King's Chronicle
Asheville, NC 274-2131
Archive Index
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King's Chronicle |
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| A newsletter by Paul
D. King Asheville, NC 274-2131 |
March 2005 Archive Index |
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Note: The Spoke ‘n Word is the official newsletter of the Blue Ridge Bicycle Club.
The weather weenies got it wrong this weekend. They were all forecasting cold temperatures, rain and maybe even a wintry mix. Instead, sunshine and excellent riding conditions. So much for science and technology.
If you are just getting back on the bike, here are a few tips and tricks to make riding most enjoyable:
Safety check your bicycle.
Pop quiz: do you know what to do when you have a blowout?
How do you remember to do this? The same way you get to Carnegie Hall: practice, practice, practice.
Imagine you are having a blowout. Stay straight; brake slow!
The number one mistake people make in March is to start out too hard.
Start easy. A 30 minute ride is a good start. Avoid the hills.
Use easy gears. 90 to 100 RPM's is a good rate.
Keep the heart rate down. For adults in the 30 to 60 age range that means around 120 beats per minute on the flats.
Perceived exertion should be easy. Avoid the hills if you can, but where you can't, go as easy as you can. Some courses have optional hills. The Biltmore Forest course (available in the BRBC Ride Library) has five or six optional hills. Skip the hill loops in the new section. Instead of starting at the parking lot behind TGI Fridays, start at the park (near the center of Biltmore Forest) so you can skip the first big climb. You can also start from the Ingles parking lot in the South Forest Shopping Center or even from the South end of the course near the Blue Ridge Parkway. (Be sure to park in a legitimate parking spot, Barney is on the prowl!) You can park along the Blue Ridge Parkway and then ride into Biltmore Forest.
Access to Mt. Mitchell is still blocked in both directions. On Sunday morning, 3/13 there were 8 inches of snow on the ground at Mt. Mitchell. The Blue Ridge Parkway is closed at highway 80 (the approach from the North) and at Bull Gap (the approach from the South).
Access to Mt. Pisgah, on the Blue Ridge Parkway, from the
French Broad River, is blocked. The sign says "No Bikes and
No Hikers!" There is a gun emplacement around the first
curve, so it looks like they are pretty serious. 
Bike Safe! Bike Smart!
Tour de Cashiers is coming up soon: April 16 & 17, 2005. The deadline for the early registration is April 1.
Rides start on the Village Green in Cashiers, NC at the intersection of US 64 and NC 107.
On Saturday, April 16, 2005, there is a 2.5 mile individual time trial/hill climb from 2:00 to 5:00 PM. 860 feet of climbing in 2.5 miles! $50 prize for the fastest climber and $25 prizes for age groups with a minimum of 5 riders.
There will be a pasta dinner and live entertainment on Saturday night at the Cedar Creek Racquet Club or the Village Green (it's not clear from the brochure).
On Sunday there are five tours: 100 miles, 75 Miles, 50 miles, 25 miles and 11 miles. Something for everyone!
The 11 mile ride is $20.00. All the other rides are $30.00 before April 1. Includes ride, support and T-shirt. Saturday hill climb is $10.00. Dinner $10.00.
Full information is at: www.tourdecashiers.com
What are your fitness goals for this year? Would you like to gain 25 pounds of mostly fat in 30 days? Would you like to put severe stress on your liver? Increase your cholesterol and tryglicerides? Lose a significant amount of muscle tone?
Check out the movie Super Size Me! A young filmmaker goes on a 30 day McDonalds only diet and limits his physical activity to the national average. The results are amusing and disturbing. The movie traces his progress as his health is monitored by three doctors. The issues of national obesity and lack of fitness are also examined. Want to fatten up out-of-shape kids? Put soda machines and junk food in the schools. How did a charter school in Chicago for problem students reduce violence? They got rid of all sugar drinks and junk food, and replaced them with healthy drinks and real food. After two years, the full time staff police officer asked to be reassigned because he had so little to do.
The movie has some catchy music and animation, but carries a PG-13 rating due to some graphic scenes of a gastric bypass operation.
Did you know you can go blind from drinking too much soda? The gastric bypass patient was drinking about 2 gallons of soda a day. This probably led to his diabetes which caused him to go blind. He cut back on the soda and other junk and his symptoms reversed. He also lost 100 pounds with the gastric bypass operation.
The film is entertaining and informative. My teenage nephew stopped drinking soda after viewing it! (Miracles do happen!)
Check it out at your local DVD rental store.
© Blue Ridge Bicycle Club Inc. 2005