Going the distance

About 215 cyclists got to enjoy Calhoun County's scenic beauty before rain and lightning stormed in Saturday. They pedaled in the 16th annual Woodland-Calhoun Century Challenge. There were 25-, 50- and 100-mile options for riders of varying ambition. Those who took the 100-mile route got to see more than Calhoun County, following the Chief Ladiga Trail into next-door Cleburne County and nearly to Georgia.

Bravo to the Anniston Parks & Recreation Department for putting on yet another big ride. The Star's got a story on the event, here. Pictured at right are Dana and Gerald Shaw of Anniston, getting ready for the ride (The photo is by The Star's Kevin Qualls). There are more pre-race photos in a slideshow at The Star's Web site.

Any readers out there hit the road for this one? What'd you think about the ride? Click below to comment.

Looking for something to do tomorrow?

Trail Run Planned for Saturday

Where- Meet at Coleman Lake Camp Ground

When- Saturday, March 29. Ready to run by 7:00am

Distance- Approx 3hrs or 15 miles. We will run an out and back on the Pinhoti Trail from the Coleman Lake Camp Ground to Pine Glenn Camp Ground and back to Coleman Lake. You can turn around any time for shorter distance.

DIRECTIONS:
From Heflin, AL, take US Rt. 78 east for 5.7 miles to Coleman
Lake sign (County Rt. 61). Turn left onto Rt. 61 and go 7.6
miles to another Coleman Lake sign (Forest Rt. 500). Turn right
onto Rt. 500 and go 0.4 miles to Coleman Lake campground sign.
Turn right and continue on Forest Rt. 500 and go 1.8 miles to
campground sign. Turn right into campground.
http://www.forestcamping.com/dow/southern/tallcmp.htm

Thanks -- Todd Henderson, Ultra-Race Director, ironmantodd@charter.net or 205-492-7063

Get Out in ink

The launch of the blog this week is timed to coincide with a print Get Out guide to outdoor fun in northeastern Alabama. It's published in today's print version of The Anniston Star. For subscribers, it's also in PDF form on the paper's Web site (click here to subscribe).

The guide has features on cycling, hiking, running, fishing, golfing and other fun to be had here. There's a profile of local outdoors guru Brooke Nelson, outdoors columnist Charles Johnson' s top five fishing spots, sportswriter Al Muskewitz's five favorite golf holes, plus a map highlighting where all this fun stuff can be found.

There's also lots of useful stuff from advertisers, including coupons, event schedules and handy info on locations, hours and prices.

If you need a quick primer on what there is to do around here, we think this is the guide for you. Let us know what you think - is there anything we can do to make it better the next time we print?

Taking the first step

Welcome to Get Out, The Anniston Star's latest blog, where we'll give you all the news we can carry on the things people like to do outside in our corner of the world. Northeast Alabama is endowed with a wealth of treasures natural and man-made that make it easy to enjoy life in the great outdoors. From the switchback bends of the Tallapoosa River and the teeming waters of Weiss Lake to the tree-shaded paths of the Chief Ladiga and Pinhoti trails, there's enough out there to make wonder why you'd ever want a roof over your head.

We hope too that you'll share your experiences and knowledge of those treasures. Got a great camping spot you don't mind everybody else trying out? Seen a blowdown that needs fixing somewhere on the Pinhoti? Please comment early and often on anything that catches your attention.

I'll start off pointing out some attention one of those treasures got from a national news outlet this morning. NPR carried a piece from WBHM's Steve Chiotakis on the Pinhoti Trail's recently completed connection to the Appalachian Trail. There's both a text story to read, and a link to hear the audio as it aired this morning. I should also point you to The Star's own effort to introduce readers to the trail: our six-week Pinhoti Project last year profiled the 100-plus-mile path, with readers, reporters and editors chronicling their hikes.

What do you think of all the extra attention the Pinhoti's getting latley? Click below to comment.