STHS swimmer Louis Marin, center, competes in the 10- yard breast stroke. Photo/ProvidedS

South Tahoe High School’s swim team is headed to the state competition on Saturday.

Twenty-four athletes qualified for regionals and participated in the 3-A Northern Regional Swim Meet on May 12-13. The boys and girls’ teams each finished in regionals in second place overall for the season.

Eleven of the swimmers will be at the state competition on May 20 at the Carson Aquatic Center.

Finishing in the top three at regionals in individual events to qualify for state were: Temugen Enkhbayer, Tristan Klasko, Hannah Lucas, Louis Marin, Alexandra Otomo, Maia Smith and Sophie Stewart.

Marin came in first in the 100-yard freestyle and 100 breast stroke. Otomo won the 100 back stroke and was second in the 50 freestyle.

— Provide to Lake Tahoe News

Evan Huffman won the May 17 stage of the Tour of California. Photo/Susan Wood

By Associated Press
 
Evan Huffman had spent nearly the entire day Wednesday in a breakaway with four other riders at the Tour of California, his energy drained and his legs pushed to the limit in an effort to stay away.

Yet his mind couldn’t help but wander.

Huffman thought back to last year’s stage into Santa Clarita, when he was part of a breakaway that also stayed clear to the finish. And he couldn’t help but think about Ben King beating him to the line that day, dashing the El Dorado Hills rider’s chances of a career-defining victory.

“I was just thinking about how much it would stink not to win again,” Huffman said.

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By Ryan Sabalow, Sacramento Bee

Researchers have issued a dire warning for California’s native trout and salmon: Three-quarters of them will be extinct in the next 100 years unless urgent action is taken.

This bleak assessment came Tuesday from biologists at the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences and from California Trout, a nonprofit advocacy group. In a new report, the groups said nearly 75 percent of California’s 31 salmon, trout and steelhead will be extinct by 2117 unless critical habitat is protected and restored.

The report follows up on the groups’ 2008 assessment that established a baseline level of health for each type of native fish. The researchers said that almost all of the fish are worse off than they were a decade ago. California’s record-breaking drought that officially ended this winter wreaked havoc on many of the already-struggling fish, which depend on cold water.

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Approximately a hundred community members will collect water quality samples from dozens of South Shore tributaries on May 20 as part of Snapshot Day, an annual citizen science monitoring event now in its 17th year.

Community members will gather at Lake Tahoe Community College at 9am to receive training before dispersing to assigned monitoring sites at South Tahoe locations at the lake, rivers and streams. Breakfast will be provided by Grass Roots and Starbucks, and a free lunch will be provided to all volunteers.

No prior experience is needed.

Learn more and RSVP online.

For information on Snapshot Day activities on the North Shore or in the Truckee or Reno areas, go online.

Tahoe Games Bike Night series returns in June for the third year.

This family-friendly bike event features an illuminated cross country course at Lake Tahoe Golf Course in Meyers that
spans across fairways, into  the rough, through sand traps and over bridges with the occasional cart path.

The dates are June 16 and Sept. 29. Registration is from 7-8pm, with the race at 9pm.

Races will be conducted in three heats broken down by classes. Awards and an after party will follow the race. Helmets, bike lights, headlamps, glow sticks, bike decor and costumes are strongly encouraged. The course will be designed for ages 10 and up on any non-motorized bicycle.

By Josh Petri, Bloomberg

If a mountain bike allows a rider to take the road not traveled, the gravel bike is designed to let riders take the road that’s … only sort of a road.

The bike industry has a long history of hyping new niche machines. Remember when fat tire bikes were all the rage? Gravel bikes are just the latest example. They’re durable enough to handle modest terrain—gravel trails, fire roads, etc.— while remaining light and nimble enough to efficiently cruise on pavement as well.

At first glance, a gravel bike looks like, well, a bike. There are the classic drop bars, shifters, and the 700cc rims of a road or cyclocross bike. But there are small tweaks and upgrades sprinkled throughout that help the bike handle rougher conditions. It has a slightly lower bottom bracket, and a longer wheelbase, which makes it more stable over uneven terrain at higher speeds. The wheels are wrapped in bigger tires, usually 32mm or 35mm wide, that do not require tubes. This lets riders run lower tire pressures for a better grip in a variety of surface conditions. Flat-mounted disc brakes offer greater modulation and stopping power than the rim brakes usually found on road bikes.

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Ultimately it was Anna van der Breggen, right, who beat out Katie Hall to win the 2017 Amgen Tour of California. Photo Copyright 2017 Carolyn E. Wright

Anna van der Breggen, a phenomenal sprinter, powered her way past the field of Amgen Tour of California cyclists on Sunday to win the four-day race.

Van der Breggen, who is from the Netherlands and rides for Boels-Dolmans, entered Sunday’s contest one second behind Katie Hall.

Hall, who is known for her prowess on the hills – and showed her strength in Tahoe, finished second overall. The United Healthcare rider from the United States was one-hundredth of a second behind van der Breggen.

The final standings:

·       Van der Breggen, 10:47.33 

·       Hall, + 0.01

·       Arelenis Sierra, Astana Women’s Team, + 0.31

·       Kristabel Doebel-Hickok, Cylance Pro Cycling, + 0.34

·       Ruth Winder, United Healthcare, +0.38.

Hall earned the final Queen of the Mountain jersey for her power up the hills. Sierra earned the sprint jersey and best young rider jersey.

The first two stages were based out of South Lake Tahoe. Saturday’s third stage went from Elk Grove to Sacramento, with the final stage in Sac.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

By Alison Noon, AP

Nevada students ages 9 to 11 can play at state parks for free beginning in July under a law Gov. Brian Sandoval signed Friday that will give fifth-graders free entry to all state parks and recreational areas for one year.

The measure builds on a federal program that allows fourth-graders to apply for free admission to all national parks as well as Nevada state parks.

Day passes at about 20 other state parks across Nevada cost between $7 and $12.

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By Tom Stienstra, San Francisco Chronicle

You can hit launch mode on a rafting trip this summer and feel like you’re being shot out of a cannon.

Light the fuse and stand back.

As the rafting season gets under way, the outlook matches or exceeds the biggest water seasons in the past 30-plus years, including 1983, ’86 and ’98. Coming after years of drought, conditions are beyond euphoric for those who love rafting, kayaking and river running.

 Ratings for many rapids have been upgraded to the highest level and — in a new industry trend — several rafting companies have raised minimum age requirements from age 7 to 12 until flows recede to more traditional levels.

“With all the water, we’re treating Class III runs like Class IV,” said Nate Rangel of Adventure Connection out of Coloma.

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By April Corbin, Las Vegas Sun

Off-road adventures abound in the Silver State, but the majority of residents are skirting the law when they jump into their dune buggies or climb aboard their all-terrain vehicles or dirt bikes.

In July 2012, Nevada began requiring registration for almost all off-highway and all-terrain vehicles, and just under five years later, compliance is still low. The Nevada Commission on Off-Highway Vehicles estimates there are 400,000 off-highway vehicles in the state, but as of the end of last month only 43,145 were registered with the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles.

That’s a registration rate of only about 10 percent.

Officials are hoping to boost that number with a new online resource that appeals to owners’ sense of adventure.

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