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Hello world, as the programmers say. Would you like to help some inline skaters help the people who help the people with Multiple Sclerosis? If so, please sponsor our Roadskater.net inline skating and cycling charity team. Or better yet, join us September 15-16 for the Tour to Tanglewood for Multiple Sclerosis. Find out more, and join or donate at:

The Bicycle Toy & Hobby training ride is usually the last one of the year, barring rain dates, and its a great time to pick up packets for the Tour to Tanglewood, so lots of riders show for this one. It's downhill out of town and uphill back into town along mostly five-lane and four-lane roads with mostly good natured motorists along the way. Out in the country, the route followed familiar Tour to Tanglewood roads in some places. A rougher surface loop proved a tough blend with the hottest temps of a T2T TR this year, but we made it fine.

I just wanted to share an event here in Randolph county. The sk/ride starts out in Asheboro and goes through various parts of Randolph county. The roads are usually pretty decent but there are a lot of hills, great if your into that. I have spoken to the director and it is ok for skaters to come. I think this would be a great way to increase the awareness of skating in our area.If you are interested post a note here and I can help answer questions.  Registration costs $20 in advance $25 day of...inexpensive, and you get a T-shirt while they last.

As I've often said, the Clemmons Bicycle T2T TR route in the mid-30-mile range is my favorite, and this year I'd say that is still true, despite some nice routes at other shops. So when the weather turned out cooler it looked like another relatively easy day compared with what might have been. This summer we've been very lucky at least three times, maybe four (Tour de Lions, Tour de Kale, Cycles de Oro T2T TR and Clemmons Bicycle T2T TR), to have unseasonably cool temperatures.

I enjoyed the Spinz Ride a lot and had a chance to share a nice sunny morning with our newest local Roadskater in the hills around High Point and Archdale, NC. Sunflowers brightened the day significantly, and we made our way along well enough. Spinz did a great job of hosting and we appreciated their welcoming us. Hope you love the photos, and if you do, let us all know which ones! Here's a link to the RSN classic photo page:

Paceline Winston-Salem hosted another great Tour to Tanglewood Training Ride this year, and while I was late, my skatepals, Craig and Andrew, were kind enough to wait. Once we got started, they were still waiting some, as I think I blew my adrenaline just getting there! We had some great roads with moderate hills and some medium gatorback on one section, which also had leaves and limbs from a storm the night before it seems. It was great to have a three-pack of skaters and nice that Craig and Andy got to meet. Check out my photos here:

We came close to missing this one and we are so glad we got up and out. After 3 days of 100-degree sunbaked highs, Greensboro got a milder day of clouds and cooler temperatures. We skaters got a thrill as the Team Erika lead out group held back from passing until we were down the hill and into Latham Park. We had taken the lead only to keep out of the way in the parking lot, and were pleasantly surprised at this gesture from the entire group of riders to lead out parade style until into the park. There seemed to be no plan for this, but rather something Team Erica decided as we rolled.

As many of you know, Tour de Lions is one of our favorites for a yearly visit with great people, exercising for a good cause, and getting to know a local community and its people as we work together on behalf of others and for the great feelings we get doing so. Sometimes we think we should save our money and skate where it's free, but then we go to Tour de Lions or Tour to Tanglewood and we know that even though the money means a lot to us, it can do even more for others in the right hands.

We had a great time inline skating with the cyclists at the Tour to Tanglewood Beginner's Ride (the 3rd in a series, I think) at Spencer Love Tennis Center in Jaycee Park in Greensboro. We did about 10 miles up to Air Harbor Rd. and Bass Chapel Rd., making our way back on Lawndale, up the hill by the Food Lion (formerly the Winn Dixie) and back via Country Park.

Thanks to a little extra encouragement from the Tour de Kale organizers when I was skating at Tour de Lions, and to the great feedback we had from other who had done the event, we decided to go this year despite our excuses. We're glad we did.

Tour de Kale is a charity ride that gets good reviews in the Piedmont. I met the guy who runs it at the Tour de Lions and he said we Roadskaters should come give it a try. Check out the info on

Not sure of the details yet, but Ken's is always a nice ride. It has a couple of tricky spots for skaters, with a downhill into a busy road on the way back, and a long downhill with a sweeping right into a stop sign on the optional repeat loop.

Hello to all after a few days away when even RSN2.com took a day or two off! I'm sitting in Greensboro's Center City Park using the Wifi connection, and I must say this is nice. At about 8pm, the light is fading and the temperature is cooling a bit from a nice warm day. I decided against skating for several reasons, one being the orange level air quality warning, a very late schedule of sleeping and waking, and some work that needed to be done.

Just a quick note of thanks to timv for coming out on his bike to sweep the GVC ride so I could skate safely. Without any other skaters, I likely would not have lasted long.

In fact, it turned out later that we found my rear right wheel was being torqued enough by my brake frame that the skate frame had rubbed much of the side of the wheel off. The logo text was mostly gone from the side of the wheel. I will have to keep an eye on that.

Please register for my Multiple Sclerosis fundraiser...

Roadskater.net's Marcia Woodfield Inline Speed Skating Workshop, June 2, 2007 in Greensboro, NC.

We roadskaters have at times had social skates at Country Park and elsewhere (NYC Central Park in Manhattan, Philly, Miami, DC). These events are great fun but it is always hard for us to find a true sweep who doesn't mind being at the back. In Manhattan, I have fond memories of a man a bit older than even myself who rode his bike quite happily at the back of several hundred skaters. He was always smiling, wearing his Aqueduct tee, with his nice easy way.

Just in case any of you local to the triad the next Tour to Tanglewood Committee meeting is at Panera Bread in Kernersville, Tuesday, March 27, 6:30-8pm.

This is where all the planning for tis great event happens. So if anyone has some free time they are always looking for volunteers.I am going to try and make it but am not sure if I will be able to or not. Craig

The registration form is ready at http://skatecentral.com for the Greensboro Inline Speed Skating workshop now called the Eddy Matzger Roadshow, April 6-8, 2007.

Here's my report from the 2005 Tour to Tanglewood Awards Ceremony, which I hope will inspire us, now that the skating and cycling for 2006's Tour is done, to look at what we can do from now until our donations are due.

Greensboro wants to get bigger and better. Well there's no point in getting bigger if we don't get better, is there? 

I applaud Greensboro and Guilford County and the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments for their efforts for bike-ped plans and greenways. I applaud BIG and as ever Tour to Tanglewood hero Dale of Cycles de Oro.

Tonight at the T2T kickoff event, which was very nice in several ways, John H officially invited skaters to join in the GVC MUSEP rides, (so we can call them skrides now, at least amongst ourselves).

I think it's important to be sure we're up to their no-drop speed so we're not last, but after a couple more weeks we may be there, most of us. On the coffee shop ride we were never last even in our hardly trained state, so that was a good thing to find out.

We did another historic downtown Greensboro skate on June 3 at about 7pm as we scout a route for a skride here that might be on Tuesdays at 7pm or so, or perhaps on weekends. The idea will be to get some slow bikes to come out, and for us to just create a positive presence in the downtown area for exercising on the streets in a fun way.

I was looking around and found this website with a lot of rides with cue sheets on the recreation section of the GVC website.

 http://www.greensborovelo.com/rec/