First Assigned Bike Ride

With it still being fairly cold out, I decided to ride one of the bikes in the fitness center. I was excited about this assignment because I used to really enjoy riding my bike, but I haven't in months. I rode for an hour while I listened to music. It felt really good and I was proud that I rode for 8.5 miles. The next day I thought I would be really sore, but surprisingly I wasn't. I have really enjoyed this class so far and I am excited to start working on our service projects.

Winter cycling...

Stop one along the work trip that will eventually take us up into the snowy northeast, is Penn State, in State College, PA.  Last night I walked around the college town with empty streets, I guess everyone was watching some important football game.  I came across this... advertisement? bike rack? Both?  What I found striking was that even though I found it difficult to walk on two feet, due to the ice in some spots, there were plenty of people braving the ice, and cold and cars on bikes around the campus.  There are a lot of bike lanes and greenways, both from what I can see and what I've been told.  A member of the lab I visited on Sunday told me that he bikes in everyday (rain or shine) about 3 miles.  Now 3 miles on a bike is a very nice commute.  I was also informed that people in State College, are "used to bikers".  How do we get the folks of Winston-Salem "used to bikers"?

Ok I do want to mention it here, I will also send an email around to everyone.  SAFETY FIRST.  I was watching the Vlogs from week #1 and a couple students scared me with comments like "I think Dr. Allen is trying to kill me" and "I rode to staples...and almost died".  My first reaction, before hearing the end of these honest comments was that you rode on the road and maybe had a conflict with an automobile.  It turns out that these "near death experiences" were due to the newness of this particular mode of transportation and the body's physiological response to exertion.   This is another issue entirely and please be wise as you bike, if you have never biked before, grab a friend to help you learn (yes, I know you are out there), and know your capabilities, if you can't go for a hour (unlikely in the gym due to boredom), bike for as long as you feel good.  Either way, please be SAFE!!!  Please wear a helmet and remember if you do choose to ride on a road that automobiles are big, heavy, fast, and dangerous.  People in Winston-Salem are not used to sharing the road, so please use extreme caution and use the greenway trails (no traffic) or small residential roads with light traffic.

19 Cities

Top 50 Bike Friendly Cities
Researcher	City
Alannah	San Fransisco, CA
Sarah	Long Beach, CA
Erika	Baltimore, MD
Nicole	Arlington, VA
Olivia	Washington DC
Brittany	Miami, FL
Meghan	Philadelphia, PA
Teshenia	St. Louis, MO
Heather	Carmel, NY
Kiva	Columbus, OH
Desiree'	Charleston, SC
Amy	Cleveland, OH
Cassie	Cary, NC
Kristen	Ann Arbor, MI
Lane	Pittsburgh, PA
Tia	Seattle, WA
Sara	Fargo, ND
Shannon	Minneapolis, MN
Louise	Greensboro, NC

Problem - Solution

I know Winston Salem is not NYC, but some good ideas could come from this.

First Class - First Impression

Today was the first day of the semester at Salem College.  It was a busy day.  As always (at least on Monday and Wednesdays) I began my day with a 10am class at WSSU, followed by a two hour lab that starts at 11am.  Since classes started at Salem College I had to quickly walk over to Salem for the Grassroots biology class.   A total of 18 students were enrolled in the class and all of them were present the first day, always a good sign.  I introduced myself and then asked the students to introduce themselves to the rest of the class.  I am always pleased when students share some of their background.  It always make for a more interesting dialog.  I also think it takes some courage to share information about yourself with a group of strangers (at least before you really get to know people).

I really look forward to hearing what students think about the Bike Town USA article and to learn about their ecological footprints, when we get to that on Wednesday.  It will be interesting to "play" with the numbers (on myfootprint.org) a little bit and see how the changes that we "make" influence our scores.  I'm also interested in watching the student Vlogs and reading the blog posts as we begin the semester.  I have already decided that weekly blogs/vlogs make more sense than to have students try to keep track of whether they have one due that week.  I'm not sure if I will post the Vlogs here, maybe an edited collection from time to time would make sense.

Alright, I'll keep it short today.

Sunny Sunday

Yesterday we finally went to check out the Muddy Creek trail, roughly between Robinhood and Country Club roads (D on the map below). 

The place was busy, which I normally don't care for, but I couldn't stop smiling.  Nick and I got about 9 miles of biking in, not bad for the first time out this year.  I can not wait until they connect this trail to the the proposed greenway trail along miller creek.  The Miller Creek greenway would go right by my neighborhood (roughly near A on the map).  I can't wait till the day I can get on a bike from my front door and ride for couple hours.  The trail follows the muddy creek with mostly open farmland to the west and suburban homes to the east.  We saw and heard plenty of wildlife even this early in the season.

Earth Keepers

Link to film currently on Hulu
Earth-Keepers Movie



Link to film website
http://www.earthkeepersthefilm.com/topics/

Article of Inspiration

http://www.bicycling.com/bike-town/bike-town-usa?page=0,0

One week to go till classes begin at Salem

So class starts in about a week, and I am filled with both excitement and fear.  I'm a worrier, its what I do.  So even though I think this class will be a smashing success and that students will really become immersed in the subject, I wonder about if students will fully commit to the ideas and embrace the learning experience and get creative.

I've settled on a theme for the semester.  I'm pondering on something like "Cycling for a healthy mind, body and planet"

Now to find out more about these mysterious bikes on campus and to reserve the van for a few field trips to Moore's Springs Trail site and schedule some speakers for class.