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Many enjoy beauty of nature riding on dirt bikes, ATVs
EDINBURG In one loop of the parking area, John Phipps sat astride his Suzuki 350cc dirt bike, its white-and-blue finish specked with mud. He'd just finished a 17.2-mile jaunt on the Peters Mill Run Trail with his son, and they were contemplating another spin through the woods before heading back to Fauquier County. "We're longtime dirt-bike fans," Phipps said. They're also big fans of the trails in the national forest at Edinburg Gap. "This is the nearest public riding area for us. It's been awhile since we've been here, but we like to come pretty much every couple of months," he said. In another part of the lot, Imelda Murray straddled her Honda four-wheel ATV as her teenage daughters took a few warm-up laps on their dirt bikes.
Previously on WIN
Bob at TV Squad provides a little background on the guy who played "Peter" in those classic Christmas-themed Folger's Coffee commercial. Also at TVS, Joel points to another list from Giant Magazine of 50 more of the greatest commercials. Both Engadget and PSP Fanboy dive into the fake blog created by Sony for their PSP. The blog initially seemed to be from a fan who wanted to get a buddy a PSP but turned out to be corporately produced. Engadget also is providing their own take on the DirecTV/Time Warner false-advertising kerfluffle that we talked about . And one more from Engadget: This time it's about an outdoor LED billboard that was powered by someone pedaling away on a stationary bike. Thats Fit details how "food stylists" give an extreme makeover to your fast food in order to make it photogenic for display on signs and displays.
Bike trail plan up for debate
STAUNTON Residents can get a look at a planned bike trail system that would link the Frontier Culture Museum with downtown during a public meeting this weekend. The Frontier Trail Plan will be discussed at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Staunton Public Library Meeting Room.Sheriff's Dept. offers advice for holidays .
No ordinary bike cop here
Not all of Santa's elves wear red coats and pointy shoes. Some of them don sheriff's green and combat boots. But "I wear bike shoes when I'm wearing my skort," said Kris Reinhard, the official bicycle safety officer for the Citrus County Sheriff's Office. "Basically, I'm a teacher with a badge," said Reinhard, who oversees the bike safety program in the county's schools. Working with physical educations teachers, Reinhard supervises programs that teach bike safety and the importance of wearing a helmet when riding. "It's the law," Reinhard said. Most parents and children are unaware that a rider younger than 16 not wearing an approved bicycle helmet can be ticketed. "We don't want to do that," said Sgt. Ron Frink, Reinhard's supervisor.
Holiday warms heart, just beware explosions
"My, my, but just look at those tykes go. This is my favorite part of Christmas, seeing the joy in the children as they play with their presents." "Me, too, Mary. Why, it makes me feel young all over again just ... Hold on, was that an explosion?" "It came from the Dawsy house. Looks like little Jeffrey got another new whiz-bang gizmo to play with. I'm telling you, they're going to spoil that boy." "Well, I declare. It's a Stinger missile. That Jeffrey, he always gets the best toys. Last year it was a super-duper helicopter; the year before it was a tank. And don't forget his Taser guns." "How could I ever forget those nasty things? Mr. Nibbles lost six of his nine lives when Jeffrey and his buddies used him for target practice." "Can you see what's going on over at Sam Himmel's house? It looks like she's handing out plastic cups to her little friends.
Two-wheeled rewards
It didn't take long for Ronche Kaskins to look at the row of bicycles and decide which one was his. The 11-year-old was one of 14 students that officials from the Annapolis Housing Authority selected to receive bikes that were donated to the city Police Department. Ronche settled on a new blue bike that came up to his waist. "It's my favorite color and it's nice," he said. The bikes came as a result of a partnership from the Sharing Foundation, which donated six used bikes to the police department. The foundation is a non profit organization that aims to help needy families in Anne Arundel County. Officer Craig Medley refurbished the old bikes, and the police were also able to buy eight new ones. They were distributed to the children in front of the police station Wednesday evening.
A controversy from the start
Sitting behind his desk and leaning back in his chair, principal Phillip Gainous reminisces about Blair's controversial construction filled with racism, angry committees and student led walkouts. These were all factors surrounding the decision to build Blair at its current location in Four Corners.
The original home of the Blazers was built in 1925 at 313 East Wayne Avenue and named Takoma Park-Silver Spring High School. By 1935, the school opened in the same location as Montgomery Blair High School, in honor of Montgomery Blair, the lawyer who represented Dred Scott in a United States Supreme Court case that fought to give people of African descent United States citizenship.
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New German Community Models Car-Free Living
It's pickup time at the Vauban kindergarten here at the edge of the Black Forest, but there's not a single minivan waiting for the kids. Instead, a convoy of helmet-donning moms - bicycle trailers in tow - pedal up to the entrance. Welcome to Germany's best-known environmentally friendly neighborhood and a successful experiment in green urban living. The Vauban development - 2,000 new homes on a former military base 10 minutes by bike from the heart of Freiburg - has put into practice many ideas that were once dismissed as eco-fantasy but which are now moving to the center of public policy.
With gas prices well above $6 per gallon across much of the continent, Vauban is striking a chord in Western Europe as communities encourage people to be less car-dependent.
Brown writes a book
NORTH PORT -- "I was absolutely horrified and touched by the story of Bob and Roberta Brown," said Edward Kahn, a local author. "I had to try and write their story." The Englewood author's seventh book; "'Til Death Do Us Part-- Our Last Ride, A True Story,' by Kahn and Roberta Brown, is going to press and is expected to be published some time at the beginning of the year. Nearly two years ago, longtime North Porters Roberta and Bob Brown were on their way to Black Hills, S.D. for a vacation with thousands of other bikers during Sturgis bike week. It was the first time the couple vacationed apart from their four children. The 44-year-old North Port woman was riding on the back of Bob's motorcycle through Oklahoma when he suffered a brain aneurysm, lost control of the motorcycle, crashed through a barbed wire fence and died at the scene.
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