Footbiking and Geocaching

In March of this year my husband Chris was turned onto Geocaching. He loves it and goes every chance he gets. He has purchased a travel bug for each member of our family each with it's own mission and has sent them out into the Geocaching world. The last of these travel bugs to go out is mine. Until this week he was unsure of what he wanted to do for my travel bug.


Read below to find out how the "Super Sonic Music Box" was born.





We have done some of our Geocaching via Footbike and come to find out there are others doing the same. There is a group in Southern California that finds Geocaching via Footbike to be the best way to get around and I read just yesterday that Bob Schultz of New Jersey was out Geocaching via Footbike too. What great fun! Happy Caching and Happy Footbiking!

Here is the story of

The Super Sonic Music Box

Current GOAL: To travel out into the Geocaching world from cache to cache preferable via Footbike or like kicking machine, till it reaches Footbike’s design birthplace; the country of Holland. From that point it will travel via Footbike or like kicking machine around the European countries participating in Footbiking events and races. Not to forget to collect pictures of these events to share as it kicks along on its journey. Remember…Just kick it!

About this item: "Super Sonic Sarah" is a member of Team FootbikeUSA and has been kicking it hard going on three years now. As a member of the team she has spent countless mornings up before dawn training and pushing her limits to kick faster and harder each day. Her kicking companion the "Super Sonic Music Box" has been by her side for countless training miles and many adventurous Footbike races. Sadly, Super Sonics’ Music Box met its demise yesterday as it fell victim to the washing machine. It went through a full cycle in the Maytag and in the end, it could not hold on any more. It stopped! This was a very sad day for Super Sonic. As a tribute to her long time worthy training partner, this travel bug was crafted from its remains so that it can continue Footbiking and live out its adventures in kicking. Footbiking is a wonderful sport that is just now catching on in the USA but has been very alive and strong in the old world. See www.FootbikeUSA.com for more info about the incredible sport of Footbiking. Also, you are invited to visit Super Sonics’ own Footbiking blog at http://kickitmarketing.blogspot.com for a closer look. May this Travel bug live on and Footbiking grow as a sport here in our wonderful country. Happy travels “Super Sonic Music Box” may you travel far and never forget how to … Just kick it!

STORY OF THE MONTH

I think I have missed a few stories of the Month. Here is another of my favorites as written by our good friend Nylin Johnson who is a runner and footbiker. He completed the Utah Grand slam in 2009, he used his Footbike in his training. He is a Physical Therapist at Mountain Land Physical Therapy in Kaysville. Nylin is also the owner of the Sportsplex a fun recreation spot as well as a great training and exercise facility. Nylin and his team use the Footbikes in their running training as well as recommend this type of training and activity as rehabilitation to many of their patients.

Here is the experience that Nylin related to me.

"Last night I was out kicking, when a good friend of mine passed me on his road bike, heading the other way. He decided to turn around and catch up to me so he could chat, and the curiosity of the Footbike also caught his attention…It took him a solid mile to catch me, as I was on a good rhythm. I had no idea he had turned around until he pulled up beside me. He was amazed at the speed and grace of the Footbike. I didn’t feel like I was moving that fast, although I was averaging almost 16mph on the flat. It is a deceptive workout, as I was trashed when I was done.

Let the fun continue…"

Footbikers at the Salt Lake Marathon

All that worrying for nothing.

I was so nervous about being able to complete the race in time and about being kicked off the course for being dead last. That wasn't the case at all.

At the starting line we were in a pack of 1500 bicycles. After the count down and the horn blew we just stood there and stood there and then a little bit of walking forward. When we crossed the starting line we were starting to move a bit more. Slowly we worked our way in and through the bicycles to find our spot. Mat "oneT" took the lead as we started into the downhill. Chris "The Cannibal" and Jeff "Spartacus" hung back for a little while. I soon lost sight of them, but I had the company of some very inquisitive bikers. Chris stopped and waited for me several times throughout the race and then about 3/4 of the way through the course I met up with Jeff and Mat again. We stayed pretty close until the final stretch where we all lined up to cross the finish line together. Chris clocked us at 1hour 36 minutes. We passed a lot of bikes and not just on the downhill. We finished up midpack and ahead of many many bikers. (surprise to me)

Unfortunatly the bike tour was not a timed race so this is not an official time or record. Thanks guys for hanging with me on this one, this finish time was at my pace not theirs. A personal best for me though. I know these guys could have blown this time away. This was fun though.

Watch for the official times at the Utah Valley Marathon. That race we will be chipped and it will be a full marathon 26.2. That's the race for setting records.

Who's going to join us for the Utah Valley Marathon?

See you there.

SUPER SONIC SARAH

got footbike?

Thumbs up from the Elders on Footbiking

Elder Sansom from Washington and

Elder Minson from Arizona

drove by when we were out kicking and just couldn't resist the opportunity to try out a Footbike.

Footbiking got the thumbs up!

Footbiking...

what a great way for the

Elders to get around!

I always come back to Footbiking!

Amy Donaldson is my favorite columist for the Deseret News Paper.
Below is a copy of her latest article. I loved it. Does anyone else ever feel this way. I do. Although I have fallen so madly in love with Footbiking that I always come back to it. When I try to go running,rollerblading or biking I have fun, but feel so much satisfaction when I get back to my Footbike.
So like Pete Hummers put it on his blog. Amy Ditch them all except the Footbike.
http://scootersport.wordpress.com/2010/04/08/i-say-she-ditch-it-all-except-the-footbiking/



I made the decision, now why can't I stick with it?
by Amy Donaldson (Deseret News)
When I was a kid, I loved to navigate a tough obstacle course.
Nothing excited me more than when a physical education teacher or camp director led us out to a field or playground full of physical — and sometimes mental — challenges.
Now it seems my daily life is an obstacle course — and one I am far less enthusiastic to attack.
Instead of running through tires as fast as I can, I am standing in the kitchen trying to resist the lure of brownies brought to my house for the holiday celebration. Let me tell you, tires are way, way easier than staring down chocolate mint brownies — and then walking away.
Sure, climbing that rope fence was hard. I remember my arms shaking, my heart pounding. But an even greater challenge? Feeling my stomach growl as I run from errand to errand and resisting the urge to pull into the nearest drive-through. (And please don't tell me I could order a salad. Some may do that. I do not. I might as well set fire to my $5 because I think I'm allergic to fast-food salad.)
OK, crossing bars were actually fun. You could use your body's momentum to swing from bar to bar, sometimes two at a time.
And while I honestly love a lot of the activities I engage in to keep myself fit, it seems I stare down, negotiate with or endure different roadblocks nearly every day.
I tell myself on any given day, "Ignore that aching hip."
"Do stair climber or bike rather than run with a splitting headache."
"Sweating really will help clear my stressed-out brain."
"My house will not be that much cleaner if I just take an hour to go for a run."
"The dishes will wait while I footbike with my daughter."
"Spending money to run a race is worth every penny."
"You really are much tougher than this. Your life is more important that watching last night's episode of 'Lost' or reading the end of that book — RIGHT NOW!"
And then once I get to the gym, I seem to struggle. I always have a workout or a goal, whether I'm going to the gym, riding my bike or running a trail.
So why do I constantly try to renegotiate with myself the workout — AFTER I'VE STARTED!
My husband says he has no trouble working hard once he's at the gym. Getting there is the toughest part for him.
Unfortunately for me, being there — on a trail or in the gym — is just the beginning. I stare at the equipment. I toy with the idea of a new class I see starting. I wonder if I should have gone swimming.
I know I was going to run, but how about a cycling class? I start out prepared to run six miles and suggest, ever-so-innocently to myself, that running four would probably be good enough. Besides, the rest of my life is waiting, impatiently, for me to attend to it. Oh, and I could always run an extra couple miles the next day. You know, when I have more time? NOT!
I know I wrote down three circuits of weights, but I pushed hard through. And then I could do the rowing machine for 20 minutes to make up for skipping a set.
UGH! I want to ground myself. Except, that's apparently what my silly psyche wants.
No doubt. Each day is that obstacle course. There are stairs to climb, reasons to quit. There are aches and pains and colds and strains. I feel the lack of motivation, the guilt that comes with procrastination.
And then, miraculously, I manage to maneuver through one problem. I put my running shoes on despite the 20-minute bloody nose. I run the four miles I told myself I needed to run. And surprise, I feel great!
The next day it starts all over. I manage to make it to the gym — at 7:30 at night — but I make it. Then I finish that third circuit because I don't want to cheat myself.
That's the thing about the obstacle course that is life. No one is timing you. The race, the competition, is all yours. You can fail miserably one day and reign supreme the next day.

Salt Lake City Marathon

We (Me, Chris, my husband, Mat, my brother in law and Moses from Vegas) are going to attempt the Salt Lake City Marathon Bike Tour on April 17, 2010.

They let bikers do the Marathon Route ahead of the runners. The requirement though is that you must finish the 25 mile course in 1hr45min or they will kick you off the course. There is some down hill to help out, but not a lot. I have been training for this. Cross your fingers for me. I think that would be so embarassing to get kicked off. Oh the shame! I will let you know how it goes.

See you on the streets of Salt Lake.

http://www.saltlakecitymarathon.com/events/bike_tour.aspx

Time Magazine- Footbiking in the USA

Here is a copy of the article written in time magazine.
It is a good article that sums up a lot of what Footbiking is all about.

"Kickbike and Enjoy it"
"Bicycle-scooter hybrids are low tech, high intensity

It's hard to deny the rush of riding a tiny-wheeled push scooter — until you cruise downhill, hit a pebble along the way and end up nearly breaking your wrist. For a smoother, steadier yet no less exhilarating alternative, Europeans and an increasing number of Americans are hopping onto kickbikes. Invented in Finland in the 1990s, these hybrids combine a bicycle's body and handlebars with a pedal-free platform to stand on and pneumatic tires that dwarf the Rollerblade-size wheels on regular scooters. (See how kickbikes are helping dog walkers pick up the pace.)
Kickbikes, also known as footbikes or kick scooters, are being embraced as a fast, fun, furious way to cross-train, run errands, commute and even rehabilitate injuries. Stroke patients like them (they require the use of just one side of the body), as do dog lovers eager to keep up with their energetic pooches. Taking a cue from dogsledders, owners attach a harness and pull line from pup to bike and ride for miles, often in groups with fellow warm-weather mushers.
The kickbike market is still small: Americans buy about 15,000 a year, vs. 15 million bicycles. But sales have grown steadily, even though in the U.S. they're sold almost exclusively online, with no advertising, by skeletally staffed e-tailers like Diggler and SidewalkerUSA. "I do need to push it more," says KickbikeAmerica's laid-back chief, David Nadolski, who recently quit his day job to focus on selling and promoting kickbikes. "Clients love them."
A key draw is their low-impact, calorie-burning workout. And there's the x factor: "They're a lot of fun to ride," says Bryan Dobes, 33, of River Vale, N.J. "It kind of makes you feel like a kid."Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1969746,00.html#ixzz0i5yJvRMe