Love Your Mother!

Earth Day is April 22

   You’re a model of eco-conscious living: You ride your bike to work, grow your own organic food and recycle everything except toilet paper. You celebrate Earth Day by digging in and getting your hands dirty, giving back to Mother Earth.
    Even if you celebrate Earth Day everyday, throughout the month of April you can join various educational workshops, hands-on clean-ups, family festivals and other activities that are not only fun, but also socially responsible. After all, it’s the only planet we have.

For a complete listing of Earth Day activities, see the Event Calendar on pages 33-34 or view our online Event Planner at www.OutdoorsNW.com.

The West Is the Best

For fitness, that is

   Oregon and Washington continue to gain national recognition for their fitness savvy cities – and citizens.
    Among the region’s recent accolades is Portland being named America’s best overall cycling city by Bicycling Magazine. Seattle was named the third best American city of a population of 500,000 to 1 million for bicyclists. Bicycling’s complete list of America’s top cycling cities was featured in the March 2006 edition of the magazine.
    Seattle and Portland were also recently ranked as the third and fourth most walker-friendly American cities, according to the American Podiatric Medical Association. Arlington, Va., was first and Eugene, Ore., and Spokane, Wash., were eighth and 16th respectively.
    Seattle walkers frequently take advantage of the trails on Cougar Mountain, which was the highest ranked Pacific Northwest trail on Trails.com’s Top 100 Trails of North America 2005. Voting was based on Trails.com’s proprietary data and includes trail page visits, trail review submissions and trail guide views.
    Also of note, Oregon and Washington had seven bicycle shops listed among the Bicycle Retailer & Industry News Magazine’s Top 100 Bicycle Retailers 2006. California led all states, with a total of 19 retailers in the top 100.

Following are the regional bicycle retailers that made the Top 100 list, along with their ranking.

Boise
George’s Cycles/Fitness - 48

Gig Harbor
Old Town Bicycle Inc. - 69

Portland
Bike n Hike - 20,
River City - 79
Bike Gallery - 88

Renton
Center Cycle - 31

Seattle
Gregg’s Greenlake Cycle - 51
Recycled Cycles - 76

Get in the Games

Oregon whitewater event continues to grow

   Hundreds of whitewater boaters will make a splash at this year’s Oregon River Games May 5 - 7. One of the largest whitewater events in the Northwest, it is sanctioned by the Portland Rose Festival and takes place along the Clackamas River near Estacada.
    Participants including high school and college kayaking and rafting teams, will compete for the chance to qualify for various national championships.
According to the event’s founder and President Paul Daffer of La Grande, Ore., “There is nothing like this in the entire U.S.”
    One of the goals of the event is to introduce new people to whitewater sports. To help achieve this goal, raft-guiding companies will be on hand all weekend to provide free rafts, gear and shuttle services for families wishing to try it. There is even a recreational Family Challenge competition.

For more details, see www.oregonrivergamesinc.com.

Different Kind of Du

Race and Ace Challenge expands its reach

   Combine a day of spring skiing with a round of golf and you get one of the Northwest’s most popular duathlons. Cap the evening with dinner and drinks at the scenic Sunriver Resort Lodge and some even say it’s a little slice of heaven.
    For two years in a row, the Subaru Race and Ace Challenge sold out its venue at Mount Bachelor near Bend, Ore. So this year, the organizers of the event have announced that the popular ski-and-golf competition will expand to include new locations in both Washington and Idaho.
    The event will debut at Washington’s Snoqualmie Summit April 1, where skiers and snowboarders take on the Giant Slalom course and then head to The Golf Club at Newcastle’s Coal Creek Course. Race and Ace will return to Mount Bachelor May 6 for a dual Giant Slalom competition followed by a round of golf on Sunriver Resort’s 18-hole Meadows course. The third and final race will be held at Idaho’s Tamarack Resort May 20.
    Participants will receive gifts, prizes and an awards banquet. Registration costs $229 per person and ends one month prior to each event. You can also watch the Race and Ace on Fox Sports in the Pacific Northwest.

For more information, call (503) 635-0007 or visit www.raceandace.com.

Women’s Cycling Club of the Year

Seattle team does it again

   For the second year in a row, Seattle’s Team Group Health-Sound Velo was named the USA Cycling Women’s Club of the Year. Winners were determined by how well-rounded and active a club was in proportion with its number of club members.
The team’s membership has grown from two members in 1999 to nearly 100 today, with an age span of 40 years. The main goals of the team are to help introduce more women to the sport and promote physical fitness, good sportsmanship and safe riding practices. While the team includes about 20 pro and elite racers, over 75 percent of Team Group Health riders are Class IV cyclists (beginners).
   “We see ourselves as ambassadors to the sport,” says team leader Dana Robertson Halter. “Joining a cycling team can be intimidating. We don’t care if you finish first or last as long as you are committed.”
    The team is always accepting new women cyclists to the squad and invites women of all abilities to join their group rides.

For more info on the team, visit www.teamgrouphealth.org.

Take an Island Bike Tour

A “sound” approach to start off the cycling season

   By Craig Romano

   In February, we tried convincing you to venture out of hibernation and over to Bainbridge Island for the Chilly Hilly bike ride. If you let the weather keep you from enjoying that scenic island tour, you have another opportunity to get your bike and your muscles in gear this month. Sign up for the Tour de Lopez on April 29 and enjoy the scenery and solitude of the San Juan Islands before the summer tourists hit the pavement.
    Contrary to what many believe, not all of Washington’s islands are hilly – well, at least not really hilly. Lopez Island lacks the lung-busting bluffs and steep inclines for which Puget Sound islands are notorious. With plenty of gently rolling terrain, Lopez has attracted Northwest cyclists for decades.
    And with some of the friendliest people this side of the Midwest and plenty of the prettiest rural countryside this side of New England, it was only a matter of time before an organized bike ride would debut here.
    Launched just two years ago, the Tour de Lopez is destined to become an area favorite. Last year, 550 participants began at Odlin Park, just one mile from the ferry terminal, and chose between 10- and 26-mile options.
    The longer ride takes cyclists through quiet woodlots, past working farms, along shorelines with views of the Olympic Peninsula and by numerous historic homes and buildings. And, like all good bike rides, it culminates with a delicious meal: a barbeque feast held in Lopez Village.
    The ride is held in conjunction with other events, including an art show, concerts and an evening boat cruise, helping to entice participants to stay and enjoy island life. Accommodations ranging from campgrounds to resorts are available for anyone planning on making a weekend out of the Tour – and I recommend that you do.

For more information, see www.lopezisland.com/tour.html

— Craig Romano of Seattle, Wash., is an avid cyclist, hiker and runner
and is the author of Best Hikes With Dogs, Inland Northwest.