Heartland Tour 2010 has come to a close and is being widely recognized as the most successful Tour to date, having involved well over 500 children at eight locations across the province. Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, the event was very effective in engaging people to take their health in their own hands and teaching them about the importance of leading an active lifestyle and eating a healthy diet.

The Annapolis Valley leg of the Tour was a great success this year thanks to the wonderful contributions of a number of community members and sponsors.

The Wolfville HeartLand Organizing Committee sincerely thanks the following supporters for their contribution to a great HLT on 16th of July 2010:
Bank Of Montreal
Valley Stove & Cycle
Annapolis Valley District Health Authority
Annapolis Valley Fruit Growers
Acadia University
Joe Quercia
Town of Wolfville Recreation Department
Prescott House
Valley Septic Service
Mr and Mrs Whitby
Carol French @ The Look Off
Peter McLeod
Doug McDougall
John Schaffner
Dan Austin
Caroline Whitby
Shelly Gilby
Jaye Cartney
Sandy MacKinnon
Barb and Russell Jess
Annapolis Valley Cycling Association
Centennial Cycling Club

A specific thanks goes out to Shannon Read, who took ownership over this years event and grew it from a beautiful ride through the Valley into a festival aimed at celebrating physically active lifestyles - and helping to encourage the growth of a new generation of cyclists through her cycling camp- Thank you Shannon, you are indeed a Heartland Heroine!

We look forward to seeing you next year for Heartland Tour 2011!

MKennedy |

The 2010 Wolfville HLT Routes offer something for everyone!

Whether you are new to cycling or are an experienced pedaler, join us on Friday July 16th in the beautiful Annapolis Valley for one of our four featured rides:


30km Ride
Start time 1:30pm – Prescott House, Port Williams
Approximate finish time 3:30pm- Prescott House, Port Williams
Average speed – 15-18km/ hr

60km Ride
Start time 11:00am – Prescott House, Port Williams
Approximate finish time 3:30pm- Prescott House, Port Williams
Average speed – 22km/ hour

100km Ride
Start time 10:00am – Prescott House, Port Williams
Approximate Finish time 3:30pm- Prescott House, Port Williams
Average Speed – 25km/ hour

3km Family & Kids Ride
Start time 2:30pm - Prescott House, Port Williams
Approximate Finish time 4:30pm - Prescott House, Port Williams

The family and kids ride includes a bike rodeo and fun kids activities at Prescott House including a draw for 4 kids bikes!!!!


Detailed Route Maps:
30km - To view Heartland Tour 30 km, follow the link below:
http://www.mapmyride.com/view_route?r=555127721719393486

60km- To view Heartland Tour 60km, follow the link below:
http://www.mapmyride.com/view_route?r=337127648209339897

100km- To view Heartland Tour 100km, follow the link below:
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/canada/ns/kings,-subd.-b/563127440146256655




MKennedy |

WHY I LOVE MY BICYCLE!

Put your writing and or artistic hats on...and you
creative could win a free bike!!!

Write a story OR create a work of art
about WHY YOU LOVE YOUR BICYCLE.

On or before June 25th, 2010, submit your essay or work of art to
The Heartland Tour c/o Wolfville Active Living @ 7 Victoria St.

Include your name, age, grade, school, venue (the Recreation Centre), phone number and email address on a separate piece of paper.

Call the Rec Centre @ 542-3019 for more info or to ask for assistance.

We will display artwork and essays at various locations in Wolfville; pick our favourites and announce winners at the Heartland Tour Cycling Expo on Friday July 16th @ Prescott House.

Bikes and Cycling Prizes thanks to BMO and Valley Stove & Cycle


MKennedy |

We are excited to be offering 2 rides of varying pace and distances.... more details on the specific routes to follow soon!

25km Ride
Start time 1:30pm – Prescott House, Port Williams
Approximate finish time 3:30pm- Prescott House, Port Williams
Average speed – 15-18km/ hr

64km Ride
Start time 11:00am – Prescott House, Port Williams
Approximate finish time 3:30pm- Prescott House, Port Williams
Average speed – 22km/ hour

100km Ride
Start time 10:00am – Prescott House, Port Williams
Approximate Finish time 3:30pm- Prescott House, Port Williams
Average Speed – 25km/ hour


MKennedy |

I’ve been sick this week with a brutal cold: sore throat, nasal congestion, headache, and more phlegm in my chest than humans should reasonably be allowed to have.
Seems plenty of people are choking and hacking around here and as much as athletes are convinced of their invulnerability – that a reasonable level of fitness is ample protection against illness - we are all susceptible.
Certainly, exercise is a great way to buttress the immune system and research suggests that regular workouts can minimize the number of colds contracted and then their duration should one occur.
Generally, people get at least three respiratory infections a year. If I believe the literature (and I do), I must be doing something right because this current episode is my first in quite a while. And frankly that’s amazing with two young kids who bring every germ out there into the house and are only too happy to share with mom and dad.
However, I’ll overstate the obvious and say I’m not impressed. I don’t think I’ve found a rhythm yet in my training regimen and getting a cold is an inconvenience I could do without.
Here’s the thing. I’ve been on the bike as much as possible, but opted instead for a 4K cross-country run when the temperature has dipped and I deemed it too chilly to push the pedals.
I’ve been alternating runs and rides and although it hasn’t resulted in a setback, it feels in some ways as if I haven’t progressed either. I’m in a kind of ride/run limbo that preserves a general level of fitness but hasn’t put me any closer to my goal of longer rides, greater endurance and personal success.

Each day off the bike is another one lost
The Heartland Tour goes July 16 in Wolfville and the date shines in my mind like neon. I can’t afford to dwell much longer betwixt and between. Each day off the bike is another one lost and the arrival of this cold forces a question: should I keep going and push through it or rest for a few days (and surrender to what feels like a forced hiatus)?
My gut said keep going, so I went for a ride to test the legs and lungs. Overall, it wasn’t too bad. I did the usual routine and pushed incrementally as it rolled out, failing only slightly on the uphill near the end when the lungs just weren’t the equal of the incline.
Still, my head was clearer afterward, my chest seemed better and, plain and simple, like James Brown of old, I felt good.
Briefly. Then the mucous returned. I started coughing again every couple of minutes and my sinuses filled up. I suppose the endorphins wore off and what had been kept at bay by virtue of the exercise came back with bad intentions.
I have no choice. I have to take a few days off and let the cold run its course. My nose is raw, I’m still getting stuff out of my lungs and thinking also with the sun finally shining that I’m losing golden opportunities.
I know it’ll pass and I’ll be back on the case shortly. And although there is general agreement that exercising when you have a cold is okay, it’s wise to listen to your body and use the ‘neck rule’, too. Symptoms below the neck (chest cold, bronchial infection and phlegm in your lungs) require time off. Symptoms above the neck (runny nose, stuffiness and sneezing) usually don’t.
You know you best and what works when it comes to working out. Once upon a time I’d have said to hell with it and ridden simply because it was part of the routine: a test of discipline and any deviation from the norm was weakness.
I’m a little wiser now and although I’m at loose ends at the moment, I’ll likely be more productive upon my return to good health.
I won’t suffer a relapse, my body will respond to the physical demand and this cold will be nothing more than a bad memory by Tour Day. Yeah. Here’s hoping….

-Fred


MKennedy |

Wind can be a double-edged sword as you ride.
It’s a helping hand when it’s at your back, boosting you up hills and driving you through straightaways with ease and speed.
Powering through a headwind, however, is another matter. I don’t know much about fluid dynamics since I’m not a physicist, but the phrase ‘drag coefficient’ clangs in my mind on windy days like a clarion call.
Wikipedia says drag coefficient “is a dimensionless quantity that is used to quantify the drag or resistance of an object in a fluid environment such as air or water.” The explanation gets quite technical after that and dropped me when things become less prosaic and more mathematical. The bottom line when I’m riding is ‘drag’.
Cycling into a headwind is, plain and simple, a drag. The wind rips at your face, tears into your clothing and finds every way possible to pick at you so as to hinder forward motion.
I’ve ridden in gusts up to 50 km/ph just to see what I could accomplish and although I made it home at the end of the day, I was pretty much bagged out afterward. My legs hummed like Pavarotti warming up for Carnegie Hall and my upper body felt as if it had been through circuit training.
I’m not complaining, though, because every click completed is a mile earned and the higher the stack the better I become. It’s a law of appreciating returns since each foray adds a little more to the resume. It’s all good.

Another state of consciousness
I’m a big believer too in the Zen of cycling. As you ride, it’s possible to achieve a higher state of consciousness; pushing a physical limit uncovers new levels of spiritual development that stay with you long after the ride is done.
It’s not about sucking it up, punching the gusts and getting it done, though some riders are sufficiently pugnacious that kicking ass in a headwind is a virtue unto itself.
What I’m talking about instead is finding the best you’ve got in the midst of an unrelenting gale. My legs churn and I whisper mentally to find that perfect circle of locomotion to drive the pedals, increase the speed and get me gone. It’s a process of self-discovery: should I slow down and conserve energy or just let it all hang out? Can I persevere? Will I have enough left? Do I have the goods?
Discipline is a key factor here because you have to will yourself to push through it, to tuck over the handlebars and thrive in the slipstream you’ve created. It’s no simple feat because the thighs burn, the back sings and the wind – still there, still hungry – is on you like a pack of hounds, ripping and clawing, razor teeth and slavering jaws.
You have two choices, really: surrender and walk home or keep on keepin’ on. It’s a choice riders of every stripe make dozens of times a season and I’d guess that 99 per cent eschew the walk and take the ride.
And the silver lining is your turnaround point, when the wind is finally behind you and it’s smooth sailing all the way home.
Funny how quickly you forget the battle and truly amazing how sweet the ride. It’s two lives in one, but only if you overcome any fear and ultimately embrace the wind.

-Fred S.


MKennedy |