Tag Archives: Bend Oregon

SFT Kickoff – Thursday, August 18

My dear friends and family in Bend. Please join me at the SFT Kickoff Party this Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m. at Compass Park in Northwest Crossing. It’s a casual, meet & greet potluck, so bring a healthy dish to share. Plates and utensils will be provided. (Sorry, there’s no BBQ at the facility, but feel free to bring your own gas grill if you’re craving some meat.)

We’ll have some SFT Schwag:

Perfect Foods Bars samples (YUM!):

Giveaways from Garmin:

Schwag and sunscreen from The John Wayne Cancer Foundation and Team Duke:

 

Plus, good food, community and lots of smiles. See you there!

-Sara

Smiling and pedaling

I was lucky enough to fit in a quick spin on the knobby tires out at Phil’s Trail last Sunday. I figure since I’ll be spending the next 10 months riding on the road, a little mountain bike cross-training is justified. Check out this great clip of our fast and flowy afternoon ride.

Video and edit by Dustin Fletcher.

Awesome bike people.

Last week I had the fantastic opportunity to meet up with a few folks doing great bike-centric projects. The Path Less Pedaled is a duo who have been touring since 2009, searching for interesting bike stories as they travel. Russ & Laura ride 20″ folding bikes made by the company Brompton. We met up in Bend for a fun conversation about our love of two-wheeled travel. I also shared a bit about the School Food Tour with them. Here’s our interview and the video recap of their time in Bend.

My other exciting meeting was with the producer of the bike documentary With My Own Two Wheels. This film is a fascinating look at how bikes change lives all around the globe. Although I missed the local showing I cannot wait to view this acclaimed production. Their team is producing a middle school curriculum to accompany the film and I am very excited about the many collaboration possibilities that we discussed.

Check out the trailer here:

SFT in the classroom

Young energy is contagious! I have spent the last month refining my classroom curriculum and working with schools  in Bend, Oregon on food and bike issues. I am concurrently amazed by the students’ creativity and insight while also becoming increasingly inspired by their enthusiasm to get involved in creating change in our community.

Here I am sharing the Tour route with a group of 6th graders at REALMS in Bend, Oregon:

 

Last week we went through the process of creating ‘Action Plans’ around any food issue that the students felt was important. Projects included original songs promoting fair trade, websites with healthy eating tips, flyers raising awareness about poverty, a local food rally and presentations to elementary school classes. You can find my action plan lesson outline for the REALMS 6th graders here.

Below is a group of students preparing for their ‘Eat Local’ rally:

I can’t wait to share the Tour curriculum with classrooms across the country. We are going to have SO MUCH FUN!!

Training and on-the-go fuel

I’ve had a number of questions regarding what I’ll eat while on the Tour and what sort of physical training I am undertaking. I recently had the opportunity to test out some great energy products while also putting in an extremely hard race effort.

Introducing… the Pole, Pedal, Paddle!

The Pole Pedal Paddle (PPP) is a  multi-sport race here in Bend, Oregon. The competition is friendly but intense, with the top three finishers in each category receiving a coveted PPP mug. It’s a great community event with participants ranging from elite athletes to family or corporate relay teams. The race starts at the top of  Mt. Bachelor’s alpine area and finishes near downtown Bend. The racers start with an uphill sprint to their skis, jump into their bindings and speed down the mountain through race gates. They then transition into a 10km cross-country ski, followed by a 22 mi road bike ride from Bachelor into Bend, then a 10km run, a 1.5 mi paddle on the Deschutes River and finally the race concludes with an 800m sprint to the finish line.

I competed in the women’s pairs competition with my good friend Lindsey Voreis under the team name “All Ride for School Food”. We alternated legs which meant that I was the cross-country skier, runner, and final sprinter. After my ski, as my driver whisked me away down the mountain, recovery was my priority. I made sure to ingest some GU Chomps and GU Electrolyte Brew in order to keep my body’s fluids balanced and my muscles fueled for the next leg. I am happy to report that after an exciting race, team All Ride for School Food ended up first in our age group!

GU products are designed to provide energy during sustained physical activity and they definitely kept my energy level high throughout the race. I also made sure to drink a bottle of GU’s Recovery Brew once the race was over – this drink contains protein which is a necessary component for quick muscle recovery.

I am excited to announce that GU has agreed to provide the School Food Tour with products for my use on the road. I will also be giving away Chomps and Energy Gels at all of the Tour group rides along my route. If you’re an active person I encourage you to try out this great company’s energy products today.

Thanks, GU!

Tour calendar – First draft is complete!

Start: August 20, 2011 in Bend, Oregon

Finish: June 1, 2012 in Houghton, Michigan

Check out the calendar!

*A nifty spreadsheet with Tour dates and locations will be completed on Monday to complement the calendar.