Not sure about you, but sometimes when the temperature isn’t supposed to get much above freezing I need a little extra incentive to get out and get going. Like Saturday’s “Kickoff to a Healthy New Year” event planned for the American Tobacco Trail in southern Wake County. They’ve got all sorts of events planned to keep you warm. Rex UNC Health Care will offer free health screenings, nutrition advice and — this is the part that’ll keep you warm — exercises. Wake County Parks will lead guided nature walks, the Triangle Off Road Cyclists will lead guided bike rides, Harmony Studios in Apex will lead a Yoga demo (alas, not Bikram), the NC Geocachers will lead a search and discover mission — all kinds of ways to keep … well, from freezing.
Category Archives: Cycling
Coexisting with cold air
The temperature in Raleigh just hit 40! Woo-hoo! Alas, this heat wave isn’t expected to last. Light snow is predicted for Thursday, it’s barely supposed to get above freezing over the weekend. Thus, we bring you more tips — in the form of recommended reading — on exercising in the cold.
Start 2010 with a hike, a run, a ride — even a chilly dive
I can almost guarantee that your resolution to be more active in 2010 will last at least through New Year’s Day. That’s because there are way too many activities scheduled to keep you on the move.
Sure, some fall into the intense category. The Triangle Scuba Group plans to dive the frigid waters at Fantasy Lake at 10 a.m. The North Carolina Bicycle Club plans to get together for a little ride — of 62 miles at an average pace of 19 to 20 miles per hour. And no doubt someone has plans to lead a winter assault on Mt. Mitchell or Clingman’s Dome.
A wily sales pitch
It was billed as a mountain bike race. It was actually a shrewd bit of marketing.
Officially, Saturday’s 6 BC was billed as the second in a series of four, 6-hour endurance mountain bike races sponsored by the Triangle Off-Road Cyclists. And while there was indeed a race (these results prove it), it was also a cleverly crafted sales pitch by the venue host: C’mon out and race — and see what kind of trail you could be riding every day of your life for the rest of your life without ever throwing your bike on the roof rack.
6 BC by the numbers
Here’s a numerical look at yesterday’s 6 BC endurance mountain bike race sponsored by the Triangle Off-Road Cyclists.
First, the basics:
6 — Course length, in miles.
6:00:00 — Number of hours to complete as many laps as possible
73 — Number of racers.
8 — Age of the youngest rider, Cedric Clyburn.
5 / 5:09:46 — Number of laps and the elapsed time for Cedric, who was riding a bike with 24-inch wheels. The last time I saw Cedric on the course, a female racer (sorry, I didn’t catch her bib number) was helping extract Cedric from a tree he had flipped into. After the race, while everyone else was celebrating in the beer garden, Cedric was hanging at a nearby playground.
14 — Age of the youngest female rider, Sophia Clyburn.
6 / 6:21:53 — Number of laps and elapsed time for Sophia, who took third in the Female Solo category.
47 — Age of the second oldest racer, Anne Bringuier, who won the Female Solo Open category, completing 8 laps in 5 hours, 52 minutes and 4 seconds.
53 — Age of the oldest racer, me.
11 — Most laps put in by a racer, tied by six individuals: Matthew Lee, Alex Hawkins, Kip Clyburn, Alex Harrill, Saputra De and John Hinson.
5:41:08 — Fastest overall time, by 39-year-old Matthew Lee, winner of the Open Men’s Solo Division.
28:33 — Fastest lap time, recorded by Justin Kingon.
1 — Number of gears used by the 11 racers in the Single Speed Solo category.
11 / 6:04:07 — No. of laps completed and elapsed time by the Single Speed winner, Saputra De. His was the fifth best performance overall.
66 — Number of miles ridden by the 8 racers who completed 11 laps.