Bike sharing, a transportation concept embraced around the world but only slowly making its way to the United States, has come to North Carolina. Charlotte B-Cycle began operating yesterday, with 200 bikes located at 20 stations in Uptown, including several along Charlotte’s Lynx light rail line.
Bike sharing programs offer the use of bikes to people who don’t have them. They’re typically intended to help people run errands or commute to work in urban areas. Bikes are parked at strategically placed stations around town. Participants in in the programs typically pay a usage fee. Generally, you can ride the bikes anywhere (they have GPS tracking), but you must pick them up and leave them at a station. (Lose a bike in the Charlotte system and it will set you back $1,000.) According to Wikipedia, bike sharing programs were operating in 165 cities around the world as of May 2011. France had the most programs, with 29, followed by Spain, 25; and China and Italy, both with 19.
The Charlotte program will allow riders 30 minutes of free use, making it an ideal option for quick trips in Uptown. Each additional 30 minutes is $4.Twenty-four-hour passes are available for $8 — perfect if you’re just visiting for the day — and annual passes, a good option for urban dwellers and downtown workers, are available for $65. Memberships can be purchased online or at the stations.
However, through Sunday the fee is being waived.
Bikes in the Charlotte program as in most bike share programs, are designed for short trips (see photo). All come equipped with baskets, lights and a bell. The bikes, which resemble beach cruisers, have three speeds and are equipped with tires somewhere between a balloon tire and a road tire.
Similar B-Cycle programs are in place in 12 other U.S. cities, including Spartanburg, S.C. An effort is underway to bring bike sharing  to the Triangle.
Charlotte’s B-Cycle program was launched with funding from Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina’s new Get Outside North Carolina! initiative. That program promises to pump $4 million into bike and greenway projects around the state over the next four years. Two other programs in line for GO NC! funding include the two-mile Blue Loop greenway at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh and the 15-mile Gary Shell Cross-City Trail linking Wilmington with the drawbridge to Wrightsville Beach. According to BCBSNC, every $1 invested in biking trails and walking paths can result in $3 in savings in medical expenses.

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For more information on Charlotte B-Cycle, including how you can tap into this weekend’s free trial period, go here.

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A lot. A whole lot.

“Back in the 1980s, it was 10Ks,” says Raleigh-based race organizer Butch Robertson. “That was the magic distance.” That, says the head of NC Races, began to change when organizations that wanted to hold a fundraiser run discovered how much easier it was to hold a 5K: not as much course to map, not as many volunteers to recruit, not as many police to hire, not as many porta potties to haul in … . The result, a lot more 5Ks to choose from today.

A whole lot.

With four or five 5Ks a weekend during nice weather, how do you choose which to do? And how does a run manage to survive?

Robertson, who guesses he’s managed more than 500 races since his first in 1978, says a lot of non-profits looking for a fundraiser think immediately of a 5K. After an initial conversation with Robertson, the sticker shock prompts some to move on to Plan B.

“With no sponsors, they’ll need a minimum of 500 runners to break even,” Robertson says. That’s assuming a typical race fee of $25 per runner to cover a plethora of expenses ranging from race brochures to T-shirts to refreshments to those invaluable porta potties to city permits to police. And that’s just for starters.

Coming up with 500 runners for a first-time 5K can be a tall challenge, Robertson says. For instance, he frequently gets calls from school groups eager for a healthy fundraising alternative to selling vats of cookie dough. Problem is, with so many 5Ks that break-even 500 will likely have to come entirely from the school: from parents, teachers, students.

“The question I always ask is what’s it gonna take to get me in the car and drive 30 miles to a race?” says Robertson. Unless there’s a personal connection to the cause, that likely won’t happen.

That, he says, is why a race such as the Komen Race for the Cure does so well.

“I met with the Komen people for the initial Race for the Cure and this one woman told me, ‘There are two kinds of women: Women with breast cancer and women who are scared they’re going to get breast cancer. And every woman has at least one man in her life: a brother, a father, a husband, a boyfriend. It touches everybody.”

In addition to a worthy cause, then, what’s a good hook for a race?

“A unique location,” Robertson said. “We just did a race at the beach, people got to run over the bridge from Morehead City to Atlantic Beach. The people loved it.”

I thought of one of the few races I could remember from my first running career, in the early 1980s. It was a 5K that ended inside Denver’s old Mile High Stadium, where the Broncos used to play. Granted, the stands were empty, but there was still something about finishing in an pro sports arena that held more than 76,000 people, a space where I’d watched the Broncos overcome years of ineptness to defeat the Raiders in the 1977 AFC championship game. Achievement by association, perhaps?

So this year, in addition to cause races I’ll add some unusual venues to my 5K mix, starting this Sunday with the Blue Points 5K on the Runway at PTI — which takes place on a 9,000-foot runway at the Triad’s PTI airport. (Robertson told me that RDU officials approached him about a race a few years ago. When Robertson suggested doing it on a runway, they said fine, but that it would have to be after midnight, when there was no traffic. Even then, they said, if there was bad weather elsewhere and flights had to be diverted to RDU, there might be a plane or two to contend with. The race never came off.)

How this PTI race will work I’m not sure, but I’m curious to find out — and I’m hoping the distraction of running on a runway will get my mind off my lack of adequate training. For many, the pancake-flat race surface is a draw here as well.

Intriguing locations are part of while I’ll be doing this year’s four-race Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Blue Points 5K race series, of which the PTI race is a part. (Another draw: BCBSNC sponsors this blog and I get to race for free.) Other races in the series:

Blue Points 5K at the Ballpark
Durham Bulls Athletic Park, Durham
Saturday, July 2
Another chance at borrowed glory, sprinting (in my mind) across one of the classiest ballparks in the country.

Blue Points 5K at the Carolina Panthers Fan Fest
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte
Saturday, August 6
Not sure if we actually get onto the field with this one*, but as part of Panthers Fan Fest there’ll be plenty of Panther players on hand.

Blue Points 5K at the SAS Championship
Prestonwood Country Club, Cary
Saturday, October 1
I ran the inaugural race last year — it was my favorite race of 2010. Not because I won my age group (small field), not even because it was on a golf course, which was pretty cool. As we were finishing up the run we got to rub elbows with some of the greats of golf, including the game’s best-ever ambassador, Lee Trevino.

My race card for the year is filling, but if you know of a unique 5K, pass it along. I’m always looking for a good distraction.

* Two years ago my niece, who works in public relations for the Denver Broncos, took my daughter and I on a tour of the team’s new home, Invesco Field. When I started to run out on the pristine playing surface, she almost fainted. “We’re not allowed on the field,” she whispered.

Info

For information on Saturday’s Blue Points 5K on the Runway at PTI, go here.
For information on the BCBSNC Blue Points 5K Race Series, go here.

The post Choosing a 5K from a chunk of options appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

The four of us — Alan, Lois, Grace and I — were backpacking Easter weekend on top of Virginia, in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. If there’s an activity that lends itself to long, extended conversations, it’s backpacking. You wake together, you have breakfast together, you hike all day together, you have dinner together, you crawl into your respective tents and listen to one another snore together. It is the ultimate in togetherness. While I was aware of Alan’s interest/obsession with nutrition (including a two-year stint as a fruitarian and his days as a carrot juice magnet) and gathered that his girlfriend, Lois, a nurse, was likewise inclined (she was), Grace was a wildcard. Until she pulled from her backpack a 25-pound bag of fresh food. (Note to non-backpackers: That’s a lot of weight; most backpackers rely largely on dehydrated foods that way a fifth as much.) Though nearly half Alan’s age, Grace was up for discussing his every nutritional nuance, from dehydrating watermelons to waiting 30 minutes to brush your teeth after sucking a lemon because you could brush away your citric-acid-softened enamel.

It was a lot for this mainstream consumer to comprehend. Too much, in fact.

“Grace,” I finally said, “this all sounds good but I’m a simple man. Can you distill this down to a handful of suggestions for treating your body right?”

Grace was only too happy to oblige. For whereas nutrition is a hobby for Alan, it’s Grace’s profession. Grace Duling is a nurse by training and, as I discovered mid-trip, a Health Coach/Certified Case Manager for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, which also sponsors this blog. Essentially, that means that people with BCBSNC insurance can call Grace for help on everything from how to manage their diabetes to, I reckon, how long to wait to brush after sucking on a lemon.

Here are Grace’s five suggestions for treating your body better:

1. Drink water The body is amazingly designed and made up of about 60 percent water. (The amount of water varies by tissue or organ: lean muscle tissue contains 75 percent water by weight, blood 95 percent, body fat 14 percent, bone 22 percent.) Many functions in the body use water to carry out important processes such as digestion, elimination, absorption of nutrients and hydration of joints, ligaments and vertebral discs. Water also provides moisture to keep tissues in the ears, nose and throat from drying out. During a person’s normal day, one loses water and it needs to be replenished. Your body is designed for water.  Most people need about 2 liters of pure water a day and sometimes more depending on the situation, circumstances and environment.  For instance, active people who exercise need more water than an individual who is sedentary.  You can get this from drinking water or from fresh fruits and vegetables.  Remember that one needs to be drinking water throughout the day not just when thirsty.  Being thirsty is already a sign you are slightly dehydrated and sometimes hunger pains are actually your body’s cue for wanting water.  Water is the best source for staying hydrated.  For more on hydration, visit Mayoclinic.com.

2. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables The typical Standard American Diet is lacking in fresh fruits and vegetables. I mean the kind fresh from the garden. Buy organic when possible or at the very least follow the Environmental Working Group‘s rules of the The Clean 15 and The Dirty Dozen.  The USDA advises eating 3-5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day and there are plenty of other credible sources, which also state the value of adding these to your diet.  It’s important that we eat as much of these natural sources as possible because they provide so many benefits for our body such as vitamins, minerals and fiber. Eating them helps us prevent certain diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes, and keeping us at a healthy weight. We also feel better when eating whole, fresh sources of fruits and vegetables. We have increased energy, our body’s function better, we sleep better and even lose weight or maintain a healthy weight.  What’s not to love?

3. Lean meats (no added hormones or antibiotics) or lean sources of protein Our bodies have organs, tissues, muscles  and bone that are all made from cells that require proteins. These proteins are made up of substances called amino acids and we get them from our diet by eating sources of lean meats or meat alternatives. Examples of this would be chicken, turkey, lean cuts of beef, fish, eggs or alternatives such as beans, legumes, nuts, seeds or even soy (if you are an individual that can tolerate it).  Dairy products can also provide a source of protein but not all of us can eat dairy.  So take your pick as there are lots of options. The idea is to include protein in one’s diet.

4. Reduce sugar These days sugar is prevalent in just about everything we eat that is manufactured or processed.  Sure it makes things taste good but sugar doesn’t really provide us any nutrient benefit and it’s actually addicting in some ways. Eating sugar can give you a quick burst of energy but usually it’s short lived and then your body comes crashing down. This makes you feel tired, grumpy and just plain “yuck”. Sugar is empty calories that more times than not causes excess weight gain, contributes to Diabetes, Heart Disease and other unwanted ailments. Most people don’t realize how much sugar they are consuming. Statistics tell us that these days Americans are averaging 2-3 pounds of sugar consumption a week as compared to only 5 pounds a year a century ago. That’s astounding!  Simply put the message is to reduce sugar in all natural forms (honey, maple syrup, white, brown or cane sugar) and avoid/eliminate artificial forms of sugar (aspartame, saccharin).

5. Take a complete multi-vitamin We all have busy schedules and sometimes we just don’t eat like we should. Supplementing daily with a whole food source (natural, not the synthetic) multi-vitamin is a good idea. Active individuals or people who choose alternative dietary choices may also need to supplement with Complex B-Vitamins to be sure they are getting all the B-vitamins especially Vitamin B-12 which is important for healthy nerve function, blood cell function and overall energy.

Photo: Grace Duling and her provisions for the weekend: Fresh food is great on a backpacking trip — if your back can handle it.

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I was concerned about the four hours I figured it would take me to hike out. I was also concerned that I hadn’t taken the precautions I should have to deal with this, my next inevitable sting. Precautions such as:

Get an EpiPen. EpiPens provide an immediate infusion of epinephrine, used to deal with a variety of life-threatening allergic reactions. (Bee stings can eventually result in swollen breathing tubes, make respiration a challenge.) To this point, I’d been relying on a handful of Benadryl (diphenhydramine) , a considerably less potent remedy, to deal with the stings. As my reactions became more severe, however, the Benadryl’s impact became less so. (For the record, I have since become armed with an EpiPen, which requires a prescription.)

Know where to go for additional help. The EpiPen is good at stalling a severe reaction, but it’s magic only lasts a short while. After injecting yourself, you’re instructed to seek qualified medical help immediately. Now, were I of a certain mind, I could simply buy a Spot GPS Messenger, issue, via satellite, an emergency signal, and have qualified medical help find me. While it’s probably good to have a Spot or Spotlike device for true emergency situations, if you value your adventure identity in the least, you do everything in your own power to deal with a problem before seeking help. Which doesn’t mean ruling out electronic assistance entirely.

Recently, I discovered an app offered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (Disclosure: BCBSNC sponsors this blog) that, among other things, locates the nearest urgent care provider to your current location. If I’d had it last September, when I got back to the my car at the trailhead, I could have simply tapped “Urgent Care” and discovered that the nearest urgent care facility was less than 16 miles away, in Franklin. The map function would have provided the best route to get there. BCBCNC’s HealthNav app includes 164 urgent care facilities statewide. (Another helpful function: You can use the app to compare prescription drug prices.) Download the HealthNAV app here.

I still dread bees. But with the EpiPen and HealthNav app, I dread them a little less.

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Maybe that’s because I’m not entirely sure why I’m there. Yeah, it makes be feel good (afterward). Yeah, working out helps make it possible for me to backpack and mountain bike and paddle and a lot of the other things I like to do. And yeah, I know that staying in shape now will help ensure that I can continue to lead an active life later in life. For me, it’s an amalgam of reasons rather than one specific thing.

But what about them? The voyeur in me wants to know. And that voyeur now has an answer. BlueAsksYouNC.com is a new online community where North Carolinians can share their thoughts on health care and wellness issues. The site posses questions, many submitted by folks using the site, you get a chance to offer your two cents.

Quick disclosure: BlueAsksYouNC.com is sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina. Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina is also the sponsor of this blog. That said … .

So what motivates them to work out and live a healthier lifestyle? “The desire to look and feel better,” according to 49 percent of the 311 people who had answered that question as of last night. Good answer, say fitness experts: People who workout to look and feel better have the best shot at doing just that. (The second most popular answer, chosen by a quarter of respondents: “Incentives [awards/prizes] or a lower premium from my health insurance.” “Prevent or manage a disease such as heart disease or diabetes” was a close third [21 percent]. A distant fourth: My spouse/partner wants me to.)

Just as insightful were the comments people left. One person had another motivation for working out: “ … KIDS, I want to be around to share in their life and see my family move to the next generation.” A common theme: I’d work out — if I didn’t have to work so much. And there was the philosophical: “‘Look better’ is not what it used to be,” observed one comment. “As our state and nation become more obese, it is becoming easier to look better than it was in the past. ‘Feel better’ is always my measure. Do my pants feel tight? Does my back ache because I’ve lost strength? Am I winded when going up a flight of stairs? I think people should pay more attention to what their bodies are telling them.”

Other questions were equally revealing. 56 percent of respondents said they work out three times a week or more, 56 percent said they “almost never” eat fast food, 97 percent said they would exercise more if their employer gave them a paid hour three times a week to do so.

BCBSNC president and CEO Brad Wilson says he hopes the online community will “spark a two-way conversation. We plan to use Blue Asks You NC to listen and respond, and then use what we learn to become a better company and improve the health care system in our state.”

BlueAsksYouNC.com is open to anyone; you needn’t be insured by BCBSNC. Plus, participants can win stuff, like tickets to sporting events and gift cards to places such as REI..

Ever wonder if you’re alone in thinking that smokers should pay more for health insurance? You’ll find that answer — and other insights from your peers — here.

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