June Club Meeting

Our June club meeting was held at Villa Donato “Only for You!” restaurant. To follow are the highlights of the last meeting:

· Treasurer’s Report:

- Checking $1,350.33

- Savings $6,287.04

Old Business:

· Cyclist News

Fellow club member Stan Reeves has recently come home from the rehabilitation center at Mt. Vernon. He is undergoing physical therapy and is unable to put any weight on his hip for about 10 more weeks.

· Shenandoah Valley Heritage Ride for the Boys & Girls Club of Winchester - June 1, 2008

Rex Ritchie spoke to the group stating there were 128 registered riders for this event, 51 of which were Winchester Wheelmen! Promising to pledge $25 for each club member that registered, Rex personally donated $1,275 to the local Boys and Girls Club. The ride was well marked and well supported with sunny skies most of the day with the exception of scattered showers in the afternoon.

· Vermont Cycling Trip – August 9-16, 2008

Robert Golightly is reviewing cycling routes. A hiking trip is being planned for one day by Richard and Amy Hartman.

· FCPR Bike Tour

Volunteers are needed to assist during the Frederick County Parks and Recreation Bike Tour for young teenagers. The ride will be in July using the Allegheny Passage trail and the C&O Canal. If interested, contact John Turkel at Frederick County Parks and Recreation.

New Business:

· Trail Maintenance

The CWPT 3^rd Battle site is in need of trail maintenance due to overgrown brush. Shawn mentioned that Vance’s Cove will need trail work as well. More information to come once the areas in question are surveyed for what work is needed.

· Club Responsibilities

Mike Perry mentioned that he has been receiving calls asking what the club has to offer the public. There is increased interest in cycling safety classes and overall cycling education. In order to fulfill these interests, a certified instructor/instructors would need to hold these classes. If any club members are interested in obtaining certification in cycling education/safety, the closest classes, as discussed at this month’s meeting, are held in Bethlehem, PA. The club would consider providing reimbursement for the classes.

· Race Team Updates

Red Rose Races, the organization the team relied on for scheduled races, has discontinued its operation. A different race promotion organization took over some races, ProAm Racing. The most recent race in Millport, PA ended in the midst of the race due to adverse weather conditions. Also, Eric Dempster participated in a race in Cambridge, MD and nearly qualified for the Kona Ironman, being short only 118 seconds! As a result of his performance, he did qualify for the Half Iron World Championships in Clearwater, FL! Great job, Eric!

Physiology Corner

By Dave Albecker

Welcome to the physiology corner. Anemia affects cycling performance dramatically. I reviewed the text “Exercise Physiology” by McArdle, Katch, and Katch for anemia, and searched the Velo News website for EPO for this article.

If you draw some blood in a tube, then spin that blood down in a centrifuge, there will be some percentage of the total that is sitting at the bottom of the tube in a red mass. That mass is primarily made up of red blood cells and the percentage of the total, which this mass makes up, is referred to as hematocrit. Anemia occurs when this red blood cell population is lower than normal. Anemia can occur from acute blood loss, iron deficiency, or some rare hemolytic (red cell destroying) disease. The problem for the cyclist is that hemoglobin (Hb) resides on red blood cells and when the number of red cells is low, Hb level is also low. Hb is the primary oxygen carrier in the blood, and when it is low, oxygen delivery is reduced in comparison to what it would be with a normal Hb level. The Exercise Physiology text I used mentioned a study where anemic men needed a heart rate of 155 for a particular aerobic event. However, when the anemia was corrected, they had that same aerobic ability with a heart rate of 113. That means that when the anemia was corrected, there was about 15% more oxygen delivered per heartbeat.

Related to this, if a low Hb level is bad for cycling performance because it lowers oxygen delivery, then theoretically, a higher than normal Hb level will increase oxygen delivery and enhance performance beyond what is normal. This is the reason for the abuse of the drug Erythropoietin (EPO). EPO is a red blood cell growth stimulator and is used medically to treat a number of patients with significantly reduced hematocrits. It has also been abused by a number of professional cyclists in order to improve performance by increasing Hb and therefore, oxygen delivery. However, besides being illegal for competitive sport, if EPO administration is not medically needed and supervised by a physician, it can thicken the blood too much and raise the risk of stroke or pulmonary embolism, neither of which anyone wants.

Dave Albecker

Future or Out of Area Event Rides

· Jul. 26, Shenandoah Bicycle Festival – www.svbcoalition.org

Aug. 2, Mountain Mama - www.bikemountainmama.homestead.com/
Aug. 9, Cumberland Valley Century - www.bikecvcc.com/cvcc_century.html
Aug. 16, Cheat Mountain Challenge - www.wvcf.org/cmc/
Aug. 24, Blue Ridge Extreme - www.blueridgeextreme.com/
Sept. 6, Civil War Century – http://www.baltobikeclub.org/index.pl/cwcpicsb
Sept. 14, Shenandoah Bicycle Club 100 - http://www.svbcoalition.org/
Sept. 20-21, Ride in the Heartland - www.bikeheartland.org
Sept. 21, PPTC Historic Backroads Century – www.pptcbike.org
Sept. 28, 11^th Cannonballball Century - www.bikefred.com
Oct. 4, Seagull Century - www.seagullcentury.org

Winchester Wheelmen July 2008 Ride Schedule

Weekday Rides

Monday. White Post Loop, starting at White Post Restorations. No ride leader. Meet at White Post Restorations at 6:00pm for an 18 mile loop. Here's a URL for the map for where White Post Restorations is located, for anyone who might not know: http://www.whitepost.com/about.html Here's the URL for loop map:
http://www.winchesterwheelmen.org/Maps/White%20Post-Rockland.pdf

Location Change. Monday. Vermont training ride. Easier paced climbing ride starting from Apple Pie Elementary School. This road ride will be led by Robert Golightly on Monday evenings at 6:30PM. Dist. is 18-20 miles. Robert may be reached at RobertGolightly@comcast.net or by telephone at 540-535-9986.

Tuesday. Stephens City Food Lion Plaza, 2 rides starting at 6:00pm and 6:05pm. First ride is fast with no stops or regrouping; second ride will be lead by either Ken Tenney or Chris Stubbs and will move at about 18mph with stops to regroup at all stop sign intersections.

Wednesday. All Comers Road Ride, Ride starts at Orchard View Elementary School on Middle Road (about 3 ½ miles south of Valley Avenue); Richard Hartman and DJ Arnold are sharing the ride leader duties. Ride starts at 6:00pm. The pace of this ride will be 12-14 mph which is an easy to moderate pace over rolling terrain; there will be no ride leader on July 9^th which is the 2^nd Wednesday when the regular club meeting is held at 6:00pm at Donato’s Restaurant “Only For You” on South Loudoun Street.

Wednesday, Wednesday Evening MTB Ride, Meet at the Millbrook H.S. entrance to the 3^rd Winchester Battlefield Trail at 5:30pm; no ride leader; helmets required; please check the WW listserv prior to heading out for this ride.

Thursday, The Retired/Day Off Ride. The Retired/Day Off Rides will continue in July, still leaderless. July 3rd and 17th will start at Macedonia Church and go to Millwood with a stop at Locke's Store (27 to 32 miles to be decided by the group present). July 10th and 24th will start at Marker-Miller's Farm Market on Cedar Creek Grade (~50 miles over hilly terrain). Ride start is 8:30AM to beat most of the heat of the day.

Thursday, Paceline Ride, Meet behind the Quarles gas station/convenience store at the intersection of Kimble Rd (SR 653) and VA 7 in Clarke County. The new loop is 27.1 miles. Ride starts at 6:00pm. Park anywhere behind the store in the grass, leaving the gravel driveway clear in case the truck needs to get to the septic tank. Parking straight in towards the trees will allow plenty of parking slots. Please do not park in the paved parking area since that is used by customers.

Winchester Wheelmen July 2008 Ride Schedule

Weekend Rides

Saturday road rides. Meet at Blue Ridge Bicycles. Start time is 8:00am, weather permitting. No ride if raining. Ride loop will vary depending upon riders present. Typical ride is 17 miles, but can be lengthened or shortened. There is no ride leader for this ride.

Sunday, July 6th - Impromptu Ride, Orchard View Elem. School, Fred. County, VA. Meet at the school at 9:00am for a road ride to be determined by those riders present. The school is about 2.5 miles from the City limit sign on Middle Rd.

Saturday, July 12^th - Single Speed Ride, Winchester, VA. Meet at Blue Ridge Bicycles at 8:30am for a ride of about 15 miles; single speed bikes, or bring your multi-speed and pick a gear to ride in for the whole ride! Fun stuff. Chris Tyson is leading, tysonsrepair@yahoo.com or 662-1510 (days).

Sunday, June 13^th - Belle Grove Ride, Winchester, VA. Meet at James Wood Middle School at 9:00am for this club classic. Ride pace is easy to moderate over rolling terrain, distance is 40 miles. DJ Arnold is leading, ti22c6@yahoo.com or 540 869-5663.

Saturday, July 19^th & Sunday, July 20^th - Allegheny Passage Trail Overnight. Join Fred Lonas and Dwight Cooper on an over night ride from Cumberland, MD. to Meyersdale, PA on the Allegheny Passage Trail. 35 miles uphill on Saturday and 35 miles downhill on Sunday with a lunch stop in Frosburg, PA both days. Will stay at the Allegheny Passage Hostel in Meyersdale. For more info call Fred at 703-618-1230.

Sunday, July 20^th – Nancy’s B-day Ride, Stephens City, VA. A different road ride led by Shawn and Nancy in honor of her b-day from the Food Lion in Stephens City. Distance is about 40 miles over rolling to hilly terrain (will cross the low water bridge over the Shenandoah River). The ride start time is 10:30am. Shawn will be treating everyone on the ride to Packs at the end to celebrate Nancy’s birthday. Contact Shawn at wscarrico@comcast.net.

Saturday, July 26^th – Shenandoah Bicycle Festival, Harrisonburg, VA. http://www.svbcoalition.org/ & http://www.ourcommunityplace.net/events/ Support our friends to the south by participating in this benefit event. (Not a WW event, but in this region).

Sunday, July 27^th - Rookie Ride, Frederick County, VA. Meet at Marker Miller Farm Market on Cedar Creek Grade at 4:00pm for a 10-12 mile ride. Ride pace will be easy with no one left behind. Ride leaders will ride with the last riders. The format is to help new road cyclists with riding techniques for being on the road and with a group. Or if you just want a short easy ride, come on out. Mike and Rosalie will lead. mperry@visuallink.com or (540) 877-1795.

GENERAL CLUB RIDE NOTES
Approved helmets are required for all rides. If you are not a club member, you must sign a waiver prior to the ride. For all scheduled rides with a designated ride leader, please contact the leader for details (confirmation that the ride is a 'go', weather concerns, other). For rides without a leader, visit the Winchester Wheelmen Topica listserv for the latest information. The direct link to that web page is: http://lists.topica.com/lists/wwlist You can read all of the postings without joining the list.

Winchester Wheelmen, Inc.

P.O. Box 1695

Winchester, VA 22604

Winchester Wheelmen July 2008 Newsletter

Volume 25, Number 7

Future or Out of Area Event Rides