"Have not prisons - which kill all will and force of character in man, which enclose within their walls more vices than are met with on any other spot of the globe - always been universities of crime?"Peter Kropotkin
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Landscape Painting Tips For Beginners
There is something quite magical about painting outdoors. I feel comfortably secluded with nature having an almost spiritual connection when I paint a landscape. Landscape painting is a passion of mine. I would like to share some tips and techniques that ...
Mini Bike Madness
A new craze has caught on in the United States, and it all boils down to a much smaller version of the motorcycle knows as pocket bikes, mini bikes, minimotos or mini choppers, depending on who you ask and where they live. The first models were created in ...
Understanding White Balance
Understanding White BalanceThe Color of LightEveryone has taken at least one photograph that has been way off in color. You get it back from whoever processed it, or if it is from a digital camera you load it into your computer, and your immediate ...
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With hair slightly unkempt, earnest eyes and a potentially roguish grin, Mike Kelsey has an air of unmistakable grit about him. An avid cyclist for close to 18 years and a lifetime outdoor enthusiast, he is no stranger to the danger of mountain bike racing, the thrill of competing and the triumph of winning. Although now a self-proclaimed “weekend warrior,” he still rides with his BOB trailer of tools in tow, and his unflagging devotion to trail building, repair and maintenance in the Ouachita Mountains is widely apparent.
“I love to build hiking and mountain biking trails,” confessed the 2003 Arkansas Trail Volunteer of the Year. “It is a good way to spend some hours in the woods, get some fresh air and exercise while creating something to be enjoyed by all.” Kelsey, who spends between 100 and 200 volunteer hours each year on trails statewide, has worked on the following routes: Womble Trail in Oden, Camp Pioneer Trails in Hatfield, Earthquake Ridge Trail in Mena, Little Missouri Trail, Wolf Pen Gap ATV Trails, Charlton Trail and Attila the Hun Trail.
“You just go out and identify problem areas, whether it’s a problem of erosion or just an area that needs maintenance,” he remarked. “Whether it be hiking or biking, continued use of a trail sometimes translates into some degradation. It’s easy to construct a trail from point A to point B, but you have to deal with creeks, ridges, mountains and gullies as well as all the things concerned with protecting the trail from erosion. A well-designed trail, however, can take a lot of traffic without degradation.”
In addition to his trail work, Kelsey maintains several web sites relating to cycling tours, mountain bike and road races and trail opportunities. The Bike Arkansas
Directory (www.bikearkansas.com) serves mainly as a collection of resources, including bike shops, teams, clubs or events in The Natural State. He also updates the web site for the Arkansas Mountain Bike Championship Series (www.ambcs.com), keeping an active calendar, presenting race results, tracking series results and posting team challenge results.
Other related web sites include the following:
? Ouachita Mountain Bike Adventures (www.ouachitaadventures.com)
? Cycling Arkansas (www.cyclingarkansas.com)
? Ozark Off-Road Cyclists (www.ozarkoffroadcyclists.com)
? International Mountain Bicycling Association (www.imba.com)
Furthermore, Kelsey is a supporter of the Arkansas Pay Dirt Program, which links mountain bike racing to trail advocacy. To participate in Pay Dirt, racers commit themselves to a certain number of hours of trail maintenance. In turn, racers receive points to apply to this year’s racing totals. For example, if a racer puts in 8 hours on an official Pay Dirt work trip, then he or she is granted the equivalent of a first-place win.
With approximately 600 miles of trails, the Ouachitas have the largest ratio of trails to local users than in probably any state. “There are very few people to work, so it takes some very dedicated individuals,” Kelsey declared. “It’s important to encourage members of the racing community to become stewards of the trail.”
About the Author
Copywriter/editor Jeannette Balleza is Co-Owner of Vulcan Creative (http://www.vulcancreative.com), a creative agency specializing professional graphic design and web development services. She also owns Scribe Marketing, Inc., which offers content development and refinement. jeannette@vulcancreative.com
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Outdoors calendar -- Published May 23, 2012Stockton RecordBy The Record Go Outdoors - Bass Pro Shops at 1356 Bass Pro Drive in Manteca is offering free classes for adults to enjoy the outdoors. At 6 pm, hiking basics; 7 pm, campfire cooking; 8 pm, kayaks and canoes. Information: (209) 825-8400 Festival ... |
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Celebrate the great outdoorsPayson RoundupPayson's third annual Arizona Mountain High Games is a celebration of the great outdoors in the Rim Country. It is also part of the state's official ongoing festivities marking the 100th anniversary of Arizona Statehood. The event has been sanctioned ...and more » |
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