Exercising away...still.

Over spring break, I'll admit...I WAS LAZY.

However, I did run once and take the dog out for a walk once. If you've ever taken a 68 pound English bulldog out on a walk, you would agree it's a workout worthy of posting.

Using MyPlate has been interesting. I will say I'm not the best at adding my food as I eat, or even in the day I eat. I've found it takes longer to do that I normally have periodically throughout the day. So, I end up writing it all down and doing 2-3 days worth of entries at a time. It's a bad idea...in case you were wondering. But I'm getting great ideas for our project...things like "I wish myplate was FREE for my blackberry!"

Just a shout out to the class...everyone PLEASE get us your answers to our questions as soon as possible. Thanks ladies!

"The Only Way to Have a...COW"

My media article, "The Only Way to Have a Cow", was published in the Orion magazine. It discusses the need for Americans to divulge away from feedlot beef. I found it interesting, and even more so when we discussed feedlots in class. I felt it fit perfect!

In addition to the connection with class, it also connected with my Independent Research topic outside of the classroom walls, Global Climate Change.

According to the article, vegetarians and vegans don't just see meat is disgusting (Read Animal Farm to agree.), but they also see how meat in America is personally affecting the climate. "The numbers range from 18% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions to--in one recent study that was quickly discredited--51%."

Another shocking fact in the article is that going vegan is 5o PERCENT more effective in reducing greenhouse emissions than switching to a hybrid car!!!! Even more surprising...The UN Food and Agriculture Organization finds that a half pound of ground beef has the same effect on climate change as driving an SUV 10 miles!!!

We now use an enormous percentage of our arable land to grow corn that we feed to cows who stand in feedlots and eructate until they are slaughtered in a variety of gross ways and lodge in our ever-larger abdomens. And the fact that the product of this exercise “tastes good” sounds pretty lame as an excuse.

Bottom Line:

On a Positive Note

This week I read an article entitled “Food: Six Things to Feel Good About” from the New York Times (which you can read here). The author, Mark Bittman, has a weekly column where he discusses different issues relating to food, health and nutrition. Generally, his columns revolve around something that he is upset about or that is particularly disheartening. In this one, however, he takes the time to look at some of the bright spots in the food industry. He looks at things such as the newfound power people are taking in deciding what food they should eat and where it should come from and the Wal-Mart initiative to make their offerings more health-conscious. I enjoyed reading this article because it helped me to see that there are some bright spots to this issue. For instance, I did not know that there are currently 6,000 farmers in the U.S. or that that number is a 250% increase over the number of farmers there were in 1994. I think that is a pretty impressive statistic and shows that people are starting to reclaim responsibility for the food we eat. I also liked hearing about the work that is underway to make school lunches healthier. It is important for good nutrition to be taught to children at a young age and this is a great way to show them how to eat well for the rest of their lives. Overall, I thought that this article touched on a lot of topics that I did not know much about.

Our service project is going well, we have a pretty solid survey created and I think that we have a clear outlook on just where we want to go with it. I am excited to show everyone where we are and see where everyone else is with their projects! I cannot wait to actually send the survey out to people!

Unfortunately, the weather this week has not been very conducive to getting out and biking or walking, so I have not done anything yet. Things are supposed to look better this weekend, so hopefully it will be warm and sunny so I can get in some time outside!

Media Article: Why aren't GMO Foods Labeled?

The article I found is called "Why Aren't G.M.O. Foods Labeled", by Mark Bittman. It was in the New York Times online. This article talk about the various reason that genetically modified organisms aren't on the labels. Most of this is because the FDA does not require it to be posted unless it contains more than .9%. This is in part because they do not want to give the impression that these foods are different. However, in England there are strict bans on these foods and they must be labeled. Another concern is that when cross pollination occurs that can no longer be considered organic if it has been genetically engineered. There are concerns arising about genetically engineered salmon, that would be fast growing also. The truth is that most Americans believe that G.M.O.'s are unsafe and that they want them labeled. Not even the strongest supports of G.M.O.'s can say that there aren't hidden dangers.

I have continued to record everything on myplate (Even over spring break). This week however I was off to a rough start, I am currently fighting some sort of viral cold, and there is nothing I can do but let it run its course. I have been working out this week just not running everyday. I hope to be up and running again by this weekend. I will continue to use myplate and hope to hear back from more of the class about possibly participating.

Media Article -- "Home Green Home"

I was happy to find this little gem in April's issue of Working Mother magazine. "Home Green Home", written by Theresa Gonzalez, is chock full of information on how to adapt your living space into a more energy efficient dwelling. What I found most informative was that Ms. Gonzalez chose to highlight the most effective solutions for all income-levels, so even if you're not rolling in the dough you can still make some simple, inexpensive changes that will have a great impact.
Some of Ms. Gonzalez's suggestions include wrapping your water heater in insulation, blocking drafts with weather stripping and replacing your thermostat with a programmable model. These are inexpensive changes that even renters (like me) can employ without worrying about making permanent structural changes that can be time-consuming and costly.
However, if you do own your own home and are looking to implement those larger structural changes, among the typical upgrades of adding solar panels or an overhaul of your HVAC system, Ms. Gonzalez offers the idea of hiring a home energy auditor. The one-time fee can range between $250 and $600, but they can pinpoint exactly where your home is wasting energy. Gonzalez claims that fee is recouped within the first year, post-repairs.

http://www.workingmother.com/BestCompanies/green-mom/2011/03/home-green-home

Functional Foods—the next wave of GE foods

"Functional foods", or "prescription" foods, as they have also been called, are the next big thing in biotechnology and genetically engineered foods. The purpose of functional foods would be to add ingredients that would in some way help tackle a health-related issue. So, you could have your favorite chocolate modified to contain some vitamins, or even a vaccine of some sort. I surely don't agree with the whole GE food thing, but I think the functional foods could potentially be a great idea. The one problem I see in doing all of this, however, would be how to get these edible vitamins or vaccines to the people who need them the most, and how would they afford them?
Interesting article to read.
http://www.globalissues.org/article/193/functional-foods-the-next-wave-of-ge-foods

Article(s) and old bikes

My article was Urban Gardens Tainted With Lead, Arsenic by David Runk from Huffpost Green. Back-yard and community gardens in Indianapolis, Boston, and New York were tested for lead levels as well as other chemicals that could poison the soil. The research found that 9 out of 10 of the gardens in Indianapolis had high lead levels. In Boston they found 4 out of 5 of the gardens tested had high levels. A non-profit group in two Boston suburbs even had raised beds with freshly composted soil installed, but tests four years later showed that lead content had tripled. Their advice? To continue to test soils, not only when they are first planted, but over the ensuing years. They also suggest washing your hands after gardening to reduce exposure to contaminated soil, to wash vegetables thoroughly, and to avoid tracking soil indoors. Tests on garden beds in NYC have been more promising, finding fewer than 10 percent of them had high lead levels. There have been efforts in the city to bring in clean soil and compost for raised beds.

I also found this article about the "green-ing" of Greensboro:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/the-impulsive-traveler-going-green-in-greensboro-nc/2011/02/24/AFoEhKWB_story.html?wpisrc=emailtoafriend

There was an unexpected death in my family over break, so I went home under different circumstances than planned. I took and found some pics, though:


Me on my bike. I think I was about 7 or 8 in this one. Apparently I could ride a bike and not put myself in mortal danger at the time.






My aunt and uncle's old bikes.

Cute logo idea

The Battle for Biodiversity

Monsanto has engineered yet another soybean.  This one will be resistant to a particular pesticide, that they manufacture.  I hope the organic tofu I buy really is organic!  What I'm learning as I read more about GMOs and from what I know about plant reproduction is that organic farmers are having a harder time producing truly organic crops. With so many GM crops out there, I can't believe the general public doesn't know more about it, probably because they are found in processed foods, and go undetected. 

La Via Campesina is a farmers' movement of 150 organizations from 70 countries that seeks to protect Biodiversity through seed saving and sharing, something farmers have been doing since we began cultivating crops.  In some cases members of this movement break international patent laws to continue this tradition.  The idea of patenting life is an odd concept for me to wrap my head around.  A mere 10 companies control nearly 3/4 of all seed sales globally.  Further, unlike original claims by the manufacturers, these crops are not solving our global food shortages.  For instance 3 countries (the United States, Brazil, and Argentina) grow 77% of all genetically modified crops, nearly all destined for livestock, not the world's hungry.

The two camps are on different sides of an ongoing debate.  If you are interested in learning more check out the original article.   Link to article.  You should also consider reading "Stolen Harvest" by Vandana Shiva, a physicist and environmental activist.  I had the opportunity to hear her speak when I was an undergraduate at Michigan State University. Shiva has dedicated her life to preserving global food cultures and food security.

Food Bank Garden

I discovered an exciting article "From Hand-Outs to How-to" that inspired me to grow my own little garden. The article came from Tucson, Arizona published in the Nov.-Dec. 2008 issue in Orion magazine. It was in reference to a food bank. Beside the food bank a seven thousand square foot organic garden was being grown by local people in the community. The garden was filled with tomatoes, beans, chiles and other types of vegetables. They also had chickens that were eating the garden scraps and using their waste for a compost pile. The workshops, for this community, are ongoing for training and they are presented in both English and Spanish. Not only do they train people, they give them the necessary compost piles and tools to get started. They will send someone to your home to select a suitable garden and help you through the process of growing your own food. The community as a whole benefits and the spreading of knowledge will allow the community to become a more economically stable environment. Instead of "how-to handouts", they are actually showing you "How-to". The project is very socially healthy in many aspects. My garden will consist of tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers and green beans. I am also going to plant tomatoes and peppers at my mom's. Wish me luck! On another note, we are really coming together with our Novant Health project. Things were a little shakey at first due to the break we had last week. Now that we have a clear vision and strategy plan, I am anxious to find out if the calorie counting application can be embraced by other colleges.

Transitioning to Organic Farming

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110222140548.htm

My article addressed the concerns of more US farmers that are converting from conventional agriculture to organic production. It appears that more and more farmers are beginning to make this change due to the growing popularity of organic products. This article focused more on the financial implications of such changes and what it would do to the bottom line. The language of the article suggest that going organic may not be very cost effective. This is surprising to me because at the Feed and Seed stores, the organic fertilizer is always cheaper than chemical. I think these farmers were more concerned with the bottom line, as organic crops may not yeild as much as conventional.

Spring Break Biking/ Walking Adventures

I decided to challenge myself over the break, by being as physically active as possible, and to push myself a little further than I usually do as far as biking goes. On Wed, March 23rd, a friend and I set out on a walk on the Salem Lake Trail. We started at the park, and about 3miles in, our adventurous side kicked in and we decided to go further. We had heard that the side of the trail we were on would lead to Linville Rd, we were not sure about that because Linville Rd seemed to be pretty far away, but we kept on anyway just to see where it would lead. On the way, we were so intrigued by the various plant life that we stopped numerous times and took pics along the way. one of the most exciting parts of the trip was as we approached the 4mile marker, we stopped at a long tree stump that jutted out into the water. There were about 6 disc shaped figures lined up at the end of the stump, and they appeared to be lined up in order from largest to smallest. As we got closer, we realized the discs were actually turtles!! I happen to love turtles, so I was tickled by the sight. They seemed to be taking turns diving into the water, then climbing back up on the stump to sunbathe. I thought that was both amazing and hilarious because it seemed as if they were at some kind of turtle resort, casually taking a swim! Shortly after the 4mile marker, my friend and I saw cars passing on a highway. Could this be Linville Rd? Yes, it was! How excited we were to find that the legend of arriving at Linville Rd from Salem Lake Trail was true! We then ventured onto complete our trek around the other side of the lake. In all, we walked about 8 miles. Needless to say, I was very sore the next day, but it was well worth it. On Friday, March 25th, I decided to bike along Salem Creek Trail. This was not my first time biking along this trail, but I decided to push myself a little farther this time. Instead of biking to the site of the new water treatment facility site, I rode a little farther to where Salem Creek Trail and Salem Lake Trail meet behind Reynolds Park Golf course. I felt like a beast!!! I was so proud of myself, and I intend to go a little further and further each time!

World ‘Dangerously Close’ to Food Crisis, U.N. Says

While the U.N expected a growth in grain yields by 1.2% this year, severe weather in different parts of the world have actually caused a decrease by 2%. The U.N predicts that this fall in production could lead to a global food crisis because there is such a high demand for grain around the world. Shortages in 2007 led to riots in many different countries. While there is currently no crisis, with the shortages continuing to increase we are likely to see the same situation again unless production increases by at least 3.5%. Although corn and seed oil are good fuel alternatives, there use severely decrease the amount of food that is available. Therefore we must consider this in the bills that are passed that subsidize things such as ethanol production. Is it better to have food for the world or a more renewable fuel source?
Link to article

The Novant Health product development group will continue to work on our surveys and will hopefully have them finalized by the end of this week.

Global Food Crisis?

There have been occasional articles in the past on a predicted global food crisis. In the last decade these articles seem to be occurring with more and more frequency on the topic of what some are starting to call the impending global food crisis. These articles tend to hint at the upward trend in food prices over the last decade. The opinions on what is causing this increase is varied depending on what you read or see on the news. Here is an article that blends economics, the current political situation in Egypt and the looming global food crisis. The intent I think is to explain the predicted global food crisis in a way that everyone can understand.

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/markets/market_news/article.jsp?content=D9M7NP182

The Everglades

So, my family has a list of places all over the world that we want to travel to or visit and this past week we were able to check two from that list, The Everglades National Park and St Augustine, Florida. Oh the weather was glorious, the hiking was exhilarating and spending time with my most favorite people in the world was priceless. In total last week I covered 50 miles of hiking trails that included sections of the Everglades which was very exciting. Not so exciting was the thought in the back of my head that pythons are flourishing in the Everglades and hiking near the spot where a 10 foot python had been captured the day before was a bit of a heart thumper.

I'm not fond of snakes but even they have a place in our environment. These snakes, however, do not belong in the Everglades. The pythons that are flourishing in the Everglades are not a part of the natural habitat and their rapidly growing numbers coupled with a lack of natural predators are causing alarm among biologists, environmentalists and herpetologists. One guy who hunts them expressed their presence as being bio-pollution which I thought was a very interesting description. The Everglades have experienced not just the introduction and rise in python population but many other exotic species that may forever change the natural balance within that habitat.

Another surprising thing about the Everglades is that less than half of it remains. Less than half!!! It was incredible to think that so much of what had been no longer was. The remaining portions of the Everglades hang in the balance. It made me wonder, a hundred years from now how much would still exist. Will my great-grandchildren be able to experience what I was seeing, hearing and hiking through? There is a plan in action called the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan which is a plan that was crafted in an attempt to preserve and restore sections of the Everglades. It was very evident on my trip just how precious water was for the continuing survival of this habitat. The expansion in population and developed areas in Florida was achieved through controlled flooding using canals and drainage of portions of the Everglades. The result is that the Everglades have been forever changed and even with the restoration plan, the change in weather patterns and thus the availability of fresh water seems to be at a tipping point.

There was so much to see and experience but that will be another time.

This world of ours exist not just for us, but for everything that lives in it, both living and non-living. To ensure our survival, there has to be a place for everything.

Sawgrass is what made up portions of the Everglades that are gone , but sections of the fabled "River of Grass" still exists.

Oh my, there were so many alligators, breeding season is in full swing

Quite the Adventure

Hey everyone!

I hope everyone's Spring Breaks rocked. I went to Pensacola, Florida with 2 of my nearest and dearest.

I was really excited about biking but the bike rental was $30 for 4 hours. Although $30 isn't that much money, the group opted to go snorkeling instead...

We saw some really cool things though! We were outside almost always and we loved it :) Below are some pictures.

I haven't been able to get out to Moore's Spring Trail again but I will next weekend for sure! Dig day is supposed to be on Sunday, if anyone else would like to join.

See you all Monday,

Sarah

A pelican statue in front of Pensacola Lighthouse

The Lighthouse

We spent a lot of time at the National Naval Aviation Museum.

The wall of Fort Barrancas (it was quite the labyrinth inside!)

Changing Education

 

Thought this video was appropriate for this group.  Some of the ideas capture what I'm trying to do with the class, especially in regards to the group work and projects.  

Spring Break!

Last week’s class outing was great! I enjoyed walking with Cassie, and liked getting to see the trails behind Salem. I had never been back there before, but now I think that I would be much more likely to use the trails, either on foot or riding a bike. I have also been taking advantage of the beautiful weather this week (between 70° and 80° in Raleigh) to get out and walk a lot, especially around my neighborhood and at different local parks. Overall, my spring break has given me more freedom to get out during the day and be more active! It has also made me even more impatient for the summer and more warm weather!

I am impressed by how well my group’s service project is coming together! Now that we all have a really clear purpose and objective I think that we can start to survey our target group and get our product developed. I am looking forward to this second half of the semester to find out what Salem’s needs are and how we can serve them!

Relaxing & Fun Spring Break

Last week as many people have talked about we went on a class walk/bike ride. Meghan and I decided to walk and really enjoyed getting outside. Its always more fun to exercise with friends.

During spring break this week I have rode my bike three times on the greenway trail near my house. That's a total of 30 miles this week! It has been really nice to take a break from school and just have fun. I wish I had more time to ride while I was at school but I am taking a full load and am involved in so many activities it is hard to find the time.

The Novant project is starting to come together. We have decide to work on the app all together but the group will focus on two different groups: traditional students and Fleer students. We will be surveying them separately. We will be starting on the surveys over break and next week. I am excited to finally start working on our project!

Salem Greenway Trail

I think a good time was"had by ALL" on our outing last week! I was laughing so much, while riding my bike, that I almost wrecked 5 times. I did have to walk up the hills a few times. Love all the pictures! It is truly amazing how the outdoors, fresh air and nature can make you feel. Heather was a true sport in being my mentor throughout our 2 mile ride. We saw and heard some interesting rodents. Thankfully, I was not as sore in my legs as I thought I would be. As usual, my best buddy is my pedometer. I am walking on a regular basis. My husband is walking the dogs, for excercise, early in the morning before he goes to work (at the break of dawn). We are eating much healthier. I have not been on My Plate this week because I have been at my mom's. She still has "dial up" on her computer. I will however; start back today.

I am looking forward to surveying the Fleer students on thier diets and hopefully, our group can make a change in someone's life. Looking forward to class on Monday! Happy Spring Break! Bike On!

Virginia Creeping Goodness

To celebrate the first weekend of spring break the family went up to Damascus, VA to ride the Virginia Creeper Trail.  We left W-S just before noon on Saturday and returned around 20:00 on Sunday.  In total we rode 70 miles over the course of those two days. 

Day one:  We arrived in Damascus and grabbed a quick bite to eat at Subway (not my fav, but not much choice this early in the season), and gave the dog a good long walk.  Then we were off on our bikes.  We headed north from Damascus on the VCT into Abingdon (17 miles).  We found a lovely little soda shop, which used to be the old pharmacy in town.  They had lots of vegetarian options and they had dinning on the patio, which was nice.  We didn't waste too much time, because we only had about 2 hours of sun left in the day, so we made it back to Damascus (17 miles) with just enough time to walk the dog again as we lost the light.  Needless to say the whole family slept well on Saturday. 

Day two:  We woke and walked the dog and then grabbed a hearty breakfast, I was NOT worried about counting calories.  I even had a decaf, soy mocha, yum!!!  The plan for the day was to head south from Damascus till we dropped from exhaustion then turn around.  The entire trip from Damascus to White Top (the opposite end of the creeper) is 18 miles, ALL UPHILL.  We were certain we wouldn't make it the whole way up... but we did.  So we had a nice break and ate all our packed food (apples, peanuts and protein bars) then headed back down the mountain (18 miles).  We averaged 8.5 mph on the way up and 16 mph on the way down.  We were tearing down the mountain.  It was fun, cold, but fun.  That is until about 5 miles from Damascus.  Nick's rear wheel blew a flat and I had to finish alone and come back for him.  It turned out alright because I brought the dog back up and luckily we were close to a parking area when it happened and he only had to walk a mile and wait for me.  The VCT and the Appalachian Trail crisscross quite a bit in this area, so we ended up walking the dog for a couple miles on the AT.  So everyone was exhausted by the end of the day.

I feel so incredibly good, and accomplished.  It was beyond beautiful up there.  I am even more inspired to get good biking trails established closer to home.  I'm not sure if I will be able to walk let alone bike on Monday, but I'm gonna try.  We had such a wonderful time, we are now planning another trip to Damascus for hiking/biking/camping over Easter weekend.

I will update with more personalized pictures very soon!!

hiking, hiking and more hiking

Really excited this week with all the hiking I've gotten in. The warmer weather and sunshine beckons me outside. This week I've hiked quite a few trails, most of them lugging a 27 pound baby in a back pack carrier. In total I've been able to hike 20 miles so far and looking forward to five more tomorrow. The act of moving the body is so basic and so needed if the world around us is to embrace more healthful attitudes and actions. What better place to move the body than outdoors. There is something about being surrounded by the natural world that induces a calming effect in me. This is one of the reasons preserving our environment is so important. We need the natural environment whether we can realize it or not. Maybe after taking this Environmental Biology class we'll all be able to better communicate how important the natural world around us and communicate that we are only one part.

Ow, Ow, Ow.

Monday this week, I was not feeling great. I think I'm allergic to Mondays. However, after my 5:30pm class, I drug myself to the YMCA for my 7pm private swim lesson. After I finished teaching my lesson, I was wet and cold and rather miserable, but I made myself get back in the pool and continue swimming. I swam for just about 2,200 meters. On Wednesday, I taught a private lesson at 1pm (making me late to class--finding the class missing). Lesson learned--do NOT teach preschool lessons on Wednesday at 1pm. While I didn't physically swim laps, working with 4 four-year-olds for 45 minutes takes a lot out of you. Regardless, after my 5:30pm class, I taught my 7pm private lesson and then swam about 3,000 yards. Thursday morning, I "Dawn-ed with the Dean" again, running 3 miles. Today, after work at 6pm, I ran around the campus at Wake. Unfortunately, I think I pulled my groin muscle. I ended the run, and am currently icing my leg. Pain, Pain gooooo away!

Still excited about using myplate. And very excited to hear the class' answers to our group questions. (Look out for an email from Amy Allison.)

Over-due Blog Entry

Two weeks ago, during the week of March 7-11, I ran three times!

Wake Forest has the "Dawn with the Dean" program where students are invited to run with the Dean of the WFU Schools of Business at 6:25am on Thursdays. Wednesday I was up at 7am (after pulling an all-nighter in the library) running through Buena Vista. Thursday, I ran with the Dean. Sunday afternoon I ran again...in the rain. Horrible idea, because when I woke up Monday morning, I felt as if a hurricane had entered my head. All is well now, but Monday and Tuesday were rough.

I have also created a myplate.com account and am excited to be using it! It is a pretty cool program and I am excited to be working with Matt and Novant Health to make it a much easier program to use!

Getting Ready for Break

Another week successful for myplate and exercising everyday. I am training to possible run a marathon so my running workouts have been getting more intense. I have tracked my food for 18 days straight. I feel like I am doing well although sometimes I feel stressed about making sure I record everything because this semester is extremely busy for me. Tennis is also going very well. We have another match on Sunday so my Spring Break will not start until after that, but we are currently 6-1 on the season. I will continue to track my progress over break although it may be difficult. I hope many of you will also start tracking on myplate or by keeping your own journal. It is a good way to try to get yourself on a healthy lifestyle track or become more knowledgable of what you are putting into your bodies.

Have a Great Spring Break!!

Coasting into Spring

As we go through the arduous last days of classes before Spring Break, with everyone overworked, stressed-out and sleep deprived, I have to say taking a stroll or ride out on the greenway on Wednesday was such a refreshing release, and I'm hoping my classmates felt the same. As the weeks progress out of the icky darkness of winter's clutches into that uplifting stretching of daylight we are graced with thanks to the time change, it occurs to me that I am in good company this spring semester. How many of us commented that we had no idea we'd been walking so long on Wednesday that not even halfway down the trail we'd have to turn back in order to make it to our next class on time?

As the ideas for our project (I'm in the CDI group) begin to coalesce into something (we hope) that is of significance and presentable, I am happy to realize the good company I am in on this journey into spring. My group, my classmates, all appear to be embracing the challenges of understanding the information and making simple lifestyle changes with open minds and hardy senses of humor. Basically I'm taking this blog post to thank everyone for making the work of this semester as enjoyable as it can be - hey, it's still work after all! I've enjoyed getting to know my group and classmates and feel grateful to Dr. Allen for tossing us out into the sunshine when we probably need it most.

Happy Spring Break! See you at the end of March :)

Spring Time :)

I'm so excited that it's starting to get warmer outside, because now I actually am excited about being able to get outside. Our class went on a walk/ bike ride on Wed. that was a blast, it was nice to be able to get out of the classroom and get out on the Salem Creek Trail. We even saw some sort of muskrat type animal hanging out in a patch of water, but it was kinda unfortunate that said patch of water smelled like a porta-potty :(

For spring break we are going to Charleston SC. And we're staying on a little island there, so I'm interested to see if biking plays a larger role in the lives of the locals there. I feel like if I live on a two mile long island i'd ride a bike too.

Bike the Dash

Grassroots Biology Takes the Salem Creek Greenway by Storm

Today was a beautiful day to get outside on the Salem Creek Greenway (SCG).  I'm sad that Sarah wasn't able to enjoy, since she has been feeling so awful this week.  We also missed a few other students (where did Brittany wander off to?), but overall, fun was had by all (at least from what I could tell).  I'd like to hear what you thought of the greenway?  Whether you loved it or not, it is a great resource to have in Salem's backyard.  Soon with a short connection to Forsyth Tech this greenway will directly link 4 of the 5 major schools in Winston Salem.  I found out it was Teshenia's first time out on the SCG.  Kiva and Heather took the lead on bikes luckily they didn't scare away any wildlife with their laughter, we saw plenty.  We even had Kristen out on her roller skates. I only wish we would have had more time, so we could have gone further and seen more. 

 

We saw a number of mammals on the trip.  Most everyone saw the Marmots up on the hill on Salem's campus (I missed them), and a number of students saw the "baby beavers", also known as Muskrats in the marshy area across from WSSU.  The group I was with at the end even saw a dead shrew, I picked it up to show everyone its little short tail from which it gets its name.  We also heard plenty of birds as well, but couldn't visually locate too many.  See both humans and non-human animals enjoy a good greenway! My goal for next time is to get more students on bikes, they do have 11 bikes for rental at Salem.

Another class trip I would love to take is a camping trip up at Moore's Spring's Trails with a day trip to Hanging Rock.  I will ask what this would involve on my end, and I want you to think about a Saturday that this would work for you.  We probably would want to wait until May when the frequent rains lighten up.

Product Development Project with Novant Health

Our group discussed our project with Novant Health this week. We talked about creating a mobile phone app that integrated the 7 aspects of wellness. I think our research should begin by surveying what kinds of phones students use at Salem, then we could research what aspects of the wellness program students think are lacking and what they would like to see in an app. We will be meeting this week to determine what our next step will be.

I had an extremely busy week and was away at a Orientation Leader conference in Baton Rouge for 4 days, so I did not get any biking in. However, while I was at the conference I did a LOT of walking. It was great exercise and the weather was amazing in Baton Rouge. I will get on a bike this week and enjoy the nice weather in Winston.

Tia/ Projects/Biking

At this point, I am clear on my vision for the project, but I am not so clear as to how my vision will fit in with what the group wants to do. My group and I have not met to discuss exactly what it is we are doing, and I'm a little uncomfortable about that. I sent them both emails to see if we could set up a time to meet outside of class. As far as biking goes, I was finally able to check out a bike from Shober that was in full operating condition. It was an old fashioned cruiser bike, but thats just my style. My schedule did not permit me to get out on the Saturday bike ride, but Sunday and this morning gave me an opportunity to get out and ride. I LOVE IT!! Part of what I would like to do for my part of the project includes biking for at least 30minutes to an hour per day, so if I am able to get outdoors and ride versus riding a stationary in the fitness center, this part will be a breeze! I'm still going to check into getting a new tire for my bike at home, the only issue then would be transporting the bike to the cool places because my neighborhood is nice, but I don't really want to ride here, too many hills. :-)

Projects/Health/Kiva

I am really excited about the fact that our Novant health group could come up with an actual app that will help control students health habits. Great idea Cassie and Meghan! Matt Gymer seemed please with the idea. Our group also seemed excited and ready to plunge forward with great energy. I am looking forward to working on this project with you ladies.

I am really into walking now. At first, I was all about becoming a biker on a regular basis. Then I was going to be this religious excerciser on the stationary bike. I still excercise on the bike but walking has become my thing. As soon as I started using my pedometer, it made me want to walk. I am walking 1 1/2/ to 2 miles everyday. It is like excercising without you knowing that you are doing it. You would really be amazed at how many steps a person takes in one day! My hat is off to Dr. Allen for making me change my lifestyle. I am eating much healthier while calculating calories with My Plate, walking on a regular basis (you can do this anywhere) and I am very conscious about food sources and how they were grown. Before this class, I ate a lot of processed food and did not exercise at all. I must say at 51 years of age I am probably the healthiest I have ever been. It is never to late to start. My husband is eating healthier and is excercising on a regular basis as well.

Biking + me = bruises

So I went out Saturday with my friend Kevin and bought a new bike. Thank god he was there. I was clueless about some stuff. Anyway, here she is! Pretty, isn't she? I rode around on the bike a bit before I bought her. I was WAY wobbly. I didn't expect that at all. I've been riding without training wheels since I was 7 or so. I remember it being second nature. My ride Saturday was anything but. I was really surprised. I rode in the park near Mock Orange (where I purchased the bike) and it was incredibly embarrassing. There were a lot of expletives coming out of my mouth. I didn't see any kids nearby, so hopefully I didn't offend anyone. There ware several skids made so I could stop. I'm used to the brakes on a single speed, I guess. It's weird to feel so unnatural on a bike. I've never felt that way before. Unluckily for me, nothing changed on my bike ride Sunday.
I decided to go back out on the greenway where I had plotted out how to get to school without actually encountering traffic. Thank the gods I knew in advance I was not ready to be in traffic. I would have died. As it is, I did take a spill and got a skinned elbow and some bruises. Again, I have no idea why I'm no longer adept at bike riding. It's been a few years, but I thought it was something you could just pick back up. They say "it's just like riding a bike," right? Except it wasn't. Not the way I remember it anyway. I've never been the most graceful person (at least on land), but I can't remember the last time I fell off a bike except when I had my training wheels taken off. Could a few years hiatus really have left me so inept? It must have. I thought that since I've been working out I wouldn't have any problem getting up the hills. Wrong. I had to get off and walk the bike twice. Also embarrassing. I think the highlight was falling off, though. Apparently I waited until there were plenty of people around to see it. *sigh* I guess I'll get some more practice in before I try to ride it to school. I paid over $50 in gas Friday afternoon and that was definitely what pushed me to make the purchase this weekend. I was hoping to save some money by biking soon, but I guess I need to at least make it up all the hills first.

Project Ideas

This week, we got to discuss some of our ideas regarding our service projects with Matt Gymer from Novant Health. It was a good opportunity to flesh out some of the ideas we had in our minds. Matt seemed intrigued by Cassie’s idea to create an app of some sort that we could use at Salem and expand to other colleges. I think that this is a great idea and that it would be really helpful to have an app that would keep track of my unique wellness rather than a generic one that does not necessarily have information specific to me. I can’t wait to get started working to figure out just what will be on the app and how we can make it applicable to all students. I also enjoyed the opportunity to see how SurveyMonkey works. I have received many surveys from it but I have never personally used it. After seeing just what it entails, however, I think that it should be fairly easy. I want to find out what our results will be and how we can incorporate them into our project to make something that will really help the Salem community.

Since the weather was so nice on Saturday, I decided to walk my dog at a local park. I think we both really enjoyed it and I was sore the next day from all the hills!

Not My Week...

Hey everyone,

I am so sick. I wasn't about to go out to the trail build for MST on Saturday, nor was I able to go riding. I'm going on week 2 of feeling this bad but, luckily, I have a doctors appointment tomorrow. Hopefully, I will get on some medicine that will kick this sickness out. I am so jealous of people who were about to enjoy the BEAUTIFUL weather. I was really encourages to hear that a lot of Salem students rented the bikes for the weekend. We aren't the only ones who care!

I was very thankful that Nick came to class on Wednesday to show us around some of the camera's. I'm excited to learn more about how to properly shoot moving objects (like mountain bikers)

I'm not sure if I will see you all tomorrow, but I will try my hardest.

Until then,

Sarah

Hiking

I think maybe my son has been instilled with a love of nature and being able to enjoy spending time in the natural world. Early this week we had snow, rain and then it all started melting again so we had muck and mud. On Saturday, we had sunshine and the result was that my son wanted to be outside. We trimmed shrubs, bushes and trees trekking around in our rubber boots, decided against playing soccer in all the muck and mud. We ended up taking a hike on the trail we use mostly in the summer time, that we call the cellphone tower road. In the summer time there are so many different types of plants, flowers and animals that bloom along the sides of this trail. Usually in July or August we have masses of butterflies, so many that you can't see the bushes underneath. There are also all the wild blackberry bushes that make for very good eating and jam. Off we went on our little jaunt, putting in 4-5 miles with parts of the trail being on a steep incline. Making it to the top is hard but definitely worth it. Maybe we'll try Big Bald if the weather dries out more in the next few weeks.

As for the daily plate, I've not actually tracked my food intake using the website. I try to track my and my family's eating through the use of a weekly menu. We try to make it catchy around here, so we have Meatless Mondays, Taco Tuesdays(traditional Mexican food), anything Wednesdays (meaning leftovers out the refrigerator or freezer, Seafood Thursday (seafood of different kinds and some new dessert which turned out to be secret chocolate cake made with beets this week), Pizza Friday (we make it all ourselves using a Naan bread for the pizza dough and different types of flour), Souper Saturday, and Finger Food Sundays (fruit and veggie trays). Maybe next week I'll post a sample menu.

On a side note, so looking forward to Salem spring break. Florida, here we come!!! Hopefully, we'll be able to take in some historical sites in St Augustine, visit the Timucuan Ecological Preserve, the Everglades, some hiking, swimming and who knows what else. Have a fabulous week everybody.

Biking & Group Project

I am thrilled about my group project by completing qualitative product research for Novant Health. This is a great opportunity for me to experience some qualitative research work as an undergrad for my Sociology major. I will need some experience and this will enhance my knowledge about what people in society wants and needs are, by surveying numerous of college students throughout Salem College, and maybe expand to Colleges and Universities in North Carolina. My group has came up with fantastic ideas that will help to implement products that people actually need and want, or perhaps desire. I am excited about working with my group also, because they seem really interested in the topic, which makes the group work as a team, in the group project.

I did not bike this week due to the inclement weather, therefore I just exercised a few days and practiced some yoga, which was well needed after a stressful week prior to midterms.

Projects galore

I was very happy to have a sort of reduced load this week.  I'm sure I would much rather have spring break for both WSSU and Salem at the same time, but I was able to get alot of work done this week at Salem.

It was great to have Matt and Nick back on Wednesday to help get the wheels rolling on the student projects.  I heard so many good ideas bouncing around those rooms, I'm excited to see what ends up sticking.  We will spend a little time on Monday hearing from one group about recruiting the other students to participate in their project.  The semester will be over before we know it, so keep up all the hard work.

As far as my personal outdoor/health goals I have been keeping up with riding and eating healthfully.  I have to say I have a new obsession with Tofu that is kind of hard to manage.  I haven't been eating any wheat/gluten or caffeine, but I still find it really difficult to stay away from all dairy.  Whey is in my protein shake AND in my protein bars, I love greek/bulgarian yogurt.  Thursday is traditionally gelato at Caffe Prada day, and they haven't had dairy free Blood Orange Sorbetto in awhile, so I've been "forced" to get the dairy gelato!  Sad I know.

So after I was rained out last weekend AND on Wednesday & Thursday this week, I had to get half of my 70 miles on a spin bike.  Finally on Saturday the sun began to shine again and it was a beautiful day for biking.  A portion of Salem Creek Trail was under water again, but I was not alone and the water was not as high as it was on my ride on Monday.  Here is a clip of me at the creek ford. 

How has everyone been doing?  Its nice to see the posts of you getting outside with your families.  Any ecotourism adventures planned for spring break?  I want to hear about it.  I think I will be heading up to the Virginia Creeper Trail, which is a Rails to Trails project that intersects with the AT. The trail takes the rider 34 miles from Whitetop Station, near the NC state line, to Abingdon Virginia.  Check it out.

http://www.vacreepertrail.com/

Running! Finally!

So this was the first week I was officially cleared to start training hard again. I've been running everyday as well as playing tennis. I feel so much better this week than I have the past two weeks. I still have to take it easy as far as how much I do everyday but I am excited to be able to run and not just stationary bike. I have also been tracking my exercise and food intake on myplate for 13 days straight. It is getting more difficult because I am getting more busy as the semester goes on. I am planning to track this for at least the whole month of March. This will work well with our projects because it may be able to show how exercising everyday and making healthier food choices can change a person. Also having talked to my group I am confident that we will have a n a mazing project but we will need the classes help.

My First Bike Ride/ Media Article

Today, I finally had my first bike lesson and yes I am learning how to ride a bike in college, it was fun. I learned how to balance on the bike and brake speaking of braking when I was younger and I would see people riding bikes and my sister tried teaching me the bikes brakes were on the pedals meaning when you would ride you would stop by bringing the pedal back with your feet. Nowadays the brakes are on the handles which if you ask me is much easier, I am so excited to learn more in my journey to riding a bike. As far as my article I'm writing about it this week because I realized that I have as o yet to talk about it and fiqured that I should. My article was about poisons in the Hudson River and fish in that river seemingly being resistant to those poisons. In fact they are storing them as fat the Atlantic Tomcod do this but the article when on the say that the predators of the tomcod would be harmed by the chemicals that don't harm the tomcod and eventually harm humans when the predators move up steam and are captured and cooked. The article also when on to talk about adaptions to the chemicals overall I found the article really interesting. Also this week my group for the project went to CDI and had a tour, went to lunch at mellow mushroom and talked about ideas for the project such doing video clips and other ideas basically trying to plan out exactly where we want to go with the project.

Beautiful Saturday

I hope everyone enjoyed the extraordinary day today, it was so lovely outside. Too lovely, in fact. I woke up early and did some brainstorming for my group's project (I'm with the CDI folks), and intended to spend the rest of the day knocking out some papers. However, the sunshine was way too alluring and I found myself blowing everything off to take my kids and dog on a terrific hike/bike ride/scooter ride throughout our neighborhood. It was an excellent stress relief, I realized. For when we made it back home a few hours later I was so much more relaxed and able to focus on some of the assignments that had been set aside when Miles (my son) was in the hospital a couple of weeks ago.

I feel really excited, more excited than I had initially thought I would be, about the bike project with my group. Since meeting yesterday to nail down some specifics I feel like I have something concrete to start working on. It's also been fun getting to know members of my group and hearing about their different experiences biking and hiking and what have you.

Japan

The horrible (and amazing? Can I say that?) earthquake felt by Japan was an incredible 9.2 on the Richter Scale. How crazy is it to think that where we live, on this Earth, the planet breaks apart and tears down everything humanity has built in it's place. Crazy. Mother Nature essentially rules every part of our lives. No matter how hard we try to escape her, or how many funky buildings we create, she always has the last say. The video below shows just how crazy she can be. This whirlpool is just hanging out, in the ocean, doing whatever it feels like. Maybe it's just me, but this weekend totally shook me up and brought me to a whole new outlook on the world and how we look at it.

http://thoughtcatalog.com/2011/japan-earthquate-creates-giant-whirpool/

I also just heard about Patagonia Music- "Music to benefit the environment." Zac Brown Band, Jack Johnson, and others have songs up on the website you can buy through iTunes. The sale of each song goes to a different environmental charity.

http://www.patagonia.com/us/media/music

One last thing, GO DUKE!

A Frustrating Spring & Infinity MPG

Rain, rain, go away.  I was able to get in 40 miles on the bike last week, but my weekend plans for finishing my 70 miles for the week, were thwarted by about 2 inches of rainfall.  The weather was pleasant enough until about 3pm on Saturday, when the skies opened up.  I teach on Saturdays so I was unable to get out onto the trail before the rain started.

Not to be dissuaded, I was able to get on the trail after class today. Unfortunately, I was unable to finish the 18 mile loop, because the trail was under water halfway along the greenway (the perils of floodplain greenway trails - pretty, but unpredictable after a rain storm).  So I was forced to turn around.  I was still able to get in about 10 miles because I repeated the section between Salem College and Washington Park.  I know this will not be the last weekend that my bike plans are spoiled by the rain.  I just have to remember, wet springs come with living in North Carolina.

I also took a "detour" to spot the frogs I had been hearing in the new temporary pools all along the greenway.  The sound of frogs calling is one of my favorite signs of spring.  While you are out walking or biking around, take note of some of the non-native species of plants and animals.  I suggest a simple google/wikipedia search of "non-native plants/animals NC" to get an idea of just how many of the plants and animals you see on a daily basis are not naturally occurring in this area.  It looks like we will have perfect weather this weekend, I can't wait to get out on the trail again.  I just wish there was more trail out there to explore. 

While reading Desiree's blog post about the "3 feet please" campaign, I got distracted and found another cool t-shirt design with a bike logo.  Kind of along the same lines as the LA Metro campaign.  I can't wait to see what the "Buzz about Bikes" or "MST" groups come up with if they choose to include print design into their projects.

Alcoa article/Kiva

I read an interesting article from the NY Times titled, "An Icelandic Battle of Wildlife vs. Voltage." The world's largest aluminum company is Alcoa. There have been schemes for decades to build dams on three rivers for hydropower, in Iceland. These rivers are "alpine spillways for billions of gallons of glacial melt." In April of 2007, Aloca came on board to propose a $1 billion dollar investment to build a smeltering plant on Iceland's beautiful landscape. Alcoa stated that this would create 2000 construction jobs and 600 to 1000 permanent jobs. Alcoa says that this would be a social engineering experiment to test to see if the area could be repopulated. There are 280,000 residence. While damming 2 of the virgin rivers, Alcoa stated that they would build turbines to generate 700 megawatts of electricity. 80% of Iceland's electricity would be used to make aluminum. The environmentalists were outraged stating that Iceland was selling thier birthright and ruining their tourism image just for a few jobs. The plan was approved by Parliment but was eventually killed by environmentalists who paired with Iceland's State Planning Agency. They said the dams would do too much environmental damage and the economics of the plan were too vague. The agency's decision was again overturned by the environment minister and Alcoa employs 700 people today. They do; however, have a "Ten Million Trees" project that entails all Alcoa companies will collectively plant 10 million trees, all over the world, near the Alcoa sites. This should be completed by the year 2020. They recycle and was named the world's most sustainable company in 2008. The do have an ECO ALCOA plan in place. I Googled "Iceland and Alcoa" clicked on the first icon and then clicked environment. Interesting.

China Puts Forth Energy Intensity, Carbon Intensity and Total Energy Consumption Targets in Twelfth Five Year Plan in Effort to Tackle "Unsustainable Economic Growth" | Barbara Finamore's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC

China Puts Forth Energy Intensity, Carbon Intensity and Total Energy Consumption Targets in Twelfth Five Year Plan in Effort to Tackle "Unsustainable Economic Growth" | Barbara Finamore's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC

Biking & a Change of Plans/ Tia

I finally did it! I went to the Shober House on Salem's campus, I checked out a bike ( which was sooooo easy), and I mentally prepared myself for an exhilirating bike ride with Prof Allen on Saturday. Saturday comes, I get off work at 11am, and its cloudy and drizzling. I keep my eyes on the sky, watching brief breaks in the clouds, hoping for a glimpse of sun rays trying to break through...no such luck. As the afternoon progressed, the winds increased, and the light, misty rain started coming in sideways! I did not give up hope! Finally, at 3:15, I gave up on my hopes of cycling for that day and emailed Prof Allen to notify her that I could not join her under such yucky weather conditions. However, today is Monday, and I get to keep the bike until 5pm today. The sun is shining, its a little chilly, but I can handle that. Can't wait to share about how this ride goes!

media article..walking at the fish hatchery

So, biking did not happen this week with the rain and the SNOW up here in the mountains. Is it springtime yet? On a positive note my family and I took a trip to the Bobby N. Setzer Fish Hatchery in Pisgah Forest at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education. We walked on approximately 2 miles of the trails which were laid out in an interpretive format through a hard wood forest. I guess what I enjoyed very much about it, besides being outside, was the environmental aspect of the walking trails. The Center had placed at various points along the trail information about rivers, plants, trees and the impact humans can have on their environment. The displays were cohesive and really brought to the forefront the idea that everything in nature is connected, that life is connected, and that humans are no different in that respect. We too are a part of life and nature. What happens in our surroundings affects us.

As for the fish hatchery, hmmm......did you know that the rainbow trout and the brown trout are not native to the Carolinas? The rate of reproduction for these two types of trout are exerting pressure and competition on the only native trout population of North Carolina, the brook trout. Here again for me is an example of the impact that humans can have on their environment. According to the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, brook trout populations are being pushed into the headwaters of streams high in the mountains. As a side note the brook trout is the third type of trout grown and stocked by the fish hatchery.

With the thought in mind that life is so interconnected, I came across an article on a child cancer cluster that is causing families in Sandusky County, Ohio alarm, specifically a 12 mile area in Sandusky County in Clyde, Ohio. I know...I know, from walking to fish hatchery to cancer cluster, but bear with me. This article showed me the vulnerability of humans. We may exert a lot of control over our environment, but what happens in it can affect us. The article I read talks about the high number of children that have been affected by various types of cancers and tumors all within a very small area. There has been no definite link that these cancers have been caused by anything in their environment although there is a lot of speculation.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40855275/ns/health-cancer/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41736672/ns/health-cancer/

Article Presentation

I never printed out an article, but I read this one (in case you'd like to see the original format):
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110304114856.htm

It's basically saying that it's possible that the reawakening of a cooled-down magma chamber can be reawoken in a matter of months. It talks about how previously, they thought it could take years for the heat to reawaken the chambers. According to Burgisser, reheating a volcano into activity happens in three stages: fresh magma rises and heats the viscous magma, which in turn melts and rises, spreading the heat even faster and thus awakening the volcano. The group did their studies on Mount Pinatubo, which proved that it took anywhere from 20 to 80 days to become active, but another volcano gave results that say it could take up to 500 years.

Also, this weekend was quite rainy, so unfortunately I didn't go on any adventures. Oh well, next weekend will have to have two. :)

Link Between Walking, Cycling, and Health

I found an article on Sciencedaily.com titled Link Between Walking, Cycling, and Health. The study found that communities with more walkers and cyclists are healthier than those where people must rely on cars to get around. The researchers analyzed city- and state-level data from the United States and international data from 15 countries to study the relationship between "active travel" -- bicycling or walking rather than driving -- and physical activity, obesity and diabetes. Their results showed that more than half of the differences in obesity rates among countries is linked to walking and cycling rates, and that about 30 percent of the difference in obesity rates among states and cities is linked to walking and cycling rates. The study reinforces the need for U.S. cities to encourage more walking and cycling for daily travel by providing safe, convenient and attractive infrastructure, such as sidewalks, crosswalks, bike paths and lanes, and intersection modifications that protect pedestrians and cyclists. In the study researchers also suggest that infrastructure improvements should be combined with restrictions on car use, such as car-free zones, traffic calming in residential neighborhoods, reductions in motor vehicle speeds, and limited and more expensive car parking. This study reinforced what we are learning in this class and would be a great way to prove to the Winston-Salem community that greenways are a great option for our city.

This week I rode for an hour in the gym because it was a pretty hectic week and I only had time to ride at night. Yesterday I went skiing in Banner Elk, North Carolina. It was my first time and it was so much fun! It was really tough and it rained the entire time, but I would love to go skiing again! My legs are very sore today from 4 hours of skiing, but I had a great weekend!

Roller Skating on the Greenway

Taking advantage of the sunshine on Friday afternoon, I packed up my roller skates and drove to the greenway across from Jefferson Elementary on Robinhood Road. This greenway is near my home and I often walk my dog here, so I knew that it is a primarily flat, straight path winding behind several new neighborhoods beside a stream. This greenway is so peaceful, with no noise from the parkway like the other greenway near my home. There are also horses grazing alongside part of this path, which makes it a little more unique than some of the areas in town.
Although the weather was crisp, I warmed up quickly as I skated up and down the path. It felt so good to be out in the fresh air after being cooped up inside the last few weeks, and I was very happy I decided to roller skate. Bicycling is fun, but for me it's not as enjoyable as roller skating. Hopefully the temps will rise a bit and my ride will be a little more fluid without so many bulky layers, yet I am happy to be out and active on the greenway now.
I know I visit these paths at a time when most people are working, but I prefer having little traffic to compete with other than some seniors walking the path. I have noticed as the days grow longer that the parking lot for this particular greenway is often packed now when I pick my daughter up from Jefferson in the late afternoon. I'm not sure if more people are cycling than walking in the afternoon, but it is a popular spot that has attracted many locals.

Profile of Cycling Community in Ann Arbor, MI

When Bicycle Magazine compiled their list of the top 50 bike friendly cities in the US, they helpfully supplied some criteria for what makes a top 50 city. Some of the aspects are: the city must support a vibrant and diverse bike culture with smart, savvy bike shops; segregated bike lanes; municipal bike racks; bike boulevards; and cyclists from the city have the ear of the local government. In researching the bicycle culture in Ann Arbor,MI, I was able to identify all of those qualities. The city website, a2gov.org/government/publicservices/systems_planning/Transportation/Pages/Bike.aspx offers cycling enthusiasts a plethora of information regarding the bike culture in Ann Arbor. One is able to find information on bicycle routes, parking, planned community events and clubs involving cycling and what the plans are to improve the infrastructure of the cycling routes throughout the city. There are also many links to other organizations in the community servicing those who partake in cycling.
It is obvious the bicycle community in Ann Arbor is very organized. The Alternative Transportation Committee, an organization comprised of city staff, county staff, citizen advocates and the DDA meet monthly or bi-monthly to review information pertinent to the cycling community. Because the members of this organization are culled from all areas of Ann Arbor, the needs of cyclists throughout the community are made known and addressed in a timely manner. To support these endeavors financially, Ann Arbor reserves 5% of gas and weight taxes for non-motorized transportation projects.
Ann Arbor exhibits such a strong commitment from the local citizens and government to stress the importance of utilizing non-motorized transportation and it has become a model city for communities looking to implement an alternative transportation system. The following is a list of accomplishments the city has been recognized for as it strives to embrace and strengthen the bicycling community:
Ann Arbor
-designates funding used for cycling infrastructure improvements, promoting awareness of cycling opportunities and resources throughout
-in 2009 received Silver Ranking from League of American Bicyclists for being a bicycle friendly community
-in 2008 received a Gold Level Award in Promoting Active Communities Assessment, a state initiative to promote active living in Michigan. AA “can document achievements in making it easy for people to be active”, boasts the AA city website
-the City of AA is adding over 10 miles of on-road bike lanes this summer, bringing the total to nearly 60 miles, 140 bike hoops, 32 secure bike lockers, on-street bike parking downtown (2010)
-many scheduled community biking events
-laws: helmet, headlights and rear reflectors after sunset, keep to the right of the road, any cyclists on sidewalk must yield to right of way of pedestrians
-bicycle parking must be included in all new construction projects: protected storage lockers, bike racks

Biking and media article

I went to the Y on Main today to ride a stationary bike. I'm a member and I work out there 2-3 times a week, but I'd never used the bikes before. I can't remember the last time I was on a bike, so I figured I'd start out with something simple. I'm not sure if I've ever ridden a stationary bike before, so I had to figure out all the screens, but it was pretty simple. I set my level pretty low and I did 4 miles in twenty minutes. That was about as far as I could go since I left my ipod at home and was bored out of my mind. It had a tv on it, but you had to have ear phones to listen. I'm not sure if the ipod ones would work on it and I didn't want to use some that other people might have used as I'm a mild germaphobe. I liked the fact that it shows how fast you're going, the miles you've gone, calories burned, and time you've been riding, but I have to remember to bring something with me next time to stave off the boredom. The guy beside me was reading a book, which I doubt I could do while riding, but he was also on one of the bikes with a back on it. Maybe I'll try one of those next time. My friend Kevin is going to help me find a new bike. He's really, really into bikes (he owns 21 of them), but not in that annoying "hipster" way, unlike this guy:

I love Portlandia.

For my media article, I found one called "Dolphin Deaths in Gulf Region Spike, Probably Because Of That Massive Oil Spill That Happened" (as I said, I'm not being facetious; that really is the name of the article) by Jason Linkins from the Huffington Post. Baby dolphins are dying at an alarming rate on the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama. As of the time the article was written, 17 baby dolphins, some barely three feet long, had washed up on the coasts. I've since found an update siting that they've now found 60. Some are stillborn and some die soon after birth. Oil from the BP oil spill remains stuck on the bottom of the sea floor in the Gulf of Mexico. The microbes that were touted to quickly degrade all the oil (supposedly by 2012) have worked on about 10% of it. Unfortunately, the media coverage on the oil spill has almost completely died out. Where is this area going to stand in 20 years? In fifty? Does BP not understand the ramifications not only on the sea life, but on the people who's lives were sustained by it? Or do they just not care?

My Media Article

The article I found was called Gulf floor fouled by bacteria oil feast by Janet Raloff. I found it on science news. It basically talked about some oil eating bacteria that has been found on the gulf floor where the oil spill occurred. The deposits that are being seen on the floor now area combination of microbial waste, oil and other remaining things from the clean up effort. There are streams of bacterial slime that are being found making the oil easier for this microbial cauliflower to digest. This slime picks up cells and other things in the water and becomes heavy and sinks to the bottom. The n the article talks about the dead corals and sealife that is also being found on the bottom of the gulf. This slimy waste is just a thing that is able to show more of what was affected by the oil spill. There is going to need to be some heavy monitoring of the life in this area to see what all was affected and what is able to continue living.

Lots to Share!

I have so much to share this week!
First, I wanted to talk more about my article. Actually, I had two--which fit nicely together. The Naked Bike Ride article was my favorite. I thought the ride was a creative way to express cyclist vulnerability when braving the roads with automobiles. I have included a video from the World Naked Bike Ride 2008, which was held in Vancouver. (Beware, there is some "indecent exposure"; but I assume we're all over 18...aka can watch "R" rated movies.)

World Naked Bike Ride Vancouver - 2008 from Ian MacKenzie on Vimeo.

The second article is about the "1 METER PLEASE" campaign for cycling on the roads. This campaign focuses on educating drivers the distance needed to pass a cyclist on the roads safely, being 1 meter. "The key thing for motorists to remember if they come upon a cyclist from the rear and cannot give at least one meter of space when passing is to wait until they can," states avid cyclist and campaign founder Joe Mizereck. (View Article.) The campaign has recently introduced a campaign jersey. Cool, huh? (:

Next, last night, while babysitting until 2am, I downloaded lots of cool Apps to my phone. Boredom officially set in after UNC's unfortunate win. Two that I am particularly excited about is a running program. It creates my workouts and talks to me while I run. The second is a calorie counter. I thought this would be an easy way to continue to count my calories without having to log online. I do plan to create a myplate.com account this week, but in the meantime I like having the calorie counter with me at all times on my Blackberry.

Also, I'm really excited to get started working with Matt Gymer at Novant Health. I think this project is going to be pretty cool. I also think the myplate.com website is going to be pretty amazing and help me control my "in" calories, which is something every American could use. I hope my group can help Novant Health promote this website! Plus, I love the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Here's the link to the website in case any of you are more curious: MyPlate. Also, for you Facebook users, you can follow LiveStrong on there as well.

Lastly, this week, I rode on Tuesday. I had plans to head out to the barn today, but the rain has stopped that! I did hit the pool yesterday for a few hours and got a good couple (4) thousand yards in. (So i got wet anyway.) My arms are dead today...

Rain, Rain, go away, come again some other day.

Reflections on the Week

¡Hola!Bonjour!Hallo!Olá!!

I hope your weekends are going well. This week was CRAZY busy and I wasn't able to get out into nature and bike. I had to do a stationary (booooo) totally NOT as fun. What-so-ever. I'm 100% positive I burned more calories on the stationary bike but it was quite the different experience. It did not bring the same tranquil, peaceful feeling that biking outside does. I think I will get back to biking outside next week.

I'm really excited because I'm going to Pensacola for Spring Break and I will be able to bike there anytime I want (assuming the weather is as fabulous as it usually is this time of year).

<---- This is a bike trail in Pensacola!

Reflecting on This Week's Discussion

I really liked hearing about everyone's articles in class on Wednesday. It was great to see people speak with passion about environmental issues. My group, Lane, Tia, Shannon and myself, discussed a few different things, but the issue that we talked about the longest was the oil spill in the gulf. Lane brought in an article about baby dolphins and it was so sad! (Below is a picture of a marine biologist taking samples from a baby dolphin that was found on the Alabama coast) It literally pissed me off. So, I went home and I called my state representative in Florida and told him that I didn't think the problem was solved and that just because media coverage was gone didn't mean that it wasn't still on the mind of Florida residences.

It was quite a short conversation, especially, since, I had to leave it as a message with his secretary. At any rate, I think it is important that we never forget what happened and that we personally try our best to monitor how the Gulf is being effected.

I hope you all have a great weekend and I will see you Monday!