14 for locations above 6,000 feet. The heaviest snow is expected Thursday afternoon and evening, with accumulations of 2 to 6 inches. A foot or more is possible along the Sierra Crest in Alpine and Mono counties.
“The snow will lead to travel delays with several high elevation roads being closed. This includes Monitor, Ebbetts, Sonora and Tioga passes. Snow may also slow travel over Carson Pass and the Mount Rose Highway,” the NWS said.
Light snow is in the forecast for Friday and rain part of the weekend.
— Lake Tahoe News staff report