Category Archives: Uncategorized

90-Second Escape: Paddling Umstead’s Big Lake

Monday — never an easy time for the outdoors enthusiast, especially come summer. After a weekend of adventure, returning to the humdrum work-a-day world can make one melancholy.
To help ease this trying transition from out-in-the-Sun-day to Mon-I-wish-I-were-back-in-the-sun-day, we’re running a new feature every Monday, at least during the summer, called 90-Second Escape. Essentially, it’s a 90-second mini-movie of a place you’d probably rather be: a trail, a park, a greenway, a lake … anywhere as long as it’s out in the sun. Because there’s a good chance you might want to make such an escape yourself, we’ll include a resource list with each escape showing where and how to make it happen.
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Find a greenway in North Carolina

There are hundreds of miles of greenways in North Carolina. But unless one runs through your neighborhood, chances are you don’t know where they are.

Despite their popularity and growing prominence, there is no one single source for greenways in North Carolina. As I’ve mentioned, GetGoingNC.com is working on that; hopefully, in a month or so we’ll have some progress to announce on that front. Until then, I’ll share my list of Web sites detailing greenways throughout the state. Included is a quick thumbnail; click on the destination for more info. read more

Longing for longer greenways

Last week, we talked about long-distance greenways in the state — existing and planned — associated with the East Coast Greenway. Interviews for that story touched on other long-distance trails in the planning stage across North Carolina. Today, we touch on those trails. read more

Tri this: A sprint to fitness

I wrote the following story for The News & Observer and Charlotte Observer; It ran in both papers March 8. It’s rerun here with links, and is one of four posts this week on triathlons, specifically the increasingly popular sprint variety.
Tuesday: Triathlon by the numbers
Today: The growing popularity of sprint triathlons
Thursday: Kim Feth’s story: From walking around her living room to finishing her first sprint tri eight months later.
Friday: Gerald Babao’s story: Trying to out swim, out bike, out run cancer.
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A (20-mile) walk in the woods with Rod

There was a bit of concern at the end of Saturday’s hike. “I’ve only got 19.8 miles on my pedometer,” said Bob. That sparked discussion among the first half dozen or so of us to finish our six-and-a-half-hour trek. “I hope that’s not what Rod’s pedometer says,” groaned one fellow who appeared to have just enough energy left to walk the 20 yards to his car. Asked a woman on the ground stretching,“Do you think he’d make us go back out?” read more