March 6, 2008
Seattle Here I Come
This weekend is the Group Health Seattle International Bicycle Expo, organized by the Cascade Bicycle Club. The expo is a complete celebration of cycling, with exhibits and presentations. It's a great opportunity to see what big rides are planned for 2008. Oregon's own Joe Kurmaski, aka the Metal Cowboy, will be there for special activities and info in the new Expo Youth Zone.
It's going to be a busy weekend for Team ORbike. Three of us are headed up to staff a booth and check out the scene. If I get a chance to break away from the action for a moment, I'll check in with you all to let you know some of the coolest stuff I'm seeing out there.
If you happen to be free this weekend, head up to Seattle. It's $8 to get in for a day, $10 for two days, and kids get in free.
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November 27, 2006
Chocolate Milk as a Recovery Drink?
No really, it's true. It may not only function as a recovery drink, chocolate milk may even be better. According to a recent study as reported on the Oregonian's bike blog, "during a second round of exercise the cyclists who drank the chocolate milk were able to bike about 50% longer than those who drank Endurox [sports drink], and about as long as those who drank the Gatorade." But this is Oregon, so we need to know, what about chocolate rice and soy milks?
[ full story ]
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May 30, 2006
Cycling Across Country for a Cause
In late June, Cheryl Edwards, a patient of OHSU Hematology, will be cycling across the country to promote awareness of fatal clotting conditions, including pulmonary emboli, from which Cheryl has suffered.
Cheryl says "I have been an athlete all my life, but developed a serious pulmonary emboli twice! It is a miracle I survived with only lung damage."
Cheryl's husband Tom will be joining her on the journey to promote education about this highly lethal condition. They will travel from Seattle, WA to D.C., stopping in over 40 cities. NWclotbusters, their newly formed foundation, is collaborating with thrombosis (clot disorders) groups across the country to educate, inform, and empower the public regarding the 400,000 people with pulmonary emboli who are misdiagnosed yearly because of how this condition presents itself.
"PE alone kills more than four times that of Breast Cancer, yet we are so uninformed and over 200,000 of our friends and family die needlessly because of it," said Cheryl.
We'll be staying in touch with Cheryl along her journey, reading her blog and checking in with her.
The Edwards are striving to raise funds for OHSU Cancer Research Center in regard to thrombosis and the complications it brings to virtually every disease.
"The positive treatment of nearly every illness is adversely affected for those with clot disorders," stated Edwards. "New research is desperately needed to develop drugs that give hope to people on lifelong dangerous anticoagulation medicines. These people, like myself, live with the fact that at any time, a fatal clot may form, even while under treatment. This is unacceptable, as no new drugs for this condition have been developed in over half a century. For a disease that kills so many, how can it be that we have done so little?"
During the hours they are not pedaling, Cheryl and Tom will spend time with other cycling and community groups talking about PE.
"I believe our greatest and most urgent gift is our ability to foster inspiration in one another to embrace the best possible quality of life."
Even with this condition, Edwards plans to do just that. Together, they anxiously anticipate the day Clotbusters organizations emerge in every region of our nation to largely impact the minimal progress that has stifled this lethal condition for decades.
For more information and to join their journey, see their website.
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April 6, 2006
Promote Clean Air + Lung Health - Volunteer for Reach the Beach
The American Lung Association of Oregon(ALAO) is working hard for clean Oregon air and to promote lung health and research with their 2,000 person-strong benefit ride Reach the Beach. Maybe you're not up for a ride all the way to Pacific City, maybe you've got friends who don't ride or maybe you just want to stand around and make a difference off the bike. Perfect! Hundreds of volunteers, whatever your personal reason, make it possible for the 2,000 riders to be on course raising funds for the ALAO.
Volunteers get free lunch, a commemorative hat and a free pass to join us at the gigantic beach party in Pacific City. May 20th. See website for details on volunteering: www.ReachTheBeach.org.
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March 24, 2006
Can you Reach the Beach?
In May, all roads lead to the Pacific City beach. Hop on your bike from one of four different start locations on Reach the Beach, a fundraiser for the American Lung Association of Oregon, and join us for a sink-your-toes-in-the-sand party on the beach. This is my third year helping organize Reach the Beach and I can tell you it's an amazing ride.
Registration is only $25. You are also required to raise a minimum of $50 in donations for the American Lung Association of Oregon, and the website offers easy to use fundraising tools that make it fun and simple to send out messages and exceed your goal. Motivated fundraisers may qualify for great prizes such as a free pass to Cycle Oregon, a Trek bike, a ride on STP and more. Every dollar you raise helps the ALAO promote lung health and keep our Oregon air clean. They're working hard and they're saving lives and they need your help.
How does this sound: a beautiful route, breakfast, two lunch stops, 10 rest stops, dinner at the finish line, a brew pub on site, music, prizes and the backdrop of the ocean. Yes, I think it just doesn't get much better than this.
Reach the Beach also features a mt. bike course for those who want a little off road challenge.
Each of the five routes is a different distance, the most challenging being a century ride out of Portland. If you want to challenge yourself and you've never done a century, training rides led by the Portland Wheelmen will help you build up to that century.
Comments (1) | Posted by orbike at 9:57 AM | Permalink | TrackBack
January 24, 2006
Karie Mawer's Weight Loss Journey
Karie Mawer says she had "a victory" the first time she rode the Community Cycling Center's Worst Day of the Year Ride. It was the first organized ride she participated in and she signed up as part of what she calls her "weight loss journey."
Though she rode a heavy mountain bike along the course, Karie had a great time and was instantly hooked, "The ride started an obsession with cycling, I soon purchased my first road bike."
Other rides followed, including rides with the Portland Wheelmen Touring Club, a local riding group known for motivating cyclists to ride further and faster, while having fun.
In summer, the finishing of a Triathalon in June marked a high point in Karie's journey - she placed third in her division.
And the weight loss? There have been victories there for Karie as well. "I have lost an accumulative 50 pounds to date with the help of these activities and have about 50 more pounds to lose." she says.
[ ...Read More ]
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January 19, 2006
Do Tattoos Block Sweat Glands?
Do tattoos block sweat glands? Most of us probably wouldn't care, but the optimal-performance enthusiasts who read VeloNews do care and someone wrote in to their training advice column about it. They're racers, or trying to be, and wouldn't want to do anything that might inhibit their performance. The short answer: maybe kind of.
Comments (0) | Posted by orbike at 9:50 AM | Permalink | TrackBack
January 11, 2006
Ride for Your Life
A study in Denmark, following 30,000 people for 14 years, found a 28% reduction in death rates people who commuted by bike for 30 minutes per day. A Finnish study similarly noted a 40% drop in diabetes for regular cyclist.
From Treehugger
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December 16, 2005
Natural Alternative to Gatorade?
The Shift e-mail list has been having an interesting dicussion on natural alternatives to Gatorade. You can read the original post and follow-up suggestions in the archives.
Comments (1) | Posted by orbike at 7:12 AM | Permalink