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" Robin Hood's Bay is a small fishing town (hardly more than a village) , five miles south of Whitby, on the coast of North Yorkshire, England. The town, which consists of a maze of tiny streets, has a tradition of smuggling, and there is reputed to be a network of subterranean passageways linking the houses. The main legitimate activity had always been fishing, but this started to decline in the late 19th century. These days most of its income comes from tourism. "
~The Land that Time (and mobile phone masts) forgot~
Robin Hood's Bay on the North Yorkshire coast is one of those perfect little seaside towns that seem to have stepped straight out of a time warp from a more innocent and simpler age. Short of hijacking Dr Who's Tardis and setting it to the late 19th or early 20th century, a visit to Robin Hood's Bay is the closest thing to time travel. It's the sort of place where wholesome pursuits like hunting for tiddlers in rock pools with shrimping nets and taking bracing walks along the beach, quite possibly in horizontal rain, then returning to a tea shop for a scone and piping mug of tea are the order of the day. It's like stepping into an Enid Blyton novel where adventure lies just around the headland and there might just be a couple of men with no necks up to no good who would have 'gotten away with it if it hadn't been for those pesky kids'. Sorry - I think my Enid Blyton and Scooby Doo references were getting a bit confused there.
Robin Hood Bay is the type of town that has looked progress and modernity firmly in the eye and said "Thanks but no thanks!" although possibly they'd make an exception for four-wheel drive vehicles which are essential for dealing with the local roads especially in the winter. Whilst other seaside towns fell to the evils (or delights, depending on your perspective) of candy floss, amusement arcades, chip shops and J D Wetherspoon pubs, Robin Hood's Bay has turned its back on such distractions, knowing that no such 'modern' gimmicks are needed when you've got a perfect old fashioned village and a spectacular coast line. This is a place where every business is locally owned and run and where you'll find none of the normal stalwarts of the High Street. There's no W H Smith to deliver your newpaper or Boots to sell your headache tablets.
Of course it also helps to be cut off from the outside world by some of the steepest navigable roads in the country, by being separated from the motorways by a formidable and intimidating moor that looks like something out of 'An American Werewolf in London', and by a ban on cars entering the lower part of the town other than to pick up or drop off. All of this isolation serves to make it - put simply - the closest thing to the perfect seaside town that I have found.
~The end of the road - literally~
Robin Hood's Bay is also the start point or more typically the end point - it all depends which way you go - of the famous Coast to Coast Walk and it's a welcome sight for weary walkers who've literally crossed the country to reach it. For those walkers it offers comfy beds, filling meals and a chance to dip their path-weary feet into soothing salt water. It's literally the end of the (very long and uppy downy) road for such walkers and the sight of the sea marks the achievement of what for many is a long held ambition. You'll find a small store selling commemorative certificates, a bicycle propped against the sea wall declaring that you've reached the end of the walk, and a bar in the pub closest to the sea called 'Wainwrights' after the man who first defined the route of the Coast to Coast walk.
If you like a lively nightlife, then Robin Hood's Bay is not for you. When the sun goes down, the town goes to sleep. When the restaurants close, there's little to keep tired holiday makers from their beds. You can't fail to sleep like the dead when the surroundings are so quiet. And speaking of sleeping, there are few actual hotels in the lower part of the town, more up on the cliffs where cars are still permitted. Most of the accommodation is in small B&Bs, some of them with a restaurant or cafe on site but not much more. I would guess there are considerably more rooms available outside the lower town than within it. Other options include a surprisingly large number of rental properties - most of them tiny little cottages, often with open fires. If your idea of heaven at the end of your day is to sip champagne in the Jacuzzi then you'll be better looking further afield. But if you bounce out of bed with a yearning to jump between rock pools, look for fossils and clamber over the sea front, then you're in the right place.
~Bright Lights Big City~
Robin Hood's Bay has a small Fossil and Dinosaur Museum that also serves as a second hand book shop which plays on the town's historical significance as the location of some impressive dinosaur finds. It's unlikely you'll find anything big these days but there are plenty of small fossils to entertain beachcombers. If you like to shop, you'll find lots of arty stores selling hand-made ceramics and odd things fashioned out of bits of driftwood. You'll find traditional locally made ice-creams and sticks of tooth dissolvingly sweet sea-side rock and old fashioned boiled sweets. Museum hunters will find a museum of smuggling and the Old Coastguard's house which is now managed by the National Trust. But generally Robin Hood Bay is not about museums and organised activity - it's about getting down and dirty with nature, hanging out on the rock beach, or sitting on a bench and watching the tide come in and then go out again. If you're a high maintenance person in search of lots of 'stuff to do' then you may find Robin Hood's Bay intensely frustrating - or you might just surprise yourself and calm down and do nothing for a while.
Robin Hood's Bay is for the fit and mobile and hell on earth for those with mobility issues. To get into or out of the town you need to take on a fearsome slope of about 30 degrees or tackle hundreds of steps just to get up the hillside to find your car. Personally I find steps easier for going down hill and the slope better for going up but you'll have plenty of opportunity to test my theories. Most of the B&Bs have rickety staircases and getting to the beach in a wheelchair or on crutches is nigh on impossible. If you have a child in a buggy, check the brakes before you go to Robin Hood Bay - you wouldn't want your little one to get there faster than expected. But for those who can handle the physical challenges, there's an ice-cream van parked up at the bottom of the causeway to reward your efforts. There's also a fascinating exhibit in a shelter in the town centre that tells the history of the local lifeboat and the ships to whose rescue it has been deployed. This is a part of the world where the sea has long been both a source of wealth and a provider of great danger. Even if you're only planning a stroll on the beach, make sure you can see exactly how you'll get back again if the tide comes in.
We spent just two nights in Robin Hood's Bay and I loved it. It's not a cheap place to be because demand outstrips supply and rooms are fully booked for much of the year. Restaurants tend to be mid-range rather than cheap or particularly expensive. Mind you, aside from a bed and some food and the odd ice-lolly there's little else to part you from your money. The fresh sea air, the dramatic coast and the quaint old-world style of the place charmed me completely. I'd recommend a visit to anyone who thinks that sounds attractive and who can live without a mobile phone or internet signal for a couple of days - indeed even more so to those who'd see both things as a benefit to be enjoyed rather than a hardship to be endured.
I visited Robin Hoods Bay this summer. There are some very good views over the bay from the top of the town and bracing sea air. However, the town has very little to offer the day tripper. The shops are very poor with few places to eat lunch unless you go to a pub, indeed we chose to go to the Dolphin and found the staff very rude!It is a very long way down to the beach, and when you get there it is not that pretty! Don't expect wide expanses of sand - rather large boulders and a very grey sea.
Don't get me wrong. I love camping. It's just I don't really like trying to share a ramshackle mix of portakabins with two toilets and a shower with a fully booked field packed with strangers. So why have I returned to this camp site on more than a couple of occasions? Because even with the most modern facilities, cleanest toilets, showers and yes some camp sites even have a Starbucks now you quite simply can't buy a view like this. The view in question, sun shimmering over the sea, is overlooking Robin Hoods Bay towards the headland at Ravenscar. While amongst some other strong contenders its may not be THE best coastal view in the country it's certainly one of the best you can wake up to in a tent. But I digress. This review isn't about the campsite - because actually that's done - but Robin Hoods Bay in general.
So let's clear a couple of thing up straight away. Firstly where is it? Robin Hoods Bay is located on the coast on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors National Park between two big, brasher and perhaps better known resorts in Scarborough and Whitby. Secondly and famously of course Robin Hood himself may have afforded the same view that I described above. Or rather he didn't. There doesn't seem to be any evidence that the name is linked in any way to Robin of Sherwood fame. However the name is said to perhaps be linked to a forest spirit and this somehow fits into the intrigue of this area with places such as "Boggle Hole" where smugglers used to land there contraband and Whitby with its Dracula connections.
So what is there to do in "Baytown", as some of the local's refer to it, aside from admiring the view? Well if you want arcades and kiss me quick hats this isn't the place for you. Nor is this really the best place on this coastline for buckets and spades as the beach is perhaps more suited to scouring rock pools with fishing nets than building sandcastles. This place seems to be more about ambling through the village and taking in the - and I really hate to use the word - quaint atmosphere. The village itself can be roughly seen as two parts. The top half of the village is new with a couple of car parks. As you descend down the steep lane into the village however you soon find yourself entering a fishing village that on a foggy day with the sounds of the sea and the boats you could still half expect to see some excise men hunting smugglers. But if you really have to do something you can paint your own pottery, take fossil walks or perhaps if you want a bit of history visit the Old Coastguard Station or Museum. The village even has a cinema. And guess what? It's quaint.
This is also walking country. As the end of the Coast to Coast walk you will understand why people in walking boots are hugging each at the bottom of the hill before dipping their toes into the cold North Sea. Others celebrate the end of the walk in other ways. A few empty champagne bottles can normally be spotted around here. As well as the Coast to Coast walk Robin Hoods Bay is one of the final stops on the Cleveland Way before it reaches Scarborough and ultimately Filey.
If it's shopping your after your going to be spoilt for buckets and spades. Apart from that you can buy anything from a freshly caught Lobster to Whitby Jet jewelry. The village also has a butchers, bakery and store should you need food provisions while staying over. No chains here but Whitby is just down the road if you can't live without a Co-op.
You are also spoilt for choice if staying over. Aside from the camping I previously mentioned (Hooks House Farm as featured in "Cool Camping") which is a 10 minute walk to the new part of the village and another 10 to the bottom you will find a profusion of B&B's and particularly holiday lets. In fact walking through the lower village and seeing the number of lets available you would question how many "locals" are actually left.
You shouldn't starve either with plenty of options available from take away to find dining. Down at the bottom of the village is a fish and chip shop and cafe which to be fair could probably get away with selling rubbish to people who aren't going to come back again but has always been pretty good in my opinion. The pubs all sell grub and if you want al fresco dining with a Sea view you have a few different options such as the Victoria Hotel's beer garden, Candy's Café and Swell a converted church which is also home to the cinema mentioned early.
One of the joys of Robin Hoods Bay, for me especially, if you are staying over or not on driving duty is checking out the different hostelries in the village. Starting at the top of the "new" village are the Grosvenor Hotel and the Victoria Hotel. I haven't been in the Grosvenor but it looked nice enough although I suspect it gets missed by a lot of people being slightly higher up the road and looking more like a hotel bar. The Victoria has a couple of fairly innocuous drinking rooms but does have a beer garden overlooking the bay which would probably do just fine even without decent beer. However they always so have some good local real ales on tap. Things get more than traditional by the time you hit the tiny Laurel Inn halfway down the hill towards the sea. Next up (or down) is The Dolphin. A bit of a mystery this one as you would get a totally different impression depending on which route you have taken. On my first visit it seemed like a dilapidated place with a heater and a fusty smell and a lonely barman as company. However the main entrance to the more lively side of the pub is in fact on the other side of the building on the street running parallel. Unless you get lost going to the toilets you probably aren't going to make this connection. Finally at the bottom of the lane as close to the sea as you can get is the Bay Hotel.
Finally Robin Hoods Bay makes a good base for other attractions in the area. A bus service runs to both Scarborough and Whitby if you don't have a car. The Moors are also on your doorstop if you want to explore Heartbeat country.
Robin Hoods Bay should suit most people. It's dramatic in its own way all year round. Like an actor playing different parts its can be totally different from splashy summer to mysterious winter. However what is hilly and pretty is good news for some but for others you will understand why the bay taxi company looks like it's doing so well picking people up from the bottom of the hill. The hill is not too bad for most aside from hands on hips at the top but not the most suitable place for those old or infirm. But if you like very old fashioned seaside scenery without the flashing lights and a bit of mystery thrown in for good measure this might be the place for you. Even if Robin Hood himself never got to check it out.
Robin Hood's Bay is in my opinion one of the most beautiful places to visit in this country. Situated just a few miles south of Whitby, there is so much to see and do as well as beautiful landscapes to explore. Having just come back from my 4th trip there, I am eager to book my next trip away at the beggining of next year.
Robin Hoods Bay itself is a small village full of lovely little shops, sweet shops, a few pubs and a beautiful beach. The Old Coastguard Station is a great place to visit to find out about high tides and rock pools, while the Village Hall regularly holds exhibitions with local artwork for sale and as a visitor you honestly feel just as welcome as any of the locals.
The Robin Hood's Bay Museum is totally run by volunteers and is really interesting. The things to view include a history of the village and it gives thorough detail of the many shipwrecks that have washed up on the coast near Robin Hoods Bay over the years. Watch out for the local fisherwife!!
Farsyde Riding Centre is a great place to visit with the children, allowing both experienced and inexperienced horse riders to trek along the beach and through moorland.
Swell Cinema is one place we haven't yet experienced, and with the pews dating back to the 17th century this is a unique way to experience cinema as we know it.
Eating there:
You certainly are spoilt for choice, given the size of this small village with The Victoria Hotel being my absolute favourite. Offering a pub style menu, the food is outstanding.
The Flyingdale Inn also offers traditional homemade pub food which promises to be sourced locally. This is the perfect place for families with gardens and a play area for the children.
Bramblewick is a restaurant in the centre of 'The Bay', and is an old house with loads of character, it also doubles as a hotel. It's menu selection ranges from cream tea's to paninnis and savoury dishes. Candlelit dining a la carte is what you can expect of an evening, perfect for a memorable trip to the sea.
Swell Cafe is nice during the day for tea and toast if a little expensive. With the doors open facing the sea and a small seating area outside, this place is perfect for soaking in the atmosphere. Swell Cafe also doubles as an art gallery with lots of beautiful artwork for sale (but take your credit card!!).
In the summer months, take advantage of the ice cream van and the deck chairs for hire!
Things to Do:
Trailways Cycle Hire and Railtrail Visitor Centre in Hawkser just outside of Robin Hoods Bay is perfect for hiring a bike for all of the family and taking advantage of the beautiful coastline.
Take advantage of the beautiful beach which is full of rockpools, perfect for taking the kids crabbing - but beware high tide - visit the Old Coastguard station for exact times.
Don't forget beautiful Whitby is just on your doorstep - less than 6 miles way, where you can visit the home of Dracula in the castle ruins, the gorgeous quirky gift shops (there are plenty!!), and of course the penny slots in the arcade. In Whitby visit the Magpie for the most beautiful fish and chips you will ever taste (but expect to pay around ÂŁ10 each for fish and chips!).
Where to stay:
You really are spoilt for choice here in Robin Hoods Bay, but do remember that as with anywhere by the coast, places get booked up quickly. There are plenty of private cottages for rent all year round, as well as Hotels, B & B's and a small holiday park in hawkser, just a few minutes drive away. We always book the same cottage year in year out, and we feel just as welcome each time we go.
What to expect:
As I have mentioned, Robin Hood's Bay is a small village, what I haven't mentioned is the extremely steep hill you have to walk down to get into the main part. There is a very small car park at the top of the hill, with no more than a hundred spaces, and if you are staying in a B & B in the lower part of The Bay, don't expect a parking space, the majority of these B & B's are down tiny little passageways with the only access by foot. You can also enter the lower part of The Bay through the scenic route, taking you directly onto the cliff face and down a small walking trail. I advise going down the main hill to get to the lower part, but coming up the scenic route, it seems easier this way for some reason!
What's on:
As I have mentioned, we have just come back from Robin Hoods Bay after a four night stay during the 'Victorian Weekend' which I thoroughly recommend. Many of the locals dress up in Victorian Clothing, and wander through the village all weekend. There are activities such as face painting, tombolla, the stocks, a spectaular fireworks display and even a visit from Santa.
Although in Whitby the Goth weekend in mid April is certainly something you have to experience in this lifetime!
The Northern Soul weekend in July is also supposed to be fantastic although we have never managed to get booked in in time before everywhere gets booked up!
There are Angling weekends, 1970's weekends, 1940's weekends and a carnival in August. There really is something on all year round! What are you waiting for?! Get booking!
Did you know...:
Robin Hood's Bay is the setting for the Bramblewick books by the author Leo Walmsley, who was educated in the schoolroom of the old Wesleyan Chapel, in the lower village.
Folklore tells us that Robin Hood kept a couple of boats here, so that, if things got "too hot" for him in Sherwood Forest, he could escape to the continent!
Robin Hoods Bay is a gorgeous fishing village set into the cliffs of North Yorkshire. The centre of the village is down by the harbour, and the rest of the village spreads out along the road which leads up the cliff. 5 miles south of Whitby, Robin Hoods Bay is one of the termini of the Coast to Coast walk. Now that fishing isn't the industry it once was, tourism is the main industry in the village, with the fossils often found on the beach drawing a number of visitors.
There are countless places to stay in Robin Hoods Bay, I only have experiences of the campsite - there's Middlewood farm, which is inked to the Bay by a footpath down a valley, and costs around ÂŁ12-ÂŁ20 a night for a tent pitch including 2 people and a car. Bit pricey for my liking. The other campsite is Hooks House Farm, which costs just ÂŁ4 per person per night. For somewhere a bit more atmospheric, you could try the youth hostel at Boggle Hole, nestled into a valley just down the beach.
There are a number of places to eat and drink in the bay, but my favourite is the Bay Hotel, right by the slipway. I can't remember what the beer's like, but it's worth a visit just for its panoramic views across the sea. There's also a good cafe a bit further up the hill, I think it's called Splash, or something else watery sounding. Pretty good for a quiet sandwich on the sea facing patio. There are no atms in the village, so you'll need to bring some with you, or get some cash back from the post office at the top of the cliff. There's also limited parking in the bay, so leave your car in the car park at the top of the cliff, at the old train station.
It's a glorious place, come and enjoy!
Clinging hardily to the edge of the cliff, the village of Robin Hood's Bay offers Visitors more than just breathtaking scenery and beachcombing. Little changed in centuries, this remote community on the Jurassic shoreline offers a glimpse of a culture that made its living from the sea and its bounty, specifically the smuggling trade that flourished in quiet coastal regions from the Middle Ages onwards.
Visitors are usually looking to pass time in locations that would fit one or more of the following list: Quaint, Picturesque, Vertiginious, Local and Coastal.
Actually - I'll be honest. You won't find the smuggling tunnels rumoured to link the buildings at the base of the cliff, and there's a refreshing absence of attractions hawking 'get yer replica smugglers swag here', but all the other parts of my introduction are still correct.
The origins of the name are unknown and mostly subject to historical fog, although it is known that Robin Hood never actually visited the area. The first mention of the name of the Village is from Norman Times.
Located about 5 miles to the South East of Whitby in North Yorkshire, and Dooyoo take note, not in the North York Moors National Park, this scenic limpet of a community is part of a thriving populace struggling to keep apace with the problems that villages nationwide face in the 21st Century - depopulation and withdrawal of services. The railway station closed down in 1965, the village bobby left in 1991, the library closed in 1987, and even the Village Trust was wound up eventually. Nevertheless, the community has soldiered on, and has its own information website and paper called Bayside, and even has its own Broadband Co-Operative. Visitors will find no shortage of amenities and accommodation, and the friendliness of the locals is to the usual high standard in Yorkshire.
Strictly speaking, Robin Hood's Bay would, to most people, refer to 3 areas. Fylinghall is a small village that links the Bay to the A171 Moors Road, and largely runs into the part of Robin Hood's Bay that stands atop the cliff. There are great views from here, as well as a small car park that offers an enticing glimpse of the two methods of reaching the Bay and the Lower Village. The first is a road, for local access only, that drops dramatically down to its base by the harbourfront. The other is a coastal path that winds down to the necessarily enormous sea wall, a monster construction of concrete that preserves the integrity of the Lower Village from the elements. Locals refer to this section as Bay Village, and it is this charming array of architectural cunning that graces the postcards.
In reference to the Jurassic shoreline mention: this part of coastline from the Mouth of the Tees down as far as Bridlington has, in areas, the right proportion of cliff erosion accessible from beaches to uncover fossils dating back to the aforementioned geological period, approximately 150-200 million years ago. It isn't the definitive Jurassic Coast (in the South West), but nevertheless offers glimpses of Dinosaur related imaginings.
To the village itself. As you wend your way down the steep road, you pass a succession of tight, patchwork streets, that lead off on foot towards the sea wall. These seemingly random cottages and larger houses are still in excellent condition thanks to a combination of listing, repair work and constant habitation. Most houses in the Lower Village have signs on the windows displaying room/house rates by season, and this is the main source of Income for a large number of homeowners in the area, most of whom are actually locals, and not just rich second home hogs. Pubs are well served here with a selection of alehouses that either fit into tight corners or stand across a lump of rock that sits above the shoreline. Shops are aplenty - (nearly) countless gift shops (one of which sells painted pebbles on which you can have a name added), a local fish shop offering up lobster and whelks, two secondhand book shops, several jewellery and art stores, confirming the area as a haven of reflection and industry for creative types, and more than a few places to eat, including the pubs, a restaurant, quite a few cafes and the mixed use Swell - which houses a café, gift shop and original 1820's furnished movie theatre.
At the bottom of the road, the ground gives way to the jetty, and is flanked on the steeper right hand side by the Old Coastguard Station. This centre offers a museum type setting to describe the local geology, weather and nature, as well as an education room (upstairs). A cunning path leads behind the Station to the beach on the Southern half of the bay. The necessity of the path can be seen by staying for a full range of the Tide. At its lowest, you can walk several hundred metres out from the Jetty, past dry-moored boats and across fingers of exposed sandbar, looking at seaweed patterns and marvelling at the life that potters about (mostly crustacean) in the resulting rockpools. At High Tide, the water surges all the way up the Jetty and right up to the Coastguard Station. Neap Tides and violent weather can even bring the water into the streets at the bottom of the Bay, cutting off the South Beach and leaving green marks up the street walls.
A walk through the streets, winding in a maze up small flights of stairs, through arches to dead end views over the Bay, will relax most visitors, and even in the height of summer there isn't a queue to get into or out of anywhere (I think the precipitous climb does the trick!).
Despite all the availabilities to shop or consume, a trip to the Bay never feels like overkill. The signs are discreet, the attractions fairly low key, and the resultant air is a pleasant and laid back one. I certainly didn't feel as if I were being made to part with my cash - except at the Car Park!
Once you've beachcombed, pottered through the gift shops, picked up a painted pebble, had some local fudge, a pint or two, seen the sign at the Jetty that announces the end of the Coast to Coast Walk (here to St Bees Head Cumbria, 192 miles), and feel up to the stiff walk back to the top of the cliff, you can console yourself with the thought of a deserving rest at The Grosvenor Hotel, sited opposite the Car Park and offering (as well as a nice pint and plenty of hotel rooms), an a la carte menu restaurant which comes well recommended by guidebooks and visitors alike.
My review barely does the village justice, and to understand the unique layout and charm of the place you would need to visit firstly the website (robin-hoods-bay.co.uk), and then get yourselves down there. To further encourage you - camping is available in the Upper Village at Hooks House Farm, and a monster site (friendly though) in Fylingthorpe at Middlewood Farm, both of which offer great views and good facilities at good prices. Neither however would substitute for staying at one of the many guesthouses or cottages in Bay Village, which range from 1-6 bedrooms, and a variety of prices depending on the level of accommodation and proximity to the seaviews. I sound like a local Tourist Board now!
We have just (boo hoo) returned from our yearly trip to Whitby. This invariably involves a few trips out to pubs and villages in the surrounding countryside and around the coast. On the last day of our lovely week we decided to revisit Robin Hoods Bay ~ a favourite haunt. We usually go to have a wander around the shops and have a little stroll on the beach, so this is really going to concentrate on these aspects rather then on the museums, etc (although I will tell you some of what else there is to do!).
This lovely little fishing village is built down a steep hill around a bay to the south of Whitby and north of Scarborough, in North Yorkshire. We usually either get there by bus (the Arriva service 93 goes from Whitby bus station about every half hour) or by car.
My top tip if you are going by bus is to make sure you DONÂ'T catch the 93a because this is the one that avoids Robin Hoods Bay! My top tip by car is to park in the first car park you reach. There is a car park a little nearer but this one is a lot smaller. The first park is larger, has public toilets and doesnÂ't get as busier as the one directly at the top of the hill down to the village.
Parking costs ÂŁ2.00 for up to four hours and ÂŁ4.00 for a day. We usually just park for four hours because we havenÂ't stayed long enough to warrant the full day. I read that if you are staying for longer you can buy parking permits from the Post Office. There is no parking in the village itself and the roads are very steep and narrow ~ not really suitable for anyone who is a little less mobile.
There are two ways up and down to and from the sea. One goes down the "main" road and winds around between the pretty cottages, meandering until you reach the jetty and the sand at the bottom. This is a very nice walk down, but a little steep on the way back up. There are quite a few cobbles, some steps and a VERY narrow road with little or no pavement on the sides. I prefer to walk back up this way because I have the excuse of calling in at the craft, antique, gift and book shops for a rest on the way. We usually also call in for a drink in the pubs on the way ~ but more about that later!
The second way up and down skirts the coast and goes down towards the beach. It isnÂ't quite as steep as the road way but (apart from the views out to sea) there isnÂ't as much to do on this way ~ no shops and nothing until you reach the ice cream van at the bottom (damn good ice creams though!). This is way I prefer to use to go down ~ it is quicker and there are no cars! My only word of warning is that this path gets a bit slippery if you go in wet weather.
***The Beach***
The lower half of the village is called the Old Bay and is the original part of Robin Hoods Bay. This has lots of little cottages all higgledy piggledy, leading down the sea edge. There is no sea front or promenade to walk along. You will come to a pub at the bottom and the jetty going down to the sand. The sea goes out quite a way exposing seaweed and rock pools. During the summer months there seems to be a lot of school visits and there is a study centre too, so donÂ't expect there to be only you wandering on the sands!
This used to be a big fishing village, but there are only a few boats now ~ it is still quite interesting to look at the boats. Although packed with tourists this is still a working place ~ so bear the poor residents in mind when you are peering through the cottage windows and coming home after a drink or two.
***The Shops***
For somewhere of this size there are actually quite a few varied little shops. There are no supermarkets of course (they wouldnÂ't fit down the hillside), but there are some creditable general stores for anyone going in the self catering cottages and a good selection of touristy shops. There are also a couple of cafes and places to get snacks.
I love looking in the little antique and craft shops and I could happily get lost in the book shops for hours ~ they are crammed full of second hand books and I always hope that I will find some gem lurking among the old shelves. On our last visit to the shops we went in a little craft shop and my friend bought a wonderful soft toy for her granddaughter ~ a cute looking thing with a heart shaped wooden tag that they personalized with the childÂ's name.
There are also some good stores selling preserves, country wines and souvenirs ~ a bit more expensive than ordinary jams and the like, but excellent gifts and mementoes of your trip to this lovely village.
***The Buildings***
At first look it is quite amazing to think that a village built up on such a slope. Some of the houses look as though it is a bit of an effort to cling on to the side and not tumble down into the bay! Looking at the cottages is free and the little cobbled alleyways seem to have come from a bygone age. St. StephenÂ's Church is a 19th Century gem and the churchyard is well worth a wander round ~ it open Wednesday to Sunday from 10 til 4 during June to the end of September.
The sea wall isnÂ't the prettiest thing in the world but if you wander on the beach take a look ~ it is a monster of a structure and serves as a reminder of the power of the tide! The Old Coastguard station at the bottom of the village houses an education and exhibition centre ~ entry is free, but we didnÂ't get inside because it was fill to bursting with schoolchildren!
***The Pubs***
As Real Ale fans we tend to take the Good Beer Guide with us and select our pubs from the ones in there. It isnÂ't infallible, but it usually helps us find some nice places to drink and often have a good meal. It didnÂ't let us down on this trip. We went in the two listed pubs ~ one just for a drink and the other for lunch and a drink. There are a couple of other pubs (including the one right at the bottom near the sea), but we reached them before opening time so couldnÂ't check them out!
The first pub, called The Dolphin, is on King Street (a short way up the hill) and served a good selection of beers. The food menu looked inventive and interesting, but it was only 11.30am and we werenÂ't quite ready to eat. The only downside to The Dolphin is that it is rather pricey ~ a pint of Old Peculier (granted it is quite a strong beer) came in at ÂŁ2.90 a pint! It is a nice atmospheric little pub with beams and interesting little knick-knacks, but I did think the prices were a little OTT even in a tourist resort.
The high prices were highlighted when we had (puffing a little) reached The Victoria Hotel (at the top of the hill between the two car parks) on Station Road. This seemed little posher with outside seating areas and a restaurant, but the prices were much better. A pint of Camerons Strongarm beer was just ÂŁ2.00 a pint and was extremely tasty indeed (it was MY round too so that was a result!).
We were ready for a meal after our walking and a quick look at the food menu was a great surprise. The menu was varied (snacks, deserts and big meals were offered) and main course were around 6 to 8 quid (more for steaks). I had mushroom, walnut and chestnut crepes and was amazed by the huge portions that arrived ~ none our party managed to finish our meals!
From the Victoria there was a just a short walk back to the car (even shorter if we had parked in the smaller car park) and time to go back to Whitby. Our visit to Robin Hoods Bay had once again been a treat. It was sunny (which always helps) and not too busy so we were able to browse in the shops and get a meal without feeling rushed or too crowded.
The only downsides to the village are the prices and the lack of access for anyone who canÂ't manage hills and cobbles. We donÂ't find this a problem, but it does mean you have to make sure that you make arrangements to nip someone down in the car, drop them off, go back up and park and then go and get the car to pick them up later. It is do-able, but not ideal!
We didnÂ't go to Robin Hoods Bay last September because my friend had only recently recovered from breaking her ankle and she couldnÂ't manage the walk back up the hillÂ….just something to bear in mind when planning a visit.
The beach is lovely, but is a little difficult to get down to if it has been raining because the jetty can get a little slippery. There is just the one ice cream van at the bottom and no amusements, so if you are taking children make sure it is going to be a nice day otherwise you may find that little ones can get a bit bored ~ I would say that, as a holiday destination, Robin Hoods Bay is best for couples who enjoy a relaxing place, browsing in shops and stepping back in time!
IÂ'm pretty sure we will be visiting again in the future and I thoroughly recommend that you put it on your itinerary if you are visiting North Yorkshire. It is beautiful place and well worth the walk!
I've always wondered why ROBIN HOOD'S BAY was in North Yorkshire and not in Nottinghamshire. One explanation might be that Nottinghamshire, being landlocked, is not over-endowed with bays. Another is the sheer logistics of moving it from one county to another.
Robin Hood's Bay is around 5 miles south of Whitby, and some 15 miles north of Scarborough on the North Sea coast of North Yorks. I've researched a little, and I can find no explanation of why this place has such an interesting name - it doesn't matter anyway.
There are records dating back from 1536, apparently, of a small settlement of around 50 houses and 20 fishing boats but nothing about its namesake. besides, the locals prefer to call it Bay Town.
There may be some tenuous connection to the 'Prince of Thieves' though. Fishing has always been the mainstay of this picturesque little village, at least on the surface. But dig a little deeper (literally) and you'll find that smuggling is what this place is most famous for.
Lying at the foot of a steep cliff with one foot in the sea, it was perfectly situated for these shady going-ons.
Looking around the haphazard warren of narrow, and incredibly steep streets, it's not hard to imagine how difficult it must have been for the HM's excisemen to enforce the rule of law in this isolated place.
As if the logistical difficulties of the streets weren't enough, legend has it that many of the houses are linked by tunnels and underground passageways that make stashing and shifting contraband just that much easier. It's said that smuggled goods were able to be transported from the sea-shore to the top of the village (and open country) without ever seeing the light of day.
Fishing however, r
emained the legitimate mainstay of the village before that industry's decline in the late 19th century. But, the coming of the railway and the consequent growth in tourism ensured the village's survival. There's no railway now of course, but the tourists still keep a-coming.
There's not a lot in the way of attractions, the village itself is the draw, but there are a couple of things that might be of interest. There's SMUGGLERS! - an exhibition of life in the18th century with the emphasis on...you've guessed it, smuggling. Upstairs is the MUSIC in MINIATURE Exhibition. This sounded quite interesting, but unfortunately it wasn't open (Apparently, it only opened this year so I don't think it's gone out of business already. There's also the ROBIN HOOD'S BAY MUSEUM which has displays on the local geology, farming, shipping and local history. This was open, but to tell you the truth, we just didn't fancy it.
The OLD COASTGUARD STATION is run by the National Trust is the local Visitor Centre and has displays describing how the bay was formed.
But as I said, the village itself is the attraction.
You have to park your car at the top of the cliff in the Victorian part of town - residents can drive into the older part, but not visitors. Believe me though, you really wouldn't want to drive down the precipitous road to the sea front.
From then on, it's a gravity-defying 'stroll' down what is probably one of the steepest streets I've ever seen. You have to lean back to stop yourself falling over, I kid you not. Most of the
footpath consists of steps with hand-rails - I wouldn't want to attempt this in icy weather! The strange thing is, no matter how steep it is on the way down, it seems ten times steeper on the way back up!
There are plenty of little shops dotted around strategically to take advantage of the many rests pedestrians take while negotiating the climb. As you can imagine, the majority of these cater to the visitor, with book and antique shops, arts and local crafts, gifts and souvenirs, and a smattering of more everyday type stores. In fact I bought a few bottle of local beer form a grocer near the bottom of the hill. Well, it seemed pointless climbing back up without carrying something. A few of the shops specialise in rocks, fossils and shells. There are also quite a few pubs, cafes and tea-rooms where you can stop and rest a while - so there's no need to knock yourself out racing up and down the hill.
BAY TOWN is cut in two by a small gorge with a gushing stream tumbling through it. Many of the houses cling precariously to the sides of this gorge, probably as if the cliff isn't quite steep enough for them. A bridge crosses the stream and the village thankfully levels out a bit (level being a relative term, the lanes and alleyways leading off from the main street all seem to climb steeply away from it).
Although pausing to catch your breath and rest the weary legs is a necessity, it's also a pleasure. Almost anywhere you stop to take a breather affords spectacular views down into twisted, narrow, cobbled alleyways and over the huddled, red pantile roof-tops to the cliffs and sea beyond. The near absence of cars helps to invoke a feeling of yesteryear when fisher-wifes, sailors, smugglers and press-gangs roamed these evocative little streets.
There are more than enough choices for eating in the village. From a fresh
fish shop to a fried fish shop. From pub grub to fine restaurants and cafes to tea rooms, there's something to suit most tastes. Although only a few fishermen still ply their trade from Bay Town (mostly for crabs), it really is somewhere that you should eat fish. the chippy seemed to be doing great business when we were there, and many people were sitting at table outside the cafes tucking into cod and chips.
We stopped for a light lunch (soup for Mrs P, mussels for me) and a welcome pint at the Bay Hotel which lies at the very bottom of the main street and just a few feet above the sea at high tide. Very nice it was too. We sat outside and watched the the hordes of tourists milling around, trying to listen to the slap of the waves on the rocks below but having to strain above the incessant shrieking (and dive bombing) of a gazillion gulls. It all adds to the atmosphere. Incidentally, the Bay Hotel is the finishing point for the Cleveland Way, a coast-to-coast walk. I suppose it's also the starting point.
This is a great place for fossil hunting at low tide apparently, but care must be taken with the tides which have be known to venture some way up the village's main street. A huge sea wall was constructed in 1975 to try and stop the damage this caused (many houses have been lost to erosion over the years), and this has helped preserve the charm of this quaint old place as well as protect more buildings from collapsing into the sea. At 40 feet high and 500 feet long, it's the largest sea wall in Britain.
After our brief respite at the pub, it was a slow (and I mean SLOW) climb back to the top of the village and the car park. Sometimes you just wish there was a little more mountain goat in your genes.
Capital letters courtesy of: http://www.chuckleweb.co.uk


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If you like high-voltage sparks arcing through the air (and who doesn't?), check out the Coil Driver, which drives an automotive ignition coil at audio frequencies. Like other musical kits, the Coil Driver makes a great group build because you can all make cool sounds together when you're done. However, while it's an easy solder, this kit may intimidate the casual maker because, let's face it, high-voltage current is scary.
Each board drives one automotive ignition coil, and you can control one or more using an Arduino microcontroller (not included). Designers Brett Downing and Daniel Harmsworth, of the Artifactory hackerspace in Perth, Australia, used these boards to build their Polyplasmic Arcophone, a giant instrument that features 13 Jacob's ladders, zapping out music!

subset: commoncrawl


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Welcome to The Center for Pennsylvania Culture Studies. Please use the links to the left to navigate to our projects, galleries, partners, and to learn more about our organization.
The Center for Pennsylvania Culture Studies is devoted to providing programs, resources, and support for the study of Pennsylvania's cultural heritage. Established in 1990, the Center is affiliated with the Penn State Harrisburg School of Humanities and its American Studies program.
Committed to the documentation and appreciation of Pennsylvania's significant cultural heritage, the Center promotes the study and interpretation of the diverse communities, cultural traditions, and historical sites of Pennsylvania. The Center also serves individuals through a variety of public programming, and coordinates organizations and resources devoted to the study of Pennsylvania's history and culture at local, state, and national levels. The Center maintains research collections, organizes educational programs, offers technical support, and supports publications consistent with its mission.


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Moderators: Timko, Fritz, Solty, Booter, Blake_T, Frank Delicious
Beetard wrote:The release angle should depend on the line you're trying to shape. If you want the disc to curve to the right, throw anhyzer.
Many new players use anhyzer release to try to compensate for their disc's natural left curve and straighten out the shot. I've been down that road and found it's better to try to find discs that fly straighter and don't fight as hard to go left.
disc "speed" and "stability" are what to consider when selecting a disc. As you explore this message board and disc specifications you'll develop your concept of these terms.
kern9787 wrote:Speed ratings have much more to do with how much speed is required for a disc to fly as its ratings would suggest. There is more distance potential with faster disc's, but speed does not equal more distance. With a lot of newer players, high speed disc's can be detrimental to distance.
south.texas.dead.i wrote:I have been playing for about 2 months with other new players, we all suck but we all suck equally. i dont think there is very fast improvement. now i just recently hit 300' with a dd2blizzard and a stalker i believe cannot even remember. but anyways i have the following drivers and have been experimenting a lot with them all i release them all with a slight anhyzer i believe (outside rim is highest point) i am a right handed back hand thrower. I have: znukess zavengerss zstalker z xl and dd2blizzard from discraft from innova i have a groove and archangel gateway i have an astra i found several of these. is this correct release angle or no? and MERRY CHRISTMAS! or happy holidays
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text: Getting the lay of the land By John McCoy September 22, 2012 Story Share Hunters, anglers and nature lovers who visit state-managed wildlife management areas now have a better tool to help them find their way around.Division of Natural Resources officials have made high-quality color topographic maps available on the agency's website. The maps can be downloaded for free and printed out on laser or inkjet printers.Walt Kordek, who heads up the DNR's wildlife diversity and tech support units, said the new maps are meant to replace what he called the "pretty poor maps" the agency had previously offered.The new maps became possible when the DNR began doing extensive work with Geographic Information Systems data. Much of the agency's GIS work involves mapping of one sort or another.For instance, biologists who want to establish deer-population level guidelines might study satellite-generated GIS data on forest cover and agricultural crops to determine how much food is available in a given area.Within the past few years, DNR officials began using Global Positioning System equipment to determine the exact boundaries for many of the state's wildlife management areas."Before we did that, our maps were only approximations," Kordek said. "Once we started walking the boundaries and taking GPS readings, we knew exactly what we had, and we were able to fill inside those boundaries with good data."Technicians began superimposing GIS information - contour lines, shading, exact locations of streams, roads and structures - into the areas' newly confirmed boundaries."We realized we could provide a valuable service by making the maps available online," Kordek said.Visitors to the DNR's website, www.wvdnr.gov, can access the maps by going to the site's Hunting section and clicking on the "New WMA Topo Maps" link.So far, maps are available for 23 WMAs, and Kordek expects four or five more to be added each year until the set is complete."Once we have all our public lands mapped, we'll probably turn around and start updating the ones we started with," he added. "It's the nature of the beast."Downloadable maps are available in two file types: PDF and JPEG. The PDF files come in high- and medium-resolution versions, and the JPEG files are low-resolution. The website lists the file sizes for each resolution so users can choose the best one to download based on their computer equipment and Internet connection speed.Kordek said DNR officials are excited to be able to make the new maps available in time for the 2012 hunting season, but said an "even more exciting" project is in the works."Sometime before June next year, we will update the interactive map we currently use to show the state's trout streams," he explained. "The software that runs the map has been updated. When we get the project finished, visitors to our website will be able to look at the state map and see boat launch sites and wildlife management areas in addition to trout streams and stocking information. "When people click on a boat launch site, they'll be able to see how many parking slots are available there, what type of launch ramp it is, and they'll be able to get driving directions. When they click on a WMA, they'll get information about the WMA, including driving directions."In addition, we plan to include the locations of game-checking stations, license agents, and sites where hunters can donate deer to Hunters Helping the Hungry. It will be an outdoor recreation map designed for the public."Kordek said a test version of the upgraded map should be up and working by March 2013, and the full-fledged version should be available by June.Compared to the cost of publishing paper maps containing all that information, Kordek said the online versions "are dirt cheap.""It costs money to maintain a GIS office, but when you compare the cost of putting things on the Web and publishing paper copies of everything, the Web version is pretty inexpensive," he said.Free maps available The DNR's new downloadable topographic maps are available for 23 wildlife management areas throughout West Virginia:WMA County Anawalt Lake McDowellBear Rocks Lake OhioBig Ditch Lake WebsterBuffalo Run TylerCenter Branch HarrisonFrozen Camp JacksonHandley PocahontasHughes River Wirt/RitchieLewis Wetzel WetzelMeadow River GreenbrierO'Brien Lake JacksonPlum Orchard Lake FayettePruntytown TaylorRitchie Mines RitchieRollins Lake JacksonSand Hill Wood/RitchieSmoke Camp Lewis/DoddridgeStonecoal Lake Lewis/UpshurStumptown Gilmer/CalhounTate Lohr MercerTug Fork McDowellUpper Mud River LincolnWoodrum Lake JacksonReach John McCoy at 304-348-1231 or firstname.lastname@example.com. Story Share Story Share Trending Now 1 Police seek car driven by woman found dead in Kanawha River 2 Teen pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Oakes Field shooting 3 Facebook founder visits Cabin Creek Health Systems 4 Man allegedly cuts father in Rand over argument about a sandwich 5 WV school district apologizes for 'Trump Perry' sign at football game Hunting Incident Academy 'CSI in the woods' Previous Story State raptor rehab center staff mourning loss of hawk Next Story


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Items where Division is "Concordia University > Faculty of Arts and Science > Biology" and Year is 2005
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Bachewich, Catherine and Whiteway, Malcolm (2005) Cyclin Cln3p Links G1 Progression to Hyphal and Pseudohyphal Development in Candida albicans. Eukaryotic Cell, 4 (1). pp. 95-102. ISSN 1535-9778
Boukh-Viner, Tatiana and Guo, Tong and Alexandrian, Alex and Cerracchio, André and Gregg, Christopher and Haile, Sandra and Kyskan, Robert and Milijevic, Svetlana and Oren, Daniel and Solomon, Jonathan and Wong, Vivianne and Nicaud, Jean-Marc and Rachubinski, Richard A. and English, Ann M. and Titorenko, Vladimir I. (2005) Dynamic ergosterol- and ceramide-rich domains in the peroxisomal membrane serve as an organizing platform for peroxisome fusion. The Journal of Cell Biology, 168 (5). pp. 761-773. ISSN 0021-9525
Boys, Jacquelyn and Cherry, Marilyn and Dayanandan, Selvadurai (2005) Microsatellite analysis reveals genetically distinct populations of red pine (Pinus resinosa, Pinaceae). American Journal of Botany, 92 (5). pp. 833-841. ISSN 0002-9122
Braun, Burkhard R. and van het Hoog, Marco and d'Enfert, Christophe and Martchenko, Mikhail and Dungan, Jan and Kuo, Alan and Inglis, Diane O. and Uhl, M. Andrew and Hogues, Hervé and Berriman, Matthew and Lorenz, Michael and Levitin, Anastasia and Oberholzer, Ursula and Bachewich, Catherine and Harcus, Doreen and Marcil, Anne and Dignard, Daniel and Iouk, Tatiana and Zito, Rosa and Frangeul, Lionel and Tekaia, Fredj and Rutherford, Kim and Wang, Edwin and Munro, Carol A. and Bates, Steve and Gow, Neil A. and Hoyer, Lois L. and Köhler, Gerwald and Morschhäuser, Joachim and Newport, George and Znaidi, Sadri and Raymond, Martine and Turcotte, Bernard and Sherlock, Gavin and Costanzo, Maria and Ihmels, Jan and Berman, Judith and Sanglard, Dominique and Agabian, Nina and Mitchell, Aaron P. and Johnson, Alexander D. and Whiteway, Malcolm and Nantel, André (2005) A Human-Curated Annotation of the Candida albicans Genome. PLoS Genetics, 1 (1). e1. ISSN 1553-7390
Gulick, Patrick and Drouin, Simon and Yu, Zhihua and Danyluk, Jean and Poisson, Guylaine and Monroy, Antonio F and Sarhan, Fathey (2005) Transcriptome comparison of winter and spring wheat responding to low temperature. Genome, 48 (5). pp. 913-923. ISSN 0831-2796
Ibrahim, Ragai K. (2005) A forty-year journey in plant research: original contributions to flavonoid biochemistry. Canadian Journal of Botany, 83 (5). pp. 433-450. ISSN 0008-4026
Pollock, M.S. and Zhao, X. and Brown, Grant E. and Kusch, R.C. and Pollock, R.J. and Chivers, D.P. (2005) The response of convict cichlids to chemical alarm cues: an integrated study of behaviour, growth, and reproduction. Annales Zoologici Fennici , 42 (5). pp. 485-495. ISSN 1797-2450
Weir, Laura K. and Grant, James W.A. (2005) Effects of aquaculture on wild fish populations: a synthesis of data. Environmental Reviews, 13 (4). pp. 145-168. ISSN 1181-8700
Calogeropoulos, Catherine (2005) Refining, testing and evaluating spatially explicit models for wind dispersed plants. PhD thesis, Concordia University.
Harvey, Mark C (2005) Effects of social status and food availability on predator avoidance behaviour in young-of-the-year rainbow trout, oncorhynchus mykiss. Masters thesis, Concordia University.
Hock, Virginia (2005) Electrophysiological responses of the L1 and lateral styloconic sensilla sugar-sensitive cells of the spruce budworm Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.) in response to various carbohydrates. Masters thesis, Concordia University.
Kim, Jae-woo (2005) The effects of patch shape and group size on economic defendability and growth depensation in juvenile convict cichlids. Masters thesis, Concordia University.
Lam, Kevin Chee Loong (2005) Characterization of O-methyltransferase (OMT)-like cDNA clones from arabidopsis thaliana and serratula tinctoria, and phylogenomic analysis of plant OMTs. Masters thesis, Concordia University.
Liu, Shujun (2005) Enzymatic function of active site loop in enolase : preparation and characterization of G37A and G41A mutant yeast enolases. Masters thesis, Concordia University.
Liu, Wucheng (2005) Characterization of J822 : a novel cold induced GTP-binding protein gene in wheat (Triticum aestivum). Masters thesis, Concordia University.
Reyes, Rodrigo (2005) Studies on a strain of Escherichia coli K-12 dependent on an exogenous supply of S-adenosylmethionine. Masters thesis, Concordia University.
Sandoval, Mariana (2005) Chemoreception of sucrose and amino acids in second and fourth instars of the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.). Masters thesis, Concordia University.
Swift, Lynn C (2005) Calibrating SORTIE's recruitment subroutine for southeastern Québec : verifying the consistency of parameters. Masters thesis, Concordia University.
Wyglinski, Joanne (2005) Characterization of interaction between the nucleus-encoded TBC2 protein with the 5'-untranslated region of psbC mRNA and associated factors in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Masters thesis, Concordia University.


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Tickets on sale Wednesday for individual football games, Homecoming, Family Weekend
Wednesday's the day; a very limited number of individual game tickets go on sale at 8:30 a.m., along with tickets for Homecoming and Family Weekend events.
General admission (berm) seats for Baylor football's six home games, along with a few hundred seats returned by visiting opponents, are being made available Wednesday starting at 8:30 a.m.; click here or call 254-710-1000. Overwhelming interest in the defending Big 12 champs and their new stadium on the Brazos suggests that the seats will go quickly. Tickets to see Baylor vs. Texas Tech at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Nov. 29 are also available.
Thinking of returning to Waco for Homecoming (Oct. 30-Nov. 1)? Visit www.baylor.edu/homecoming/buy to get your tickets for the football game vs. Kansas, Pigskin Revue, and the Class Reunion Gatherings, hosted by the Baylor Alumni Network for those who graduated in 1969, 1974, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994, 1999, 2004 and 2009. The university will also host the 50-year reunion celebration for the Class of 1964 and Heritage Club reunions for the classes of 1959, 1954, 1949, etc.
Joining your student(s) for Family Weekend (Sept. 19-20)? Visit www.baylor.edu/familyweekend/buy to register your attendance and order your tickets for After Dark, the annual student variety show, and a special dinner/tour of McLane Stadium. The full slate of weekend events also includes guided tours of campus, special lectures from Baylor professors, and a State of the University Address from President Ken Starr.
Sic 'em, Bears!


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THERE were thrills and spills for Bourton Roadrunners with some enjoying race success and others wilting in the heat.
Those who chose the Evesham 10-kilometre race over a multi-terrain course enjoyed good conditions with a cooling drizzle.
The event attracted around 540 runners and Bourton's Ewen Smith finished fifth and first men's veteran over 40 in 37 minutes two seconds.
Shona Crombie-Hicks was first woman and 13th overall in 38.36, which was a minute faster than last year when she finished second.
Also making the top 50 were Ian Shoemark (40.31), Tony Goodwill (41.36) and Andy Peaston (41.44).
Niamh Shoemark was first women's veteran over 40 in 43.15, followed by Susan Hunt (47.11) and Ali Lane, who finished first women's veteran over 55 in 51.48.
Bourton added to their trophy tally with the women's team prize.
There were hot, sunny conditions for the Severn AC 10-mile race in the Gloucestershire Road Race Series.
Dennis Walmsley was fourth overall and first men's veteran over 50 in one hour two minutes 49 seconds and Darren Long managed 12th in 1.08.24.
Steph Holton managed 1.27.19, while Dave Turnbull was first men's veteran over 65 in 1.32.48.
Lynn Hudson battled with the heat and was helped home by first women's veteran over 60, Liz Hulcup, in 1.42.58. John Gibson could not finish due to the heat but made a full recovery, as did Hudson.


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Ailene Voisin: Peja should stand his ground against Webber, stay a King
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Columnist
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, August 8, 2004
It's not too late to get into a Fantasy Sports League. Sign up here.
BELGRADE, Serbia and Montenegro - This trade request by Peja Stojakovic seems like a perfectly civil maneuver in an altogether uncivil business. He is merely asking to be traded. He is willing to go anywhere. He is unwilling to engage in a street brawl with the teammate whose repeated inferences and innuendos - and downright refusal to share the ball or set the picks - is the root cause of this unseemly situation.
So, OK, Peja pleads a strong case. Give him that.
With Geoff Petrie having zero success in his ongoing attempts to trade Chris Webber, both because of the power forward's bloated (and lengthy) contract and his damaged knee, and Vlade Divac no longer around to function as peacemaker between the two NBA All-Stars, a logical alternative indeed might be to trade the marketable, amenable Stojakovic before his contract expires after the 2005-2006 season.
But this is why I disapprove of Peja's latest move.
He is backing down again, deferring to an overbearing teammate.
He is replaying the 2003-2004 playoffs all over again, refusing to lead, refusing to reply, refusing to do anything except take the easy way out. And for a player with his abilities, this is an absolutely unnecessary concession speech. What he needs to do is ditch the business suit, throw on a pair of sweaty boxing shorts, and challenge Webber to a spirited game of one-on-one.
Peja instead offers little resistance, a familiar character trait that might ultimately preclude him from being mentioned in the same sentence with the NBA greats. In essence, he is allowing someone else to dictate the terms of his career, much as he did during the closing weeks of last season.
While Webber recovered from knee surgery, and the Kings' offense flowed like the nearby Danube through Divac and Brad Miller, Stojakovic capitalized with backdoor cuts, open jumpers from the corners and from the wings, from almost anywhere on the court. The game's best deep shooter, he still clearly relies heavily on muscular screens from his big men to create spacing for his jumper and remains dependent on exceptional, unselfish passes from Doug Christie, Bobby Jackson, Mike Bibby. Yet when the Kings were at their best - passing, cutting, rebounding, sprinting - Peja donned the costume of a legitimate MVP candidate.
But the rules of the game changed when Webber returned March 2. The ball movement ceased. The fluidity stopped. The chemistry and camaraderie evaporated. Although his mobility was hampered and his effectiveness limited, Webber promptly reclaimed ownership - "This is still my team," he insisted - and proceeded to act accordingly, dominating the ball, forcing Divac out of the high post and Miller to the bench, and, most damaging of all, treating Peja like poison.
Webber's disdain was evident in feeble, half-hearted screens that allowed defenders to swarm before Peja could release a shot. His passes were reluctant, ill-timed offerings, another seemingly inexplicable development given Stojakovic's constant movement.
"Peja isn't getting the looks he normally gets," Petrie said at the time, carefully choosing his words.
Yes, Peja needs to expand his repertoire with some low post and dribble moves.
Yes, Peja should have been wounded by Webber's pointed proclamations, by Webber's actions.
But Peja is 27 years old, and if he is truly determined to become one of the game's classic closers, not merely a competent setup man, he should have demanded the ball, pursued the ball, dictated the tenor of the offense. At the very least, he should have urged Rick Adelman to end the nonsense that was destroying one of the Kings' most impressive, improbable seasons.
"Again I will say that this is only about me," the easy-going Stojakovic said Friday night, as his agent, David Bauman, stood nearby. "The Kings have to make changes. There is no question about that. The chemistry just isn't there. Since I am probably easier to trade (than Webber), it is probably best for me to go."
In another almost eerie aside, Stojakovic discussed his plans in his native homeland, a few hundred yards from a high-rise still scarred from NATO airstrikes in 1999. Webber can talk all he wants about toughness and "being from the 'hood," but Peja, a Serb, witnessed shootings and lost his home when his hometown of Slavonska Pozega became part of Croatia. His brother, Nenad, also almost died in Sacramento before undergoing a kidney transplant. And who can forget how Peja, at age 20, went against his father's wishes and signed with the Kings instead of remaining in Greece?
Where is that mettle now?
Why give up so easily?
"I am going to talk to Joe and Gavin (Maloof) Monday," said Stojakovic, with apparent resolve, "so they can hear this from me. You know ... I love Sacramento. The people there have been incredible to me and my family. But I think this is best."
Maybe, maybe not. Reputations are hard to overcome.


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On Aug. 27, Battalion Captain Paige Hiers, Training Captain Jerry Horton, and Paramedic Cody Basham conducted a Heart-Saver First Aid CPR class at the Levy County Sheriff's Office for the Citizens on Patrol (COPs).
The class included video and hands on training. Seven members attended and successfully gained certification in this method of CPR, allowing them to provide initial care to victims of cardiac arrest.
The annual meeting of the Fowler's Bluff Volunteer Fire Department will be on Saturday, Oct. 19, at 10 a.m. at the fire station.
All interested citizens are invited to attend. Election of officers and finances will be discussed.
By Florida law, David Brian Fulcher on Sept. 30 registered as a sexual predator with the Levy County Sheriff's Office.
The Levy County Sheriff's Office reports the following arrests:
By A.B. Sidibe
Special to the Citizen
INVERNESS — The Homosassa man convicted of the Christmas-day murder of a Brooksville teenager has been sentenced to life in prison.
Judge Ric Howard sentenced Bryon Lee Boutin, 42, to the life term Thursday. Florida does not have parole.
Tallahassee – Gov. Rick Scott has announced nine reappointments of District Medical Examiners, including Dr. William Hamilton, 68, of Alachua County, as the chief medical examiner for District Eight.
The district serves Levy County. Hamilton is reappointed for a term beginning Sept. 20, 2013, and ending July 1, 2016.
Five men have been cited for harvesting oysters at a South Levy County location following a plain-clothes operation conducted by Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission officers.
Anthony D. Beckham, 31, of Cedar Key, faces charges following an investigation into deer hunting at night, according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission report.
Copyright © 2017
The Chiefland Citizen is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Levy County and Chiefland Florida, and the surrounding area.


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The New Jersey peach season will start late but should yield abundant, high-quality volumes.
Harvest in the Garden State should begin in the second week of July, about ten days later than normal, according to a news release from the Glassboro, N.J.-based New Jersey Peach Promotion Council.
Quality should be very good, however, and supplies plentiful, Jerry Frecon, a consultant to the council, said in the release.
"Our peach buds survived a brutal winter, a cool and frosty spring, and are still loaded with fruit," he said.
About 30,000 to 35,000 tons of fruit are expected from 5,500 acres, the council predicts.
The coldest winter in many years thinned trees, which should mean excellent size and quality, Lewis DeEugenio, owner of Summit City Farms and president of the Jersey Fruit Marketing Cooperative, said in the release.
"Rain and moderate temperatures in May resulted in very good growing conditions," DeEugenio said. "By mid-July, good quantities of sentry and other commercially grown varieties will be available."
Volumes should be plentiful through mid-September, he said.


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Suspects sought
The party is over for a group of domino players that gathered at a North Lauderdale business after armed robbers broke up their game a second time.
The first robbery took place Jan. 12 (see PIO 13-2-13). Broward Sheriff's Office robbery detectives are releasing crystal clear video of the second hold up on Feb. 28, hoping to identify the suspects. Numerous cameras from outside and inside the business captured the entire crime from beginning to end.
It happened around 8:30 p.m. at DN Consultants (a public adjuster business), 6041 Kimberly Blvd., Suite B, North Lauderdale. BSO dispatch first received a call from a witness who spotted an armed man, wearing a hooded sweatshirt, tapping on the door of the business with a gun.
The game organizer buzzed the suspect in without realizing he was a crook. The gunman is seen looking around the waiting room. As the victim approaches and opens the door to the waiting room, he sees the armed man and quickly struggles to shut the door as the robber pushes from the other side. When suspect's accomplice arrives, the suspect steps away to let him inside the business, giving the victim time to run and hide. Another camera shows the victim and his domino friends pack into a small back room to get away from the robbers. The robbers are seen searching for the victims from room to room. While hiding in the back room, the victim and his friends manage to unlock the bay door and escape. The robbers took a cell phone and escaped through the front door.
The suspects are black males, in their late teens to mid-20s. The first suspect is about 5'10", 200 lbs. and has a short afro. The accomplice measures about 5'7", weighs approximately 150 lbs. and is of thin build. Both suspects wore hooded sweatshirts and pants. They were possibly travelling in a black vehicle.
Anyone who can identify of the robbers or has information about this robbery is asked to contact BSO Robbery Detective Cody Gill at 954-321-4270 or Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477). A reward of up to $1,000 is available for information leading to an arrest.
***MEDIA NOTE: Very clear video and pictures of the suspects are attached to this release and available on www.sheriff.org.
Posted At: 05/17/2013 11:44 AM
- 13-5-14 Domino Party Broken up Twice
- 13-5-14 Domino Party Broken up Twice - Robbery suspect
- 13-5-14 Domino Party Broken up Twice - Suspect
- 13-5-14 Domino Party Broken up Twice - Victim running to hide
- 13-5-14 Domino Party Broken up Twice - Suspects searching for the victims
- 13-5-14 Domino Party Broken up Twice - Victims hiding in back room
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|November 27, 2012, 01:15 AM
Join Date: November 26, 2012
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 99
Looking for an all purpose shotgun for hunting and HD.
I'm looking for a decent shotgun that I can use for HD/SD as well as being respectable for hunting if I ever get the chance. I want something with optional barrel lengths/gauges where I can change to a shorter barrel/gauge or pistol grip if I want to use for HD, and have a longer one for hunting. I don't want to buy an all black, or tactical looking shotgun strictly for SD/HD only.
I seen that Mossberg has something like this, but when I went on their website I couldn't find any specific models that stated they came with extra barrels or pistol grips. Their accessories page didn't seem to help much either.
Can anyone point to any specific links or models that has what I want? What about the Remington 870 Express? Having a pistol grip isn't all important but optional barrel lengths/gauges are.
|November 27, 2012, 03:25 AM
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Join Date: May 16, 2008
Posts: 9,500
Either Mossberg or Remington will have the accessories you want available.
At the lower end I think Mossberg definitely has an edge. I wouldn't buy one of the lower end Remingtons.
Using one shotgun with different barrels doesn't work as well as you might think.
If you want to use for deer hunting and SD then I recommend you look at just leaving a rifled barrel in all the time. Enlarges the buckshot pattern significantly and are usually about 18 inches.
$0 of an NRA membership goes to legislative action or court battles. Not a dime. Only money contributed to the NRA-ILA or NRA-PVF. Second Amendment Foundation is a solid alternative.
First Shotgun Thread First Rifle Thread First Pistol Thread
|November 27, 2012, 06:02 AM
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Join Date: January 30, 2011
Location: New England
Posts: 1,449
Remington, Mossberg and NEF all have pump shotguns with inter changeable barrels. If your thinking of HD and deer hunting then smooth bore short barrel with rifled sights or Remington has a rifled sight barrel with interchangeable choke tubes you could use for deer/turkey. Wing shooting is something else all together. You would want a short barrel 18.5-22 inch and a longer barrel of 26-28inchs. Your best bet is to check out the shops and chain stores to see what they have on hand.
|November 27, 2012, 08:37 AM
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Location: PA
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I went through the same search and ended up with a Maverick 88. Very happy with my choice.
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The City of Clawson Cultural Foundation is hosting an ensemble competition event this spring.
"The Melodies Clash in Clawson" will feature three ensembles, competing in three age categories at Clawson City Park on May 19. The application deadline for ensembles is April 9. The three age categories are 12 and younger, 13-18 and 18-25.
Prizes will be awarded with winners to perform at Black Lotus Brewery. For an application, visit www.elevatethearts.vpweb.com or call Lisa Ball at 248-589-0056. Entry forms are also available at The Hunter Community Center, 509 Fisher Court in Clawson.
This is one of many events planned by the foundation, which kicked off the year with a music concert fundraising event performed by a founding member, Matthew Ball, (aka The Boogie Woogie Kid).
The next event is a Mystery Dinner fundraiser, planned for April 20 at the American Legion in Clawson, featuring local actors. Tickets must be purchased in advance and are available at The Hunter Community Center in Clawson or by calling 248-589-0334.
The foundation, which formed in August 2012, also plans to revisit its inaugural event. "The Second Annual Clawson Arts and Authors Festival" is Sept. 8 at Clawson City Park and will run in conjunction with the Clawson Farmers Market. It will include crafts, visual arts, children's create-and-take crafts, readings throughout the day, performances by local musicians and food to purchase. Submissions for the event start in March.
Founding member Lisa Ball is excited about working with Mayor Penny Leubs to organize more events like these in Clawson.
"These types of events are what make communities desirable to live, work and raise a family in," she said. "As a new mother, I've found that it is important for me to become active in my community because, community, along with family, and school are major influences in our children's lives, and as a parent, I am responsible for aiding all of those influences impacting him to nurture a positive, safe, and educational environment."
Ball is also working on putting together a parent leader playgroup for children up to age 4 at the Hunter Community Center in the Nature's Playhouse Room.
The Clawson Cultural Foundation meets at The Hunter Community Center, 509 Fisher Court at 7:30 p.m. on the second Monday of each month.


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Do you have a Great Idea to Improve Road Safety or Support Crime Prevention in Queensland?
Established in 2011, the Safer Queensland Community Grants Program is a partnership between the QPS and Suncorp, offering one-off grants between $1,000 and $10,000 for road safety and crime prevention initiatives. The Safer Queensland Community Grants Program invites applications from both the community and QPS members (sworn and staff members), including not-for-profit organisations, local councils, schools, community groups, as well as members of the Police Citizens Youth Clubs, to share in $250,000.
Road safety initiatives should aim to lower the road toll and road-related trauma by seeking to change road users' attitudes and behaviour. Initiatives could focus on the Fatal Five – speeding, drink and drug driving, failure to wear a seatbelt, driving whilst fatigued and distraction and inattention. Other initiatives could focus on at risk road users such as pedestrians, bicycle and motorcycle riders and inexperienced drivers.
Crime prevention initiatives should aim to address crime and anti-social behaviour, improve safety and security and reduce fear of crime within the local community. Initiatives could address property crime, personal safety (including cyber safety), early intervention with young people and/or families, crime prevention through environmental design or hosting events as part of Crime Prevention Month.
If you have further queries, please contact A/Senior Sergeant Alana Wyatt-Smith,
Strategic Policy Branch, Policy and Performance on 3364 3076 or e-mail
If you are interested in applying for this grant program, please click here
Applications for the 2017 Safer Queensland Community Grants program open 1 July 2017 and close 31 August 2017.


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NetWellness is a global, community service providing quality, unbiased health information from our partner university faculty. NetWellness is commercial-free and does not accept advertising.
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Kidney Diseases
Kidney Inflamation
I am a 66 year old male. I live in Miami Florida. This pass June 2009 I went for annual physical. The doctor looked at the blood work and suggested to check with the gastroenterologist, the hematologist, nephrologists and hepatologist which I did. Finally after liver and kidney biopsies, the nephrologist's diagnosis: autoimmune cholongiopathy also autoimmune pancreatitis and primary biliary cirrhosis. Back in August 2002 I had the Wipple Procedure done from which I recouped and went back to work and a good physical active live. I don't know if there is a connection between these two episodes. Right now I am under the nephrolist care taking Cellcept 2000mg day, Prednisone 20mg day, Ursodiol 1500 day, Pancrease MT 16 2cap/ each meal, Omeprazole DR 20mg day and Avodar 0.5mg day. I still go to the gym 2 times a week, ride the bicycle and run a bit, in other words I feel good most of the time. I was accepted by the insurance diagnosis of nephritis.My nephrologists at U. of Miami Miller School of Medicine, says that the kidney inflammation is getting better but I am still passing blood in the urine occasionally. Since August 2009 basically I have being on this drug regimen, any suggestions as to new approach? Thank you.
Sorry that I cannot be of help here. From the description you give, I cannot tell what is wrong with your kidneys. The diagnoses that you name have nothing to do with the kidneys. So the best I can suggest is that you ask your nephrologist to explain to you exactly what your kidney diagnosis is, and how it's related to your liver and pancreas problems. Do not hesitate to ask until you understand what is happening and why you have to be on medications like Cellcept and prednisone (it may be that these are for your liver, or pancreas, or kidneys -- I can't tell). Best of luck to you!
Mildred Lam, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
School of Medicine
Case Western Reserve University


text: I absolutely LOVE 5 hour energy. I use it whenever I feel like I need an extra boost for going to college classes or finishing projects. I can have confidence in using it knowing that I won't get the jitters like sugary energy drinks, and being able to get the energy boost without having a crash later. I would recommend 5 hour energy to anybody who wants an energy boost for sports, school, or any activity, without having to have the unhealthy additives that the sugary drinks have.


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Happy toddler zone
Everything parents need to know about raising happy, healthy little ones. more
Acne is a condition that occurs mainly during the teens and twenties and is characterised by small bumps, pimples, blackheads and blemishes on the skin. Outbreaks occur mainly on the face, chest and back. Acne has a strong genetic component and is aggravated by hormones. Most acne can be controlled using over-the-counter products, but a prescription product may be necessary if your child has severe acne.
Hormones are the biggest cause of acne. Although acne can be aggravated by a less-than-stringent skin care routine, hormones, especially during the teen years, cause the skin to produce more oil (called sebum). Excess oil mixes with bacteria present on the skin's surface and forms acne.
Acne is generally not a serious health condition, but it can be embarrassing for adolescents, and even adults. Cystic acne, acne that occurs under the skin that does not come to a head, can cause permanent scarring.
Your teen can expect acne if you or her other parent suffered from it. There is a strong genetic component to acne. However, even a child whose parents have never had a significant problem with acne can experience a lot of outbreaks. The best way to keep acne at bay is by washing your face thoroughly and often. Use oil-free makeup and skin care products. Keep hair clean and off the face. Although there's no hard evidence that what your child eats has an effect on acne, it might be a good idea to avoid chocolate and greasy foods.
Acne is characterised by pimples and cysts on and under the skin. Most acne occurs during the teens and twenties, but even some adults have trouble with acne. Acne most often occurs on the face, chest and back.
There are a lot of over-the-counter products available that can help your teen control acne outbreaks. Some kids can get away with simple washing and cleansing, but other teens may require more intense treatment for acne. Make sure that your teen doesn't pop or pick at his pimples as this can lead to scarring and infection.
There's generally no need to call the doctor if your child experiences mild to moderate acne outbreaks. But, you may want to see a dermatologist if your teen's acne is severe. A dermatologist may prescribe stronger treatment for your child's outbreaks.
Written by Rebecca Stigall for Kidspot, Australiaés parenting resource for family health. Sources include Better Health Channel, NSW Health and Health Insite.
Last revised: Monday, 25 January 2010
This article contains general information only and is not intended to replace advice from a qualified health professional.


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KEXP Reviews
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- (Palm Pictures)
The second album from this beguiling Ethiopian singer is a sublime updating of various Ethiopian musical traditions, giving the music a more modern flair by adding subtle shades of jazz, funk and other styles. Produced by Bill Laswell and featuring an impressive cast of guest musicians, including Pharoah Sanders, Wayne Shorter, Henry Threadgill and Herbie Hancock. 9/15/2001 - Don Yates


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Sami Inkinen's life is his data, and vice versa.
"I have to have the numbers," says Inkinen, co-founder of the real estate website Trulia Inc. and a top-ranked amateur triathlete, as he wheels his $8,000 Orbea road bike to the starting line for a race in October.
Inkinen, who holds $52.6 million of Trulia shares after the company's initial public offering last year, soon charged up Mount Diablo in California amid a pack of 600 on a brisk autumn Sunday. A black band around the chest monitored his heart as it sped to 156 beats a minute. Devices in a wheel hub measured his power output at 377 watts and his average speed at 13.4 miles an hour.
The data fed wirelessly into a computer on the handlebars so he could later upload his results to the website Strava and compare them against those of hundreds of other riders.
The 37-year-old Inkinen has been recording more than two dozen such variables for years, including sleep, mood and caffeine intake, seeking patterns he can exploit to improve his results in sports and business. Inkinen is part of an expanding universe of self-quantifiers who collect megabytes of personal data seeking an edge much like the devotees of quantitative analysis who transformed Wall Street.
There is a dark side even at some levels of amateur competition. Swimmers, runners, cyclists and triathletes have been penalized for using illegal performance-enhancing substances. In addition, one cyclist trying to post the fastest time on Strava for a route -- laying claim to the virtual title "King of the Mountain" -- crashed and died in California, according to a lawsuit against Strava.
Lance Armstrong, the world's most prominent confessed doping cheat, competed on closely held Strava Inc.'s website until Wednesday, based on recent updates to his Strava profile. He held more than 150 running-course records and King of the Mountain cycling rankings (known as KOMs) before they disappeared from his Strava page.
San Francisco-based Strava, which advertised on broadcasts of last year's Tour de France, treats Armstrong as "just another member of the community," says Chief Executive Officer Michael Horvath. Some Strava competitors urged banning Armstrong because of his doping.
Strava and rival sites such as MapMyRide, TrainingPeaks, Garmin Connect and dailymile tap into the psychological elements that make sports rewarding, says Ian Bogost, a game designer who teaches at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. They exploit people's competitive instincts to get them to ride their bikes faster, or work harder.
"What is the medium- to long-term consequence of a social environment where everything is attached to direct feedback and immediate reward?" Bogost says. "I don't know what the answer is, but I'm a bit afraid of it."
Amateur self-quants provide a ready market for electronic gadgets that make data-gathering easier. These include wristbands such as Larklife, Jawbone UP, Nike FuelBand and Fitbit Flex. For cyclists, Garmin Ltd. just introduced the $500 Edge 810 wireless, touch-screen, GPS-equipped bike computer, to collect data and provide navigation and weather forecasts. The devices enable anyone to gather, analyze and compare data in ways that were once available only to elite athletes.
For Sami Inkinen (pronounced SAH-me INK-in-en), these tools only complement a self-quantification effort that began more than a decade ago as hand-drawn notes on three-hole paper. He was earning a master's degree at the Stanford Graduate School of Business near Palo Alto, Calif. Raised on a farm in Finland, Inkinen says he came to love data while studying for a master's in engineering physics at Helsinki University of Technology.
"People like to talk about feelings and emotions, even when it relates to performance," Inkinen says. "More often than not, there are biological fundamentals underneath it. If you can understand and measure that, then you can make pretty objective decisions about how to improve it."
Inkinen has a scatter-plot graph showing correlation between mood and athletic performance. The day he rode up the 3,200-foot (975-meter) Mount Diablo, he rated his mood at 4 on a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 means "I'm ready to change the world," he says. He generated the highest wattage at the lowest peak heart rate in the race, according to Strava, and finished eighth.
In his 27-column spreadsheet, Inkinen also notes meditation time, happiness, productivity, caloric intake, number of push- ups and other fitness activities. He says the data give him a unique ability to control circumstances, have helped him finish an Ironman triathlon in less than nine hours and contributed to the success of Trulia.
He has also annoyed his wife of two years, Meredith Loring, she says. The couple met through an online dating service, where Loring's profile said she enjoyed running. She proved it on their second date, challenging him to a trail run that lasted more than three hours because neither would suggest stopping.
"As soon as we get home from a run, he is in his spreadsheet writing down all of the numbers," says Loring, 33, a strategy consultant for health and wellness companies. She agreed to be interviewed during a nine-mile trail run through towering redwood trees in Muir Woods near San Francisco, where the couple lives.
Loring uploads her bicycle rides to Strava. She holds dozens of "Queen of the Mountain" titles, mostly on climbs around San Francisco. She says she likes the virtual racing because the pressures associated with organized events, such as getting to the race start on time, cause her anxiety.
Online competition makes cyclists ride more and try harder, says Bryan Borgia, co-founder of Topwater Capital Partners in South Norwalk, Conn. Borgia, 36, became KOM last July on a segment south of Portsmouth, N.H., for example. He covered a 0.6-mile stretch of Route 1A in 66 seconds, beating hundreds of other riders.
"I can get myself to go pretty hard," Borgia says. "But if it's for Strava and I'm going out to beat someone, I'm probably going to go harder."
William Flint was killed in June 2010 after his bike hit a car while he was riding a Strava KOM challenge in Tilden Park in Orinda, Calif., near San Francisco, according to a wrongful- death lawsuit his family filed against Strava in state court in San Francisco. Flint was trying "to regain his title" after another cyclist posted a time on Strava breaking Flint's previous record for the ride, according to the lawsuit.
Strava failed to ensure that its challenges took place on safe courses and encouraged "dangerous behavior," the plaintiffs said in the complaint. "Cyclists are encouraged to 'tear it up' on the road," they said.
The company filed counterclaims alleging that when Flint became a website member in 2009 he electronically signed the site's terms and conditions, indemnifying Strava and waiving any claims arising from use of the site. Flint was riding "recklessly" over the posted speed limit on the wrong side of the road, Strava said in court papers, and the company isn't liable because the death resulted from Flint's own negligence.
The company's lawyers on Jan. 24 asked the court to dismiss its counterclaims without prejudice, meaning it can reinstitute them later. The court filings don't give a reason why Strava dropped the claims. A trial is scheduled for July 1.
After the Flint accident, Strava made it possible for users to designate courses that may be hazardous, according to the company's CEO, Horvath. Flagged routes -- mostly descents -- no longer feature leaderboards or KOMs. The ride Flint was taking is now in that category, according to the Strava website.
"It gives the community a tool to help determine what's safe and what's not," Horvath says. "Too steep, too much traffic or road construction. Some users have shut down segments because there were ducks and squirrels along the path." The company hasn't been named a defendant in any other suits, Horvath says.
Breathing hard, Jeff Howell, a data project manager, crests a popular 4.2-mile climb south of San Francisco and hits stop on his bike computer. Wearing Strava cycling jersey and shorts, he says he's pleased to post his second-fastest time on the route. Another cyclist zips past without a helmet.
"I don't see Strava inducing that kind of bad behavior," Howell says. "You have to take responsibility for yourself and know your limits."
At San Francisco-based Trulia, Inkinen's fascination with data permeates the corporate culture, says Pete Flint, co- founder and CEO. The company surveys its 534 employees, known as "Trulians," every three months using a "happiness index" that Inkinen created, Flint says.
There is lots of Inkinen lore at the company. Flint relates how in the early days the co-founders were Wednesday night regulars at a sushi restaurant. The order never changed: seaweed salad, sashimi, edamame and water.
"As soon as I started to mix things up, there was a revolt from Sami," Flint says. Inkinen didn't want a change in diet to affect the data he was monitoring on himself. For the same reason, Inkinen went through a spell of eating "the same thing for breakfast, lunch and dinner: a can of cold Progresso chicken soup," Flint says.
Inkinen's competitive drive once spawned a push-up competition with several Trulia colleagues known as "the Gun Show" (in fitness circles, "guns" is slang for biceps). Over 22 days last June. Inkinen's spreadsheet shows that he knocked out 100 push-ups on 20 of those days. When he managed just 50 one day, he added pull-ups to make up the difference. And on the single day when he did none, he rode his bike 105 miles. But that isn't the whole story, says his wife, Loring.
"One guy beat Sami one day, so he started doing push-ups in every area," she says. "Every hour, he would just drop and do push-ups wherever we were." That included a Safeway parking lot. "This is my husband," she says.
Inkinen is convinced his data holds important clues. As he was learning English, according to Ken Shuman, Trulia's communications chief, he would occasionally forget such simple words as "banana." Digging through his charts, he linked a lack of sleep to the forgetfulness, Shuman says. Inkinen confirms the story.
The data let him down after the Mount Diablo ride in California, however. Inkinen was using the race as a final warm- up for his sixth appearance in the Ironman World Championship six days later in Hawaii. Comparing his Mount Diablo data from October with results a year earlier, he was confident he would be able to complete the Ironman in less than 9 hours again.
"Going in, I was fitter and faster than ever," he says.
He had plenty of reasons for confidence. Two months earlier, he won the amateur title in an Ironman race in Sweden, finishing in just over 8 hours, 24 minutes and winning a Strava KOM for the bicycling portion. Then he and Loring took a seven- day cycling trip through the Alps. In September, Inkinen competed in a half-Ironman in Las Vegas, where the temperatures exceed 100 degrees on the course.
As the Hawaii Ironman began, Inkinen was the amateur favorite, according to the event's website. He was in first place among amateurs after the 2.4-mile swim and 112-mile bicycle stage, and he retained the lead through the first half of the 26.2-mile running portion. That is when his brain told him something that his data didn't.
"I just started feeling ridiculously tired," Inkinen says. He did what Ironman competitors typically resist at all costs. He stopped and dropped out of the race.
In endurance competition, the brain is the "central governor," according to Tim Noakes, a professor of exercise and sports science at South Africa's University of Cape Town. In his book, "Lore of Running," he writes that exhaustion reflects changes in brain commands to the muscles rather than changes in the muscles themselves.
Afterward, Inkinen reviewed his data in search of an explanation. He says it may lie in a viral infection he had between the events in Sweden and Las Vegas. While he was ill, his resting heart rate rose 20 percent to 46 beats a minute from 38, according to the spreadsheet.
During the race in Hawaii, "my body or brain or both refused to continue to work," Inkinen says. "It doesn't matter if the device on your wrist says you can go; your brain stops you. If you were able to override it, you would maybe do permanent damage or maybe kill yourself."
Inkinen's central motivation "is improvement, not winning," he says. And he cites another reason for dropping out. Eighteen days after the Ironman, Inkinen was set to compete in the 161-mile La Ruta de los Conquistadores mountain-bike race across Costa Rica.
"'I didn't want to end up in the hospital and miss that trip," he said. "I made a business decision."