Velocity Group Cycling

We’re playing catch up on some result posting…

Now posted to our ‘Results’ page is the UofA Criterium results… still trying to track down the ASU Crtierium results. If you have them, send them our way – info@velocitygroupaz.com.

Thanks!

It’s that time of the year… allergies. Most of us suffer from them, and dread this time of year. Below is a nice article on allergies that also features a AZ cyclist owned business – Filters On Demand.

—————

Spring and the Allergy Sufferer – Claritin, Air Filters, More Showers!

With spring arriving officially this week, for many Americans allergy season will arrive soon as well. Many endurance athletes like cyclists, triathletes and runners complain tremendously. Aerobic capacity is one of the key elements for endurance athletes and performance generally suffers dramatically as allergies flair up.

But that doesn’t mean the sneezing and discomfort that comes with seasonal allergies has to be close at hand. With a bit of planning, effort and common sense, many people can limit their suffering during allergy season or perhaps even avoid it altogether, says Mark Dykewicz, M.D., professor of internal medicine and chief of allergy and clinical immunology at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

“There are a number of simple steps you can take to help relieve symptoms and minimize your suffering when allergy season kicks into high gear,” Dykewicz says. “That’s good news for many of the millions of Americans who traditionally suffer every year from seasonal allergies.”

For the most part, seasonal allergies are caused by airborne pollens very fine powder released by trees, grasses and weeds as they pollinate and fertilize other plants of the same kind. Molds in outdoor air can also contribute to seasonal allergies.

Although there are warmer regions of the country where outdoor allergens can be present year-round, allergy season generally begins in late winter or early spring and runs through late summer or early fall, depending on a region’s particular climate. As the season progresses, different types of pollens are present to trigger allergic reactions, Dykewicz says.

Trees are generally the first to pollinate, in late winter and spring, although some varieties can pollinate later in the season, depending on the region. Trees tend to be followed by the pollination of various grasses in late spring and summer. Weeds can pollinate at different times of the growing season, though the notorious ragweed prevalent in many areas east of the Rockies pollinates in late summer and early fall.

Outdoor molds generally reach their highest levels in late summer or fall, though some regions such as Florida can have significant outdoor mold counts throughout the year.

Here are some simple suggestions.

1. Use over-the-counter antihistamines for relief. For some people, these drugs are very effective at reducing the classic symptoms of seasonal allergies, including sneezing, runny nose, itchy eyes and, occasionally, scratchy throat. Some of the older-generation antihistamines, such as Benadryl, can cause sleepiness and the impairment of thinking and driving, which people often don’t sense. As a result, Dykewicz prefers to recommend more recent formulations that, in most people, cause no drowsiness (Claritin, for example) or less drowsiness (Zyrtec). These perform very well for many people, Dykewicz says.

2. Change your home air filters on a regular basis. Every three months is common however changing your home filters every month or two is a great idea as well. Do not change your filters with economy fiberglass filters, these at best, trap large dust particles but have no effect on catching common allergy suffering components like Airborne Pollens, Mold Spores and the like. The best filter choice is a premium pleated home air filter that can be purchased at your local home store. If you like simplicity, try Filters On Demand, www.filtersondemand.com. They keep track of when it’s time for air filter changes as well as deliver the exact premium air filters sizes you need right to your front door.

3. When traveling by car, keep the windows up. Closing your car windows helps keep out pollens, dust and mold.

4. Keep your home’s doors and windows closed. You can’t completely seal off your home from the outside, but keeping doors and windows closed can help prevent pollens and outdoor molds from entering. When the weather turns nice in the spring and you’re tempted to open windows to let in “fresh” air, it may be better to keep them closed and turn on your air conditioner.

5. Take a shower and change clothes. Pollen can collect on clothes and in your hair, Dykewicz says. So when you’ve been outside for any significant amount of time, shower and change into fresh clothes as soon as you get home.

According to Dykewicz, there are a variety of prescription medications that can help reduce or block seasonal allergy symptoms. These include other oral antihistamines; the drug Singulair; and several classes of nasal sprays. Nasal sprays tend to be the most effective at relieving symptoms by helping reduce inflammation and counteracting the allergic response.

And for harder-to-treat cases, Dykewicz says many patients benefit from allergy immunotherapy a long-term series of shots to desensitize a patient from specific allergens.

“The good news is there’s a lot you and your doctor can do to help relieve or prevent suffering caused by allergies,” Dykewicz says.

The Old Pueblo Grand Prix…. kind of a big deal.

Slated for April 17th, the Tucson based criterium is boasting a $20,000 cash purse. It’s been a long while since we’ve seen a $20,000 prize list at an Arizona race. With money like that, this crit is destined to attract top name cyclists from across the country.

Icing on the cake… that morning is Tucson’s legendary 4th Ave Bike Swap. Purchase or hawk your cycling goodies  by morning, watch great criterium racing come afternoon and evening.

It’s a win-win people.

For more information on the Old Pueblo Grand Prix, please visit www.oldpueblograndprix.com

Good day.

This Saturday, Start Time is 7:30am

Last Saturday’s Ride: Finally warmer temps!…some wind here and there, but nothing out of control from the week before! With perfect cloudy weather, new riders joined the fun! Welcome! DNA everywhere, starting with Mike Brown and Matt Duke push’n our “warm-up”. Matthew Johnson visiting from Alaska , making his surges to get the ride moving. Maybe it was his long goatee? Shawn Ingram, the sprint man, gets the first sprint up Cotton Lane . Arrick Nietert (sporting the Purdue kit), took some time off the bike to run and end up 6th Overall in the IMS Marathon, shows he hasn’t lost a thing à bridging gaps, pulling, and winning 2x sprints!

At times the pace became moderate…riders gearing up for those Sprints!? Don’t know where they are? ..check the website. Matt Duke in his aero position, powers it from the back… straight to the Estrella Sprint with no-one even attempting to contend with. Note: maybe just a warm-up for him… as he takes 1st place Overall in the Vulture Mine TT the following day!

Both the “A” group and…we’ll say, the “A minus” group, reunite at the end of Estrella to ride down Rainbow, then finishing the first ½ together…as one big happy family! J yeah? And then there’s Joe Lozon (PCCC) finally graduating to the “A” group these days à finishes strong, taking the sprint before the Elliot Market!

Second ½, “A” riders kept up the pace, even with Those winds!! Some cut it short, to time it right. Cruz’n into Verrado, Aaron Ewing easily makes the sprint across the 2nd Bridge. …Down hill, tail wind, we all flew home!

With the weather getting nicer, David back for a little, no excuses, come out this Saturday!

Welcome NEW RIDERS: Jay Kennedy, Bill Berg, Gina Buchanan, Ron Erickson, Mike Hoffman, Jared…

Thanks to Rey Caraveo from AZ Cyclery, for recruiting, again! J

Sprints: Shawn Ingram (WM-AZ Masters), Arrick Nietert 2x (Purdue), Matt Duke (DNA), Joe Lozon (PCCC), Aaron Ewing.

King/Queen Pullers: Matthew Johnson, Derek Finman, Steve Green, Scott Reading, Scott Martinmaas, Mike Minton, Cameron Harmon,

Trevor Moody, Randy Westacott, Shawn Barney, Rob Demers, Gina Buchanan, Ron Erickson, Mike Smith

Additional Notes:

· Website: www.westvalleycycle.net

· March 19th @ 8:30am à Canta Mia 20 mile Fun Ride in Estrella. http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/28720298

For more info, Contact: Amy Vasquez amyvasquez@cox.net

· March 5th & 6th Annual Cycling Sale ! See website for location & info à www.cyclismopuro.com

2011 Race Results: 11 wins for the year. (EPIC rides included)

Ragnar Relay 197 mile run! (12 person) Stephany Newmeyer, Cheryl Miller & Team “Get Fit” 221st/306 Overall 31:49:14.

Dan Cadriel & Team “Suckers for Pain” 17th/306 Overall 25:38:08

http://www.ragnarrelay.com/race/delsol

http://www.ragnarrelay.com/public/race_documents/1298909862-DS11results.pdf

MBAA #3 White Tanks (presented by DNA Cycles)

SS Open: Tom Ament 2nd / 5 Cat 1 Men: 30-39 Don Eldridge 2nd / 9. Cat 2 Men 30-39: Brian Murphy 1st / 7 …not only 1st, but his First First! J

Cat 3 Men 30-39; Craig Morton 13th. Cat 3 Men 40-49: Dennis Low 11th / 18.

http://www.hubeventproductions.com/results.html

Vulture Mine TT Matt Duke 1st Overall! & Div. 1st/4. Mike Minton Div 2nd.

http://proconcyclingaz.com/proconblog/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/2011_VMTT_Results.pdf

UofA Crit – Tucson (results so far) Pro Cat1-2 Ron Jensen 13th/42. Cat 4M Darin Fila 21st/39. M40+ Darin Fila 18th/30.

Cat 1-2-3 Women Tracy Perez 9th/15.

http://uacycling.com/uacrit.html

12hrs of Temecula #3 2-Man SS Jim Penn+ 1st Overall!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WANT A WEEKDAY RIDE? …POST A WEEKDAY RIDE: Join us on Facebook….Become a Fan of WEST VALLEY CYCLE.

David Herzog: 949 212 4000

(Out of the country till May)

David.herzog@aspect.com

Vicki Young: 832 293 8825

(For race results & notes of interest to share from rides / events)

vickiyoung3@yahoo.com

We just received and have posted the Vulture Mine Time Trial results. Check out our ‘Results’ page for the full run down.

Thanks!

We’ve posted the results for Valley of the Sun’s stage two road race, as well as the stage 3 criterium and final general classification. Check them out on our ‘Results’ page.

We’ve also posted revised results for the McDowell Mountain Circuit Race. The original version had incorrect scoring for the master’s men 40+ category. All has been corrected.

Thanks!

The Valley of the Sun Stage Race – a staple in our cycling community – officially kicked off yesterday with the opening time trial.

Want to see how it all shook out? Click here for results.

Stay tuned for more coverage and results!

Happy Saturday to All.

Here’s the McDowell Mountain Circuit Race results.

Enjoy!

Roger Learned, a former Phoenix area cyclist now living in Florida, is in need of a time trial bike for Friday’s Valley of the Sun time trial. Roger has traveled all the way to Phoenix for the event and his bike has been lost in shipping somewhere in between. If you have a medium sized time trial bike that you are not using and would be willing to lend it to Roger for the event, please contact him at 480.216.2035. He is willing to pay for the time trial bike’s use.

Thanks!

The weekly West Valley Cycle group ride update is in from Vicki Young:

—————

Huh? What? Where’d you eat, David? “On a Ship, That’s on top of 3 buildings, 87 stories high!” Not quite understanding…had to see it to believe it! (pic @ way bottom) Wow! …David, the chopstick Master he’s become, is roughing it during the weekends with an authentic deep tissue THAI / Acupressure Massage! ..Midnight Conference Calls, 16 hours/day of non-stop work & drilling down the culture, he deserves it! J

Best of luck this weekend: Valley of the Sun!

This Saturday, Start Time is 7:30am

Last Saturday’s Ride: Some brave souls out there! Getting the tail end of the ‘cold front’ in the mid to upper 30s, no excuses, we now know who the tough ones are! & who raced this last weekend! Congrats! …the ‘A’ group was more evenly matched on Saturday. Everyone taking a pull, except after the Hill Top Sprint, Jared Williams broke away making it hard to catch, and then Steve Klock & Sean McCormack taking off to Verrado, where no-one could catch! Two groups formed. & What Timing à the groups coming together at the Estrella Sprint, and then again to finish off the first ½ at the San Gabriel Sprint! Aaron Ewing Pulling on both fronts, 1st and 2nd halves! Sprinters out there.. better polish up your memory of the points (see website) before coming out again! Some more sprint worthy riders to contend with! GREAT to See BACK Cheryl Miller (& recruiting Luanne too!), John Zweber

Sprints: Sean McCormack x2 (B.Haus), Steve Green, Aaron Ewing, Steve Klock x2 (Swiss)

King/Queen Pullers: (A) Scott Reading, Jared Williams, Aaron Ewing, Joe Lozon, Paul Thiesen, Scott Martinmaas (B) Nick Linehan, Rick Baldwin, Mike Smith, John Zweber

Additional Notes:

*Winter Base Training Camp – Scottsdale, AZ, Feb. 24-27

modified by LTF Cycling in Goodyear-Palm Valley Cycling – Login to view the full blog post and attachment(s)
Click here for more information and to register.

*WEBSITE: www.westvalleycycle.net
*LifeTime OPEN House this weekend! Feb. 12th-13th. Check it out!

Brian Murphy (far right, with his top supporter) makes it to the podium!

Tracey Perez (our WVC 2010 Top ACE Rider) breaks away!

2011 Race Results: 4 wins for the year. (EPIC rides included)

RUNNERS DEN 5k: Sally Aston 27th/442 Overall. 2nd / 233 Woman. Div: 2nd/39 19:45

Nick Linehan 85th/442. 69th/209 Men. Div: 9th/21. 22:29

RUNNERS DEN 5mile: Sally Aston 45th/381 Overall. 7th/182 Woman. Div: 4th/46 33:30

Nick Linehan 85th/381 Overall. 82nd/199 Men. Div: 9th/24. 38:21

* Combined 5 & 5 à Sally Aston: 1st Woman Overall

http://results.active.com/pages/page.jsp?eventID=1866146

BICYCLE HAUS CRIT

Men Cat 4 David Genovese 7th/29. George Robles 13th. Jim Niemeyer 15th. Darin Fila 24th. Steve Donaldson 26th. Men Cat 5 #1 Aaron Matos 2nd/26. Sean McCormack 17th. Mathew Graustein 26th. Men Cat 5 #2 Aaron Matos 3rd/38. Men 30+ Timothy Fleming 7th/14. Men 40+ James Kramer 4th/25. Joe Ebenroth 9th. David G. 11th. Darin Fila 16th. Men 50+ Leo LaMarca 12th. Woman Cat ¾ Tischa Donaldson 3rd/8.

http://www.larouedor.com/uploads/2011-02-06_bicycle-haus-crit-results2.pdf

DNA Cycles / HEDGEHOG HUSTLE MBAA#2

Cat 2 Men 30-39 Brian Murphy 3rd/14 1:38:41

http://www.hubeventproductions.com/results.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WANT A WEEKDAY RIDE? …POST A WEEKDAY RIDE: Join us on Facebook….Become a Fan of WEST VALLEY CYCLE.

Sunday ride is still 7am.

David Herzog: 949 212 4000

(Out of the country till April)

David.herzog@aspect.com

Vicki Young: 832 293 8825

(For race results & notes of interest to share from rides / events)

vickiyoung3@yahoo.com