Coast

Looking for new adventure in 2015? Check out the Cold Stroke Classic Saturday in Wrightsville Beach.

Now in its seventh year, the classic is a stand-up paddlboard competition that appeals both to the experienced SUPer with a 7-mile race and the beginner, with a course half as long. Cash awards in the elite category, $5,000 in prizes for the beginners. Don’t have a board? No problem; check out the used gear swap on Friday. Don’t have a wetsuit? That’s a problem.

Logistics: Saturday, Jan. 17, 10 a.m., registration fee ranges from $25 to $75, depending upon age and race category. More info here.

Saturday forecast: Sunny, high of 52.

Piedmont

Looking for a new place to explore in 2015? Our guess is that Medoc Mountain State Park may have a spot on your “new adventures for a new year” list.

Medoc Mountain sits off the beaten path about an hour and a half northeast of the Triangle. Ten miles of trail explore the park, which, despite sitting on the cusp of the Piedmont and coastal plain, has more of a rolling hills feel. A nice escape, especially since few people seem to know about the park, and an escape you can learn more about Saturday, when a park ranger hosts “Discover Medoc Mountain State Park” at 2 p.m. Learn about the park, take a short hike with the ranger, then explore on your own.

Logistics: Saturday, Jan. 17, 2 p.m., Medoc Mountain State Park, Hollister. The program is free, but preregistration is requested, by calling 252.586.6588.

Saturday forecast: Sunny with a high of 47.

Mountains

Looking to learn something? In 2016, the USA Cycling Cyclo-Cross National Championships come to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville. This weekend, you can preview the course the country’s top racers will ride at the North Carolina Cyclo-Cross Series Finale.

Tickets to the two-day event are $11, which will not only let you see the series’ top riders in action, it will, for the uninitiated, be a chance to check out the sport in person. More than 300 riders are expected to participate.

If you are among the uninitiated, cyclo-cross is a European import that marries road racing with mountain biking. Cross bikes more resemble road bikes, albeit with knobby tires. There’s a steeplechase element to the sport, with riders dismounting to navigate the gnarliest obstacles.

Logistics: Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 17-18, Biltmore Estate, Asheville. Tickets are $11. More info here.

Weekend forecast: Saturday is sunny with a high of 49, Sunday could be interesting for spectating with snow in the forecast.

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Those are our thoughts on the weekend. Find more options at the sources listed below.

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Maybe you’ve been fishing, maybe you’ve kayaked — but have you fished from a kayak? Maybe you consider yourself an avid hiker. But how many times do you venture off the trail for some real exploring? Or maybe it’s time you tried the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup of cycling: cyclo-cross. An array of new experiences await this weekend in North Carolina.

Coast

Kayak fishing is a little like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup: Two great things on their own that combined are even better than you’d think. A kayak is quiet; it lets you sneak up on the fish. And you can maneuver it into all sorts of tight spots — spots inaccessible to power boats or from shore — where fish may be lurking. Learn the basics of saltwater trout fishing from a kayak at Saturday’s clinic held by the N.C. Maritime Museum in Beaufort. Kayak is provided, you need to bring at rod and a valid fishing license.

Logistics: Saturday, Dec. 15, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., $55. More info by calling 252-728-7317 or by going here.

Saturday forecast: Partly cloudy, high of 61.

Piedmont

One of the joys of winter hiking? Hiking off-trail. In this part of the world an off-trail hike is difficult during warm weather, what with the tangle of lush underbrush and the critters who live therein to deal with. But come winter, the barren landscape invites an off-trail excursion. Of course, it’s best to explore off trail with someone who knows the terrain, someone along the lines of a park ranger, like the one leading Saturday’s Backcountry Hike: Christmas in Nature journey at Lake Norman State Park in Statesville. This 1.5-hour hike is deemed strenuous and will focus on “the plants and animals that have historic connections to Christmas.”

Logistics: Saturday, Dec. 15, 1 p.m., Lake Norman State Park, Statesville. Free. More info:  (704) 528-6350

Saturday forecast: Partly cloudy, high of 59.

Mountains

Cyclo-cross, that European contrivance of the mid-20th century intended to keep road racers out of trouble during the off-season, has established a firm hold in the states over the past decade, this state included. For the uninitiated, cyclo-cross is something of a mix between road riding and mountain biking: the event takes place on a bike resembling a road bike, but with think knobby tires. That bike is then raced on an off-trail course akin to a steeplechase course. Ride some, hike-a-bike some.

Get a feel for this hybrid event this weekend at the UCI-North Carolina Cyclo-Cross Grand Prix at Jackson Park in Hendersonville. There’s action in assorted categories (including those suitable for newcomers), starting at 9 a.m. Entry fees start at $20, kids race fee.

Logistics: Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 15-16 starting at 9 a.m., at Jackson Park in Hendersonville. Entry fees start at $20. For more info or to register, go here.

Saturday forecast: Highs around 60 both days, 40 percent chance of rain Sunday.

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Those are GGNC’s thoughts for an active weekend. Find out other ways you can get out this weekend by browsing our super calendar, a collection of events calendars from throughout the state, below.

Coast

CapeFearCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar for the Cape Fear/Wilmington/southern N.C. coast searchable by date and event name.

Coastal Guide
Comprehensive calendar including nature programs from a variety of costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs. Covers the entire coast.

Crystal Cost Tourism Authority
Comprehensive calendar focusing on the Crystal Coast. Good source for programs offered by N.C. Coastal Federation, Cape Lookout National Park, N.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve and other costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs.

NCCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar including programs for the Outer Banks and Crystal Coast.

North Carolina Coast Host
Comprehensive calendar for the entire coast that lets you search for events by day, by region, by county, by city or by event (based on key word).

This Week Magazine
Primary focus is the Crystal Coast (North Carolina’s coastal midsection).

Mountains

Asheville Citizen-Times
From the main page, click on “Outdoors,” then WNC Outdoors calendar.

Blue Ridge Outdoors
Searchable calendar lets you extend your reach to events throughout the mid-Atlantic and Southeast (or you can just limit it to North Carolina). Also lets you search a boatload of categories, ranging from Hiking, Mountain Biking and Climbing to Trail Running, Triathlon and Road Walking.

The Mountain Times
From the main page, click on “Calendars,” then Main Events.

Todd’s Calendar

Piedmont

Charlotte

Charlotte Observer events calendar
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including Nature, Recreation, Recreation & Wellness, Running

Charlotte Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triad

GoTriad.com
Comprehensive calendar includes a Sports & Recreation category.

Piedmont Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triangle

Triangle.com
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including: Birding, Boating, Cycling, Nature, Rec & Wellness, Recreation, Running, Swimming, Tennis, Yoga.

Carolina Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Statewide

Office of Environmental Education
One calendar for the numerous Environmental Education Centers statewide.

North Carolina State Parks
Lets you search for programs at the state’s parks, recreation areas and natural areas by location, by month, by topic. To reach the calendar from the home page, click on “Education,” then “Fun & Free Programs at Parks.”

National Forests in North Carolina
From the home page, click on Carolina Connections for news updates on the state’s four national forests as well as hints on recreational opportunities and a detailed rundown of recreation areas and the amenities at each.

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Actually, Sage Rountree corrects, this may be the perfect time to start thinking about goals for the fall. Rountree lives in Chapel Hill and is perhaps best known for her yoga-for-athletes books and clinics, which she conducts internationally. She’s also a coach, working with both elite and beginner athletes, and a marathoner (3:43:00 at Boston 2008), Ironperson (13:08:17, Ironman Coeur d’Alene 2009), ultramarathoner ( 5:10:45 in this year’s Frosty 50K trail race). And she has two kids.

“Picking your next goal before your race is the perfect way to channel that extra energy during the taper,” says Rountree.

While I haven’t quite begun to taper — the Roan Moan is just a week out but the Rock ‘n’ Roll half marathon isn’t until Sept. 5 — I knew what she meant. Two big goals I’ve yet to tackle, but they will soon pass. Then what? The last thing I want to do is let months of training fizzle while I ponder what’s next.

When I mentioned the Second Empire fall series, Rountree was on board.

“Series are great,” she says. “They’re a way of sustaining a goal. In the triathlon series, for instance, it takes the pressure off any one single race. You approach it as part of a whole.”

And, she adds, you establish a sense of camaraderie. “You see the same competitors, you go up against the same people in your age group.”

I like a series for another reason. There were eight races in Second Empire’s Spring Series. In my age group (50-54), no one did every race and only two guys did seven. By my cyphering, if I had done all eight (I did one: the Second Empire 5K Classic), I might have cracked the top 10 finishers. (The No. 10 guy only did three races.) Persistence, in a series based on cumulative points, equals glory.

A series isn’t the only kind of sustained goal. Fall is when a number of 0-to-5K, walk-to-run training programs kick in. I’m a graduate of the Fit-tastic program offered through The Athlete’s Foot in Cameron Village. The 10-week program, which begins Aug. 18, takes non-runners and gradually introduces them to running. At first, you run a minute, then walk for two. Over time that ratio flips until you’ve weeded out the walking altogether and are capable of running the entire Monster Dash 5K (3.1 miles American) on Oct. 31. The program launched in fall 2008, has added a spring version, and has had 425 participants. (For more on beginner runner programs, check out this GGNC post from March 31.)

For runners, in fact, fall is the time to ramp up. Cooler weather means more races, from 5Ks to marathons. Cyclists are more likely to suffer what Rountree refers to as the “post-partum blues,” as the onset of cooler weather and shorter days causes a significant drop in planned events. But they aren’t without options, either. A century ago, pro bike racers in Europe got antsy in the off-season. So they came up with cyclo-cross racing — basically racing modified road bikes off-road — which gave them reason to train between the warm weather road events. Today, cyclo-cross racing stands on its own, and the North Carolina Cyclo-Cross Series gives Tarheel cyclists reason to keep racing throughout the winter.

Your fall goal can be whatever you make it. Races are good, so are classes, and chances are your municipal parks & recreation department has a wide offering for the fall. Here in Cary, for instance, there are various levels of Taekwondo (beginner, for families, for kids as young as 4), dance classes, cardio classes, aerobic classes and yoga classes (including chair yoga), as well as assorted team sports (basketball, volleyball, softball), a tennis ladder — pert near anything you’d want to do. You can even come up with your own goal: By Thanksgiving, be able to hike the 7.2-mile Sycamore Trail at Umstead State Park, or the 6.2-mile Ridgeline Trail linking Crowders Mountain State Park west of Charlotte with Kings Mountain State Park in South Carolina, or the 5-mile Moores Wall Loop Trail at Hanging Rock State Park.

The point: Fall needn’t be a wind-down time. Start planning now and you’ll find plenty of incentive to keep working. The season may be winding down, but you don’t have to.

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