Sep/090
Specialized Completed their Ride to Interbike on Monday
Specialized completed the 660-mile ride from Morgan Hill to Interbike’s Outdoor Demo in Las Vegas on Monday. Specialized has donated over $450,000 to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure since 2007 and plans to continue with donations through 2010. Here’s a pre-ride video.
Sep/091
Wild Horses for Adoption in Northeast California, Northwest Nevada
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will begin gathering excess wild horses from public lands in northeastern California and northwestern Nevada starting next week. The animals will be made available for adoption through BLM’s national Wild Horse and Burro adoption program.
Northern California BLM District Manager Nancy Haug said herds in these areas have exceeded the population levels that can be sustained on the range, along with wildlife and authorized livestock. These levels were determined through BLM’s land use plans and the environmental impacts analyzed through environmental assessments, both with public involvement.
Beginning Sept. 9, crews will focus on the New Ravendale Herd Management Area (HMA) about 50 miles north of Susanville. About 100 wild horses may be gathered to bring the herd within its appropriate management level (AML) of 15 to 25 animals. The AML is based on a number of factors, including water availability and plant productivity.
During the week of September 14, the gathering shifts to the Cedarville area, with a two-week focus on the Carter Reservoir and Coppersmith HMAs. At Carter Reservoir, along the California-Nevada border east of Cedarville, BLM plans to remove 125 horses to bring the herd population within its AML of 25 to 35 animals. In the Coppersmith HMA, straddling the California-Nevada border northwest of Ravendale, Calif., BLM estimates 86 horses must be removed to bring the herd population to its AML of 50 to 75 wild horses.
Haug explained that BLM gathers wild horses under provisions of the 1971 Wild, Free-roaming Horse and Burro Act. The law requires BLM to protect, manage, and control wild populations as part of a “thriving natural ecological balance on the range” and to remove some animals when herd populations grow too large.
Horses removed from the range will be brought to the BLM’s Litchfield Corrals east of Susanville and will be available for adoption. Animals not adoptable because of age or other reasons will be shipped to BLM long term holding pastures in the Midwest. Information on adopting a wild horse or burro from Litchfield can be obtained by calling (530) 254-6575. Information on wild horse and burro management, including herd population and adoption statistics, can be found at www.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov.
Sep/090
John Bachar’s last interview?
Bachar climbing in winter sunshine in the Owen's River Gorge last January. Photo by Bruce Willey
“On the one hand, there’s this incredible danger. If you fall, you’re dead after you’re 50 feet off the ground. But on the other hand, you’re completely safe …
“The other benefit is that you can do tons of climbing. There’s no stopping for belaying. You don’t have to stop to place protection. You don’t have a giant rack of gear with you. You don’t need a partner. You just walk up and climb.”
Those are the words of John Bachar explaining the allure and logistical advantages of free soloing – climbing without a rope, a partner, or any protection other than your own ability.
They were spoken in an interview with ASJ contributor Matt Johanson just a couple weeks before Bachar, 52, died while soloing near his home in Mammoth on July 5.
Bachar was legendary for his ropeless exploits and the training he put in to accomplish them. In 1980, he was profiled on the TV show “That’s Incredible!” (the segment is available on YouTube), and he authored many first ascents both free solo and with gear in Yosemite and beyond.
“Don’t scare yourself and know your limits,” he told Johanson in late June. “You’ve got to be really honest about it with yourself, or you’re going to get bit, big time.”
Read Johanson’s article on page 20 in our Sept/Oct 2009 issue, or view it online. http://adventuresportsjournal.com/content/?p=66
Aug/091
JUST RUN® PROVIDES FITNESS SOLUTION TO CASH STRAPPED SCHOOLS
JUST RUN Program Administrator Susan Love leads children in warm up drills.
JUST RUN® PROVIDES FITNESS SOLUTION TO CASH STRAPPED SCHOOLS
Program interest highest ever at school year’s start
Monterey, CA — In an era of budget cutbacks to schools, many programs – including P.E. and sports – are seeing the axe fall. The JUST RUN youth fitness program, now in its fifth year, is providing a popular alternative to cash strapped schools, and early interest is at an all-time high.
JUST RUN is a nationally recognized free, web-based program developed by the Big Sur International Marathon. It provides individual teachers, school volunteers, and youth leaders with the tools necessary to set a successful running and fitness program in motion, and is easy to implement before, during or after the school day. Enrollment for the 2009-10 school year is now underway.
“For schools that have lost P.E. funding, we emphasize that JUST RUN is free,” says Susan Love, program administrator for JUST RUN. “It’s an answer to the question, ‘How do I provide quality and effective physical activity for my students.’”
In addition to promoting exercise and fitness, the multi-faceted program is educational. Classes collectively accumulate mileage in “virtual runs” across the USA and Europe that are tracked on the website. Hundreds of locations through which the children run are web-linked, highlighting geography, history, and points of interest. The JUST DEEDS feature of the program encourages the kids to perform acts of good citizenship, and the nutritional component, JUST TASTE, promotes healthy eating. Recently, the JUST RUN website, www.justrun.org, was updated to include three new training videos, enhanced nutritional and fitness information, and a simplified registration process.
“We’ve had phenomenal interest already this summer.” Love attributes the rising obesity problem combined with school cutbacks and a stronger outreach to educators as the reason. “Most importantly, however, we offer a quality, effective, and fun program! Emphasizing on our homepage that JUST RUN is available to schools and youth organizations in any country, state or locale has prompted new inquiries from schools in eight states.”
Supported by the Big Sur International Marathon, the program offers free incentives such as mileage tokens, wrist bands and t-shirts to Monterey County-based schools. Local students also have the opportunity to compete in the JUST RUN! Just Kids3K races offered on the weekends coinciding with the Big Sur International Marathon in April and the Big Sur Half Marathon on Monterey Bay in November. During the past school year, more than 6,300 children participated in JUST RUN.
JUST RUN has received many accolades in its brief existence. In its first year, JUST RUN received a Gold Medal from the California Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports for “positively impacting the health and well being of California children and youth.” It has also been designated as a “Model Program” by Running USA, the premier trade organization in the running industry, for offering “the best practices for an affordable, effective youth fitness program that can be duplicated in other parts of the country.”
For more information on the JUST RUN program and how to get started, contact Susan Love at 831-625-6226 or susanwlove@sbcglobal.net.
