Rhode Island Feeds

Billy Silvia, skipper of the charter boat Can't Imagine, caught 11 bass at Rose Island this morning, said David Henault of Ocean State Tackle. Silvia's...

The Zeta II class of Leadership Rhode Island choose to use the RI bike paths as their community service project.  They have organized the Rhode Bike Path Passport to

increase residents’ appreciation of our state by encouraging people to explore Rhode Island’s natural beauty, to stay fit, and to support local businesses.

Participants are asked to visit participating businesses to get a stamp on their passport.

If you collect stamps from three different paths by October 15, 2010, you will be eligible for a prize drawing including a grand prize worth at least $250 – check this website later for prize details!

Looking for a little extra encouragement to get out on the state’s bike paths, perhaps this is just what you’ve been waiting for!

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Germs in the gut may help drive appetite, says research into the link between obesity and bacteria. Previous studies have showed that overweight people and normal-weight people harbor different types and amounts of microbes that naturally live...

A rural Colorado town has kicked cyclists off the streets, dealing a blow to advocates who felt the wind at their back amid a national livability push. There just wasn’t enough room on the roads for both bikers and two lanes of cars in Black Hawk, City Manager Mike Copp said, especially when state law requires 3 feet of space for bikers.

So a ban has been in effect since January. “We saw not only problems with biker safety but cars pulling away, and that was causing conflict,” Copp said. “When the state enhanced gambling and instituted 24-hour betting, that generated more traffic … these are big roads that are heavily traveled.” The ban applies only to commercial streets — residential roads are still OK for bikes — and bikers are free to dismount and walk along the roads, Copp said.

The ban is more than an inconvenience, says Dan Grunig, executive director of Bicycle Colorado, an advocacy group promoting biking in the state. It cuts off a stretch of the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway and could force bikers to go miles out of their way through mountain roads to reconnect. It is a “black eye” to Colorado’s bike tourism industry and nothing short of a rights violation, Grunig added. “Bikes are legal vehicles, and people have a constitutional right to travel. Restricting that is outside the boundaries of the law,” Grunig said.

The ban is also seen as a worst-case scenario as the country looks to expand biking as part of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood’s “livability” push. A similar ban on biking on state highways was proposed, but tabled, in St. Charles County, Mo., and Copp said other municipalities have contacted him about instituting their own bike bans. A proposal from two Colorado counties that would give municipalities more authority to restrict biking was proposed but has not moved in the state Legislature.

Meghan Cahill, a spokeswoman for the League of American Bicyclists, said the group is committed to fighting bicycle bans, though it prefers not to publicize them because they often spur copycats. Bicycle Colorado has lobbied state lawmakers to overturn the ban and is helping two bikers challenge their tickets in court.

From the local to the federal level, transportation agencies are doing more to add bike lanes, parking and education campaigns in an effort to promote two-wheeled transportation. But transportation experts say promotion without better infrastructure could create more problems like in Black Hawk, where increased bike and auto traffic created problems on narrow mountain roads. “What’s challenging is that we have people who learned how to drive when Americans had lost this legacy and tradition of cycling. There wasn’t anything in driver’s ed that informed people what to do,” said Lynnea Atlas-Ingebretson, manager of the Minneapolis Bike-Walk Ambassadors Program. “And now we’ve got people riding with new types of infrastructure who have had their licenses for years.”

Cahill said that in cities like Copenhagen, Denmark, where about 40 percent of trips are made by bike, there are few safety problems because cycling is ingrained in the culture. But that kind of comfort takes years to develop and requires early education. As biking becomes more prevalent, transportation officials think education will spread. Right now, the bulk of bike safety education comes from advocacy groups or government agencies spreading a share-the-road message. For example, Minneapolis has been distributing postcards and posters with bike rights and regulations. The League of American Bicyclists offers courses for local groups and help to employers that want to train their own workers on riding safely. To make it really effective, Cahill said, the education has to be institutionalized. That could mean anything from incorporating it into a physical education curriculum to putting bike laws onto driving tests.

Bike licenses? Copp says a better solution would go even further. “When I go hunting and fishing, I need a license. But a bicyclist doesn’t,” Copp said. “We need to register bicyclists.” Copp said that program would allow an easy opportunity for education through a licensing course akin to driver’s education and a written test but would have the added benefit of raising funds for more bike infrastructure. By charging bicyclists for their licenses, the cash-strapped city of Black Hawk could expand its roads or pave a gravel path running around the city.

Licensing programs have not been successful in the past, though. Most governments that had or enforced them eventually backed off, including Minneapolis. Just the administration of the licenses was costing more than the fees could realistically bring in. “Eighty percent of bikes are sold at average of $80,” Grunig said. “To generate revenue, you have to charge somewhere around $40 or $50. That’s a higher tax [rate] than cigarettes, and bicycles are healthy.” Though Grunig said the licensing program would be a good way to promote education, the revenue end just does not make sense. Instead, he wants to see transportation dollars distributed more evenly so that road projects could include bike lanes and new paths. Without a clear solution in place, an end to the Black Hawk ban is not likely to happen anytime soon. But bike advocates are not taking that to heart. “It’s a minority,” Cahill said. “It’s not a step back. We’re seeing biking increase across the board nationwide. It’s becoming more accepted in all age groups and communities. Unfortunately, this will happen, but it’s not a national problem.”

Losing some weight and strengthening your legs may prevent pain on your knees, according to the editors of HealthBeat, an e-newsletter from Harvard Medical School. "Being overweight raises your risk for developing osteoarthritis in a weight-bearing joint like the knee...

Image via flickr: Travis S.

In response to recent concerns about hazards on the Coventry Greenway, Steve Church at RIDOT and  Guy LeFebvre from Coventry Parks and Recreation department have asked us to remind users of the Coventry Greenway that the trail section between Whitford Street and Station Street.  This section had not previously been paved or landscaped, though the bridges have been in place for a number of years.

Below is the announcement regarding the ongoing trail work:

The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) has closed a portion of the Coventry Greenway in the eastern part of Coventry from Whitford Street, close to the West Warwick line, to Station Street in Coventry. The path is under construction and the Department expects to re-open it in Summer 2010. RIDOT recently awarded a $1.6 million contract to J.H. Lynch, Inc. of Cumberland to pave this portion of the Coventry Greenway, which has a gravel surface with paved bike path segments at either end. RIDOT asks that cyclists and pedestrians refrain from accessing the path until construction is complete. Three bridge crossings along this segment of the Coventry Greenway will be blocked off. When completed, this new segment will join the rest of the Coventry Greenway and three other paths – the West Warwick Greenway, Warwick Bike Path and the Cranston Bike Path – to form a 14.2-mile continuous bike path from Cranston to Central Coventry. Collectively the paths are known as the Washington Secondary Bike Path, and will become the second-longest bike path in Rhode Island behind the 14.5-mile East Bay Bike Path. See press release for more details

From the sandy shores of Cape Cod to the rocky, island-filled coast of Maine, few outdoor activities are better suited for New England than sea kayaking. Touring coastlines and ponds by kayak has the potential to be a superb family experience, as well, whether as part of a guided day-trip or as a regular activity.

As nature photographers and the authors of Discover Southern New Hampshire and Discover Acadia National Park, Jerry and Marcy Monkman know the special appeal of a water's-eye view. And as the parents of two children, they also understand the pleasure of sharing that perspective with youngsters. Michael O'Connor, author of Discover Cape Cod, agrees that paddling together as a family can be "an absolutely delightful experience."

Part of the trick to planning successful family kayak trips, according to these AMC authors, is knowing what to do; the other is knowing where to go. "What to do" includes boat handling, navigation, and water safety skills—information that takes time to develop. For that reason, O'Connor and the Monkmans urge novice paddlers to acquire a strong foundation of skills and experience before taking children on the water. Families can also sign up for guided tours offered by experienced outfitters.

Ten Tips for Starting Out
• Parents should know basic paddling strokes, be able to read tide charts and nautical charts, and know how to get an overboard child back into a boat while on the water.
• Wear a PFD (personal flotation device) at all times. (In many states, children under 12 are required by law to wear PFDs.)
• Be aware of water temperature. Especially in the colder waters off the coast of Maine, hypothermia can set in within minutes.
• Keep track of weather. Know in advance the detailed, local forecast, and avoid trips when there are high wind or surf advisories.
• Keep close to shore, especially if you don't have strong navigation skills.
• Be aware of tides and strong currents. If you plan your trips for the two or three hours around high tide, tidal rivers can offer very pretty, easy meandering, without grounding you or requiring difficult trudges through mudflats.
• Try a double kayak. Double kayaks, somewhat like tandem bicycles, allow parent and child to be in the same boat. Some two-seat kayaks have a cargo hatch between the seats that can double as a child's seat. By the age of 12, children are generally big enough to master a double-bladed kayak paddle. Younger children can help a little, but adults should be prepared to provide most of the muscle.
• If a kayak has a spray skirt, check that young paddlers are strong enough to release the ripcord that holds it, and can quickly exit the boat if it capsizes. Nylon skirts require less power to release than those made of neoprene.
• Be prepared with plenty of water, food, hats, sunglasses, bug spray, and sunscreen. A day on the water constantly exposes you to the elements. Other safety items include dry bag, first aid kid, foghorn, and cell phone or VHF radio.
• When children are strong paddlers and know how to wet-exit a kayak—typically not until they're teenagers—they're ready to safely join adults on longer and more open-water paddles.

Ten Trips

Massachusetts
In these five family-friendly kayak trips on Cape Cod and along Boston's South Shore recommended by Michael O'Connor, tidal rivers, marshlands, and bays offer protected paddling for flat-water adventures from 30 minutes to 3 hours or even overnight. The biggest issue on these trips may be the parking!

• Gull Pond, Wellfleet. This protected pond, fed by underground springs, is the largest of Wellfleet's famously clear freshwater kettle ponds. A canoe livery on the pond rents kayaks. Gull Pond is a great destination for a family's first kayaking adventure, with the promise of swimming afterward. During the summer season, you'll need a beach/parking pass, and you may want to avoid the mid-day crowds.
• Nauset Marsh, Eastham. Nauset Marsh is the central natural feature in a sprawling estuary that's dotted with islands and extraordinarily rich in bird and marine life. Register for guided paddles (fee required) at nearby Salt Pond Visitor Center, part of the Cape Cod National Seashore.
• Herring River, Harwich. On the Nantucket Bay side of Cape Cod in a scenic mid-Cape area, the Herring River will take you through protected land and past remnants of old cranberry bogs. "It's the busiest part of the Cape," O'Connor says, "but you can feel as if you have that pristine environment all to yourself."
• Waquoit Bay, Falmouth. The heart of the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, the bay itself is half a mile wide but quite shallow, and offers miles of protected paddling. Extend your adventure overnight by reserving one of 11 wilderness campsites on Washburn Island. O'Connor cautions against breaching the outlet to Nantucket Sound, however.
• North River, Norwell. Only 25 miles from Boston along the Bay State's South Shore, paddle up the North River to Norwell, a historic center of colonial shipbuilding, along a stretch of protected waterway. The Beaver, of Boston Tea Party fame, and the Columbia, which gave its name to the great Pacific Northwest river, were both built on land near to what is now part of the Norris Reservation. North River is a tidal river, so it's important to pick a three-hour period around high tide for this paddle.

New Hampshire and Maine
Jerry and Marcy Monkman have introduced their children, ages 7 and 9, to sea kayaking through short trips near their home in Portsmouth, N.H., and through summer-camp instruction. Within a year or two, they expect their children to be ready to join them in exploring the spectacular scenery around Mount Desert Island in Maine.

• Pierce Island to Sagamore Creek, Portsmouth, N.H. Put in at the boat launch on Pierce Island, directly across from Portsmouth's commercial fish pier (non-residents charged a small fee). Paddle south and west through back-channel islands in a sheltered part of the harbor. Three of these islands were recently put under conservation easement by the town of New Castle. Pull up on one of the tiny islands for a break, or continue up Sagamore Creek, a tidal river, past salt marshes, homes, and forests. For a special treat, tie up for a meal at BG's Boathouse Restaurant right on the creek.
• Odiorne Salt Marsh, Hampton, N.H. An easy paddle through the salt marsh that surrounds two creeks, Berry's and Seavey. Add hiking at nearby Odiorne Point State Park or a visit to the Seacoast Science Center—great places for kids to stretch their sea legs.
• Mt. Desert Narrows, Acadia, Maine. A sheltered trip in the first national park east of the Mississippi, this outing gives you the chance to see nesting bald eagles, seals, and porpoise. The narrows includes several islands, including the tiny and well-named pair, The Twinnies, but Thompson Island provides the only island landing spot. Paddle during high tide or risk being beached by the extensive mudflats around Thompson.
• Jordan Pond, Acadia, Maine. Jerry Monkman recommends a paddle in deep freshwater Jordan Pond as part of a perfect outing that hasn’t been improved on in more than a century. Paddle mile-long Jordan Pond from south to north, passing below steep granite cliffs on Penobscot Mountain and watching for loons and mergansers, which nest on the pond. At the pond's northern end, pull out for a short—about 0.5 mile—trial hike to the top of The Bubbles, two pink granite domes. Your Jordan Pond adventure isn't complete, Monkman says, until you've ordered tea and popovers at the Jordan Pond House, which has been serving afternoon tea since the 1870s.
• Seal Cove toward Pretty Marsh, Acadia, Maine. The Monkmans describe a 10-mile roundtrip paddle from Seal Cove to Pretty Marsh in Discover Acadia National Park—probably too much for young paddlers—but there's plenty of beauty in a shorter trip along the shoreline. Round the corner heading north from Seal Cove for a view of bigger water: islands, starting with nearby Moose Island and blue ocean beyond.

Learn more
- Cape Cod: Video of Michael O'Connor, author of Discover Cape Cod, paddling on Gull Pond
- Maine: Maine Association of Sea Kayak Guides
- Southern N.H.: Portsmouth Kayak Adventures for rentals and instruction

“Great Kids, Great Outdoors” is an AMC Outdoors blog, written by Kristen Laine.

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Here is the latest correspondence I’ve received from RIDOT concerning keeping the Washington Bridge open during construction.  While RIDOT is certainly due credit for completing the projects that they highlighted, I think it’s hard for them to argue that a fair share of State transportation dollars are being spent on non-automobile projects.  I was very interested to see that they completed a traffic count on the bridge.  This is something we spoke about doing internally in the next month or so and I’ll see what I can do to get my hands on the raw data.

In the mean time, I plan to reply to this letter, but would like to hear your thoughts.  So let’s have them, where did RIDOT score points with you and where did they miss the point?

I enjoy being able to include other voices and other experiences in this blog. My most recent guest blogger is no stranger here: He’s my husband, Jim Collins. On a hot, muggy day recently, Jim took Ursula and Virgil to one of his favorite swimming holes. Here’s his story.

When you grow up in rural New Hampshire, it’s easy to develop some expertise on swimming holes — or at least some strong opinions. When I say “swimming hole,” I don’t mean a lazy river or a quarry: I mean places where the quirks of geology and hydraulics have created beautiful or fun and sometimes magical little places to swim in fast-moving water.

Over the years, I’ve visited dozens of swimming holes, each different: Slippery rock sluices. Small, perfectly formed “Jacuzzi seats” in frothy whitewater. Secret ledges behind water falls. Cascading pools. Covered-bridge canopies. Bleached granite boulders in wide-open sunshine. Shaded, ferny glades. Wide flat surfaces with supplies of perfect flat skipping stones. High and low ledges for jumping and diving. And now that Ursula and Virgil are growing up in New Hampshire, too, we explore them together. The criteria have moved along with the kids’ ages, though the best swimming holes offer multiple attractions.

This week we hiked in to one of our favorites: Emerald Pool, off the Baldface Circle Trail in Evans Notch. We got onto the trail just north of AMC’s Cold River Camp. It's a good jumping-off place for the hike in to the pool.

As White Mountain swimming holes go, Emerald Pool is on the small side, like a gem. It’s a little over half a mile of easy walking from the trailhead. For adults, that’s just far enough to work up a sweat and feel as if you’ve earned the swim. For the kids, it’s close enough to keep the focus on the swimming and not the hiking, but far enough away from cars and roads to create the feeling of a separate, hidden world.

The day was hot and steamy. The kids, along with a couple of their friends, skipping and dashing ahead of me, heard the water first, several minutes before we reached the cut-off trail down to the stream. That’s another nice feature here – the gradual building of the anticipation. That anticipation has been rewarded, on earlier trips, by the sudden, startling appearance of Emerald Pool itself, whose shimmering green water gives the pool its name and whose sun-dappled, fairylike setting can, indeed, make this feel like a separate, hidden world, especially when we’re the only people there.

This week, the sound of rushing water was joined by shouts and laughter, so we knew we wouldn’t have the place to ourselves. As it turned out, teen-aged girls from a camp in Oxford, Maine, were making a day trip here. One after another after another, the girls jumped off a 12-foot-high ledge into the middle of the pool, splashing and laughing and scrambling up the wet rocks and muddy bank to do it again. Run-off from heavy rains overnight had carried silt into the stream, not enough to muddy the water, but enough to turn the green pool to gold-amber. Ursula, who values emerald, fairylike settings almost as much as she does water, frowned in disappointment. She led her friends through the woods, upstream from the swimming hole, choosing to explore the rocks and mini-pools and eddies while waiting for the crowd to leave. Alas, the girls were in no hurry. One of the campers and one of the counselors had set a goal of 50 jumps off the high ledge, and as they got closer — 47, 48, 49 — each jump was met by shouts of encouragement and cheers.

Ursula eventually gave in and came back and joined in the fun. She jumped off the ledge herself into the icy water, and beamed as she popped back up in the current. And did it again, and again. Her friend Mercy overcame her nervousness and jumped from a lower ledge on the opposite side of the pool. I didn’t ask questions, but it seemed like a first for her. The fearlessness of the campers might have inspired her.

On the way home we stopped at the Stow Ice Cream Place on Rte. 113 for cones scooped high with another summer treat, Maine-made ice cream. And I was reminded: each swimming hole is different, and sometimes the same swimming hole is different at different times. And each trip has its own rewards.

Learn more
- If you have some extra time, combine your swim at Emerald Pool with a first-class White Mountain day hike on the Baldface Circle Trail.
- The editors of New England Waterfalls have included Emerald Pool in its list of the premier 30 swimming holes in New England.

“Great Kids, Great Outdoors” is an AMC Outdoors blog, written by Kristen Laine.

Take your yoga practice out of the studio and into nature with Kyle Willets, pictured here, creator of Yoga Trails. She has scheduled two hikes for Sept. 11 and 25. The first hike will go to Green Falls Pond in...

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August 16, 20106:00 pmto8:00 pm

Our next general advocacy meeting will be held on August 16th @ 6pm in the Brown Bookstore (244 Thayer Street, Providence) in the faculty author section (2nd floor).  We are delaying the general meeting by a week, so as to avoid a holiday at Brown.  All cyclists interest in advocacy are encouraged to attend, learn about what’s happening around Providence, and bring items of interest to the group.

On the agenda, so far, for this meeting:

• Update from the RIBike board
• Update on the Washington Bridge Linear Park Project
• Upcoming events (volunteers needed!)

Providence Journal photo / Kris Craig Mrs. Rhode Island USA Lynne Diamonte works out with a stability ball. It's been about two years since I first tried using a stability ball at my desk at work. I had recently...

(c) Aaron Goselin

A bicycling user of the Coventry Greenway notified me that there is a dangerous bump on one of the trestle bridges on the newly completed trail segment.  In the middle of one of the bridges, affecting traffic both directions is a very difficult to see and very severe bump in the decking that has caused at least 1 crash and a near crash as reported below:

… The surface is very nice and the landscaping is tasteful. I was on it for the first time after work today and discovered a structural hazard to cyclists.  There is one trestle bridge overpass that has an unmarked speed bump running across the center!  I hit that thing full on at slightly over 20 mph tonight and I dont’ know how I managed to stay upright….

RIDOT Customer Service has been notified and I’ve contacted Steve Church at RIDOT to see if anything can be done to repair or better warn riders of what I believe is an unintentional and dangerous warping in the bridge deck.

[UPDATE]

Steve Church responded that this issue was raised by another path user in March and passed along to the Project Manager, and that the temporary step of putting marking paint on the bump was taken in early April.   The paint has faded at this point, but the Town of Coventry’s Directory of Parks and Recreation, Guy LeFebvre indicates that new marking paint will be applied to the bump, the railings around the bump, and signs placed on the bridge.

Guy also pointed out that the segment path is still under construction and closed to all users:

We are aware of the bump in the bridge decking, likely caused by expansion of the deck boards themselves.

We have repainted it again and will continue to repaint it as it fades.  We have painted the rails beside it as well and are placing signs at each end of the bridge to forewarn patrons who are still using our CLOSED bike path.

There are many details yet to be completed and then there will be a punch list of items as well.  Please advise all that you can that the path is still under construction and remains closed.