Volkswagen stakes claim to be the world’s leading sustainable automobile manufacturer by devising alternative transportation. The new VW Bik.e was unveiled last week at Auto China, the Beijing car show. This all electric “peddle-less” bicycle folds up to the size of a spare tire and packs in the trunk. Read the rest of this entry »

Madison-area swimming pools will be pretty well packed through the foreseeable future. Even though the weather is getting warmer it’s going to be a while before the lakes have thawed enough for regular swim workouts. So the pools are going to busy. With a growing number of triathletes carving out time to train, everyone has to share. Now is a good time to learn how to circle swim.

Learn how at Examiner.com>>

Jesse Kurzicki is one of those rare kids who loves eating his vegetables, and not just the peas and carrots his mom piles on his supper plate. The 7^th grader enjoys garden produce he grows himself.

“I grew up with gardens,” Kurzicki said. “Strawberry gardens my mom loves so much. And my dad who lives up north has a garden with corn and beans and carrots. All the green that comes from them, I think they’re great!”

At 12 years-old Kurzicki is a member of the Sherman Middle School garden club. This after school program provides a small plot of land for the cultivation of vegetables. There students can grow everything from tomatoes to broccoli to cucumbers. But in addition to offering a fun outdoor activity, the garden club also helps young people acquire a taste and an appreciation for fresh nutritious food. Read the rest of this entry »

First you fill out the paperwork. Two quick swabs to inside of each cheek and you’re done. That’s easy enough. Providing this tiny tissue sample is all it takes to register for the national bone marrow donor database. Charitable contributions and commitments such as this can become part of leading a balanced active lifestyle.

“It only takes 10 minutes save a life,” passersby heard us say as we handed them a flier. Throngs of people streamed past our booth near the entrance to Canoecopia. We had a prime spot to catch paddlers and nature lovers coming in or out of the world’s largest canoe and kayak expo. Hopefully the information we provided answered many of questions regarding the importance of registering as a bone marrow donor.

Over the course of three days 5 volunteers and I signed up and swabbed 63 individuals. Willing to offer up their bone marrow to a stranger with leukemia or some other blood disorder, hardy athletic types like outdoor enthusiasts are prefect candidates to become donors. And hopefully should the need arise and they’re matched with a cancer patient they’ll be willing to give the gift of life.

I consider myself pretty lucky to be healthy, active and athletic. Long past the point where I might take a national title as a champion triathlete, whitewater kayaker or sport climber I invest my time training in order to maintain and perpetuate my physical fitness. Dedicating a bit of time, energy and perhaps one day, bone marrow is a small price pay to benefit those who may not be so fortunate.

Should the day come when I or someone in my family needs the help of a stranger I certainly hope they’ll be there for us. The least I can do now is be there for them.

Find out how you can become a bone marrow donor at:

www.lovehopestrength.com, www.dkmsamericas.org or www.marrow.org

Keep Wisconsin Warm executive director Tim Bruer

Wisconsin’s most vulnerable residents stave off the chill through the cold winter months with the assistance of Schoep’s Ice Cream.

“I suppose someone out in California might think that sounds a little funny,” said Alan Thomsen, Schoep’s vice president of national sales. “But here in Wisconsin there are people in their homes trying to stay warm. With all the stories out there we know that people need some help.”

Throughout the Capital Region and across Wisconsin frigid temperatures well below freezing each year put at risk a growing number of the elderly, the disabled and families with young children. A state-wide program called the Keep Wisconsin Warm Fund provides low income households with small financial grants to pay rising heating costs as the economy slowly recovers.  Local companies like Schoep’s are actively involved in a number of fundraising initiatives such as an ice cream social that aims to give area residents a little boost with the weather turns cold.

“This is our first year helping out,” Thompsen said. “We handed out about 12,000 dishes of ice cream. At $3 to $5 apiece we were able to make a good contribution.”

Not to be outdone the frozen custard franchise Culver’s has also made sizeable donations to KWWF. Along with more 7,000 small to large businesses such as Park Bank, CUNA Mutual Group, Rayovac, The Gialamas Company and Glowac Harris, many local institutions provide funds to help the less fortunate manage their home heating needs. City of Madison Common Council president and KWWF spokesman Tim Bruer said keeping poor families safe and warm through the winter is an easy cause to support. Read the rest of this entry »

The street may have thawed but your bike chain is frozen solid! On that last cold ride of the fall maybe you put your ride away wet. Or maybe you’ve got an old bike you’re restoring. But turn the crank and you’ll find that your chain is a rusty, crusty mass of immobile iron links.

Find a solution at Examiner.com: Madison Recreation Examiner

Gabrielle Seals is an aspiring piano student with big ambitions. “I want to go to Juilliard,” she says. “But for my career… my career, career I want to go to Harvard to be a forensic anthropologist.”

This Madison sixth grader, age 11, only started taking piano lessons in September. And despite her family’s economic challenges she’s already making plans for the future. Thanks to a unique program called Piano Pioneers Gabrielle can include training in music on her application to the Ivy League.

“I’ve done some research and Harvard is a really good school,” she says. “Graduating from there I’ll be eligible to go anywhere in the world.”

Bright and precocious -she skipped the 1^st grade- Gabrielle is one of many children in Dane and five adjacent counties who receive free piano lessons. They are also provided with a used instrument from the Steinway Piano Gallery of Madison so they can practice at home. Read the rest of this entry »

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Even though temperatures across the country are still well below freezing there are still plenty of people out there riding their bikes through the winter. On this blustery day in Madison Wisconsin a small class of avid bikers have gathered together to learn the finer points of riding around town in some pretty rough road conditions

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Weather on race day was in the mid to high 20s. After a major blizzard and an unseasonable cold snap conditions marked by full sun made for an excellent Jingle Bell 10K Run/ 5K Run/Walk in Madison over the weekend.

A few hundred hardy souls came out with their holiday attire to run the UW Arboretum course to benefit national and local efforts to treat and cure arthritis. Runners and walkers in Madison raised just under $30,000 in support of friends and neighbors whose ability to move freely is restricted by inflamed and painful joints.

Check out the slideshow at Examiner.com>> Jingle Bell Run

Janice Beers is getting ready for her 12^th marathon. And for the first time she’ll do the bulk of her training while there’s still snow on the ground.

“It’ll be in February,” she said. “And I’m a little freaked out about running through the winter.”

Fortunately the event itself will be in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, the National Marathon To Finish Breast Cancer. Running for such a worthy cause Beers will likely enjoy a comfy 70 degrees or more on race day. But in the months leading up to her day in the sun, this Wisconsin resident, 44, is more than a little apprehensive about running in sub-freezing temperatures on the icy streets of Madison.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Beers says. “I love the falling snow and all that. I just don’t know what to expect putting in all those miles when it’ll be so cold out.”

During an average winter in Wisconsin temperatures will settle to 20 degrees or less well through the month of March and into April. Add to that few hours of daylight from dawn ‘til dusk and five to six months of winter training outdoors could be very difficult.

“It’ll be hard to find the motivation just to get out of bed ‘cause it’ll be dark,” Beers says, “When it’s nasty out I won’t have that push I’d have in the spring and summer when the weather’s nice.”

If you’re going to maintain the training base you built up when the days were long and warm, winter running is an inevitable part of the Madison active lifestyle. And if you can’t stand the thought of running indoors on a treadmill don’t worry. With the right combination of technical clothing and some knowledgeable advice you’ve got more than a few options when it comes to outside workouts. Even during the coldest months of the year you can run the winter warm. Read the rest of this entry »