Author: Sara Salo

Riding for a cause

1 Comment

I would like to present you with a challenge: The next time you hop on two wheels, consider why you ride. What are the merits of pedaling a bicycle? Freedom, happiness, fitness, transportation, speed, fresh air, strength; those are a few words that pop into my mind. But what about YOU? What words do your brain conjure when you roll your shiny pedal-powered steed down your driveway?

The beauty of bikes is that everyone is rides  for a different reason. In one month I will start pedaling for healthy kids. I see my 6,000 mile route as an opportunity to share this message with the countless communities that I will visit along the way. But you don’t have to travel all the way across the country to positively impact the lives of yourself and others.

I encourage you to simply make cycling a conscious act. Smile. Be courteous. Take a moment to appreciate the wind in your hair or the goosebumps on your arm as you speed down that first, chilly hill. Invite a friend to join you. If you allow your love of riding to shine through others will sense your enthusiasm. You may even inspire a stranger to air up their tires and try their hand at riding once again.

Ride for a cause. Ride for health. Ride for joy. Ride towards the future. 

School Food Tour… math?

Leave a comment

Question: ONE School Food Tour + ONE Garmin Edge 800 = what?

Answer: Endless possibilities!

I am pleased to announce a partnership between the School Food Tour and Garmin. For you non-cycling readers out there, Garmin makes a variety of GPS units for use on bikes that calculate speed, elevation, cadence and much more. Garmin also sponsors a reasonably speedy bike team that wears some pretty sweet argyle in a little race through France…

 (<—-You know. These guys.)

 

So how will a Garmin improve the Tour?  

Data, data, data. I’ll be using an Edge 800 model; this unit provides mapping, elevation, heart rate, distance, graphs, routes, speed and so much more. All of this information will be integrated into both my classroom visits and the virtual School Food Tour curriculum.

The Garmin Connect website provides a powerful interface and great visual tools; if a class wants to know what the elevation profile of my route through Arizona looks like, we can simply open up the website to learn more.  I have a middle school here in Bend, Oregon that is conducting an entire School Food Tour math unit. They will be integrating my Garmin data into their daily classes where they will calculate speed, distance, calories burned and gear ratios, among others.

Even non-cyclists will find the Garmin a useful resource. My routes will be clearly defined and you will be able to examine the terrain, speed and distance that I travel daily. Enjoy this great video overview of the Edge 800 and some of its fantastic features:

Thanks, Garmin, for your generous support!

Tenacity.

Leave a comment

Lesson learned this weekend: tenacity may not be measurable, but it is most definitely perceptible.

I spent the past few days volunteering at the Tenacity Games in Hood River, Oregon with the crew from the John Wayne Cancer Foundation & athletes from Team Duke. The Games are a cancer awareness and fundraising event put on by the Foundation that includes the sports of kiteboarding, stand-up paddling and kayaking.

Attendees varied from professional athletes to cancer survivors and everyone had a story to share about why there were there and who they were honoring through their participation. I had the opportunity to spend time with a number of young adults who had been attendees at a recent cancer survivor camp in Maui.

Looking into their eyes, I finally understood the meaning of tenacity: their gazes were filled with a determination to live, an appreciation of the hundreds of folks who came out to support their struggle and a thankfulness for simply being present on that day.                I can only hope that while on the Tour I will be blessed with a small portion of the grace & tenacity with which they acted all weekend.

The John Wayne Cancer Foundation is the School Food Tour’s primary sponsor and I feel honored to be a part of their fantastic and passionate family. Healthy food and physical activity are two important components of cancer prevention and I look forward to sharing this message with the classes and adults that I will meet along my route. For more information about Team Duke and the John Wayne Cancer Foundation, please visit their website: http://teamduke.org. You can even become a Team Duke member (it’s free!) and dedicate your personal challenge to the fight against cancer.