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You might have heard that not everyone agrees when it comes to climate change. While living in New York City, after graduating from college photographer Alan Winslow and journalist Morrigan McCarthy came to realize that across the America people have a difference of opinion.

photo by Meghan Peterson

“Because living in New York City you can kind of feel like you’re in a bubble. Maybe any city is like that,” Morrigan said. “But that everyone around you has the same opinion and is in the same boat, especially when it comes to the environment. You know we should be recycling, we should be taking care of the planet.”

In a community full of liberals Morrigan and Alan believed that everyone would be eager to embrace sustainable practices and a lifestyle to mitigate the damaging effects of climate changes.

“But then we would see these poles and watch the news and it didn’t seem to be that way elsewhere, Morrigan said. “Otherwise every body would just be in the same boat and something would be happening. But we decided to take off and figure out what Americans were actually thinking. And Americans have all sorts of opinions.”

So the two started making plans to travel around the county taking pictures and asking questions. Through their journey, called Project Tandem Alan and Morrigan wanted to connect with everyday Americans across all walks of life to discover what they thought about the planet’s changing climate. Read the rest of this entry »

Fans of the documentary “Take a Seat” by adventure filmmaker Dominic Gill will be happy to hear that the biking Britain has a new project in the works. On the heels of his trans-continental trek from Alaska to Argentina, Dom is now planning to take a 74-year-old California man on a tandem bike ride across the United States.

In 2006 Ernie Greenwald was retired and living quietly in the town of Lompoc. Six months to the day that his wife passed away, Ernie met Dom. And inspired by the spirit of adventure the two peddled 60 miles together on Dom’s tandem bike to Santa Barbara.

Now despite suffering from Lymphocytic Leukemia Ernie is heading out on a grand journey to explore his country. Riding a custom tandem/upright/recumbent hybrid bike Dom and Ernie plan to peddle coast to coast in search of the American Dream. 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

Eight-year-old Savanna Lee is discovering wonderful things about the world around her. “I learned that there’s a whole bunch of stuff under the water,” she said, “things like bugs and beetles, not just fish. It’s exciting!”

A student at Glendale Elementary School in Madison, Savanna is among many local children that benefit from an environmental education program offered by the Aldo Leopold Nature Center. Every Monday afternoon for ten weeks of the year Savanna and her classmates explore nearby forests, streams and marshlands. Called Nature Nuts, the course creates safe and enjoyable outdoor experiences for area youth whose families cannot afford traditional after-school activities. Read the rest of this entry »

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An interview with adventure filmmaker Dominic Gill

I don’t know about you. But I’ve got a hard time getting motivated, especially when it comes to doing something hard, something that might take a lot of time, cost a bit of money or might even be a little scary. Life’s journey can be tough enough just trying to get by making it from day to the next. But every once in a while, someone comes along that prompts you to action. They get you psyched up and excited because you can see they’re going places and the next thing you know it you get swept up in the momentum and just like your own life’s journey heads in a whole new direction. You follow that person right a new road of adventure. Last fall I met a guy just like that.

Now before get the wrong idea, I didn’t get on the back of that bicycle. I can tell you that had I me this guy riding down the coast of California I would have climbed aboard in a second. Dominic Gill was one a one of a few dozen movie producers I met during the 2009 Banff Film Festival. His documentary called Take A Seat follows his two-year journey by tandem bicycle over 20,000 mile of open road. Asking total strangers to pedal behind him on what his calls the stoker seat his travels brought a fresh sense of adventure into hearts and minds of everyone he met or who tagged along for the ride. 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 »

“I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things… I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind.”

Leo F. Buscaglia ~American guru, tireless advocate of the power of love (1924-1998)

Photograph by Chris Gibbs

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”

Calvin Coolidge ~ (30th President of the United States, 1872-1933)

Photo by James Edward Mills