Video

If you get a chance, head on over to YouTube to view the class video (V1), and let me know what you think.  I'm very glad I was eventually able to export the final product.  Feel free to send your friends and family over to watch it as well.

Have a great Summer!!

Shirts are HERE!!!

If you ordered a shirt please contact me and we will figure out a time to exchange a nice, shiny, and new t-shirt for $16.  If you have friends that would like one they will cost $20.  They look really nice.  If you didn't order a shirt, no worries we have a variety of sizes left over.  As a reference, Heather and I are wearing mediums and Nick has on a large in the photo below.

 

Help me win Tia a bike

Hey there,

Does anyone still read this?

I have entered a contest with Mock Orange Bikes to win a bike.  I was thinking... I don't need a bike... who needs a bike?  Then I remembered Tia's story about her broken bike that the cave/camel crickets have claimed and how much she has really embraced biking outside.  I would love to give everyone a new bike, but I will need time to track down more contests :)  Its a really nice bike...

Ok, how can you help?  Go to the Mock Orange Bikes fan page on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Mock-Orange-Bikes/112966143303

Find this photo and "like" it.   Then tell your friends to like it and have their friends like it.  Voting is open until May 27th.  That is all!!

Mulberries on the Greenway

I don't usually share mulberry tree locations with just anyone, since I want them all for myself.  I usually get funny looks as I'm climbing around the trees shoving fruit into my mouth. 

Not many people know that there is a lot of edible food right along sidewalks and city streets.  My two favorites that I have found in Winston Salem are these trees that you can make tea out of their flowers (after you dry them), and mulberries.  Yesterday while on the Salem Creek Greenway I found the mother-load of all mulberries.  No fewer than 20 trees, both black and white (I prefer black).  There is a broken limb over the green bridge on the way to the greenway and it is filled with ripe fruit.  So you are asking what the heck is a mulberry, well it looks kind of like a blackberry but is smaller and grows in a tree.  They are not usually as sweet, but they are really good.  I've made mulberry jam and pie before, when I was lucky enough to have a tree in my backyard.  Here is an upclose look at them if you are feeling adventurous.

Remember this week is National Bike to Work week! Bike On!

28 day Veg Boot Camp

Hi All,

I read an article on vegetariantimes.com about a new 28 day healthy eating challenge.  I thought this fit very nicely into the topics we have discussed in class.  Remember back when we went over ecological footprints?  If you recall eating meat free can reduce your carbon footprint!

So why not reduce both your ecological footprint and your waistline?  Are you feeling adventurous?  With the end of the semester, you will be freed from limiting dining hall options, so this challenge may actually be realistic.  Give it a try and let us all know how it goes!  Link here

Food for Thought...

National Bike and Pedestrian Documentation Project

Here are the assignments for the last weekly homework of the semester.  It is really important that everyone sticks to sampling between 4-6pm on your day, PLEASE arrive on time. Click on the map below to view it larger!  I have made some changes... and anywhere my name is a student could easily fill in.

Locations

1. Stratford Road between Georgia Avenue and Buena Vista Road - Lane & Heather (Tues)
2. Liberty Street between 4th Street and 5th Street - Erika, & Shannon (Tues)
3. Main Street between 3rd Street and 4th Street -Kristen & Nick (Thurs)
4. Main Street between Waughtown Street and Salem Avenue - Cassie & Amy (Tues)
5. Acadia Avenue between Broad Street and Hollyrood Street - Brittany & Tia (Tues)
6. Salem Creek Trail - Kiva & Sarah (Tues)
7. Salem Lake Trail - Nicole & Louise (Wednesday)
8. Muddy Creek Trail - Louise (Thursday)
9. Reynolda Road (at the Krankies trailer) - Louise (Tuesday)

We still need a student or two for the Muddy Creek Greenway.  I still need Desiree', Teshenia, Olivia, and Alannah to sign up for a day/location.

Busy weekend for Thru-hikers and TransAmers

I had the opportunity to stretch my legs on the new bike this week, and to get in some hiking on the AT.  The family decided to return to Damascus, VA to take in the Virginia Creeper Trail this Thursday -Saturday.  We got in 72 miles on the bike (it was rainy early in the morning on Friday, so we took most of the day off to let the trail dry up and just hiked around with the dog).  

We did however, meet a number of interesting people on this trip.  Late-April/early-May is the best time to be in Damascus and meet AT thru-hikers.  Did you know that hikers have trail names?  So instead of meeting Paul and Brian, I met Skink and Red Beard.  It is sometimes given to you by other hikers, but some people give themselves the names.  What would your trail name be if you had one?  I also learned that Damascus is about 450 miles into the AT, so most hikers cant get here much earlier than mid-April, due to winter-weather and that you need to start at the southern end.

One couple that we met were already 3 weeks into their trip.  A trip that will take them 3-4 months to complete.  Their first stop when they got into town was the post-office.  I didn't know that you can mail packages to people to have them picked up along the route.  They had received 3 packages, one from each of their mothers and one from a grandmother.  The packages were filled with comfort food and little notes of encouragement.

One thing I have to say is that if you are the adventurous type.  Take some time off, especially with the still recovering job market, and have an adventure.  Even if you cant take the whole summer off to hike or tour Europe, take a month and go do something you've never done, or would love to do more of.

One inspiring individual we met on the trip was an Australian gentleman named Sholto.  Sholto is attempting (and will succeed) the TransAm.  The TransAm is not a car, it is the Trans American trail, which is a bike route (mostly on backroads) that goes from Yorktown, VA to Portland, OR.  He was staying at the same hostel/B&B that we were.  He has a road journal at the crazyguyonabike site that anyone can read and follow his progress here. 

 

I did crash my bike, this seems to happening more often lately.  I am fine, just grated my right shin, which is already on the mend.  I just wish we could have stayed longer, but work is a calling, and we both had to get back to reality.  I'm excited to spend some more time on the Salem Creek trail.

Outdoor fitness update: Mid-April Report

I have been able to get my 70 miles in each week, most of this has been outside, thank goodness the weather has cooperated.  Other than the horrible weather on Saturday, I was able to get out 4 days this week.  I am having so much fun, that I am now in the market for a nicer bike, since most of the time my biking buddy is about a 1/4 mile ahead of me, completely due to bike performance :) I'm super excited! Here is a picture of the bike of my dreams above ^

My diet has been a wreck, but I have been cooking more, just traditional dishes that may not be the healthiest.  I'm recording it on MyPlate, and it isn't pretty.

Saturday I went to the Piedmont Earth day festival at the Dixie Classic Fair Grounds.  I'm very glad they had an indoor option, and it was wonderful to network with all the different vendors and learn about different groups and businesses in the Triad doing work to improve the environment.

Bike obsessed scientists - apparently we are everywhere

I found this wonderful video online today.  It was posted on the Science Friday website.  A must watch for all.

10% Campaign

I thought I would provide a link for the 10% campaign that Michelle Ferrier mentioned in class the day she came.  Take the pledge to spend 10% of your food dollars on NC food, here.

The Role of Human Behavior in Emergent Infectious Diseases

I read an interesting article today about how human behavior is shaping the patterns of emergent infectious diseases, this is not a particularly novel idea, but most research has focused not on human behavior but on the pathogen or on the hosts.  This particular article focused on research by Dr. Kathleen Alexander (from Virginia Tech) about diseases afflicting African Wild dogs (one of the most attractive canines on earth, if you ask me).   Human populations have brought the African wild dogs into frequent contact with domestic dogs, many of which carry canine distemper and rabies. These diseases are ravaging the wild packs. This kind of contact is one of the less obvious ways that human populations disrupt wild populations.

She examined how different human behaviors influence disease transmission between domestic dogs and the African wild dog, in two African countries, Kenya and Botswana.  The significant differences in ranging behavior that she found in domestic dogs in Kenya and Botswana, parallels the differences in disease-related mortality in African wild dog populations.  In Kenya, domestic dogs spend the day with grazing cattle, accompanied by herders, whereas in Botswana, domestic dogs remain in the village, since cattle normally graze unattended. The result, African wild dogs have much higher disease mortality rates in Kenya, where they have more contact with domestic dogs.  Read more about this topic here.

Off the wagon

Today was finally a perfect day, and I took full advantage.  I got in about 18 miles on the bike on the Salem Creek Trail.  I haven't been out since last Saturday, when Nick and I met Tia on the trail.  I could tell...it was a rough 18 miles.  Nick asked me no fewer than 4 times if everything was alright, apparently I was very slow today. We still averaged 12.5mph.  I have been keeping up with my biweekly spin class, but it is obviously a different thing completely.  My spin instructor and I have been talking about me becoming a certified spin instructor.  I do like it, but I think I like teaching biology quite a bit better...but if I could do both, why not?!   On the trail today, I noticed the put in a new larger bridge across the creek in Washington Park.  Looks nice, plus now you don't have to wait single file for oncoming traffic to get off the bridge.

Ok, what do I mean by falling off the wagon?  Well I have been having a hard time with containing myself in the healthy eating area.  Last night I had poached eggs on a bed of feta and butter, tonight it was fried/roasted peppers stuffed with feta and eggs (thank you Bulgarian cuisine and what you do to my arteries).  So, I haven't been keeping good track on MyPlate.  It has nothing to do with any deficiencies on the site, but it is too depressing to see just how many calories I have been consuming, so ignorance is bliss. 

I plan to get back on track this week and to keep up my end of the bargain for the "Bike City" group.  I still have 30 days, but I would have liked to get going earlier.  I hope others are doing a better job with this task!  I just signed up to do a sprint-triathlon in August, so I really need to get into training mode. And learn how to swim!

Class Guest - Michelle Ferrier from LocallyGrownNews.com

We were fortunate enough to have Dr. Michelle Ferrier, a professor in the college of communications at Elon College, and proprietor of LocallyGrownNews.com come speak with the class today.  We spent the entire period really discussing what the term local food means.

I want everyone to go to LocallyGrownNews.com and create an account.  We will be selecting the best blog posts from this week to be shared on that site with that extended community.  I know a lot of you are interested in engaging in the types of conversations that are ongoing on that site.  It would be wonderful if we can go beyond what we have been doing on the blog, and become more informative to our outside audience.

Start thinking about what piece of the local food conversation (on the board below) you want to discuss in your own blog posts.  This week, I am going to blog about how purchasing local foods (I stopped by The Reynolda Farmers Market on the way home from class today) is introducing me to new foods, maybe ones I have eaten in restaurants, but have never cooked at home.  I already had a nice discussion with the owner on what I'm supposed to do with all the food I purchased (how to cook it), and I will return tomorrow on my way to the cobblestone farmers market (near Krankies) to chat some more and to interview him for this week's activity.  He also told me he could get me some special long/sweet peppers that I haven't found in NC yet, I will definitely be back.

 

One last thing.  The very first event listed on LocallyGrownNews.com is the Environmental Movie Nights.  This Thursday they are showing a film "Grow Your Own Vegetables".  I will try to make it, but check it out if you can.... see full details of the event and save the date at this link 

5 Reasons to Care About Where Your Food Comes From

If you are interested in sustainable agriculture and the other food related topics we have been discussing in class you will like this blog website I found today.  I was directed there by "Slow Food Piedmont Triad" a wonderful local nonprofit group (On facebook actually, its good for more than just catching up with high school friends).  Anyway check out the site called "Earth Eats: Real Food Green Living" it is part of Indiana Public Media.  I read an interesting blog post there today entitled "5 Reasons to Care About Where Your Food Comes From".  You can read about it here!

In cycling news, I have not been outside all week, I think it has actually been 2 weeks since I have biked outside, due to the cold weather.  I have made each of my normal Tuesday and Thursday spin classes these past few weeks, which has elevated my mood, but its just not the same.  I hope to get out tomorrow afternoon.  It is still supposed to be below 60 degrees, but I don't care I need to get outside.  At this point I miss being outside so much, I would bike in a winter coat :)  We are going to Asheville this weekend.  I hope to visit the Farmer's Market that Nicole speaks so highly of, I have been there and it IS amazing.

In healthy eating news, I have completely fallen off the wagon. I was planning on getting back in gear today (first day of the month) but April Fools!!  I ate REALLY badly today. CDI had a big meeting which they had lots of food for and I stopped by...Big mistake, I ate lots of things I shouldn't be eating...my intestines are paying the price now, so this will hopefully be a lesson learned.

I am working on my own progress report for Wednesday and tinkering with iMovie.  I'm realizing I'm no longer happy with the interface, I can not modify the content enough to suit my taste, so I am going to try working in Adobe Premiere, or Final Cut.  I learned Final Cut Pro a couple years back when I took a documentary film class at a community television station, but its NOT like riding a bike and I need to re-learn a lot of what I've forgotten.  Anyway, I'm working on a first cut of a look at the semester so far, including portions of the vlog and blog entries.  On that note, I ask that you please use personal and web posted photos in your blog entries.

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.

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.  

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!!

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.

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/