Roanoke Outside Blog

Weekend Recommendations (9/3-6)

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:28:33 EDT

Looking for something to this weekend? Here are your weekend recommendations for what's going on OUTSIDE in and around the Roanoke and Blacksburg areas!!!

Festivals, Events, & Outings

Blue Ridge Mountain Sports Summer Clearance Sale - 9/3-6
Physicians on Foot Walking Clinic - 9/4
Fungi & Wildflowers Field Trip - 9/4
Seven Mile Mountain Beginner Hike w/ Appalachian Trail Club - 9/4
Free Emergency Bike Repair Classes - 9/7
Brewsday Tuesday at Fork in the City - 9/7
Weekly Angler Workshops - 9/9
For non-outdoor events visit

Pete's Picks! - What's my recommendation?

For most Americans Labor Day is symbolic of the end of summer. It's been a great summer so enjoy your time with family and friends and be sure to get outside. It's a great opportunity to plan your fall adventures, so here are a few ideas:

Plan a weekend camping trip

Take your significant other on a romantic cabin getaway

Book a fall foliage canoe trip

Learn to fly fish

Take your girlfriends on a women-only adventure

If you've never hiked to McAfee Knob before - plan on it

Get OUTSIDE!

Pete Eshelman (friend me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter)
Director of Outdoor Branding
Roanoke Regional Partnership

Check out the Outdoor Calendar for upcoming events you need to keep your eye on!

Start an Outdoor Business

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:31:52 EDT

Opportunity is Knocking in the Roanoke Region.

Interested in starting an adventure tourism business in the Roanoke Region? Register now for the free October 19 Roanoke Region Adventure Tourism Workshop.

Outdoor recreation is the fastest growing aspect of tourism throughout the world and this workshop outlines the opportunities, best practices, and steps required to launch a successful adventure tourism business.

Hear from successful business owners in this industry and learn from professionals in business startups and expansions as they provide the steps to launch, market, and finance a business. The workshop includes an update on tourism developments in the region and is a great opportunity to connect to resources that can jump start your tourism venture.

Date: October 19.
Cost: Free. Advanced registration is required and limited.
Location: Greenfield Education & Training Center (Botetourt County).
More: Click here for details.

Physicians on Foot Program

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:05:00 EDT

Get in Stride by Walking with a Carilion Clinic Doctor.

Numerous Carilion Clinic physicians are lacing up their walking shoes and hitting the Roanoke River Greenway every Saturday at 8:30 a.m. And they want you to join them for their weekly "Physicians on Foot" walking program.

The Physicians on Foot program will meet on the Roanoke River Greenway at the corner of Hamilton Terrace and Belleview Avenue. There is a rock in front of Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital that starts the 1.8-mile walk to Smith Park and back.

Click here for more details.

Learn to Kayak Roll & Roll Sessions

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 08:56:18 EDT

If you've ever had an interest in doing this...

...then you need to learn how to "roll your kayak".

Every whitewater kayaker will flip over at some point early in their paddling career, probably even on the first day. Flipping over in a kayak is really just part of the sport. There are times when being upside down in a kayak can lead to a life or death situation. It is for this reason that every kayaker should learn how to flip upright if they are turned upside down.

The Roanoke Parks & Recreation just unveiled some new whitewater kayaking programs for this fall.

Open Pool Kayak Roll Sessions
Already own your own boating gear and looking for some cheap pool time to nail that roll? Join the Parks and Recreation staff at the Gator Center this fall for open kayak roll sessions on Sunday nights. Professional lifeguard staff will be on-hand to ensure water safety but no formal instruction or equipment will be provided. You must be able to swim. Dates: 9/12, 9/26, 10/10, and 10/24. Cost: $5 per session. Online registration is open. Registration is limited and closes three days before session date.

Kayak Roll Instructional Classes
Want to learn but don't know where to start? This is the course for you. Roanoke Parks and Recreation has American Canoe Association certified instructors who are mature, professional kayaking instructors. They will spend most of their time standing in the water next to you as they guide you through each step of the roll. Their low student-to-instructor ratio of 5:1 gives you plenty of personal attention during each lesson. Classes are held in a controlled indoor pool. All technical equipment can be provided or you can bring your own. This is a three-part class that takes place each Sunday (11/7-21). Cost: $60. Online registration is open. Space is limited and registration ends 10/18.

Win Radical Reels Film Festival Tickets

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 08:56:14 EDT

Less than two weeks to the 2nd annual Get Outside Expo & Radical Reels Film Festival - do you have your tickets yet?

Last year the event sold out a few days before. If you're feeling lucky then take your chances and enter our contest to win a pair of FREE tickets. CLICK HERE TO ENTER.

Not feeling lucky? Buy your tickets now and be guaranteed a good time!

Weekend Recommendations (8/27-29)

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 09:16:34 EDT

Looking for something to this weekend? Here are your weekend recommendations for what's going on OUTSIDE in and around the Roanoke and Blacksburg areas!!!

Festivals, Events, & Outings

180° South: Conquerors of the Useless Party - 8/27
Smith River Film Festival - 8/27
Free Hunter Education Course in Bedford (434.525.7522) - 8/28-29
Smith River Festival - 8/28
Physicians on Foot - 8/28
5 Minutes of Fame Wakeboard Tournament - 8/28
Roanoke Wing Fest - 8/28
Nelson County Bike Festival - 8/28
Free Bike Demo at Carvins Cove brought to you by East Coasters - 8/29
Hoop Hole Hike w/ Appalachian Trail Club - 8/29
KIVA Family Picnic for National Eat Outside Day - 8/31
Free Emergency Bike Repair Classes - 8/31
Weekly Angler Workshops - 9/2
For non-outdoor events visit

Pete's Picks! - What's my recommendation?

Have you seen the weather forecast for this weekend? It is going to be gorgeous. Here is my personal itinerary - feel free to join me at any point.

Friday evening: Join the who's who of the outdoor world at the 180° South: Conquerors of the Useless Party. From 5-7 it is a social (try your hand at slacklining) and at 7pm we'll watch the film 180° South. The Roanoke Bike Valet service will be present - ride your bike to the event, show me your helmet, and I'll give you a sweet prize.

Saturday: A group of friends and I are taking our kids biking/camping on the New River Trail. The New River Trail is 57 miles long and parallels 39 miles of the New River. There are primitive campsites that you have to walk/bike in to. It's definitely worth checking out.

Any day: If you've never hiked Bottoms Creek Gorge you need to. Bottoms Creek is part of the Nature Conservancy. Forming the headwaters of the Roanoke River, Bottom Creek Gorge boasts spectacular scenery: the second highest waterfall in Virginia, virgin hemlocks and hundreds of wildflowers.

Get OUTSIDE!

Pete Eshelman (friend me on Facebook)
Director of Outdoor Branding
Roanoke Regional Partnership

Check out the Outdoor Calendar for upcoming events you need to keep your eye on!

Radical Reels Film List for 9/15

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 08:35:13 EDT

The 2nd annual Get Outside Expo and Radical Reels Film Festival is just around the corner (9/15). We thought we'd give you a little tease by sharing a quick rundown of the films you'll see. For most of these films you can visit the listed website to watch a sneak-peak video.

The event sold out last year so don't wait to get your tickets. Visit www.roanokeoutside.com/radicalreels for information on tickets...or stop by Blue 5 (tonight, 8/27) for the 180° South: Conquerors of the Useless Party and pick up your Radical Reels tickets for only $10 (cash only).

FILM LIST

Extra.Ordinary
Canada, 2009, 11 minutes

Directed and produced by Matty Westcott and Joel Whalen
Website: www.dubsbrothersfilms.com
Classification: Parental Guidance - coarse language
Focus: Skiing, snowboarding

A film about regular skiers and snowboarders who fly under the radar living in small-town Fernie, B.C. The footage is of skiers/snowboarders riding deep powder and jibbing urban handrails, as well as hitting backcountry booters and skiing backcountry terrain.

The Fellowship of the Bearing
Canada, 2008, 12 minutes

Directed and produced by Daniel Pape
Website: www.colaboinnovations.com
Classification: General - no advisory
Focus: Downhill skateboarding

A film depicting the sport and culture of downhill skateboarding in Southern B.C.

Hack Your Shackles
Canada, 2009, 7 minutes

Directed by Dave Mossop
Produced by Cholo Burns
Website: www.rockymountainsherpas.com
Classification:General - no advisory
Focus: Noboarding, family-friendly

In this second installment of the noboard movement, the binding-less revolution continues.

Look to the Ground
Canada, 2009, 7 minutes

Directed and produced by Bjørn Enga
Website: www.radical-films.com
Classification: General - no advisory
Focus: Mountain biking, family-friendly

"Look to the Ground" is a snapshot of the inspiring story of Bobby McMullen, a professional athlete who is legally blind
and has worked against the odds to become a top mountain bike rider.

Mystic Spirit
France, 2009, 5 minutes

Directed by Dominique Janiszewski
Produced by Claude Adam
Website: www.ridetheplanets.com
Classification: General – no advisory
Focus: Multi-Sport, family-friendly

An old legend says the Oberland Bernese forest is haunted by the spirit of a man constantly seeking adrenaline. Offended by his powers, the Gods decide to punish him by taking his soul. Possessed by this rambling spirit, the characters acquire strange supernatural powers. A film packed with special effects, topped off with humour!

NWD10: Dust and Bones
Canada, 2009, 15 minutes

Directed by Derek Westerlund, Scott Bradfield, Jacob Heilbron, Dan Gerhard
Produced by Derek Westerlund
Website: www.freeride-entertainment.com
Classification: General - no advisory
Focus: Mountain biking

"NWD10: Dust and Bones" is the final chapter in the epic saga known as "New World Disorder". Shot in high definition with RED cameras, it features the ultimate throw-down segment by Darren Berrecloth and unbelievable backflip combinations from Greg Watts, not to forget the Hell Barge. Pile in the rest of the top freeriders, dirt jumpers and slopestylers, and this world-class film will have you reeling.

On Sight
UK, 2008, 15 minutes

Directed and produced by Alastair Lee
Website: www.posingproductions.com
Classification: Parental Guidance, coarse language
Focus: Rock Climbing (on-sighting)

"On Sight" is the fruition of an idea that many considered impossible: a film capturing the blood, sweat and mystery of on-sight climbing as it happens.
The result is a tense, profound and often hilariously funny portrait of climbing's most elusive realm, and a deep insight into what drives the climbers who explore it.

Progression: World Cup
USA, 2009, 11 minutes

Directed and produced by Josh Lowell
Website: www.bigupproductions.com
Classification: Parental Guidance - coarse language
Focus: Indoor rock climbing competition

This segment from "Progression" focuses on veteran Spanish sport climber Patxi Usobiaga as he trains for and competes in the World Cup circuit. Also featured is 15-year-old up-and-coming Austrian climber Johanna Ernst.

Re:Session
USA, 2009, 17 minutes

Directed and produced by Todd Jones, Steve Jones, Corey Gavitt
Website: www.tetongravity.com
Classification: Parental guidance – coarse language
Focus: skiing

"Re:Session" documents the true wealth of the mountain experience. Check out seven weeks of epic riding in BC and Alaska. Re:Session brings the most talented athletes in the sport together into one must-see film.

World Record Waterfall Descent
USA, 2009, 3 minutes

Directed and produced by Rush Sturges
Website: www.Rev-Inn.com
Classification: General - no advisory
Focus: White-water kayaking

Tyler Bradt sets the new world-record waterfall descent at 60 metres.

Reasons Why You Shouldn't Buy Bottled H20

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 07:40:00 EDT

Bottled water is healthy water — or so marketers would have us believe. Just look at the labels or the bottled water ads: deep, pristine pools of spring water; majestic alpine peaks; healthy, active people gulping down icy bottled water between biking in the park and a trip to the yoga studio.

In reality, bottled water is just water. That fact isn't stopping people from buying a lot of it. Estimates variously place worldwide bottled water sales at between $50 and $100 billion each year, with the market expanding at the startling annual rate of 7 percent.

Bottled water is big business. But in terms of sustainability, bottled water is a dry well. It's costly, wasteful and distracts from the brass ring of public health: the construction and maintenance of safe municipal water systems.

Want some solid reasons to kick the bottled water habit? We've rounded up five to get you started.

1) Bottled water isn't a good value

Take, for instance, Pepsi's Aquafina or Coca-Cola's Dasani bottled water. Both are sold in 20 ounce sizes and can be purchased from vending machines alongside soft drinks — and at the same price. Assuming you can find a $1 machine, that works out to 5 cents an ounce. These two brands are essentially filtered tap water, bottled close to their distribution point. Most municipal water costs less than 1 cent per gallon.

Now consider another widely sold liquid: gasoline. It has to be pumped out of the ground in the form of crude oil, shipped to a refinery (often halfway across the world), and shipped again to your local filling station.

In the U.S., the average price per gallon is hovering around $3. There are 128 ounces in a gallon, which puts the current price of gasoline at a fraction over 2 cents an ounce.

And that's why there's no shortage of companies that want to get into the business. In terms of price versus production cost, bottled water puts Big Oil to shame.

2) No healthier than tap water

In theory, bottled water in the United States falls under the regulatory authority of the Food and Drug Administration. In practice, about 70 percent of bottled water never crosses state lines for sale, making it exempt from FDA oversight.

On the other hand, water systems in the developed world are well-regulated. In the U.S., for instance, municipal water falls under the purview of the Environmental Protection Agency, and is regularly inspected for bacteria and toxic chemicals. Want to know how your community scores? Check out the Environmental Working Group's National Tap Water Database.

While public safety groups correctly point out that many municipal water systems are aging and there remain hundreds of chemical contaminants for which no standards have been established, there's very little empirical evidence that suggests bottled water is any cleaner or better for you than its tap equivalent.

3) Bottled water means garbage

Bottled water produces up to 1.5 million tons of plastic waste per year. According to Food and Water Watch, that plastic requires up to 47 million gallons of oil per year to produce. And while the plastic used to bottle beverages is of high quality and in demand by recyclers, over 80 percent of plastic bottles are simply thrown away.

That assumes empty bottles actually make it to a garbage can. Plastic waste is now at such a volume that vast eddies of current-bound plastic trash now spin endlessly in the world's major oceans. This represents a great risk to marine life, killing birds and fish which mistake our garbage for food.

Thanks to its slow decay rate, the vast majority of all plastics ever produced still exist — somewhere.

4) Bottled water means less attention to public systems

Many people drink bottled water because they don't like the taste of their local tap water, or because they question its safety.

This is like running around with a slow leak in your tire, topping it off every few days rather than taking it to be patched. Only the very affluent can afford to switch their water consumption to bottled sources. Once distanced from public systems, these consumers have little incentive to support bond issues and other methods of upgrading municipal water treatment.

There's plenty of need. In California, for example, the American Society of Civil Engineers estimated the requirement of $17.5 billion in improvements to the state's drinking water infrastructure as recently as 2005. In the same year, the state lost 222 million gallons of drinkable water to leaky pipes.

5) The corporatization of water

In the documentary film Thirst, authors Alan Snitow and Deborah Kaufman demonstrated the rapid worldwide privatization of municipal water supplies, and the effect these purchases are having on local economies.

Water is being called the "Blue Gold" of the 21st century. Thanks to increasing urbanization and population, shifting climates and industrial pollution, fresh water is becoming humanity's most precious resource.

Multinational corporations are stepping in to purchase groundwater and distribution rights wherever they can, and the bottled water industry is an important component in their drive to commoditize what many feel is a basic human right: the access to safe and affordable water.

What can you do?

There's a simple alternative to bottled water: buy a stainless steel thermos, and use it. Don't like the way your local tap water tastes? Inexpensive carbon filters will turn most tap water sparkling fresh at a fraction of bottled water's cost.

Consider taking Food and Water Watch's No Bottled Water Pledge. Conserve water wherever possible, and stay on top of local water issues. Want to know more? Start with the Sierra Club's fact sheet on bottled water.

via Mother Nature Network (written by Chris Baskind)

Blue Ridge Parkway 75 Symposium

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:11:32 EDT

Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources and Environment in cooperation with Blue Ridge Parkway 75, Inc. is hosting Imagining the Blue Ridge Parkway for the 21st Century: Sustaining Communities, Environments, and Economies. The historic Hotel Roanoke will be the host hotel for this October 14-16 symposium.

The program is designed to assist community leaders, businesses, economic development authorities, tourism offices, academics, Parkway officials, and supporters of the Parkway in working together for a sustainable future for the Parkway.

Speakers include:

Richard Lourv, author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder and co-founder and chairman Children & Nature Network
Peter Jenkins, author of A Walk Across America
Carlton Abbott, son of original Parkway designer Stanley Abbott
Gerard Baker, former NPS employee featured in Ken Burns's series, The National PArks: America's Best Idea

Please visit the 2010 Symposium page for complete details!

** Sept. 13 is the deadline to get the hotel discount **

Bike Demo & Raffle to Win a Free Bike

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:48:19 EDT

The Blue Ridge Mountains have produced the best mountain biking trails in the East Coast. If you haven't experienced them first-hand you don't know what you're missing.

Join East Coasters bike shop at Carvins Cove (Bennett Springs parking lot) on Sunday August 29 where you'll have the opportunity to test ride the new 2011 Trek models. It's all FREE - free rides and free food. This is a great opportunity for first timers as well as the pros.

You can even enter a raffle for a chance to win a brand new mountain bike. Raffle tickets are just $5 with all proceeds going to Pathfinders for Greenways.

Did you know East Coasters offers a free emergency bike repair class every Thursday at 6pm?