Bike rides of the mama bear, papa bear and baby bear variety abound this weekend in North Carolina. Whether you’ve been riding a day or a lifetime, there’s a ride for you.
Coast
The thing that freaks some casual cyclists out about organized rides is the suggested competitive element. Sure, it’s billed as a ride. But you’d never guess that from jackrabbits-in-kits at the front of the pack. And the distances: 25 miles is considered the “fun” ride!?
Amazing how good it can feel to actually act on your ideas, rather than simply cogitate on them. Three examples from last week, including the issue, the action, the reaction.
1. Have a goal. I know, I talk about the importance of having goals, about how they’re essential to keep you motivated. And yet … . Beginning last October, my goal was the Umstead Marathon, which was on March 2. I ran (mostly) the marathon, then, according to plan, took some time off. Of course, the plan was to take maybe a week or two before setting a new goal, signing up for a race and training anew. The goal was not to take a couple months, which is about what happened. Oh, I was running — every now and then. I needed a goal — I needed another trail race.
It’s one adventurous weekend in North Carolina, with the Combat Run at the coast, a bike tour in the Piedmont and paddle racing on the French Broad in the mountains.
Coast
My friend Jason did the Tough Mudder in Georgia earlier in the month and he did not take it lightly, training for the event by dedicating four months of his life to P90X. Surprisingly, though, not everyone approached the grueling event with the same dedication. “There were people who hadn’t trained at all,” Jason told me. It’s in that spirit of last-minute “What-the-hey” that we draw your attention to Saturday’s Combat Mud Run in Wilmington. The 5K course includes such obstacles as 4′, 6′ and 8′ walls, mud crawls, a mud walk, a swamp run, tire climb, culvert crawl and “fallen trees” (presumably not felled whilst you’re running beneath them) and a “Foot Long Bungee Hall Way Obstacle.”
Try your hand at canoeing at Cliffs of the Neuse State Park, walk or run or bike to support a state park in Raleigh, or learn to ride a bike in the mountains.
Coast
We’re always on the lookout for a good, economical paddle adventure; this weekend our looking out has landed us at Cliffs of the Neuse State Park south of Goldsboro, where a ranger will lead an Introduction to Canoeing class on Sunday. The course includes boat, lifejacket, paddles and instruction, and will be conducted on the friendly waters of the park’s 11-acre, spring-fed lake. An especially great opportunity if you’ve never been in a canoe, but have given it some thought.
For much of this week, North Carolina has been swathed in a blanket of green. An annoyance to some, a detriment to outdoor pursuits for others. We don’t care about the annoyed; we’re here to address our outdoor brothers and sisters who are afflicted with sensitive nasal passages. No doubt you were tempted by the first run of 80-degree-plus temperatures to get out and play. And no doubt you would up a runny, itchy, puffy mess as a result.