Video: McCaul brothers working, riding hard

Posted on February 1, 2012 by cgullickson

In the video below, you may recognize mountain bikers Cam McCaul and Tyler McCaul, both Aptos natives, from their days out at the post office ramps. They’re now part of the Fox riding team and they get to test out new gear. This video of them and Steve Smith just went up. Enjoy!

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Kimi Miller is top local finisher at Tinker Bell Half Marathon

Posted on February 1, 2012 by cgullickson

Santa Cruz’s Kimi Miller placed 78th out of more than 9,000 runners and was the top local finisher of the Tinker Bell Half Marathon at Disneyland over the weekend. Miller, 45, completed her race in 1 hour, 45 minutes, 31 seconds. She was 14th in her age group. Find more results here.

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Fake snowboarder nicknames were inspired

Posted on February 1, 2012 by cgullickson

I ran a fun little contest to give away tickets to “The Art of Flight” snowboarding movie — which comes to the Rio Theatre tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. — on the Santa Cruz Sentinel’s Facebook page this week since we were having technical difficulties over here, and I got some great responses. Everyone had to come up with their own fake snowboarder nickname, and, man, were they inventive!

Here are some of my favorites in no particular order:

1. Kick Ice Kathie (by Kathie Brown)

2. Sir Huck-a-lot (by Jaoquin Munoz)

3. Bunny Slopes (by Amber Lee)

4. Ice Man (by Paul D.)

5. Smooth Boarder (by Debbie Cassel)

I also have to give a shout out to our friend Mr. Muñoz, because he was so, so determined to win. Almost broke my heart that his name didn’t come up in the draw because he was very enthusiastic. I hope he goes anyway. If you’re interested, the details are below.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: “The Art of Flight,” and 80-minute snowboarding movie with awe-inspiring areal shots.

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 2 (Doors open at 7 p.m.)

WHERE: The Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Avenue, Santa Cruz

DETAILS: Check the Rio’s website for more info.

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Calendar: Superbowl 10k a great way to kick off February

Posted on February 1, 2012 by cgullickson

Let’s be honest. Come Sunday, most of us will probably be piling on extra helpings of potato salad, potato chips and anything else that goes well with barbecue and beer. That’s right, it’s Super Bowl Sunday — practically a national holiday.

And since there are local races for other holidays, such as the Turkey Trot or the Firecracker 10k, it seems only fitting that the Santa Cruz Track Club this weekend hosts the Superbowl 10k out near Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz. Plus, the timing is pretty much perfect. If you run a 10k in the morning, you can avoid feeling guilty about eating those hotdogs and hamburgers.

The race includes the main 10-kilometer, a 3k and a kids race for any youngsters who want to get out bright and early and expend some energy before settling down (we hope) for the big game.

But, if you’re throwing a block party and have too much to do, here’s a calendar of events for the month of February. Maybe you can find something that strikes your fancy there.

Coming this month…

FEB. 2

FILM: Art of Flight, 7:30 p.m., Rio Theatre, Santa Cruz, http://riotheatre.com

FEB. 4

CYCLING: Central Coast Cross Country Series opener, 9 a.m., Fort Ord, Seaside, http://www.cccxcycling.com

SURFING: Volcom’s Totally Crustaceous Surf Tour Greatwhite event No. 2, Pleasure Point, Santa Cruz, www.volcom.com/crusty or vqsinfo@volcom.com

SURFING: Core Scholastic Surf League high school finale, 7 a.m., Steamer Lane, Santa Cruz, http://surfcssl.org

FEB. 5

RUNNING: Superbowl 10k at 8:30 a.m., 3k at 8 a.m., 1k kids run at 7:45 a.m., Natural Bridges State Park enterance at 2300 Delaware Ave., Santa Cruz, http://www.santacruztrackclub.com

FEB. 11-12

SURFING: O’Neill Surfing America Prime West, San Onofre, Upper Trestles, www.surfingamerica.org

FEB. 12

RUNNING: 27th annual Together With Love Run/Walk, 10k, 5k, kids run, 9 a.m., Pacific Grove, http://www.mtryrapecrisis.org

Feb. 15

CYCLING: Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Twilight Ride, 5:30 p.m., http://www.active.com

FEB. 18

RUNNING: Brazen Racing’s Bay Breeze, half marathon, 10k, 5k, 8 a.m., San Leandro Marina/Hayward Regional Shoreline, www.brazenracing.com/baybreeze.html

FEB. 19

CYCLING: Central Coast Downhill Series race No.  5, Fort Ord, Seaside, http://www.cccxcycling.com/

FEB. 24-25

FILM: Banff Mountain Film Festival, Rio Theatre, 7 p.m., tickets available Monday for $16 general admission, $13 students, www.ucscrecreation.com

FEB. 25

CYCLING: Central Coast Cross Country Series race No. 2., Fort Ord, Seaside, http://www.cccxcycling.com/

NOTE: Anything you think I should add to the list? I will take suggestions. Just leave the details in the comments below.

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Join Women’s Road Bike Handling Skills Clinic – March 10, 2012

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Karen Kefauver

Coach Laurel Green of Peaks Coaching Group will lead a 4-hour intensive clinic in mastering bike skills and looking like a pro! Check it out!  — Karen Kefauver

The class runs from 9 am to 1 pm on Saturday March 10 and costs $40, with 20% of the proceeds going to Laurel’s Early Bird Women’s Development Racing Team. Register via email or phone:

info@bikestationaptos.com or laurel@peakscoachinggroup.com

or call Aptos Bike Station at  831-688-4169 to secure a spot!

Laurel will cover rules of the road, safe cornering, training, and skills for riding close to other riders and in a pack, among other things. This is a rare opportunity to improve your bike skills one-on-one with a motivating and positive coach, and Bike Station Aptos is proud to bring her to our neighborhood! Especially great for beginning riders, but also for more advanced riders.

Make cycling safe – and fun!

 

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Mission Hill dominates Core surf contest at The Hook

Posted on January 30, 2012 by cgullickson

Mission Hill Middle School fell one win short of a full sweep in the Core Scholastic Surf League‘s final contest of the 2011-12 season.

Richie Schmidt, Selah Bartlett and Sam Coffey all pulled in victories for MHMS as the team beat Shoreline 52-38 at The Hook in Capitola on Saturday. Half Moon Bay beat New Brighton by a narrow, two-point margin, 64-62. Aptos had a lay week.

Schmidt won both the boys shortboard final, topping teammate Sam Coffey [second place] and Hunter Murison of HMB [third place], and the coed bodyboard final, again topping Coffey [second place] and fellow teammate Holden Jung-Kresser [third place].

Coffey’s win came in the boys longboard final, where he beat teammate Olin Borgeson [second place] and New Brighton’s Hunter Griffith [third place].

Bartlett won the girls longboard, holding off New Brighton’s Allison Menna [second place] and HMB’s Kaira Wallace [third place].

HMB’s Wallace won the girls shortboard final over Bartlett [second place] and Menna [third place].

To read about Ben Coffey and the Core high school results from this past weekend, go here.

To check out some photos of the event, check out this gallery on www.santacruzwaves.com.

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Coffey brings energy to Core high school surf contest

Posted on January 30, 2012 by cgullickson

Santa Cruz High surfer Ben Coffey earned a first-place and a third-place finish in the Core Scholastic Surf League‘s second-to-last event of the season at Pleasure Point on Sunday.

Coffey won the boys shortboard final over teammates Willie Eagleton and Willem Banks, and then came in third in the longboard final, which was won by Soquel/Cypress’ Kane Balbo. Half Moon Bay’s Konrads Wallace placed second in the longboard division.

In team scoring, Santa Cruz beat cross-town rival Soquel/Cypress 68-32, despite Soquel/Cypress emerging victorious in most of the contest’s events. The Santa Cruz Mountain Schools beat Harbor by a close 43-40 score and HMB beat Aptos soundly, 78-33. Continue reading →

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Mel, H’dez bring the heat at Steamer Lane

Posted on January 30, 2012 by cgullickson

Santa Cruz’s John Mel and Nic H’dez won their respective divisions in the Nike 6.0 Surfing America Prime West contest at Steamer Lane over the weekend.

Mel, an area native who now lives in Newport Beach, won the boys 14-and-under final with 15.16 points — nearly a five-point lead over the next closest surfer. Griffin Colapinto placed second with 10.17 points, Nolan Rapoza placed third with 7.43 points and Kei Kobayashi placed fourth with 3.64 points.

H’dez dominated the boys 18U contest, scoring 15.10 points in his final heat. Jake Davis scored 11.67 points for second, Kanoa Igarashi scored 10.73 points for third and Kevin Schulz scored 10.67 points for fourth. Continue reading →

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Jacques-Maynes clinches Surf City Cyclocross Series title

Posted on January 30, 2012 by cgullickson

Corralitos resident Andy Jacques-Maynes, a UC Santa Cruz alum and pro cyclist, clinched the Surf City Cyclocross men’s Cat A overall title for the second straight year at Harbor High on Sunday.

Jacques-Maynes [Cal Giant Strawberry] sped through eight laps in 56 minutes, 1.3 seconds at the Santa Cruz school to beat runner-up Aaron Bradford of Santa Cruz [56:53.9] and third-place finisher Justin Robinson of Bonny Doon [57:59.9].

Bradford rides for Bay 101/HRS/Rocklobster and Robinson also rides for Cal Giant Strawberry.

“CX is season finally done!” Jacques-Maynes said via Twitter. “Last Surf City today really kicked my [butt], it was a tough course! I won the race and the series, 2yrs in a row!” Continue reading →

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New international women’s pro-cycling race in Idaho, May 24-28, 2012

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Karen Kefauver
Boise-based Exergy Development Group, an industry leader in renewable energy innovation, today announces plans to introduce a new international women’s pro-cycling race in Idaho, May 24-28, 2012. Titled the Exergy Tour, the race is expected to become one of the most significant international pro-cycling events on the ladies pro cycling calendar, and shall set unparalleled standards for gender parity and opportunity in the sport for women. 

http://www.usacycling.org/exergy-announces-new-international-ladies-pro-stage-race-for-2012.htm

“The Exergy Tour shall showcase the power and excitement of women’s professional cycling and its growing influence globally, while working at all levels to engage our communities in teaching young girls the benefits that individual and team sports competition can bring throughout their lives,” said James Carkulis, CEO, Exergy Development Group. “Our vision with the Exergy Tour is to communicate this global message and align with relevant organizations dedicated to advancing self confidence, self-esteem and overall well-being of girls and women through physical activity.”

The world’s top women cyclists and teams are expected to compete, with the Exergy Tour positioned on the race calendar as one of the last to provide international ranking points crucial in qualifying for the upcoming Olympic Games. The five-day race shall include alpine, high desert and sprint stages highlighting the splendor of Idaho and its welcoming communities. Based on success, the Exergy Tour shall grow quickly to a seven-stage event over eight days of high performance racing, as well as incorporate other stage venues throughout Idaho.

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