http://www.rei.com/product/780453
A seasoned cyclist or a weekend warrior, the River to River Heritage Bicycle Tour offers a great day of cycling that takes you from the Delaware to the Schuylkill River through two of Pennsylvania’s most historic counties – Bucks and Montgomery.
Completing the Schuylkill River Trail to Create the Region's First Green Transportation Corridor
Organized by Schuylkill River Park Alliance
Academy of Natural Sciences
19th St and the Ben Franklin Parkway
Panel:
Sarah Clark Stuart, Schuylkill River Park Alliance
Loree D. Jones, Executive Director, Manayunk Development Corporation
Joseph Syrnick, President, Schuylkill River Development Corporation
Gina Snyder, Executive Director, East Falls Development Corporation
Christopher Leswing, Assistant Director, Planning Supervisor,Lower Merion Township
The Schuylkill River Trail is an extremely popular and heavily used recreational asset and commuter route. It also has the potential to be much more: a connector between a variety of Philadelphia neighborhoods and suburban neighbors, the region's first green transportation corridor for multiple communities, a strong catalyst for economic development, and a critical access point to open space and commuting paths for underserved neighborhoods.
To be complete, the trail has critical gaps that need to be filled, and it needs to be extended southward, northward and into more neighborhoods. There are nine trail projects that, if constructed, would complete Philadelphia's Schuylkill River Trail from Delaware County to Montgomery County.
The Forum will detail the public benefits of a completed trail and describe the planned trail segments to make the case for the Greater Philadelphia region and its elected officials to work together to make these trail segments a priority and to fund their construction.
The organizations from the non-profit, development corporation and public sectors working together to articulate the vision for a completed and connected Schuylkill River Trail in the Greater Philadelphia Region include Schuylkill River Park Alliance, Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, Schuylkill River Development Corporation, Schuylkill Project, Manayunk Development Corporation, East Falls Development Corporation, Roxborough Development Corporation, Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania Environmental Council, and Bartram's Garden.
RSVP here: http://www.ansp.org/environmental/townsquare/email_signup.php
President Barack Obama is in Denver today to sign the $787 billion economic stimulus bill he won from Congress, a measure he hopes will start the nation on the long journey back to economic health.
Of the nearly trillion-dollar economic rescue package, $46 billion is slated to help shore up the country's crumbling infrastructure.
Chester County's shot in the arm will come in the form of one highway, one trail and one sidewalk project, for an expected $20.2 million in spending.
"We're looking over our list of projects, we have to have them to the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission by the end of the month," said Eugene J. Blaum, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokesman.
Come on ladies, get some wheels and get some exercise, look for rides on the Schuylkill Trail to be posted soon. My knee is going gangbusters and I hope to be back on the bike on the SRT by March. So dust off your bike and get ready to ride.
Pune, Maharashtra: When a media house recently recognised Armene Modi as one of the ’24 Real Heroes’ of India at a glittering ceremony in Mumbai, she attributed it all to the never-say-die spirit of young girls in Shirur taluka in Pune district who had shown such a zest for empowerment through education.
However, the story is that this desire for academic strength has come about only due to Armene’s innovative project under the banner of her NGO, Ashta No Kai. Armene has, so far, provided 300 cycles to the girls of this taluka to enable them to cover the long distance between their homes and schools or colleges.
This simple approach has empowered young women to rekindle their interest in learning and over the past six years, up to 500 of them have found access to education. Armene is a Columbia University-educated English teacher who teaches the subject in colleges across Japan.
This is, however, balanced with the projects powered by Ashta No Kai, the primary among them being to change the lives of women in the chosen villages of Shirur taluka.
“When I first visited the villages about a decade ago, I saw girls who had been married off at very early ages and were now tending to fields and struggling to take care of their homes and children. After setting up Ashta No Kai (which means ‘for a better tomorrow’) Armene helped set up self-help groups so that women would be able to save money and use it to become entrepreneurs.
“I then started kishori mandals for teenage girls to drive home the need for education as a tool of empowerment,” she informs.
When an appeal in local newspapers for cycles brought forth a reasonable response, coupled with the donation of a 100 cycles from her Japanese friends, Armene started a Bicycle Bank to reach out to those young girls who had decided to opt out of schools because they had no means to attend institutes which were in far-flung areas.
This has helped many girls to clear their SSC examination even though schools in Shirur do not have classes beyond standard VII.
“Most girls were forced to leave their education mid-way because they had to walk up to 10 kilometres for the higher classes. Parents were, but naturally, concerned for their safety and therefore would rather get them married at early ages than run the risk of securing education and special skills,” Armene explains.
Enthused by the success of this project, Armene announced scholarships for those girls wanting to pursue higher education. There were nine applications in 2004. In this year, there have been as many as 50 applications.
“Many of the girls who began using the cycles in 2002 are now on the verge of completing their degree courses in such streams as law, commerce, pharmacy and agriculture,” she states.
Ashvini Shelke and Kalpana Dange, for instance, are two such beneficiaries of the Bicycle Bank who have reached up to standard X.
“I can travel a distance of four kilometres to my school in 15 minutes instead of the one hour it took on foot. I can therefore study as also help out my parents at home,” Ashvini states.
Mary is a WCCC member and active cyclists, might be interesting to attend this meeting and see what is happening in Chester County.
Committee Chair:Mary LaSota mrylasota@yahoo.com
Next Committee Meeting Date: Monday, February 16, 2009 7PM
Committee Location:
Room 149
Chester County Planning Offices
601 Westtown Rd, West Chester
MAP
a photo from the Bike and the Like Tour group in Martha's Vineyard
http://www.actionwipes.com/
If you're a woman, you may not believe you're as vulnerable to a heart attack as men–but you are. Women account for nearly half of all heart attack deaths. Heart disease is the number one killer of both women and men.
There are differences in how women and men respond to a heart attack. Women are less likely than men to believe they're having a heart attack and more likely to delay in seeking emergency treatment.
Further, women tend to be about 10 years older than men when they have a heart attack. They are more likely to have other conditions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and congestive heart failure–making it all the more vital that they get proper treatment fast.
Women should learn the heart attack warning signs. These are:
 | Pain or discomfort in the center of the chest. |
| Pain or discomfort in other areas of the upper body, including the arms, back, neck, jaw, or stomach. |
| Other symptoms, such as a shortness of breath, breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea, or light-headedness. |
As with men, women's most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, and back or jaw pain.
If you feel heart attack symptoms, do not delay. Remember, minutes matter! Do not wait for more than a few minutes–5 minutes at most–to call 9-1-1. Your family will benefit most if you seek fast treatment.
We will believe it when we can walk it, but it looks as though the Chester Valley Trail may be on the fast track.
We — and any number of walkers and bicyclists and outdoors enthusiasts — have been waiting for the 12-mile-long trail connection between Exton and the Montgomery County line to be up and, shall we say, running, since it was first discussed in 1991.
But we know that in Chester County, a wait must come before good things arrive, especially when it comes to parks. Look at the county's former Embreeville County Park. Conceived in the mid-1980s, it was not until 2007 and its inclusion in the Natural Lands Trust's ChesLen Preserve that the 500 acres of natural beauty at Embreeville became something more than a dot on a map.
The latest in the Chester Valley Trail saga came on Tuesday, when county Commissioner Carol Aichele admitted to putting in a call to state Transportation Secretary Allen D. Biehler about the six or so miles of abandoned rail line land that the department owns, and which would make up the eastern portion of the Chester Valley Trail. Aichele described their chat as "a nice time," and by the end of the conversation, Biehler had apparently given the go ahead to turning over the land to the county.
That means, above all else, that construction of the trail could conceivably begin this summer.
It will also mean that construction of the trail will have a cost saving associated with it. Under the old arrangement, PennDOT would have had to approve all the construction, repair, and replacements associated with getting the trail in order. Not to shock anyone, but we understand that doing business with the state is considerably more expensive than doing business at the county level.
"The bureaucracy associated with working with the state agency is just staggering," county construction projects director Don Thompson said Tuesday. Even putting one stone back in a crumbling culvert would take extraordinary efforts to win approval, he said. With the state handing over the rights to the 5.5-mile segment it owns, Thompson said, the county stands to save significant time and money in years to come. The trail will cost some $25 million to complete, but Aichele said the funding is guaranteed through the state's Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP).
The completion of the trail has long been sought by bicycle clubs, recreation buffs, and businesses and commuters in the Route 202 corridor. Aichele, who also serves as chairwoman of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, said many feel it would improve traffic conditions if commuters could stop and ride their bikes along the trail instead of remaining in their cars in Route 202 traffic jams. Local housing developers are also excited about the plan because it adds a selling point to homebuyers.
When it opens, it will be among the jewels of the county's planned trail network, and would allow someone to walk from Downingtown to Norristown and on to Philadelphia.
Again, we will believe it when we walk it, but we hope to be doing that soon.
CHICKS HELPING CHICKS
So, you want to stop driving a gas guzzling car and ride a bike. Only one problem; you have a few kids and lots of stuff to haul around. Solution? A cargo bike.
There are several different kinds of cargo bikes. What really makes a cargo bike different then an average bike is it's ability to hold lots of stuff. Most of them are extra long either in the front or the back. The Madsen pictured above is a "new" kind of cargo bike. Instead of having two wheels in the back or a cart in the front, this one is designed with a cart in the back, similar to a single wheeled bike trailer. The advantage of having a cargo bike over a bike trailer is that it is easier to control. Bike trailers have a tendency to pull a bike off balance making it harder to steer or turn.
The more traditional push-cart style bicycles or Bakfiets can be more then twice the price of the Madsen. Despite the price they are hugely popular in Europe and are gaining ground in Portland. I really love the Philadelphia made Haley bikes (trikes?) that are similar to Bakfiets but way cheaper and were designed to haul a drum set instead of children.
Another popular option is the Xtracycle. The Xtracycle frame can be attached to an existing bike or can be bought as a complete bike. The idea is a extra long bike that can hold everything from groceries to people on the back.
They are popular because they do not take up much space on the road.
All of these options sound awesome but are way beyond my price range. A friend is offering to look into building a cargo bike like the Haley bicycle for me so maybe one day I can ride around in style. Until then, I guess I will stick to my folding bike or look for a good used bike and just attach things to my bike rack. I also have a nice bike trailer I bought so I could take my daughter with me. It has a separate compartment for groceries etc. but not nearly as nice as having a cargo bike.
The hills and lack of bike lanes around here are not helping either.
Bicycling can help solve two of our nation's leading crises: skyrocketing healthcare costs, which are damaging every sector of our economy, and the obesity epidemic, which in 2000 caused 400,000 deaths, 16.6 percent of all deaths recorded, due to physical inactivity and poor diet. A study of almost 200,000 General Motors employees found that overweight and obese individuals average up to $1,500 more in annual medical costs than healthy-weight individuals. By getting people moving again, bicycling can help improve Americans lose weight and improve their physical fitness. This could not only save lives, it could help greatly reduce the total costs to society of obesity, estimated at $117 billion per year (including $39 billion a year through Medicare and Medicaid programs, which cover sicknesses caused by obesity including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and several types of cancer).
Recreational bike riding is a safe, low-impact, aerobic activity for Americans of all ages. A 150-pound cyclist burns 410 calories while pedaling 12 miles in an hour-almost the equivalent calories of a McDonald's Quarter Pounder®. A 200-pound cyclist burns 546 calories while going 12 miles per hour-almost the equivalent of a Big Mac®.
Sources: Exercise and Your Heart -- A Guide to Physical Activity. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute / American Heart Association, DHHS, PHS, NIH Publication No. 93-1677 and McDonald's.
The President, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Surgeon General, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services have all recently expressed concern over America’s overweight problem. According to the CDC, 61% of adults in the U.S. are overweight or obese; 13% of kids aged 6 to 11 and 14% of kids 12 to 19 are overweight. Obesity is second behind tobacco in U.S. health risk factors, contributing to 300,000 deaths a year.
According to the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, approximately 70% of US adults are sedentary. This includes 28% who engage in no leisure-time physical activities and 42% who undertake less than 30 minutes of physical activity (such as walking) each day.
The Surgeon General’s Report on Physical Activity and Health said, "Physical activity of the type that improves cardiovascular endurance reduces the risk of developing or dying from cardiovascular disease, hypertension, colon cancer, and type 2 diabetes and improves mental health. Findings are suggestive that endurance-type physical activity may reduce the risk of developing obesity, osteoporosis, and depression and may improve psychological well-being and quality of life."
