|
|
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
|
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
|
PETE'S PICKS
Happy New Year everyone!
If you're like most Americans you've made a few New Year resolutions. And hopefully you aren't like most people and haven't broken them yet.
Last year I had three resolutions:
- Take my nine-year old son (now 10) mountain biking more often
- Get my five-year old daughter to finally let me take the training wheels off her bike
- And discover some more backcountry skiing spots
Two out of three ain't bad.
My resolutions for this year include doing more of what makes me happy (hiking, biking, skiing, and spending time with my kids) and a few more date-nights with my wife in 2012 than 2011.
What's your resolution?
If it's to get in shape then I highly recommend you check out the Roanoke 100 Miler program that starts this Saturday. You basically pledge to run, walk, bike, paddle, crawl 100 miles in 100 days. By registering you get a shirt, motivation, and more importantly accountability!
Get Outside!
Pete Eshelman
Director of Outdoor Branding
Roanoke Regional Partnership
  
|
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
|
WIN A ROAD ID
Road ID was created on the concept that active people should wear ID as part of their gear when participating in outdoor activities. It was started by a couple of guys who began to wonder "why in the heck don't we have ID on us when we go out for a run or a ride? We looked at our dogs, they had ID. But, if we had an unexpected accident, while running or cycling, we would be in bad shape - nobody would know who we were or who to contact. That freaked us out."
Road ID is a durable, rugged, athletic, fashionable line of identification gear. Currently, offered in six different forms to allow a person to decide where they want to wear their vital Identification. It is far better to wear ID and never need it than to need ID and not have it.
The folks at Road ID were kind enough to give us a $35 gift card which we'll gladly provide to one lucky person chosen at random. Tell us your "close call" story and we'll pick a winner on 1/11. Don't have one, then just tell use your favorite place to get outside.
You can post in the comment section of our blog or better yet, find this story on our Facebook page and post there.
|
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
|
RNUTS TRAIL RUNNING SERIES
If you like trail running and aren't familiar with Mountain Junkies now is the time to pay attention. In 2007 Josh and Gina Gilbert took their love and passion of trail running and turned it into a premier trail running event service.
This 2012 Roanoke Non Ultra Trail Series (RNUTS) has been created to showcase the trails in and around the Roanoke Region. Held in beautiful locations each race offers a one-of-a-kind experience, contain different types of trail, possess different levels of challenge, and have been picked to push your limits and provide you with a great trail running experience.
This series has been set up so that you can comfortably increase your race mileage over the course of the year and/or from year to year.
You can register for any individual race or you can sign up for the entire series.
Click here to view the entire 2012 RNUTS schedule>>>
|
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
|
WHAT'S A BIKE KITCHEN?
 Google "bike kitchen" or "bike recycling" and you'll find a number of organizations around the country recycling bicycles. The focal point for each program is slightly different, but there are common themes across all of them: provide alternative transportation for income-eligible folks, earn-a-bike programs for youth, community service opportunities, an opportunity to learn a new skill set, and bicycle advocacy.
Beginning this month, the New River Bicycle Alliance (NRVBA) is kicking off The Bike Kitchen in Christiansburg, through a partnership with the Virginia Tech Center for Student Engagement and Community Partnerships and the Town of Christiansburg.
The program will offer low-cost and free services such as bicycle recycling, repairs, and education with a focus on serving economically-challenged NRVBA members and youth of the New River Valley.
Click here to learn how you can help>>>
|
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
|
EIGHT FACTS ABOUT WARMING UP YOUR CAR
 Old habits die hard, and one of the oldest - still rigorously enforced by many drivers - is that "warming up" the car for a few minutes is necessary to avoid some kind of unspecified damage.
But idling is totally unnecessary, which is why many communities have enacted ordinances against the practice.
Don't take my word about idling being ineffective, but do listen to my mechanic, Rob Maier, who runs Maier's Garage in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
He says, "You don't really need to idle your car, because of the efficiency of modern fuel injection, which eliminated carburetors and chokes. The only reason to let the car idle at all is to get the oil circulating, but after 30 seconds that's a done deal. My truck has 150,000 miles on it, and I just throw it into gear and go."
Here are some quick facts and tips that should put the idling question to rest:
1. Driving warms the car faster than idling
If your concern is not the health of the car, but simply your own creature comforts, Bob Aldrich of the California Energy Commission points out that "idling is not actually an effective way to warm up a car - it warms up faster if you just drive it."
The coming electric cars, such as the Nissan Leaf, will incorporate a wonderful feature that allows the owner to use a cellphone to tell the car (which is plugged into the grid) to pre-warm or pre-cool the interior. No idling necessary.
2. Ten seconds is all you need
Continue reading to view all eight>>>
|
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
|
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
|
UPCOMING EVENTS TO KEEP YOUR EYE ON
Visit The RoanokeOutside.com Calendar of Events for details on these upcoming events!
- Weekly bike rides throughout Roanoke & NRV Valley
- Weekly ultimate frisbee pickup games (Sundays & Wednesdays)
- Hikes too numerous to list
- Monday Bike Polo
- Tuesday Tune Ups
- Tuesday Night Rides on Mill Mountain
- Beer Tasting at Wilderness Adventure - 1/14
- Frozen Backpacking Trip - 1/14-15
- Cascade Falls Hike - 1/15
- KIVA Birthday Bash #4 - 1/21
- Cross Country Ski Weekend at White Grass - 1/27
- Douthat State Park Hike - 1/29
- MountainXCross Race Series - 2/5
- Chestnut Ridge Loop Trail hike - 2/12
- MountainXCross Race Seriese - 2/18
- MountainXCross Race Seriese - 2/26
- 8th Annual Explore Your Limits 5 & 10K - 3/3
- Blue Ridge Marathon, Half Marathon, and Team Relay - 4/21
- Roanoke Twilight Criterium - 4/21
- YMCA Kids Marathon - 4/21
|
|
|
|
Roanoke Regional Partnership · 111 Franklin Plaza, Suite 333 · Roanoke, VA 24011540.343.1550 X 104 · www.roanoke.org
|
|
|
|
|
