Online Journal

Benefits of Growing Your Own Food

Benefits of Growing Your Own Food

Growing your own food is a sustainable practice that can be done indefinitely regardless of where you live. A large amount of fresh food can be grown in small spaces, with the plant matter and food peelings being recycled into compost.
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Vegan Cyclist: What To Eat When Training

Vegan Cyclist: What To Eat When Training

The best part about being a plant-based cyclist? Knowing that you’re treating mind, body, and planet well while remaining competitive. However, as a vegan athlete, you may not know exactly what to eat when training, or which foods offer incredible nutrition for long days out on the road.

The connection between performance and diet is, at this point, undisputed. Eating better aids muscle recovery, in turn getting you back on the road fitter, stronger, and feeling ready to spin the pedals again. So, it should come as no surprise that legions of cyclists are becoming vegan out of concern for bodily health, as plant-based diets are high in antioxidants and reduce inflammation. Food can be both a fuel source and medicine.

 

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Eco-Friendly Diets For A Sustainable Planet

Eco-Friendly Diets For A Sustainable Planet

To achieve a healthy and eco-friendly diet, we should try and understand the complex environmental side effects of what we eat. While a plant-based diet is overall best for our health and the planet, moderate amounts of animal foods can still be a part of our diet, depending on how they are produced. Keep in mind that your carbon footprint is based on other variables besides your food consumption, such as how you heat your home, how much electricity and gasoline you use, how often you travel by air, and how you handle your garbage...
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Travel Essay: Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks

Travel Essay: Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks

Traveling to the Adirondacks is always a special treat. Any time of year, there is any number of adventures to be had. From fishing, boating (both paddling and motorboats), mountain biking, and hiking in the summer to seeing the fall colors and skiing or touring the woods in the wintertime, anyone can enjoy themselves in this part of the north country.
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Cycling: Best Climbs in Spain

Cycling: Best Climbs in Spain

Spain is a country with a huge cycling tradition and enjoys a geography that is ideal for training. If pain is a requirement for a good climb, then we've found the top 5 suffer-climbs in Spain. Some well known but others never climbed in the Vuelta a España.
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Top 5 Dog-Friendly National Parks

Top 5 Dog-Friendly National Parks

The 5 Best Dog-Friendly National Parks. From the coast of Maine, to the Blue Ridge Mountains, Ohio, Arkansas, and the coast of Texas, we've found some of the best.  Traveling with a dog can be a rewarding yet challenging experience. If you’re planning a trip through a national park, you must consider the many rules and regulations regarding where your pet may and may not go. Finding a national park you can visit with your pooch can be quite tricky. That being said, there are a few national parks that are a bit more dog-friendly than the rest. Luckily for you, we’ve gathered them all here. Let the road-trip planning begin!
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The Cyclist’s Guide to Sustainability

The Cyclist’s Guide to Sustainability

In and of itself, cycling is a sustainable practice. Your legs and lungs provide the ultimate renewable energy source, which serves to propel you across distances near and far. While in this pure sense cycling is eco-friendly, the various industries creating the kit on your back, food in your pocket, and bike beneath you are often not. While there’s no surprise there, a growing movement is beginning to support the idea that bicycles — the cleanest form of transportation on earth — should be part of a sustainable ecosystem.
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Spring Fever? Bring The Outdoors In

Spring Fever? Bring The Outdoors In

How to Force Spring-Flowering Branches 

On a sunny day, when the air temperature is above freezing, cut a few small branches from the tree(s) you have selected. Choose limbs that have an abundance of visible flower buds and cut them 1-3 feet long. Cut off with sharp pruning shears or a knife, so neither the tree nor the branches will be harmed, then cut a 1-inch slit into the bottom of the branch so it can easily absorb water and remove any smaller branches 6-inches from the bottom.

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Woman Backpacking in the mountains

10 Essentials For The First-Time Backpacker

10 Essentials For The First-Time Backpacker  starting with the absolute basic essentials you need for backpacking.  Whether you’re going on a single overnight or a multi-day trek, there are essential items you should absolutely have with you. If you peruse the shelves in your local REI or camping goods store, the number of gear options available can be quite overwhelming. Have no fear though, we’re going to discuss the essential items you should consider for your first backpacking trip.
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Cycling Tool Kit Essentials

Cycling Tool Kit Essentials

If you ride a bike, you're going to get a flat. Seriously, it's going to happen eventually. You hear a funny noise... stop... look down and... dang it... flat tire! Let's hope you never break a chain, but it's good to be prepared just in case. There are essential items that will easily fit into the eco-friendly Tour de Fierce Cycling Wallet that will prevent you from having to walk home.
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Essay Series: Thru-Biking The Northern Tier

Essay Series: Thru-Biking The Northern Tier

I quit my job, sold all my stuff, and began planning to cycle the Northern Tier. My first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean came from the seat of a bicycle. I didn’t know anything about long-distance cycling. Or camping. I didn’t even own a bicycle. I learned hard, hard lessons in perseverance, determination, and who I am as a person. I also learned that strangers and the world aren’t nearly as scary as we might think.
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Collectively We Can Make A Difference

Collectively We Can Make A Difference

A rising temperature comes along with many environmental issues such as increased droughts, wildfires and in contrast, rising sea levels and flooding. With these things in mind, it’s time for humans to start taking action. There are many ways in which you can help, and collectively, we can all make a big difference.
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I’m not a scientist

I’m not a scientist

I started this business knowing nothing about the astronomical amount of waste that industry creates. I was shocked to learn how harmful production (especially textile production) is for the environment (and sometimes for workers), and I knew I didn’t want to add to the crisis.
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