Mountain biking 101 — a crash course
■ Novice and experienced mountain bikers are invited to
participate in a free course at the McKenzie River Trail
By Inge Scheve
for the Emerald
The UO Outdoor Program is
holding a free mountain biking
clinic Saturday aimed at teaching
beginning and intermediate riders
essential trail skills and trail eti
quette.
Outdoor Program staff member
Suzanne Hanlon hopes the clinic
can eliminate some of the fright
and insecurity of trail riding to
make it a more enjoyable and less
painful experience.
“It’ll be a lot like us sharing the
hard knocks before you have to
experience them,” Hanlon said.
Hanlon, who has lead several
similar clinics in Montana, will
deliver the clinic along with Ed
Fredette of the UO Outdoor Pro
gram.
After loading up the bikes at 9
a.m., a van will take participants
to the McKenzie Ranger Station
area.
The McKenzie River Trail of
fers something for every ability
level. A rolling terrain builds ex
perience in beginners, while ad
vanced riders can find challenges
in the lava section farther up river
from the trail head.
“McKenzie River Trail is the
best,” Hanlon said. “It’s beautiful,
and you can hear the water all the
way.”
Lava is a unique surface to ride
on, Hanlon said, “And it hurts if
you make a mistake!” As an
added bonus, if participants
would like to come back to this
trail in the future, they can take
the LTD bus to the McKenzie
Ranger Station for free, where the
trail begins. This way, they don’t
have to worry about finding a ride
or how to cram their bikes into
the tin can if they find one, Han
lon said.
During the drive, Hanlon will
deliver the first part of the clinic
— a low-down on trail etiquette.
Once there, the obstacle course
will teach in a hands-on manner
how to conquer trail features,
such as roots, rocks and creases,
maintain traction, increase bal
ance and manage multiple obsta
cles without becoming over
whelmed.
An obstacle course highlight is
Hanlon’s “bike ballet” designed to
hone riding balance skills.
Finally, riders try to match
their skills to the challenges of the
McKenzie River Trail terrain.
It s all about gaining control
over the route rather than being
subject to the route,” Hanlon said.
The free clinic is by sign-up
only, and limited to about ten par
ticipants. The only costs are gas
expenses and collective van
rental, which should add up to
approximately $5 per person. The
van leaves the Outdoor Program
Barn at 9 a.m. sharp and returns
about 5:30 p.m.
Participants must sport a posi
tive attitude, bring plenty of
smiles, wear a helmet, and bring
their own bikes, appropriate
clothing, water and a sack lunch.
More information, sign-up and
trip details are available at the UO
Outdoor Program office in the
EMU or by calling 346-4365.
Improv can improve your sense of humor
H Workshops create improvisational fun for business groups,
families or individuals looking for some ‘off the collar’ fun
By Kristy Hessman
Oregon Daily Emerald
For Enid Lefton, life isn’t a
stage. It’s an improv.
The Cleveland, Ohio, native has
been performing with the Eugene
based improvisational comedy
troupe WYMPROV! since 1991
and has been studying improvisa
tional theater for more than ten
years. During this time, she has
found that “the rules for improv
are a lot like rules for life ... you
need to have fun and laugh ... you
also need to support each other. ”
Now, Enid is teaching these
rules to others through her Life Is
An Improv programs and work
shops, as well as expanding her
services to include a new family
workshop, Playshop For Families.
The workshops focus on using
improvisation techniques and
games to build an atmosphere
where people can come together,
create and laugh.
“The workshops are also good
for team building and communi
cation skills,” Lefton says.
Along with classes, Lefton has
been asked to teach at a number of
work retreats and business confer
ences. That is how Patty Layman
first met Enid.
“The first workshop I attended
was at Oregon
State University
as part of a confer
ence,” Layman
said.
After attending
the conference,
Layman started
bringing her
daughter and her
friend to Lefton’s other work
shops.
“I had studied a little bit of
stand-up comedy at Lane Com
munity College, but I continued to
take the workshops because I
wanted to learn to work more off
the cuff,” Layman said.
Others who take the classes say
they find them to be more of an ad
diction.
“It’s like smoking,” workshop
participant Cris Piccioni said. “I
just can’t quit.”
Piccioni has been attending
workshops on and off for about 15
months.
“If I don’t do it for a while, I find
that I really need to go back again
and loosen up,” she said.
Participants say that the exer
cises in class re
flect many real
life situations.
“The exercis
es point out how
negative daily
interactions can
be, without us
even realizing
it,” Piccioni
i>cUU.
The techniques that Lefton
teaches also are meant to create
open minds.
“I went because I am kind of
shy,” improv participant Debbie
Newman said. “I thought that it
might help, and it did. It’s ab
solutely amazing!”
Participants particularly like
the environment that the classes
offer.
“You get to go there and be a
kid; it’s like playing house,” New
man said. “No one is there to judge
you. It is a really good learning en
vironment.”
In her current project, Lefton is
opening up to a new group.
Playshop For Families will take
place on Saturday, and will pro
vide a safe environment for fami
lies of all shapes, sizes and ages to
have some fun and learn some
games to play at home.
“It will be interesting to see how
it will work combining different
ages and families together,” Left
on said.
Past participants encourage
people of all ages to experience
the workshops.
“Anyone who has lost their
ability to play should really look
into this,” Layman said.
Newman agreed.
“I recommend it to everyone, it
really unblocks your mind. ”
For more information, contact
Enid Lefton at 345-2067 or email
at enidl@rio.com.
(( You get to go there
and be a kid; it's like
playing house. ”
Debbie Newman
workshop participant
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Blackalicious, Silent Lambs
Ptoject, V and Legacy, DJ Kin?
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■ Friday ■
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