Cochise County Cycling Classic held Oct. 13

Bicyclists from all over the nation participated in the 25th Annual Cochise County Cycling Classic on Oct. 13.

All three races started and finished at the Cochise County Fairgrounds.

Two hundred and eighty-five people participated in the events; nine people from Douglas partook, in the 165, 97 and 49 mile distance races.

Dan McGehee from Mesa came in first in the 165 mile race at 6:49; second place winner was Richard Horn, 6:52, from Tucson and third place winner Shane Castle, 6:57, also from Tucson.

McGehee has been cycling since 1986. He rides about 400 miles a week to get ready for the race.

Horn started cycling due to health problems, “I started cycling because of my brother, he kept telling me to start cycling and after I year really like it, this is my fifth time doing this race, I’ve come in first three times then I was third and today I was second.”

First place female winner in the 165 mile race was Jennifer Walker, 9:33, from Tucson; second place winner, Susan Reed, 11:18, also from Tucson, and third place winner Katherine Rice, 14:04, from Chandler.

Male winners for the 97 mile race first place Kurt Garbe, from Tucson; second place winner Scott Flanders, of Sierra Vista and third place Jason Tullous of Colorado Springs, CO. According to Sally Valenzuela marketing director all winners came in at 4:07 with tenths of a second difference.

Female winners in the 97 mile race were, coming in at 4:41 first place finisher was, Jennifer Jen; second place winner Maria Nunes, 5:01, and third place winner Lynn Meyers, 5:16, all from Tucson.

Winners for the male 49 mile race, first place went to A. J. Peil, 2:01:00, and second place winner went to, Mike Ciasca, 2:01:02 both from Tucson, this year’s third place winner was Seth Lewkowitz, 2:01:03, from Paradise Valley.

First place Handcylist in the 49 mile distance was David Moyers with a time of 2:42:00.

Female 49 mile winners were, first place went to Janice Truitt, 2:35 from Oro Valley; second place winner Ella Nellito, 2:41, from Sierra Vista, and third place Amanda Bowman-Wann, 2:50 from Tucson.

The Cochise Classic honored long time volunteers Leila and Totten Warfield and Mr. and Mrs. Warfield of Tucson.

The 2012 Cochise Classic in Douglas benefits Perimeter Bicycling Association of America, Inc. and Douglas Association for Retarded Citizens (DARC) whose mission is to support and involve people with developmental disabilities within the Douglas community.

“Approximately, $3,000 was raised for DARC," Perimeter Bicycling President and founder Richard J. DeBernardis said.

Since its inception, the Cochise Classic has raised over $106,000 for both DARC and the Arthritis Foundation. They receive support and cooperation from the Sierra Vista Regional Health Center, City of Douglas Police and Fire Departments, United States Border Patrol, Southwest Gas, City of Bisbee, Cochise County, visitsierravista.com, Freeport MacMoRan, Dakotapro.biz, Polar Bottle, PuroClean, Cochise County Fairgrounds, Pactimo, Gadsden Hotel, Motel 6-Douglas, Douglas Dispatch, Sierra Vista Herald, KDAP Radio and Clif Bar.