“I had just turned 40 and I thought, ‘I’m so old.’” Not a sentiment Benedict would tolerate today from her workout class, most of whom are twice that age.

It was the same year Benedict, now 62, turned 40 that she took a “wellness retirement training” course through the Body Recall and started teaching an exercise class for seniors. Initially, the class was part of her job with UNC’s School of Public Health, then she taught it through Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation before it moved to its current home with Orange County. Though the class has changed some to reflect evolving thought on exercise theory, Salli’s Senior Workout, at 23 years and counting, is one of the oldest continuously running exercise classes in the Triangle.

On a recent Wednesday morning in a small exercise room in Chapel Hill’s Seymour Senior Center, Benedict gathers Nell, Sylvia, Connie, Stella and Betty in a conga line for a workout warmup — shoulder massages. It is without doubt the most well-received warm-up ritual I’ve seen in an exercise class. But the relaxing warm-up is deceptive; although four of the five are over 80, Benedict proceeds to put them through 60 minutes of constant activity. There are yoga moves, some done seated, some done using a chair as a prop. There are aerobic exercises. There is plenty of stretching. All done to an eclectic boombox soundtrack that ranges from Louis Armstrong to Bobby McPheron.

Sitting doesn't mean slacking in Salli Benedict's class.

The workout is in tune with the physical needs of seniors, dealing with flexibility and mobility issues, bone strength, basic functional fitness. It’s also in tune with the social needs of the group. Benedict is adept at keeping the workout moving along while letting the group catch up with one another. Topics range from a lunch several attended the previous week, to a weekend yard sale, to a 90-year-old class member — a devout member for 16, 17 years — who has fallen ill.

Benedict’s career has been devoted to bringing good health to populations for whom good living can be a challenge. With a Master’s in Public Health, Benedict has spent 31 years working with the poor, the elderly, the obese and women. Through her current work with the school’s Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, she’s project director/manager for the Seeds of HOPE program) she spends most of her week in a five-county area of Eastern North Carolina working with the problem of obesity in poor income areas. It’s a staggering challenge: A lack of public transportation to get to fitness facilities, minimal access to healthy foods, a lack of jobs, the related stress of simply surviving … .

“You can’t ignore the poverty,” Benedict says of the roadblock it creates for healthy living. To live a healthy lifestyle in such conditions is a challenge. “You’d have to be a hero to do it,” she says.

At the very least her students must enjoy what they’re doing. To that end, Benedict says, “My goal is to make fitness fun. To most women it’s a chore.”

Often, that “fun” involves incorporating dance into her workouts, gospel music, too. Lately, she’s been tossing in some Nia, (not to be confused with Nena) which she describes as a melange of dance and yoga with a mind-body emphasis. (Benedict became a certified Nia instructor last year.)

Just as Eastern North Carolina is, unfortunately, an ideal location to try and promote healthy living among the rural poor, so is Chapel Hill a perfect location to promote an active lifestyle in an aging population.

“Chapel Hill is a retirement Mecca,” she says. “They understand the importance of staying active.

“When I started,” she continue, “there were hardly any exercise programs tailored to the needs of seniors. Now,” she says in the lobby of the Seymour Senior Center, “this center is almost all fitness.”

* * *

To reach more seniors, the fall version of Salli’s Senior Workout will be offered free-of-charge (there had been a $6 per class fee). For more information on the class, call the Seymour Senior Center at 968-2070.

Coast

Earl permitting, there’s good reason to head to Wilmington this weekend: the March of Dimes 5K Run for Healthier Babies. I mean, who wouldn’t run 3.1 miles for a healthy, happy baby? Or walk a mile? Or sleep walk?

Sleep walk? Do tell.

Apparently that’s the category for folks who like the idea of walking for healthy babies but don’t like the idea of doing it at 8 a.m. on a Saturday, especially a three-day-weekend Saturday. Another ingenious invention of the 5KRHB: the Family Team Sponsorship category, which gets you four entries in the 5K and race T-shirts with your family name on the back! $30 for the 5K, $10 for the mile, $25 to Sleep Walk, $195 for the Family Team. Registration begins at 7 a.m. at race central, the TrySports store in the Mayfaire Town Center, 925 Town Center Dr. in Wilmington.

More info by calling 910.452.1515 or paying a visit here.

Piedmont

If I didn’t have a previous commitment, I’d probably head up to the Smith River for the Dan River Basin Association-led Smith River Float on Saturday. This is a mellow 3.5-mile paddle on what’s called “the most popular section of the Smith River — Marrowbone Creek Access to Mitchell Bridge.” (Technically this is just across the state line, in Virginia, but who are we to let geopolitical boundaries get in the way of a good time?) The stretch includes some easy Class I water, deemed “suitable for novice paddlers.” (For a good description of the trip, go here, then come back.) Put-in is at 10 a.m., at the Richard P. Gravely, Jr. Nature Preserve, 2525 Eggleston Falls Road in Ridgeway, Va. (or for those of you GPS-enabled, 36.611067, -79.817712). You’ll need your own boat; if you need to rent one, go here and scroll down to “Outfitters and Campgrounds”.

More info here.

Mountains

You’d think that the traditional way to celebrate Labor Day weekend in the mountains is by running, what with all the road races scheduled.  There’s the Fireman’s Day 5K in Bryson City, the inaugural Blue Planet Run 5K for Clean Water in Franklin, and in Henderson, the Apple Festival 5K. The latter is a 4.9-mile road race held in conjunction with the N.C. Apple Festival, one of the state’s longest-running fairs celebrating our mountain-grown apples. (Did you know that North Carolina is the nation’s seventh largest apple producing state, and that 65 percent of all Tarheel apples are grown in Henderson County?) Do the race at 8 a.m. on Saturday, then hang out and celebrate the only known fruit that purports to, if eaten daily, ward off the advances of an MD. Race day registration is $35 and begins at 6:30 a.m. at race central, Pardee Hospital.

More race info here.

GGNC’s weekend plans … I and about 20,000 other runners are heading to Virginia Beach for Sunday morning’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon. My decrepit iPhone permitting, I’ll be Tweeting live beginning about 5 a.m. Follow the action at JoeAGoGo.

* * *

Those are GGNC’s thoughts for an active weekend. Find out other ways you can get out this weekend by browsing our super calendar, a collection of events calendars from throughout the state, below.

Looking for a North Carolina adventure this weekend? Here’s a comprehensive rundown of regional and statewide calendars covering a range of active, mostly outdoors programs, from educational nature hikes to mellow paddle trips to challenging bike rides. Calendars identified as “Comprehensive” include non adventure-related events; some sifting may be required.

Know of a good outdoors calendar we should include? Pass it along and we’ll plug it in.

Coast

CapeFearCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar for the Cape Fear/Wilmington/southern N.C. coast searchable by date and event name.

Coastal Guide
Comprehensive calendar including nature programs from a variety of costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs. Covers the entire coast.

Crystal Cost Tourism Authority
Comprehensive calendar focusing on the Crystal Coast. Good source for programs offered by N.C. Coastal Federation, Cape Lookout National Park, N.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve and other costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs.

NCCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar including programs for the Outer Banks and Crystal Coast.

North Carolina Coast Host
Comprehensive calendar for the entire coast that lets you search for events by day, by region, by county, by city or by event (based on key word).

This Week Magazine
Primary focus is the Crystal Coast (North Carolina’s coastal midsection).

Mountains

Asheville Citizen-Times
From the main page, click on “Outdoors,” then WNC Outdoors calendar.

Blue Ridge Outdoors
Searchable calendar lets you extend your reach to events throughout the mid-Atlantic and Southeast (or you can just limit it to North Carolina). Also lets you search a boatload of categories, ranging from Hiking, Mountain Biking and Climbing to Trail Running, Triathlon and Road Walking.

The Mountain Times
From the main page, click on “Calendars,” then Main Events.

Piedmont

Charlotte

Charlotte Observer events calendar
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including Nature, Recreation, Recreation & Wellness, Running

Charlotte Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triad

GoTriad.com
Comprehensive calendar includes a Sports & Recreation category.

Piedmont Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triangle

Triangle.com
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including: Birding, Boating, Cycling, Nature, Rec & Wellness, Recreation, Running, Swimming, Tennis, Yoga.

Carolina Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Statewide

Office of Environmental Education
One calendar for the numerous Environmental Education Centers statewide.

North Carolina State Parks
Lets you search for programs at the state’s parks, recreation areas and natural areas by location, by month, by topic. To reach the calendar from the home page, click on “Education,” then “Fun & Free Programs at Parks.”

National Forests in North Carolina
From the home page, click on Carolina Connections for news updates on the state’s four national forests as well as hints on recreational opportunities and a detailed rundown of recreation areas and the amenities at each.

My cycling compagno Alan Nechemias went to Colorado two weeks ago and did the 27-mile ride from Idaho Springs, elevation 7,600 feet, to the top of Mt. Evans, elevation 14,130 feet (that’s 6,530 feet of vertical climbing, for the subtraction challenged). Alan is a mountain goat: he’s been doing all the major Southeast mountain centuries — Assault on Mount Mitchell, Six Gaps, Blue Ridge Brutal, Blood, Sweat and Gears, to name a few — for the last 15 years. And while those rides all have 10,000-plus feet of vertical climbing, the ride up Mt. Evans started 916 feet below the highest finish of his Southeast rides (Mount Mitchell, at 6,684 feet). Alan lives in Chapel Hill, elevation 510 feet: to go from 510 feet to 7,600 feet, then climb another 6,530 feet on a bike and only get “a little light-headed at one point” boggles my hypoxic mind.

Alan and his friend Pam atop Mt. Evans. Photo borrowed from Pam's blog.

Then I heard from Tom Hughes. Tom’s girlfriend happened to mention the Rabbit Ears 10K, Tom happened to find it intriguing. So he signed up for the race, which is Sunday. This 10K (which is actually closer to 7 miles, according to the Web site) starts at Rabbit Ears pass (located near near Steamboat Springs and probably the prettiest pass in Colorado) above 10,000 feet and pretty much stays above that lofty elevation. Tom lives in Durham, elevation 413 feet. But Tom is also an Ironman — twice! He’ll be fine.

Not that I’m the competitive type, but their exploits have left me thinking that maybe I need to up my plan. Not to be a copycat, certainly: Mt. Evans is out; If I struggled on Roan Mountain, I’d be eaten alive on Evans, and while I love a good run, there don’t seem to be any races above 10,000 feet scheduled during my visit. Thus, I need to do something not simply epic, but something I have a reasonable chance of completing.

Climb a Fourteener, for instance.

Colorado has 52 peaks of 14,000 feet or higher. The one closest to my base camp of Loveland is 14,255-foot Long’s Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. That one is probably out: I’ll be climbing alone and Longs is dangerous enough. At least one climber/hiker dies on Longs Peak a year; six died in 2000 alone and just last Friday a man fell  from a ledge on the mountain and died. Also: You need to start your climb around 3 a.m. in order to summit and be off the top before afternoon electrical storms set in.

The next closest 14ers are the twin sisters of 14,270-foot Grays and 14,267-foot Torreys peaks. These may be the two most frequently summited of Colorado’s 14ers, in part because of their proximity to Denver, in part because the climbs aren’t technical, in part because it’s easy to knock off the next-door-neighbors in one trip. Alas, I did Torreys in 2004, and while it’s a gorgeous and worthy climb, I’d just as soon add a new peak to the resume.

Next on the list of Front Range 14ers I found Mt. Evans,  the same Mt. Evans that Alan rode his bike up, the same Mt. Evans that scores of people drive their cars up every day. Evans I have summitted as well, in a 1983 Toyota pickup, if memory serves. But I haven’t done it under my own power (unless you count the mental energy it takes to will a 1983 Toyota pickup up a 14,264-foot mountain). As I poked around a little more I discovered a backdoor route up Evans from Guanella Pass that summits 14,060-foot Mt. Bierstadt to boot. Another two-fer deal that, the more I looked into it, seemed the perfect trip:

• It’s 10.25 miles roundtrip, not a crazy distance for a day hike (even if most, if not all of it, is between 11,000 and 14,264 feet).
• It’s got a total elevation gain of 3,900 feet. Again, this is at high altitude, but spread over more than 10 miles not all that intimidating.
• It’s rated Class 3, meaning some scrambling may be required, but ropes aren’t.
• On a clear day it offers some of the most panoramic scenery on Earth.
• I won’t have to get up ridiculously early to drive to the trailhead. Google Maps suggests that if I’m on the road by 4 a.m. I should make the trailhead by 6:30 a.m. Six hours on the trail gets me off the mountain by the time the afternoon storms generally roll in.
• I get to drive through stunning South Park to get there (South Park being this, not that).

It’s biggest selling point? The high for today is only expected to reach 53 atop Mt. Bierstadt. The overnight low: 35.

After the summer we’ve had, I’m up for a good shiver.

Photo: Image of Mt. Bierstadt taken from Mt. Evans borrowed from 14ers.com.

Personally, I paddle the NATIMB because that’s what happens to me when I slip into a long stretch of peaceful flatwater. A paddle in hand, blue sky above, miles of languid water ahead and any semblance of brain activity vanishes. In fact, it doesn’t even take miles of flatwater for me to mentally flatline: Saturday afternoon on the two-mile-long dammed stretch of the Haw River above Saxapahaw (or “Saxaphaw,” as an NCDOT sign in town calls it) I was thought-free after less than a quarter mile of paddling.

Why do you think it's called 'Perception'?

The Haw is an often neglected paddling destination for the Triangle. Along much of its 110-mile run, from its headwaters north of Greensboro to its termination in Jordan Lake, the river is rocky, wide and shallow. Thus, unless there’s been recent rain it’s difficult to paddle. (With rain, it’s difficult for different reasons, this scenic waterway turned into a whitewater playground rife with Class II and III rapids.) But the two miles above Saxapahaw can be paddled even in the driest of droughts, thanks to a long-time dam that once provided vital power to this once vibrant mill town and now, after being recommissioned several years ago, provides hydroelectric to power Saxapahaw’s renaissance.  This “laked” portion provides as much of the Haw experience as its free-running stretches: great blue herons take on any tree remnant that broaches the water’s surface and chunky water snakes are common along the banks.

Plenty of welcome distractions, regardless of whether you’re paddling a Perception or a NATIMB.

* * *

A little gorp helps keep the mind from going from blissfully empty to stupidly so.

PIY (Paddle It Yourself)

Got a boat? There’s river access just north

of downtown Saxapahaw: From the intersection of Church and Swepsonville-Saxapahaw roads, go north maybe 100 yards and go left on Lakeview Drive. The gravel road shortly (maybe another 100 yards) leads to the river access.
Need a boat? The Haw River Canoe & Kayak Co. in Saxapahaw will put you on the river.
Need info about the Haw? Try either the Haw River Assembly or the Haw River Trail.

More of a hiker? Check out this post.

Challenging coaches. Salli Benedict has been leading Salli’s Senior Workout for Chapel Hill Parks & Rec since 1987. Based on my 60 minutes with her, the popularity likely has to do with the fact that she puts all 60 minutes to use. Her class, a mix of yoga, aerobics, and toning exercises that she continues to tweak after 23 years, is just a kind of boot camp in that it is varied, demanding, rewarding. Lots of encouragement, no coddling. The same could be said of the afternoon workout. After our second 1,000-meter run, coach/mentor Keith Ferguson asked, “Are you good with this pace, or would you like to pick it up a little?”

Social element. One thing I’ve noticed in the various classes I take and sit in on is that the social element is almost as important as the physical. People who sweat together tend to like to share together as well. Thus, a good coach for adults doesn’t discourage the chance to build CO2 capacity during a workout. Topics in the morning session ranged from a recent luncheon to a weekend yard sale that raised $41,000 for a local charity to a health update on a member who left the group last year (she’s 94). In the running group the talk was of upcoming races and, these being largely single 20somethings, a weekend party.

Goals. The evening run consisted of a mile warm-up, five 1,000-meter runs at race pace, a half-mile cool down. I ran the 1,000-meter runs with Ferguson, a mentor (an experienced runner who helps us with pacing and offers advice). Ferguson, who is 26, ran track and cross-country and Northern Nash High School, but injuries left him with some unfinished business. By year’s end, he hopes to: Break 5 minutes in the mile (his H.S. PR is 5:12), run an 18-minute 5K (he recently ran a 19:12), qualify for the Boston Marathon. After the morning session, Stell, a retired PE teacher who retired to Chapel Hill with her husband in 1984 and has had both hips replaced (one twice), came up to me and said, “This is serious. It keeps my body moving.”

Support. Immediately after the morning workout, three classmates wanted to know if I enjoyed myself, one asked if I’d be back. My running coaches and mentors are always good to push, quick to praise. After a particularly brisk 8-mile run Saturday, mentors Meghan and Rita were quick to praise me for pushing the pace — despite the fact I was running behind them.

No whining. Rather than kvetch about the heat in the workout room, the morning group elected to wait until the air was turned on, then comment on how nice the cool air felt. The evening group was effusive in its thanks for the first sub-90 degree evening workout of the summer.

Glad to be done. Despite the nice sub-90 degree evening whether, the evening group nevertheless declined the coaches’ offer to do another 1,000 meters. Unaccustomed to some of the yoga moves in the morning session, my taxed body assumed at one point that we had to be close to done. I glanced at the clock: 10:01.

We had another half hour to go.

* * *

Photo: Salli’s Seniors (that’s Salli Benedict, second from right) warm up with a group neck massage.

I’ll write more about Salli Benedict and her long-lived Salli’s Senior Workout next week.

Coast

By “coast” this week, we mean the coastal plain, of which Fayetteville, home to Saturday’s Lake Rim Paddling Festival, is firmly a part. There’ll be canoe and kayak racing for more accomplished paddlers, and rentals for newcomers to the pursuit. The festivities begin at 9 a.m. Lake Rim Park is at 2214 Tar Kiln Dr. in Fayetteville.

More info, call (910) 424-6134.

Piedmont

Last weekend it was Race at the Reactor cross-country mountain bike race, this weekend at Harris Lake near Raleigh, it’s The Nuclear Swim (must be something about a cooling tower that makes us want to push our limits).

The Nuclear Swim is the fourth and last in the Triangle Swim Series, one- and two-mile open water swims held at Triangle-area lakes. In just it’s second year, the series is proving a popular draw for distance swimmers: there were 150 swimmers at the Jordan Lake race in June and nearly 200 at last month’s Vista Point (also at Jordan Lake) swim. (Last year’s Nuclear Swim attracted 233 swimmers from six states.) For newbies, there’s a 20-minute open water swim clinic at 7:30 a.m. (at which you’ll learn there are no lines on the bottom to follow in a lake swim), the races start at 8 a.m. You must be a member of USA Triathlon, and if you aren’t you can buy a one-day $10 membership on site. Day-of registration is $35.

More info may be found here.

Mountains

The view from atop Elk Knob.

Those of us in the Piedmont tend to think of wildflowers more as a spring phenomenon (with a few stragglers in the fall). But they’re around throughout the summer in North Carolina’s high country. At 5,520-feet, Elk Knob in Watauga County qualifies for summer-long wildflower status.

Elk Knob State Park is a recent addition to the state park system; One of the benefits of membership to this august club is that it puts on regular events, such as Sunday’s Wildflower Program and Hike. After a short Powerpoint in the park office, head out for a hike on this rugged mountain with stellar views to see what’s in bloom. Program starts at 4 p.m.

More info on the program, call (828) 297-7261; on the park, go here; and for directions, try here.

* * *

Those are GGNC’s thoughts for an active weekend. Find out other ways you can get out this weekend by browsing our super calendar, a collection of events calendars from throughout the state, below.

Coast

CapeFearCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar for the Cape Fear/Wilmington/southern N.C. coast searchable by date and event name.

Coastal Guide
Comprehensive calendar including nature programs from a variety of costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs. Covers the entire coast.

Crystal Cost Tourism Authority
Comprehensive calendar focusing on the Crystal Coast. Good source for programs offered by N.C. Coastal Federation, Cape Lookout National Park, N.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve and other costal conservation and research agencies that offer nature programs.

NCCoast.com
Comprehensive calendar including programs for the Outer Banks and Crystal Coast.

North Carolina Coast Host
Comprehensive calendar for the entire coast that lets you search for events by day, by region, by county, by city or by event (based on key word).

This Week Magazine
Primary focus is the Crystal Coast (North Carolina’s coastal midsection).

Mountains

Asheville Citizen-Times
From the main page, click on “Outdoors,” then WNC Outdoors calendar.

Blue Ridge Outdoors
Searchable calendar lets you extend your reach to events throughout the mid-Atlantic and Southeast (or you can just limit it to North Carolina). Also lets you search a boatload of categories, ranging from Hiking, Mountain Biking and Climbing to Trail Running, Triathlon and Road Walking.

The Mountain Times
From the main page, click on “Calendars,” then Main Events.

Piedmont

Charlotte

Charlotte Observer events calendar
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including Nature, Recreation, Recreation & Wellness, Running

Charlotte Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triad

GoTriad.com
Comprehensive calendar includes a Sports & Recreation category.

Piedmont Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Triangle

Triangle.com
Comprehensive calendar searchable by category, including: Birding, Boating, Cycling, Nature, Rec & Wellness, Recreation, Running, Swimming, Tennis, Yoga.

Carolina Parent
Comprehensive calendar concentrating on things the family can do together.

Statewide

Office of Environmental Education
One calendar for the numerous Environmental Education Centers statewide.

North Carolina State Parks
Lets you search for programs at the state’s parks, recreation areas and natural areas by location, by month, by topic. To reach the calendar from the home page, click on “Education,” then “Fun & Free Programs at Parks.”

National Forests in North Carolina
From the home page, click on Carolina Connections for news updates on the state’s four national forests as well as hints on recreational opportunities and a detailed rundown of recreation areas and the amenities at each.

From the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University comes “preliminary evidence” that keeping your brain sharp can help you physically. Einstein researchers took a group of 20 “frail” seniors (age 70 or older who walk less than a meter per second) and divided them into two groups. Ten went about their normal routines, 10 participated in the MindFit brain fitness program: For 45 to 60 minutes a day, three days a week for eight weeks, they carried out tasks that honed their cognitive abilities: focusing, planning, organizing, problem solving. After eight weeks, the MindFit folks walked slightly faster, but their ability to walk and talk at the same time improved significantly.

Lead study author Dr. Joe Verghese cautioned that the study size was small and that a larger clinical trial still needs to be conducted, but “the results suggest that brain fitness programs show promise for helping the frail elderly walk better.”

Read more at ScienceDaily.

Also suggesting that active agers are happy agers are mice whose nerve cells have been genetically engineered to glow in fluorescent color. What those groovy, glowing nerve cells showed, according to a study just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is that exercise and “caloric restrictions” can rejuvenate connections between nerves and muscles, thereby delaying some of the debilitating effects of growing old.

According to researchers, for a healthy neuromuscular synapse to occur our nerve endings and their corresponding muscle fiber receptors need to match perfectly. Over time, though, those connections deteriorate. According to researcher Joshua Sanes, professor of molecular and cellular biology and director of the Center for Brain Science at Harvard: “With calorie restriction, we saw reversal of all aspects of synapse disassembly. With exercise, we saw a reversal of most, but not all.”

Again, researchers caution, more research needs to be done to understand the relationship between exercise, diet and healthy synapses.

Read more at Science Daily.

* * *
In an unrelated study, more evidence that drinking water will do you well: In this case drinking two cups of water before a meal will help you lose weight.

In a study of 48 adults between 55 and 75, those who drank two 8-ounce cups of water before their three squares lost 5 pounds more than their non-drinking counterparts over a 12-week period during which all were put on similar diets. The drinkers, according to the study consumed from 75 to 90 calories fewer than the non-drinkers. The reason may seem obvious: The drinkers, with 16 ounces of liquid already sloshing around in their belloes, entered the meal feeling more full.

Read more at Medical News Today.

Photo: Mighty Mouse, a celebrated fitness buff and life-long adherent to a diet strong on dairy, is still going strong at 68. It is unknown whether his nerve cells glowed in the dark.

Such is the life of the greenway point man for the North Carolina city with the most greenways.

Lebsock, senior greenway planner for Raleigh, and Sig Hutchinson spoke Thursday night at the monthly meeting of the Capital Group chapter of the Sierra Club. Hutchinson, the Triangle’s leading greenway and trails advocate, provided a big picture look at the Triangle’s evolving greenway system, noting that while the area hasn’t quite reached the tipping point (the point at which a novelty becomes necessity) that day is near. It could occur within four years, as key greenway projects in Cary, Durham and Raleigh are completed and join to form a continuous trail network making it possible, say, to get from Walnut Creek in Southeast Raleigh to downtown Durham via a 10-foot-wide swath of pedestrian-only greenway.

Currently, there’s about 145 miles of greenway in the Triangle. By 2014, that number should reach 220, based on projects scheduled to be completed within the next four years. Of those additional 75 miles, 41 will be in Raleigh. Here’s the update Lebsock gave Thursday night for those 41 miles in oak town. To follow along, call up the Raleigh Greenway map, here.

Neuse River Greenway
Miles: 28
Status: Construction is underway on the northernmost eight miles, heading south from Falls Lake dam. Those eight miles should be finished by April. The entire 28 miles, which will run from the dam to the Johnston County line, are expected to be finished by 2014.
Significance: This will be the longest greenway in the Triangle and will link the Crabtree Creek and Walnut Creek greenways, roughly creating a semicircle of greenway running from Lake Johnson east along Walnut Creek to the Neuse, then north to Crabtree Creek and northwest to Umstead State Park. The greenway is part of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, an in-progress passage beginning at Clingman’s Dome on the Tennessee border and running across the state to Jockey’s Ridge on the coast.

Honeycutt Creek Greenway
Miles: 6.
Status: Construction is scheduled to be completed by Spring of 2012.
Significance: Will link greenway running from Crabtree Creek north past Shelley Lake with the South Shore Trail at Falls Lake. The South Shore Trail, a natural surface passage, is part of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail and currently runs about 43 miles, from Durham County to Falls Lake dam.

House Creek Greenway
Miles: 2.9
Status: Under construction, should be finished in the summer of 2012.
Significance: A relatively short but highly anticipated stretch of greenway, this stretch will link an existing 13-mile swath of greenway running from Meredith College across the Beltline to the N.C. Museum of Art then on through Umstead State Park into Cary with the 11-mile (and growing) Crabtree Creek Greenway. The Honeycutt Creek connection will greatly expand the potential for getting around Raleigh via greenway. The two-year time frame for a relatively short stretch of greenway is due to the fact that two tunnels will need to be built as part of the project, which will also be Raleigh’s first greenway project to necessitate detouring road traffic.

Walnut Creek Greenway: Rose Lane to Neuse River
Miles: 4.5.
Status: Actually, says Lebsock, only 2.9 miles of this stretch is currently funded, from the greenway’s current eastern end east to South New Hope Road: The remaining 1.6 miles will finish the Walnut Creek Greenway’s link to the in-progress Neuse River Greenway (see above). The 2.9-mile stretch should be done by Summer 2012.
Significance: The 4.5-mile stretch would create a continuous 11-mile stretch of greenway from the Neuse Greenway west to N.C. State’s Centennial Campus. (Greenway planned for the Centennial Campus would connect with additional Raleigh greenway that links to and encircles Lake Johnson.

Crabtree Creek East Greenway
Miles: 4.1.
Status: This stretch, which would link the in-the-works Neuse River Greenway with 11 miles of existing Crabtree Creek Greenway, should be finished by late 2012.
Significance: Will create 15.1 miles of continuous greenway from the Neuse River northwest, to just shy of Duraleigh Road. There, another missing link in the greenway chain will run another two miles or so and connect with trail in Umstead State Park. (For an update on that stretch, go to last Saturday’s post.)

“I lost my water bottle,” I said, making conversation by way of commiseration. I gulped some air to continue, but before I could he reached into his second cage and grabbed a spare water bottle. “Here. Take this.”

We were about three quarters of the way through today’s Race at the Reactor mountain bike race at Harris Lake, and while it wasn’t deathly hot like it was at last month’s Huck-A-Buck at Lake Crabtree (100 degrees), it was warm and humid. I’d ridden about 50 minutes without water and was hurting. I discovered the bottle was missing about five miles into the race, when I reached down for a drink and got air instead. Dang!

It was a two-lap race and I’d be passing the pit area in about 10 minutes; I could stop and grab another bottle. But I was pretty sure I knew where mine had jumped ship — about halfway through the first lap when I’d gone off-trail trying to pass the guy who was now offering me his spare water bottle. Under the illusion I could still register a respectable finish (I didn’t, ending up 5th out of 7 in the Sport Class 2 50+ category) I blew through the pit and soon regretted it. I thankfully grabbed the proffered bottle and took note of the irony: it was a Happy Fun Racing bottle, just like the one I had jettisoned. Then I realized who my benefactor was: Mr. Happy Fun himself, Pat Lundergan, who with Chris Pappas are the pedaling force behind Happy Fun Racing and the Huck-A-Buck, which is sponsored by HFR. The Huck-A-Buck epitomizes what mountain biking racing is about: Riding hard and, because few things in life beat riding a bike through the woods, making the most of every second you’re in the saddle. Even if that means running the risk of crossing the finish a tad parched because you bailed out a fellow rider.

“Toss the the bottle at the end of the race,” Pat said. “I’ve got a million of ‘em.” With that, he clipped into his single speed and disappeared over a drop.

Go here for results for Race at the Reactor.

Photo: When he’s not saving parched riders on the trail, Pat Lundergan helps organize and MCs the Huck-A-Buck mountain bike race at Lake Crabtree.

Some background. In the mid-1990s, Sig Hutchinson’s brother-in-law bought a mountain bike. It looked like fun, so Hutchinson bought one, too. Besides, a 23-mile-long trail ran behind his house that looked like it would be fun to ride. Trouble was, he soon learned, that trail — the South Shore Trail along Falls Lake, part of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail — was off limits to two-wheeled pedestrians. No biggie, he thought: I’ll just get a little grass roots support going and we’ll get the trail open to mountain biking. “We’ll be riding it in six months, tops,” he told me at the time.

It’s 15 years later and that trail is still open only to hikers. In the meantime, Hutchinson has emerged as the Triangle’s leading advocate for trails and greenways (he’s a past president of the Triangle Greenways Council and currently chairs Wake County’s Open Space and Parks Advisory Committee), and one of its prime advocates for mass transportation. Despite his initial setback in trail advocacy and his subsequent brushes with bureaucracy on various levels, Hutchinson sticks to his motivational speaker roots and retains an indefatigable optimism that sees the cup not only half full, but somehow brimming half full.

Vic Lebsock, on the other hand, has worked within the bureaucracy in Raleigh for 22 years, much of that as senior planner for Raleigh’s greenways. He knows how legal issues can strangle a project: Punching through a 2-mile stretch of greenway along Crabtree Creek that would link 11 miles of existing greenway with Umstead State Park has been a 10-year battle thanks to a neighborhood lawsuit. He knows how challenges with lowest-bidding contractors can bog down a project: Repairing a 200-yard boardwalk on the Crabtree Creek greenway took two years longer than expected due to disputes with the contractor. And every project he begins begins with an environmental assessment that can raise all sorts of unforeseen challenges. As a result, perhaps, of being too optimistic early on, he’s learned not to raise the hopes of his constituents with optimistic projections.

Their divergent cup half full vs. cup-becoming-half-full-but-not-as-quickly-as-you-might-hope viewpoints surfaced when they were asked about the status of the aforementioned 2-mile stretch of missing greenway linking the Crabtree Greenway with Umstead. There was a pause as the two eyed each other for direction. “How much can I say about that?” Hutchinson asked Lebsock. “Can I say anything? I can say something. …”

The two went on to jointly explain that the project had been held hostage by a lawsuit between the landowner, a quarry seeking city approval to expand operations on land it already owned, and neighbors, who weren’t crazy about china-rattling dynamite blasting closer to home. A series of recent events appears to be breaking the lawsuit logjam, but because it is a sensitive — and still potentially volatile — legal issue, and because it has dragged on for 10 years, just how quickly that logjam might unjam is unclear. Enter the diverging philosophies.

“I think we might see something happen within 18 months,” Hutchinson offered, adding. “We have the money for the project, by the way.”

Lebsock demurred. “This has been going on for 10 years.” That seemed to make Hutchinson even more optimistic; moments later he changed his prediction to 6 to 9 months.

Six months or nine months or 18, “it’s looking very optimistic,” Hutchinson emphasized. Regardless, it’s certainly closer to being a done deal than mountain biking on the South Shore Trail.

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Vic Lebsock may have been reluctant to attach a timeline to the missing Crabtree/Umstead greenway link, but he wasn’t when it came to five other Raleigh greenway projects. Come back Monday and we’ll give you the latest word on five projects that will add 41 miles of greenway to Raleigh’s existing 63 miles by 2014.