Karen M's Vegan Anniversary

By Karen M

After having my second child I weighed over 270 pounds. I knew I had to do something. I started a diet and exercise. I journal-ed every calorie that I ate. I took off over 130 pounds and I kept it off by watching what I ate. Last year I met my boyfriend, Brody. He had been vegan for over 5 years. He thought it was very silly that I watched my diet so closely but actually ate food that was not good for me. He explained that people are mislead by only looking at calories, fat, and fiber...He showed me food labels and I was shocked! I started doing some research and found it disgusting that the FDA allows blood and puss to be in the milk I was giving my children. I learned about gelatin being made from animals. BUT, my main concern as I began the journey was the chemicals that I do not need to consume. Half of the things on food labels, I could not even pronounce!

So, it has been over a year now. I can not even begin to explain how GREAT I feel. I have kept all of my weight off without even looking at calories and fat!!! There are soooo many wonderful products on the market that make going vegan easy. Sunshine burgers are wonderful, and are not filled with soy.

It is funny that my only challenges have come from other people. "What do you eat?" "Aren't you starving?" "Don't you miss cheese?" "How do you get your protein?" I have 2 children and believe me, I have to be able to please them at dinner time as well! We enjoy pizza, but with Daiya cheese. No one ever goes hungry at our house! We are so lucky to live in Columbus OH, where the vegan community is supported. We have a bar that serves an all vegan bar menu! Have you ever had deep-fried avocados? Hal and Al's Bar on Parsons Ave has everything from Vegan corn-dogs to sushi---ALL VEGAN! I love that I can go to a vegan salon and not worry about all the nasty chemicals being dumped in my water supply. Thanks Virtue Salon on High Street!

I hope that my story inspires others to take a look at their food labels. Research where your food comes from. I hope that people explore their community to find other people passionate about the environment, who are saying they aren't too small to make a difference! You can make a difference and it feels so AWESOME! Thank you for challenging people Bolder!

Challenge: Eat only plant-based whole foods for a weekend

Sponsor: Sunshine Burgers [ See Challenge Here ]

Action: "2011 is my anniversary of going VEGAN... ONE year down, and a lifetime ahead! Goal this year is to start cutting SOY!"

Small changes, huge impact - Jessica A transforms her life battle into a personal mantra

By Jessica A

As a recent breast cancer survivor I am especially aware of what I'm putting in and on my body. I've been researching herbal and all-natural personal care products lately. Around the holidays I decided to try making my own moisturizer. Using an old kitchen blender I mixed up two 13 ounce jars full of rich, emollient cream. I gave one as a gift and kept the other; I use it daily! If you would like to make your own, please see my recipe below.

Since making the moisturizer, I've made liquid hand soap, all-purpose scrub, and an all-purpose cleaner. All from natural ingredients. My family is now almost 100% free of toxic chemicals. We are eating all-natural foods, using all-natural products, and wasting almost nothing. We dispose of one bag of trash per week and the rest is recyclable/compostable. I've learned a few small changes can have a huge impact on my family's health and eventually, the health of my community and the world.

Recipe:
2 ounces beeswax
1 cup sweet almond oil
1 cup water
10 drops essential oil

Keep in mind, as you make this, it's thick...like, scrape-it-up-with-your-fingernails-to-apply-it-thick. Heat the beeswax and sweet almond oil until the wax melts. In another container, heat the water until warm. Both mixtures should be warm, not hot! Pour the warm water into your blender and replace the lid. While running the blender on HIGH, slowly pour in the beeswax-oil mixture. You will notice the mixture thickening. Add your essential oil and continue mixing to desired thickness. I used rosemary oil. Rosemary oil is an antiseptic and kills bacteria, as my cream was initially to be used as hand cream I thought those were good properties. Since making it, I've begun using it as an all-over moisturizer and it works wonderfully.

Challenge: Switch to natural skin care
Sponsor: Weleda [ See Challenge Here ]
Action: "I made homemade moisturizer from beeswax, sweet almond oil, water & rosemary essential oil--it's wonderful!"

Not Born to Run: Ben C's Road To Finishing His 1st Marathon

by Ben Crosby

This fall I read Born to Run and was enthralled with the author’s struggle to reconcile his body type with the ultra-athletes he profiled. McDougall is not your “typical” skinny-runner type at 6’4” and 220 lbs, and I was surprised in the way he explored running as more mental preparation than physical exercise. I’ve got a definite love/hate thing going with running myself; after a brief stint as a long jumper in middle school, I’ve never done much besides the occasional cross-training jog. Still, there has also always been something romantic about just throwing on a pair of shoes and going out to get a big gulp of exercise around the neighborhood.

This fall I decided to jump on board when a few other teachers at my school told me they were training for a marathon. The distances look intimidating at first, but it was amazing how following a gradual program (and making a sweet ipod playlist) got me ready to run 26. I definitely had my fair share of knee and tendon pain along the way, especially acute in the month leading up to the run. I thought about bailing (who hasn’t tried to balance fear of failure with the risk of chronic injury?), but ultimately decided to go for it.

Race day was exhilarating, and nerve-wracking. I was hesitant about even showing up at the starting line due to my lingering Achilles injuries and my worry that I would have to *gasp* quit. However, as soon as the start whistle blew, I knew I’d make it. The sense of purpose as 3000 people all set off running with a singular goal (to keep going!) was overwhelming. I chugged water, poached GU packets other runners had inadvertently dropped, and played numbers games to no end as the mile markers ticked up to 26. The breadth of athletes and body types was inspiring; I saw teens, dads, grandmothers, and no end of amateurs like me trotting along in their race-day best.

Crossing the finish line felt amazing; my time wasn’t record setting by any means, but I knew I’d caught the marathon bug. I’m training for the SF Marathon in July with some friends who will be running their first marathons. Can't wait to keep making fitness gains with my friends!

Challenge: Share your Eco/Active resolutions for 2011

Sponsor: Atayne [ See Challenge Here ]

Action: "I ran my first marathon last month...my goal is to to shave 30 minutes off my time for the next one!"

Turning the Corner With a Salad? Boo J's Health Journey

Challenge: Add leafy greens to a meal
Sponsor: Purely Elizabeth [ See Challenge Here ]
Action: Been a while since I've logged on. As a kid I hated greens. This challenge is a good reminder of what I should've been doing years ago.

Boo's Thoughts:
First off I'd like to say that I found Bolder right at the time when I really started taking my health seriously. Although the rewards from the challenges provide a great incentive, I participate in them because it helps me keep on track.

The "Add Leafy Greens to A Meal" caught my eye because growing up I just did not like the taste of vegetables. I was that kid who excused himself to go to the bathroom, just so I could spit up my vegetables. I never had a taste for vegetables and cruised into my adulthood without eating a whole lot of them.

Last year my health came into question and I had to make a decision on how I wanted to live my life. Change my diet and add cardiovascular exercise to my routine or risk getting high-blood pressure and pancreatitis. If I couldn't change things, I was told that I would be put on medication, which I did not want. I knew that my condition could be regulated if not reversed, without the use of pharmaceuticals. The first moment I had, I borrowed my brother's bike and started riding as much as possible. My diet also had to change. So I cut down on fried foods and began incorporating whole grains. Most importantly, being an adult, I put aside my childish prejudice towards vegetables and started making and buying salads.

I didn't try anything new greens for the challenge, but I am opening up to the prospect of new vegetable combinations. My sister makes a great salad with arugula figs and cherry tomatoes. A friend of mine is really big on chia, so I'd like to make a salad that incorporates that.

My health journey has taught me a bunch of things. One thing that comes to mind is that it is possible to turn things around and the littlest thing, like eating a salad can be the one thing that helps you turn that corner.

Boldest Action Winner: Jerred R extracts himself from the grind with a 76.2 mile hike!

Category: Health and Fitness
Challenge: Go for a hike

Sponsor: Oboz Footwear with Trees for the Future
Action: Hiked the 76.2 mile Foothills Trail in South Carolina in 5 days. What a great experience

My hiking/camping buddy Jeff and I decided to do the Foothills Trail in SC because we had always talked about doing it but just never did. Well, at 39 years old we decided that we had better start doing some of the things we have talked about because we are not getting any younger. So, we got together one Saturday afternoon and started planning the hike. We decided to hike the trail in 5 days only because of limited time off from work that both of us could get. I would recommend to others to take longer because we did not get to stop and enjoy nature as much as we would have liked due to time constraints.

Hiking the 15 miles per day had some challenges to it. Both of us are probably in the best shape of our lives due to both us starting a running program about 12 months before the hike but carrying a 30 pound pack and climbing up and down some of the terrain took the energy right out of you. Also, after the first day, my feet went south and if it were not for the "mole" skin and tape, I don't think I could have made it. I had one of the best experiences of my life out on the trail. Even though I was struggling with my feet for most of the trip, I really had a "mountain top" experience with nature. All the cares of my life seemed to wash away and I just enjoyed being outdoors. Actually, I was depressed for a couple of days when I got back home from the hike. Funny how life can grind on you and you not even know it until you are removed from it. As we came out of the woods at the end of the trail I felt a real sense of accomplishment and exhilaration at having completed this journey. It is an experience that I will never forget and am wanting to plan an even longer trip next time. I hope others will be inspired and will take on a "bold" act themselves.

Boldest Action Winner: Austin K finds old stigmas die hard

Category: Health and Fitness
Challenge: Pledge to get yourself tested
Sponsor: Face AIDS
Action: I pledged and got tested last week. Glad to know my status so that I can make safe and responsible decisions!

Austin's Thoughts:
I realized that although I consider myself an advocate for counseling and testing, I had never been tested myself! So I sat down at my computer the other night, logged onto my university’s health services site, and scheduled an appointment to be tested for HIV. That evening at dinner I told my friends that I was going to get tested and that they should too. Conversation at the table froze. “But what if someone knew you were getting tested?” one of my best friends quietly asked. “Like maybe a girl would find out and start a rumor about you that you were HIV+ and then no one would want to go near you.”

I responded that knowing your status prepares you to make safe and responsible decisions. HIV is no longer a death sentence in the West as it once was. My friends murmured their assent, said they might get tested, and went back to dinner.

It wasn’t until later that night that I realized what that conversation meant. Here I am at an incredible university (Stanford) that prides itself on reason, acceptance, and its progressive attitude, yet old stigmas that surround HIV remain entrenched in young, extraordinarily intelligent students! And less that 30 miles from San Francisco, one of the American epicenters of the virus in the 1980’s! I went to bed disturbed, but resolute in my conviction for the need for testing on campuses across the country. If we can’t squash the stigma surrounded by testing at home, how can we hope to do so abroad? We must confront our own prejudices about HIV/AIDS before we can effectively promote HIV-related services abroad. Getting tested was my way of beginning that process.

Boldest Action Winner: Nova R. betters her life with small choices

Category: Health and Fitness
Challenge: Eat an organic breakfast
Sponsor: Stonyfield Farm
Action: My remake on blueberry muffins: organic flour, egg whites, stonyfield yogurt (vanilla) & lots of blueberries as the star of my show. YUMMY

Nova's Thoughts:
I am constantly playing with recipes to make them healthier. There are many reasons behind my doing so (health & fitness is important to my family and my son is a picky eater). But ultimately, it's because I LOVE to cook! I am passionate about cooking and discovered I'm pretty good at it too.

In trying to settle into be domesticated, I started cooking after I got married almost 12 years ago. I baked and cooked according to family recipes, cook books, and TV shows. After giving birth to our son, the weight gain didn't come off so easily. Also In 2004, we found out that my mother's health was worsening. She had diabetes at a young age and it was now affecting her blood pressure. Even her kidneys were in renal failure. Some of the complications my mom experienced could have been controlled or even avoided through changes in nutrition and exercise.

In January 2008, my husband started working out. And although I didn't join him, I began modifying how I cooked for our family. One day while I was cooking, trying to remake a healthier breakfast omelet, it dawned on me that life is about choices. I was choosing to make something healthy. And at the rate I was going, my health could potentially take the same path as my mom's health took. So I became determined to make some changes. I jumped on our treadmill, and I began to lose weight. After some weeks of treadmill workouts, something inside of me said, "see if you can run." I hadn't run since high school but I thought, why not? So I gave it a shot, but I couldn't run a quarter mile without it hurting. My breathing was off and it just flat out hurt. But I was determined to run again. So in the weeks to come I found myself working towards running a mile without stopping. After a couple of weeks, I did it! I ran a full mile without stopping! I was so excited that I accomplished what I set out to do.

So fast forward to present time 2010: I've lost 35 pounds, and my husband and I have kept our weight off. I am now training to run a marathon in 2011. Never in my dreams did I think I'd be training to run a marathon. My mom moved in with us this year and it was a delight to show her how I could prepare healthy food that tastes great-even my picky eater will eat (he especially loves the muffins I make). Unfortunately, my mom passed away on September 3, 2010 and I will dedicate the marathon I run to her.

In the last year I got involved with a non-profit running group where I help mentor others through the ups & downs as they begin to learn how to run. I hope that I can inspire them to cook healthier, too. I am so thankful that I realized I have a choice. And if life is about the choices I make, then I choose to be healthy for me and my family.

The attached picture is of my mom & me at a 5K race this year. I got to push her in her wheelchair.

Boldest Action Winner: Heather H makes a full recovery, using pedal power!

Category: Health and Fitness
Challenge: Bike to Work
Sponsor: Zambikes
Action: I started biking to work after I recovered from some back problems, I'm now into touring, don't own a car, and I've never been healthier!

Heather's Thoughts:
Looking back on it now it seems I have always been a cyclist. I rent bikes when I travel, I grew up always having a bike at hand, it turned into the trusty back-up to get to work when I had the transit blues. Over the years I learned to take not just my bike, but my ability to ride, for granted. That is until my world was shaken up by a back injury, a slipped disc, which left me thinking my next wheels would be attached to a chair. I spent the better part of 2007 on the couch trying to figure out how I got there. Wasn’t I too young to have this happen?!

After spending way too much time in doctor’s offices, I was finally on the road to recovery and had to accept some fault for the situation. Somewhere along the way I had stopped moving! I spent the better part of my days on my ass whether it was on transit, at the office, out for dinner, watching a movie… I had become, gasp: lazy! Realizing a full recovery was within my grasp, it didn't take long before I saw the answer- sitting on the patio, covered in dust and cobwebs. I figured my office wasn't very far, not even 4 miles, I could easily bike that on nice days.

That was spring of 2008; I was recovering from what had threatened to be a permanent disability when I got back on my bike. It was innocent enough at first, biking to and from work on sunny days, maybe an evening jaunt around the seawall or a ride to a friend’s house. Within a matter of weeks public transit started to feel so incredibly squishy and what was that smell?! I naturally turned to my bike more and more often. I become addicted to the fresh air, the freedom, but most of all the daily reminder that I can, and like to, move!!

Two years later, I'm living daily life on my bike and I’ve never been happier. Cycling isn’t just a mode of transportation but it’s my hobby, my entertainment, it makes a bad day better, it provides challenge and comfort simultaneously. I can't imagine a healthier or more fun addiction to have!

Boldest Action Winner: Christian H's amazing story of swimming with seal pups in AK's Bering Sea!

Category: Health and Fitness
Challenge: Play Outside Today
Sponsor: Mountain Khakis
Action: I swam with seal pups in Alaska's Bering Sea!

Christian's Thoughts:
How I made it happen: This summer I was studying abroad in Mongolia, and one of my professors was from Alaska. She was talking about swimming with seals in October, and invited me to come and join. I called her up in October once we were back, and said, "Were you serious?" She was. So I bought a plane ticket.

I was on the island of St. George, in Alaska's Pribilofs. It is one of the largest Northern Fur Seal rookeries, and the rookeries are protected, so trespassing is not allowed. I swam on a different part of the island that is not concentrated with seals like the rookeries are, and on that particular day there were over 100 baby seals feeding along the coastline. I donned a drysuit, hood, gloves, and booties, grabbed a snorkel, and jumped in the surf! (Carefully, so I wouldn't scare them) The dive was amazing- sea urchins lined the rocks, and colorful sea stars the size of dinner platters hid in crevices I wasn't bold enough to explore. Extended anemones waved as I swam past, as the swells crashed over me. I kept a lookout for orcas, and big waves. For some swells I dove as deep as I could and grabbed a large rock, and the waves crashed overhead.

After being in the water for five minutes, the seals grew curious and swam very close to me. Some even swam between my legs, and approached my mask, gazing at their own reflection in my mask.

With all amazing experiences, it didn't last long... The freezing water (literally) seeped through nearly every seal, and after about 20 minutes I called it a day.

During my stay on the island, Orcas often fed on baby seals on the same beach I swam with them, so being in the water was pretty exciting (my lack of killer whale sightings was a good thing!)

I had the opportunity to swim with the pups again on the last day I was there. It was just as amazing.

Boldest Action Winner: Tim C's epic year - 365 days of running and beer!

Category: Health and Fitness
Challenge: Play Outside Today
Sponsor: Mountain Khakis
Action: Going for a lunchtime run. I'm on Day 9 of a running streak, and I'm trying to run 365 days in a row from my 29th to my 30th birthday.

Tim's Thoughts
Maybe I’m having an early midlife crisis.

I recently decided that for the last year of my 20s, I should probably do something epic. I didn’t know what that should be, so I asked for suggestions on my DailyMile, Facebook and Twitter profiles.

I heard a variety of ideas, from entering the Hood To Coast relay to running 29 marathons to doing a 50K race. They all sounded appealing, but my birthday was coming up fast, and I had to decide on something.

In the end I went with Jim‘s suggestion to start a run streak and drink a beer each day. This was straightforward and required the least amount of planning and financial commitment. It also leaves the door open for a marathon, ultra or something else special during the course of the year.

I jumped in and got started right away, beginning with mile repeats on the track and Abita Save Our Shore afterward. My 365 day journey was off and running. And drinking.

So why am I doing this? The past year has been so insane, I needed something to follow it. My daughter arrived, our house was flooded, and our house was saved. I feel like I need a victory lap of sorts for surviving.

People have asked me if I have any parameters for the streak. The answer is, not really. As long as I run a mile a day, I’ll be happy. So far I’ve run between 3 and 11 miles on each of my first nine days into the streak. I can’t say that I feel too much different from when I started a week and a half ago. The biggest thing is it takes away your excuses. Whereas before I would just take a day off if I was feeling lazy, that’s no longer an option. It forces you to be accountable.

Are there any beers I need to make sure to try or race I should check out in the next 365 days? I have 356 days to go, and I’m open to all suggestions.

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Boldest Action Winner: Bring your lunch better with Jen O

Category: Health and Fitness
Challenge: Bring your Lunch

Sponsor: Blue Avocado
Action: Made pizza dough & piled 3 pizzas with local veggies & fruits (incl. pears picked from my family's trees). Lunch leftovers for the BF & me!

Jen's Thoughts:

It all started a few years ago when I planned to make pizzas for dinner at my college house in Santa Cruz. I made the dough, and my room mates contributed with what ever they found fit. We made 5 pizzas that night, one for each girl living in the house. It was such a fun group experience and a great way to clear out the fridge of all its uneaten veggies that we turned pizza night into a weekly event. Leftovers were eaten for breakfast or lunch the next day. I still make pizzas regularly and am always sure to make enough for later. Who doesn't love a slice of cold pizza?

The best thing about cooking at home, aside from the pure satisfaction of tasting one of your creations, is that you know what exactly goes into the food you put into your mouth. There are no hidden servings of butter and no nuts or types of shellfish that you might be allergic to because you don't include them in the dish. You learn new skills, can bond with friends, and save a heck of a lot of money. Want my advice? Start by making something quick and simple for dinner (I like carefree meals that involve throwing everything but the kitchen sink into the pot), save some for tomorrow's lunch, find a container that can house it, and take it with you the next day. Have a picnic in the park if you feel so inclined. Don't forget your fork!

Feeding more than herself: Beth-Ann's transition to really thinking about her food

Challenge: 'Eat an organic food'
Challenge Sponsor: Gust Organics
Category: Health and Fitness
Beth-Ann's action: "I continue to use organic soy instead of cow's milk in my tea, cooking and baking as much as possible. Even my boyfriend doesn't notice."

Beth-Ann's Thoughts:
For some reason, it took me becoming pregnant and 'feeding' another to really think about the food I ate. I always loved to cook, but as my son grew, I became passionate about cooking healthy food that was tasty enough to entice a growing child to eat. What I have now is a teenager who has made the connection on his own that eating well makes him feel good. I'm thinking my work here is done.

I integrated organic soy milk into our diet a few years back. It's a healthy alternative to cow's milk plus it pleases me that its
production is environmentally friendly and stress free on our animal friends. What I've found over the years is that when something is removed from your diet it creates space to include something new that is often 'better' in so many ways. So I use organic soy milk in my cooking and baking for my family without anyone being any the wiser. However, my boyfriend feels the popular name brand is 'too sweet' for his tea. He's British and Brits don't like it when you mess with their tea. So after some experimenting with different store brands I found one he finds acceptable. So he might not use it when he makes
the tea but I sneak it in when I do.

Sweating for the sweets with Scott M - Boldest action of the challenge winner!

Challenge: 'Get Sweaty'
Challenge Sponsor: Gaiam
Category: Health and Fitness
Scott's action: "Spent several hours harvesting a new honey crop in a protective bee suit when it was close to 90 degrees. Sweats for the sweets."

Scott's thoughts:
I got into beekeeping after becoming friends with an older beekeeper that had been doing it for 30 years. My father kept bees when I was a very young boy, and I was always fascinated with the creatures. I can still remember the taste of fresh comb honey right out of the hive. Beekeeping is much more difficult now than it was then. The bee population is under assault by environmental pollution, electromagnetic waves, resistant viruses, parasitic mites, weather extremes, and a loss of natural habitat. As a result, bees require a lot of hands on attention to keep them healthy so that they can survive these influences. There are virtually no wild bee populations that have survived. As a result, bees require a lot of hands on attention to keep them healthy. I was surprised by the learning curve required to be successful with raising bees. There is a constantly evolving research effort worldwide to save the bees. It is very satisfying to help preserve a population of critical creatures that without human intervention would become extinct. The rewards are sweet.

Need a break from work? Take a walk with Virginia B (boldest action of the challenge winner)

Challenge: Get out and enjoy the sun
Challenge sponsor: Whole Foods Market Palo Alto
Category: Health and Fitness
Virginia's action: Took an awesome walk with a coworker this afternoon in the lovely Palo Alto sunshine! felt sooo good; warm and delicious!

Virginia's thoughts:
My mid-afternoon walks with Lea are the highlight of my workweek. An awesome break from office shenanigans, and a productive and relaxing way to get away and enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. Nothing quite so satisfying as stretching the legs and having a goal oriented walk to get some java and have a koffeeklatch. And the exercise and caffeine and sunshine are great uppers, especially for those of us who get grumpy and antsy being seated inside all day! Thanks, Bolder, for validating my afternoon sunshine breaks!

Bharath S. takes us on a U-pick adventure (and wins Boldest action of the challenge)

Category: Health and Fitness
Action: Eat a SuperFood
Blurb: Went on U-Pick adventure yesterday! Got together a bunch of different fruits and made delicious smoothies to top out a perfect day!
Bold Votes: 5

Bharath's thoughts:
U-Pick adventures are a little known gem about farms. In fact, for any of you who love farmer's markets, this takes it a step further! Basically, once farms have harvested their quota of whatever they are growing, they open up the farm to civilians like you and me and give us a chance to be able to pick the fruits off the trees and bushes ourselves. Mainly, U-Picks in California are very popular around the Central Valley/Fresno area, where farming is a livelihood.

The U-Pick that I went to was the Gizdich Ranch in Watsonville, CA. The harvest was pretty plentiful this year so there was plenty to choose from. The wonderful part is being able to just pick the fruit and be able to eat it fresh and juicy. This ranch contained at least 4 different types of berries (blackberries, raspberries, olallieberries, and strawberries, to name a few) as well as some apples (still a bit early for those). The owners/volunteers were very nice and gave us plenty of picking tips and what to look for in different kinds of fruit. Overall, a great and relaxing experience =).

Boldest Action of the Challenge: "Stay out of your car today" goes to Christina G.

Action Details:
Christina's Action: rode bike to the gym and grocery shopping and walked to pick up my child from summer camp
Bold Votes: 4

Christina's Thoughts:
I aim to go car free as often as possible, but for lots of different reasons. For one, I like to practice what I preach. As the coordinator of the Shape Up SF initiative, we work to make eating healthy and being physically active easy, fun and delicious (in the case of food). My work is about creating the settings that make the healthy choice the easy choice; things like bike lanes or accessible and affordable produce make being healthy much more possible. So with bike lanes circling the city (and more being added soon), I feel safe enough to ride my bike - and even with my daughter on the bike trailer.

Getting exercise as I commute to work, run errands or get my child is just part of the equation. On my bike, or by foot, I can pretty much guarantee how long it'll take me; driving or public transit are far less reliable than when I go under my own power. Doing so is just as good for my body as it is the earth. Everywhere you turn there are new studies that strengthen the case for decreasing our reliance on cars because of their deleterious impact on the environment. And then there's the case that my pocketbook makes: I don't have to pay to park my bike. . I've never gotten a parking ticket for my bike, or a speeding ticket while walking (or biking for that matter).

Active transportation makes me feel good, gets me there on time, is good for the earth, and my wallet - what's not to love about it?

Boldest Action of the Challenge: "Power yourself on two wheels or two feet" with Wyles V.

Action:
Biked to Arastadero, to bike some more!

Wyles V's thoughts:
I like to escape to the local trails on my bike to get away from the craziness of homework, projects, and studying. It reminds me there is a world outside of campus, while allowing me to get to know my friends better through a shared adventure on two wheels. My favorite rides are the epic descents at Skeggs Point, and sandwich runs to Mr. Pickles in Los Gatos. It's good to have a mix of purposeful rides and pointless rides to remind me that bikes are both useful and fun.

Boldest Action of the Challenge: "Engage in a new healthy eating habit" with Lisa H.

Lisa's action:
Just said no to baked goods as of today. I'll climb hills faster now on the bike! Woot.

Lisa's thoughts:
Mostly I am giving up the baked goods because they don't really work well as a breakfast item. Even if I am busy, a banana or yogurt is a better real-food choice. Processed foods - and those that contain too much sugar, like baked goodies - should be eaten only sparingly!

I have not yet noticed the difference in giving up the baked goods, but I will save ten bucks per week. Additionally, I should be hauling less weight up the hills on my bike soon, and the reduction in power to weight ratio will vastly improve the number of people I smoke on the way up.

What Lisa H was up to this weekend:
Hit the road for a 3 hour race simulation bike ride!

Why I do it!
a) My coach made me do it, in lieu of a real race that day
b) It will make me faster when I DO race -like next weekend soon!
c) Nothing says, "Hello Bold World," like pushing your lactate threshold for intervals
d) I know that after the pain is done, I will be stronger

Boldest Action of the Challenge: "Share a sport you love" with Laura G.

Laura's Action:
this weekend, 2 friends: Pole, Pedal, Paddle in Bend, OR. A relay consisting of alpine ski, XC ski, bike, run, kayak & sprint to the finish. Bold Votes: 7

Laura's thoughts:
The annual Pole, Pedal, Paddle in Bend, Oregon can be described as spectacular, awesome, epic, incredible, one-of-a-kind, or simply, a blast. Mt Bachelor is a great mountain, and Bend is such a fun town filled with so many wonderful people. The race itself consists of a downhill ski portion that begins with an uphill run in ski boots to the skis, an 8 km cross-country ski race, a 30 km bike ride from Mt. Bachelor to Bend, a 8 km run through the parks surrounding Bend, a 3 km kayak in the Deschutes River (half-upstream), and finally, a 1/2 mile "sprint" to the finish. Quite the work-out! This year, my friend Andrea and I recruited 3 close friends to compete with us. We would've gotten 2nd, but due to logistical errors, took 4th... leaving only room for improvement for next year! The fact that there is always room for improvement is one of the great things about the PPP. Not only can you improve by placing higher each year, but you can compete against yourselves for a better time. This year, we ran into errors not only in our hand-offs (10 minutes lost), but my kayak rudder broke and I had to finish the race (hardest part is last) with a broken rudder. As I was paddling upstream, I had little to no control, and actually collided with a man paddling downstream. He ended up in the water... Lesson learned!

I first got involved with the PPP last year when my brother invited me to ski for his team. Our parents competed when they were younger, and my dad jokes that this year was the third time I'd done it, because my mom competed individually while pregnant with me. Baller! My brother and I have since spread the love of the PPP to literally dozens of our friends, all who have embraced it just as we did. It literally is one of the best weekend of the year!! There are also Pole, Pedal, Paddle events in Jackson, WY and Salida, CO. Each town has a different variation on the race to spice things up. For example, the alpine ski portion at Jackson is a tram run (top to bottom), and the kayak portion is whitewater! Check 'em out and sign up, you won't regret it!

Boldest Action of the Challenge: "Motivate a friend to join you in a workout" with Carly L.

Carly's Action:
Convinced Michelle D. to RUN Bay to Breakers - we surprised ourselves by finishing!

Carly's thoughts:
Needing motivation to get back into running form, Michelle and I decided to run Bay to Breakers a few months ago. A few weeks before the actual race, adversity struck in the form of a bicycle accident for Michelle. We decided to go ahead and run anyway - planning to just run 4 miles rather than the full 7 miles.

The day of the race the 4 mile mark came and we were feeling great, it was an easy, mutual decision to go on and finish the full race! We were rewarded with the satisfaction of finishing, and with delicious treats of yogurt, hummus and pomegranate juice at the end!

We have decided to try and run the race every year from now until we are 90!