Bike riders invited to Ronde Van Ketchum tour Sunday, June 22
Durance Cycleworks and The Elephant’s Perch of Ketchum are inviting bicycle riders to a non-competitive group ride covering a 75.8-mile distance including much of the Ketchum area and up to Phantom Hill north of town.
Called Ronde Van Ketchum in reference to a Belgian bike race, the self-supported group ride leaves the Durance shop across from the Magic Lantern in Ketchum at 9 a.m. on Sunday, June 22.
Sign up before Friday, June 20 at 6 p.m. for $20 per person at Durance or the Perch. No race day entries are allowed and no racing license is needed. Visit durance.com for the registration information form or obtain one at the Perch store.
The 121.970-kilometer course features 1,433 meters (4,701 feet) of climbing. From Durance, it goes to River Run and Warm Springs and up to Phantom Hill, then back to Hulen Meadows and Trail Creek. It finishes at the Perch.
Participants can ride all or part of the ride. There is a Warm Springs loop, a north of Ketchum loop, a Trail Creek loop and an Elkhorn loop. The loops must be ridden in order, but you can skip a loop if you want. The post-race party with pizza and refreshments begins at 2:30 p.m. at the Perch.
Hailey Skatepark contest is Saturday
Skateboarders of all ages will show up at Hailey Skatepark on Saturday, June 21 for the third annual Hailey Skatepark competition starting at 11 a.m. and lasting until 3 p.m. Registration begins at 10 a.m. with entry fees set at $15.
There will be competition in age groups from ages five and up, with prizes for first, second and third places. A DJ will provide music, and there will be food and refreshments plus a race announcer.
Harlee Manning qualifies for NJHFR nationals rodeo
Wood River Middle School eighth-grader Harlee Manning has earned a spot on Idaho’s team for the 10th annual National Junior High Finals Rodeo (NJHFR) June 22-28 at Des Moines, Iowa. She will compete in ribbon roping with partner Breck Ward. Ward will also compete in Iowa in team roping with Brayden Roe of Wendell.
Manning competed in barrel racing, polebending, goat tying and ribbon roping during the Idaho Junior High School State Finals in Filer this spring. She was very close to qualifying for nationals in barrel racing, but she hit a barrel that took her out of the running. In ribbon roping, Ward and Manning clocked the fastest time of the State Finals weekend and ended up placing third.
SV Half Marathon clarifications
Last week’s Sun Valley Half Marathon results in the Express should have credited Julie Cord, 47, of Hailey with a 24th place overall finish, fifth among the women, and first-place Women’s 45-49 age class result in 1.45:46 for the 13.1-mile footrace.
Also, Carrie Mahoney, 37, of Bellevue improved by 5:16 over last year’s Half Marathon time to finish in 1.50:34, good for 35th place overall and fourth place in Women’s 35-39.
Hike Baldy on Saturday, for fun and good cause
Ketchum’s HardCore Training Center has teamed up with The Elephant's Perch of Ketchum to host the first annual Baldy Buddy Hike to benefit Camp Rainbow Gold.
Organizer Bill Nurge has scheduled the event for Saturday, June 21 at 9:30 a.m. starting from River Run Lodge and ascending Baldy to Roundhouse restaurant. He said the hike measures less than three miles, but is challenging.
“Everyone can do this two-person team event to celebrate the first day of summer and the first day that Sun Valley’s gondola is running for the summer season,” said Nurge.
There will be overall prizes for the fastest combined time for male, female, coed, family and married teams. On June 21, Sun Valley Resort’s gondola is expected to be running for the first time this summer.
Register for $20 per team at The Elephants Perch or HardCore Training Center in Ketchum. You can also sign up at River Run on race day at 8:30 a.m. Visit hardcoretrainingcenter.com or call 720-1829.
SVSEF registration opens July 1 for 2014-15 season
Registration for all Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) athletes for the 2014-15 season begins July 1. All SVSEF athletes must have a current U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) membership to participate.
Applications for scholarships for returning SVSEF athletes are available starting July 1. Deadline for tuition scholarship consideration is Aug. 1. Tuition rates for the upcoming season were due to be published by June 20.
Visit the SVSEF Web site for further details, svsef.org.
Sun Valley Ski Club offers free summer events
The Sun Valley Ski Club has published its 2014 summer events schedule of local hiking, biking and floating activities that are open to anyone. In general, RSVP to the SVSC at 622-3003 or by emailing sunvalskiclub@gmail.com.
Thursday, June 19 at 10:30 a.m.: Bike ride led by Lynn Bockemohle from East Fork to Bellevue via the bike path and Broadford Road, with a no-host lunch at Powerhouse in Hailey. Meet at East Fork at 10:15 a.m.
Other events are: July 24 bike ride to Galena Lodge or hiking at Galena; Aug. 14 summer picnic at Ketchum Rotary Park; and Sept. 4 canoe float at Silver Creek Preserve.
Cougars, Rams are BCRD baseball champs
The Blaine County Recreation District’s season-ending youth baseball tournaments for the 11-12 and 9-10 leagues wrapped up Wednesday, June 11 with championship games played in Hailey.
The Cougars defeated the Rattlers for the 11-12 championship.
Cougars coaches Brian Nelson and Bryan Speth had a roster with Colby Speth, Blake Nelson, Andrew Nelson, Zane Barckholtz, Slater Whitehead, Jake Evans, Boone Scherer, Reese Bradshaw, Eli Trevino, Tuffer Manning, Axel Diehl, Garrett Doub, Jackson Giles and Jake Rushton.
On the winning Ketchum Rams 9-10 team coached by Matt Buxton, Anthony Naghsh and Buffalo Rixon were Gunner Boetteger, Billy Burks, Sebastian Buxton, Zephyr Carruth, William DeWolfe, Hunter McLaren, Leo Molter, Finn Naghsh, Sawyer Newhouse, Olin Patterson, Taylor Rixon, Tyler Salvoni, Ryder Sarchett and Bo Swenke.
The Rams defeated the Hailey Wildcats 9-7 in the rubber game of a closely-played three-game series between the 9-10 contenders.
The Rams trailed 4-0 in the first, but the Ketchum team rallied for five runs in the home first for a 5-4 lead and tagged on four more runs for a 9-4 lead. Dominant pitching by Sarchett of the Rams and Taylor Nelson of the Wildcats kept the score that way for much of the rest of the game. Hailey mounted a two-run comeback in the final frame, but Rams pitcher McLaren threw strikes with precision and closed the game strong.
