I’ve often thought that the thing that intrigues me most about cycling is its dual personality. It’s gobs of fun to ride around (fly around really) on quiet roads with girlfriends, going nowhere and seeing, hearing, and smelling everything around.

But it’s one of the few sports I can think of that can immediately translate into practical transportation. Sure we could walk or run everywhere, but probably not all the time, and probably not fast enough to cover the distances most of us need to cover. On my bike, I get to work every day, I zip over to Target to fill a prescription, I tool down to the library to grab a book. If I was able to haul my teenage daughter around with my bike, I’d do that too.

I ran across an article by Rick Crawford over on Velonews.com that says it so much more succinctly than I can. How often do we think about our sport/outdoor time as energy wasteful? All those BTUs we’re churning out just evaporating into the atmosphere instead of powering our TV or computer? Of course, everything in life can’t be perfectly utilitarian and thrifty! We all need our fun and relaxation. But if you could catch the energy you’ll pour into your next triathlon or skiing trip and run your washing machine for a month, wouldn’t you? All that fun and a lower electric bill to boot.

I’ll let you know when I figure out a way to sell some of my cycling wattage back to the power grid!

Last June Kelsey Crider graduated from Boulder High School with plans to attend Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO and fulfill her dream of being a photographer. But an undiagnosed hereditary kidney problem put all those plans on hold for her. Kelsey’s dad donated a kidney, but the transplant failed and Kelsey is now on the waiting list of the United Network for Organ Sharing. She currently has to have dialysis three days a week.

When Michelle Theall, Women’s Adventure’s founder, read about Kelsey in the local Boulder Daily Camera, she immediately wanted to make at least a part of Kelsey’s dream come true. Women’s Adventure is sponsoring a series of conferences in 2008 on writing and photography and Michelle invited Kelsey and her mom to attend the Photography Conference, taking place April 12-14, 2008, at no cost.

You can read more about Kelsey’s story at the Boulder Daily Camera (http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/feb/17/bhs-grad-fights-kidney-battle/). And, if you’re interested in reading more about the conferences, visit our website at www.magazineconference.com.

It seems this issue is on the minds of several of our readers as well as my own. I just read a blog over at Bicycling Magazine’s reader blog area that was a total inspiration. Not about how to be safe, but about addressing fears - check it out over at http://rodale.typepad.com/changing_gears/.

I’m responsible for putting together the monthly Women’s Adventure e-newsletter (shameless plug - click here to sign up). This month, one of the items I came across for the newsletter had to do with a fund raiser in honor of Meredith Emerson, the hiker who was killed while on an outing near her home in Georgia. I had already heard about her murder, but I hadn’t paid much attention to the details. It was probably a one-in-million freak occurrence that she caught the attention of the man who killed her. But it makes a girl think. And it wakes up all those feelings of vulnerability that some of us fight down every time we venture out.

“Can we be safe outside?” is a question that doesn’t have a firm answer. Most of us will never be in any danger, but some will be injured, some will miraculously escape, and a few will die. I personally have to overcome my worrywart tendencies every time I get on my bike and ride. The statistics are on my side - I’ll probably be coming home safe and happy, but for some of us, overcoming fear is a daily challenge.

Coming up in our January newsletter is a reader’s story by Valerie Hess about how she overcame her learned fear of the outdoors. In our March print issue, there’s going to be a feature about German paraglider, Ewa Wisnierska, who was caught in a supercell storm while racing and survived being pushed by winds up to 10,000 meters in the air - it’s an absolute miracle that she lived - and she continues to compete in her sport. I think about our founder, Michelle Theall, out running or walking in every weather, despite difficulties with MS, because she wouldn’t, couldn’t be herself without going outside. All of them are women who step outside to do what they love, knowing intimately the danger they place themselves in. They go because they must go, because they would be lessened by giving in to fears. These women are my heroes - when my fear sings out, I think about them and let joy find me in the wild.

Lynne, our most excellent office manager, sent me these thoughts the other day.

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the period right after my son was born and my first time away from him. I remember driving down my mountain road thinking that I couldn’t protect him like I did when he was inside of me. I think about this because I’m looking for a new car.

My son will soon receive his driver’s permit and it will be my car he will learn on and later drive the most. The vehicle needs to fit my 5′4″ frame and his 6′2+” growing body and have decent gas mileage, so size is important. I’ve studied on-line car ratings and consumer comments and visited dealerships. I thought a “pre-owned” car would give me some balance — not as much concern about keeping it in pristine condition.

But the newer cars have the curtain air bags, the vehicle stabilizers for skids, etc., etc. for safety. I’m becoming a little crazed in my search but want to make a decision because my current vehicle is becoming unreliable and because of my soon-to-be expert new driver. So thoughts about protecting him still dance in my head. Did I mention he had a head concussion playing football this past fall? Pass the bubblewrap!

I totally agree! Sometimes teenage sons seem programmed by nature to plunge headlong into every dangerous thing they can find. And moms are programmed to protect. We start when we hold them in our arms for the first time, doing all the right, careful things to keep them health and safe. How do we turn that off when they don’t need us anymore?

My son is a little older than Lynne’s and he’ll be leaving for college next fall. And no matter how logical, reasonable, and sane he sounds when he’s talking to me, I know when he’s out with buddies, it’s a whole different ballgame. And yet, can we hold them back from being what they are? Or learning those hard lessons? Or teaching us the lessons we need, too? Not a chance!

I’m not a mountain bike person. Not from lack of desire, just from lack of opportunity. The area around Chicago lends itself to long road rides, fast and furious sprints, miles of meditation watching goldfinches flash in the brush along the asphalt.

I reach my job every day by bike, too. This whole relationship I have with my bike is complicated and wonderful. It’s transportation physically and spiritually. I thought it would be all I needed.

Karina and I split our WA bicycle testing chores — she tests mountain and I test road/urban. But I call myself a cycling gear editor as well as webmaster (they let me pick my own job title, you know) and there’s more in this two-wheeled world than 700c tires. So, I finally gathered my courage and sneaked off this weekend (while my riding partner was at the Tour of Missouri) with my son’s battered mountain bike to one of the few mountain bike trail systems in the area.

I chose a wide trail because I’m a novice. I had to be on the lookout for horseback riders around every curve, but for the most part I had the trail to myself. That was a blessing because I totally embarrassed myself! Only the horses were snickering as I got half way up a totally vertical wall of rocky dirt and started going “whoa, whoa, whoa” as my front wheel lifted off the ground and I began heading back where I came from head first. Luckily, I managed to stop the momentum and I walked my bike up a bit.

After a second hill-walk, I realized I just didn’t have any technique at all. I had all the leg power I needed to climb but I couldn’t make the bike behave. I need to go to a women’s mountain bike camp! And I say “women’s” because they might not laugh at me as much as guys would. Maybe.

Walking aside, I was having a blast. Going down the hills was like, well, like nothing I’ve ever done before. Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, with added rocks and washouts, comes to mind. Around the third downhill, I realized I was actually laughing out loud. Now, when have I ever done that on a road ride? The most I’ve achieved on my road bike is a benevolent smile, kind of like the Buddha. I even laughed when I bashed up one leg against the shark-toothed pedal. Wheeee!

So, I’m a convert. It’s totally recreational riding, with nary a thought about how much gas I’m saving or what effect I’m having on global warming. Pure fun for fun’s sake — so unlike practical me. I can’t wait to go out again! Don’t tell my road bike…..

You may not know this, but not all of our magazine staff live near WA’s Global Headquarters in Boulder, CO. Several of us work remotely from far-flung locations and have never met each other. Phones are okay, email is nice, but nothing beats a face-to-face chat to really communicate and build relationships.

So, we had our first ever “annual planning session/staff retreat” together in Boulder last month. Everyone rearranged schedules, found child-care or pup care, and came by planes, trains, and automobiles to rendezvous at the foot of the Flatirons in Colorado. Our founder, Michelle, and our office manager, Lynne, swarmed like ants to get ready for our arrival. Armed with the many excellent suggestions sent in by you, dear readers, we plotted out the new year for Women’s Adventure. Of course, we were aided by lots of chocolate, good food, music floating across the meadow from nearby Chautauqua, hikes up to the Flatirons, and gorgeous weather.

After all the serious business was finished, the last item on the agenda was our wish lists. Without any limitations, we told what our wildest dreams were for ourselves in relation to Women’s Adventure. There were all the usual wishes for bigger budgets and more help, but what came through loud and clear was the degree of dedication every woman felt for our publication. We believe Women’s Adventure is unique and worthy of that dedication, beyond long hours and small budgets.

I left our retreat enriched by the strength of women when they work toward a common goal, by their strength in being able to communicate and reach understanding, by their wit, humor and practicality. I think you will be just as enriched by the upcoming year of Women’s Adventure.

WA friend Anne Bonney recently finished a trip to Antarctica and sent us the link to her trip blog, along with a little bio:

Anne Bonney was born in New Jersey, moved a year later and hasn’t stopped since. Her travels have taken her from the pyramids in Egypt, to an elephant polo match in Nepal, to a performing arts boarding school in the woods of Michigan. Out of college, she taught elementary special education, but has since trained marine mammals and birds of prey, bartended, facilitated team building on a ropes course, and now she’s in marketing for women’s athletic apparel. She was always athletic, but never had much of a chance to be an athlete until about 4 years ago when she ran the 3 mile leg on a relay team, and got the bug. Now marathon running is an opportunity to wear goofy costumes (Elvis and Hula girl most recently), bond with similarly clad friends and travel to exotic locations. (Antarctica and Argentina, February 2007) Also a triathlete and an adventure racer, Anne’s next big challenge is starting graduate school in June 2007.

Check out Anne’s latest at her blog: http://antarcticannie.blogspot.com/.

WA Gear Blog features the musings of the gear editors from Women’s Adventure Magazine, the only women’s specific outdoor sports magazine on the planet. Filled with inspiration and information, Women’s Adventure keeps you up to date on climbing, hiking, backpacking, paddling, snowboarding, skiing, cycling, adventure travel, and all the women who are leading the way in each sport. And our gear editors hope to keep you up to date on all the latest tools of the trade over at our gear blog!