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Richmond was the location for this year’s hotly contested National Mountain Bike Championships on what turned out to be an incredibly arduous course.

Nevertheless, Matlock Cycling Club members gained some impressive placings.

Arthur Green secured a silver medal in the juvenile category after putting in the performance of a lifetime. The Matlock Mercury Sports Award winner hammered his way around the tough course, making light work of the technical sessions and using his great form to power up the climbs.

He was in contention all the way round but Calum Magowan of Peebles CC just got the better of Green at the finish to take first place and the gold medal.

Green’s teammate Gregg Booker rode to an extremely impressive 11th place overall and was unlucky to be just nudged out of the top ten.

In the girl’s juvenile category, Matlock’s Sarah Lomas put in yet another strong performance in a National Championships. This time, Lomas finished in fifth place overall with Abergavenny Road Club’s Ffion James taking the win.

In the Junior Male category, local rider Matt Sumpton of CNP-Orbea Race Team took a well-deserved win and gold medal after fending off the challenge of Alex Baker, who pushed Sumpton all the way.

In the adult races, Matlock also had some fantastic placings with Derek Hunter finishing in the top ten of the Veteran Males. Paul Dalton finished 15th in the Grand Veteran Male category.

Great Longstone’s Annie Last capped off a great day for the local riders as she took the gold medal in the elite women’s category.

Meanwhile, Bolsover & District Cycling Club hosted a fun packed weekend of events at Hardwick Hall.

On Friday night, there was a nighttime Mountain Bike race in which Arthur Green took an eighth place overall, beating many adults in the process. The result was impressive and Green won the Youth race by a country mile.

Saturday night saw the riders tackle the closed road to Hardwick Hall as a timed Hill Climb.

Arthur’s father Chris Green rode to a win, beating many top riders in the process and setting a new course record.

The Greens’ success didn’t stop there as the father/son duo recorded a one-two in Matlock’s 10.4-mile Long Hilly time trial on Thursday with Chris Green coming out on top. He won in a time of 29 minutes and 31 seconds, exactly a minute faster than his son.

Carl Dyke set a season’s best time to finish in third place with a time of 31 minutes and 43 seconds.

Round two of the Matlock v Derby Mercury interclub time-trial was held on Tuesday on Derby Mercury’s 12.5-mile Long Lane Course.

Only five Matlock riders rode with Chris Green puncturing, so only four counted to the overall results.

Needless to say, Derby Mercury overhauled the deficit after the first round to take a convincing win.

The fastest rider on the night was once again James Tucker who riders for South Pennine. Second place went to Derby Mercury’s John Manning, with Leigh Fearn being Matlock’s fastest finished in third place.

The Seaver Institute has awarded the Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB), School of Ocean & Earth

Science and Technology at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa $100,000 to fund comparative reef research at

multiple Pacific locations using advanced rebreather technology. This award and the new dive technology will

make it possible for researchers to study previously inaccessible sites.

“Coral reefs are among the most diverse and severely threatened ecosystems on Earth,” said Jo-Ann Leong,

director, HIMB. “To date reefs have been found up to a depth of at least 165 meters (m) in the Pacific, but

only the upper 30 m has been studied. These deeper reefs are largely unexplored because of the limits of

scuba technology, so the biodiversity of more than 80% of the depth range of coral-reef habitat remains

almost completely unknown. These rich coral habitats are emerging as a strong priority for management

agencies and conservation organizations.”

To learn more about these rich coral habitats, HIMB's research professor Brian Bowen and Richard Pyle,

associate zoologist, database coordinator, and diving safety officer for the Bishop Museum, are embarking on

a three-year study using advanced rebreather technology to discover, document and characterize deep coral

reefs at three locations across the Pacific Ocean. This study complements a pilot study currently underway

in Hawai‘i. These expeditions will allow researchers to record high-definition video, collect specimens for

new species documentation and various lab-based analyses, and estimate biodiversity levels.

“There are two urgent concerns about how these deep coral reefs serve coastal communities around the world,

” said Bowen. “First, they may be refuges that can replenish depleted fisheries and other resources in

shallow reefs. Second, because these reefs operate with about 1 percent of surface light, coastal pollution

that blocks sunlight may be lethal before we even know they exist.” Bowen concluded, “Funding from the

Seaver Institute will help us document this incredible trove of unknown biodiversity, and provide momentum

for research and conservation.”

Zeebaan has been supplying boutiques in Nairobi with deluxe leather bags. Their wares are sold at Adelphi in Yaya Centre and Sarit Centre and Blue Rhino in ABC Place, Village Market and the Junction. The owners of the label now feel it’s time to open their own shop.

“People like our products and they will come and see what we have,” says Yonatan Kesete, the managing director.
The past four years was spent building a workshop near Yaya Centre.

The change in business strategy, say Kesete and Merry Berhe Woldelibanos, the head of design, is aimed at better marketing as well as to allow the company to respond faster to customer demands.

Born in Ethiopia, the two met in Nairobi and in 2007 started Zeebaan; which means ‘be on top’ in the Eritrean Tigrina language.
The firm has come up with unique designs using quality leather with a touch of African and Western styles. According to its Web site, their designs “reflect the blue of the sky, the rich reds of the earth, the yellow ochres of the desert, the gold colour of the bush, and the coral of the sea”.

The bags are lined with bright African textiles; kitenge, kanga and kikoy. They also recycle beads, old tyres for soles as well as horns which are used for decorations.

“We want to give you something you will always talk about,” says Kesete of the products.

Selling ladies handbags between Sh5,000 to Sh9,000, the label has grown through word of mouth and exhibiting at crafts fairs like Soko Soko, Eco-Fair and Bizare Bazaar. Zeeban’s product range has also grown to include belts, sandals, wallets, sunglass pouches and jewellery.

Ms Woldelibanos chose to design and make leather bags to stand out from the large number of clothing designers already in the market. She also considered the availability of second-hand clothes (mitumba) and competition from the mass-produced clothes from the Far East.

Furthermore, Kenyans buy designer clothes only for special occasions, unlike bags which are an essential everyday accessory for women.

Harry Potter and his gang of wizards won’t be the only ones spinning magic Friday morning when the final installment of the film hits Billings screens.

Carmike Cinemas Inc. is creating some sparks of its own as it rolls out the BigD theater Thursday night at Shiloh 14 with a wall-to-wall screen, digital high-resolution images, surround sound and cushy leather chairs. Billings will be one of four cities in the U.S. to get the BigD, said Terrell Mayton, director of marketing for Carmike Cinemas.

“It’s a very bright, crisp dynamic screen,” Mayton said. “The picture is edge to edge, with thousands of colors. It looks just like a flat-panel TV on steroids.”
Mayton said Billings was selected because of the loyalty of its moviegoers. Billings is the first city in Montana to get the new-style theater. Missoula is scheduled to get a BigD system later this year.

“Billings is a very discerning movie-going audience,” Mayton said. “It was the ideal place for us to put in this facility in Montana. We think that a community that is large in attending movies deserves the biggest screen in the West.”

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2” will be showing on all 24 Carmike movie screens at Shiloh 14 and Wynnsong 10, starting at 12:01 a.m. Friday. Most of the 365 seats in the BigD theater had been sold by Tuesday morning.

The first installation of the two-part film, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1” will be shown in the BigD starting at 9 p.m. on Thursday, followed by the new film. A package ticket buys admission to both movies.

A $2 surcharge will be added to the price of a ticket to the BigD theater. Special pricing is in effect for the midnight screenings of the Potter film. Admission to the 2-D version of the new Potter film is $12 per person. Admission to the 3-D version of the film is $15.

The BigD is powered by a Christie Brilliant 3-D flash projector onto a screen measuring 78 feet wide and more than three stories tall. The theater will feature 7.1 surround sound and digital projection of both 2-D and 3-D films. Mayton said the new theater will primarily host blockbuster movies, but it will also present other entertainment, including screenings of opera and ballet.

Colorado National Monument is without a doubt one of the most spectacular places in the world to ride a road bike.

The steady climbs between sheer cliff walls, the three short tunnels, the rolling terrain over the top, the snaking switchbacks and the silky smooth road offer cyclists of all abilities a challenge and a reward.

The suffering endured while climbing the east side to Cold Shivers Point is but a remote memory as you cascade down the west side with just a slight flick to the brakes to control your speed.

There is something about the place that is exhilarating and just makes me want to ride. The pain and exhaustion from pushing myself to the limit in a strange way gives me joy and strength and I can’t help but smile when the wind cools me off as I scream back down into the valley on less than a half inch of rubber.

But there is something about riding it at night that is really exciting.

I have been waiting for a warm and clear full moon night since last fall. In May, some friends and I rode in the cold, but we did not see a wisp of the moon and we had to use our lights.

With summer finally here and the forecast calling for clear skies, my excitement level increased. I was able to convince my wife, Mandie, and three buddies to come along with me for this adventure. Actually, my wife insisted and crashed our little boys party.

We loaded the bikes and a cooler of cold beer in the car and drove to the visitors’ center on the west side so we would not have to worry about traffic.

The moon was predicted to rise at about 9:15, but clouds and gale force wind gusts were making it look as though we might get shut out again. We were getting a bit discouraged until we saw a bright light over the eastern horizon.

Someone said, “Is that the moon?”

PANAMA CITY — Like he has been doing three times a week for the past four years, John Hearn got on his bicycle Thursday at 6:10 a.m. to ride12 miles to work at Tyndall Air Force Base. But as he rode along U.S. 98 at 23 miles per hour, his routine was interrupted at 6:40 by something very unexpected.

“I saw something big and black out of the corner of my eye,” Hearn said. “Then it hit me and I felt bear all over my leg.”

Hearn was broadsided by a black bear that was about 250 to 300 pounds. The collision knocked him, his bike and the bear over. Drivers stopped at the red light on the highway near Tyndall watched in utter shock.

“At first I didn’t know what happened,” witness Debbie McLeod said. “The bear was flying across the road from the left side to the right. I thought he was going to miss the rider, but then I saw the florescent colored vest fly up in the air, and knew the bear hit him.”

The black bear appeared to be shaken, but got up and scurried off into the woods. Hearn, on the other hand, had to examine the damage the bear had done.

“As soon as I got hit I knew it was a bear so when I hit the ground I was ready to run,” Hearn said. “Then I looked and the bear was already running away.”

The back tire of Hearn’s road bike was ripped off, his body had road rash on his elbows, back and hip, and the frame was damaged. His residual pain is mostly in his neck and hip.

A driver gave him and his broken bike a ride to Tyndall.

“Normally, I look in a 25 degree radius for cars turning, or coming at me to be safe, but the bear hit at practically a 90 degree angle so I barely saw him coming,” Hearn said. “It was like getting tackled by a furry, toned, boney body in football.”

Hearn has been riding bicycles for nine years and never got hit until he moved to Panama City four years ago. Now he’s been hit three times — twice by cars, once by bear.

“This is by far the worst damage done to my body and my bike,” Hearn said. “We must’ve been going almost the same speed. But sadly, the bear didn’t have insurance so I can’t do anything about it.”

Lt. Stan Kirkland of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission believes there are over 3,000 black bears roaming the state.

“It is very unusual to hear of an event like this,” Kirkland said. “You hear about people seeing bears, but never being hit by one. That’s usually about deer or wild hogs.”

While this incident might be isolated, Hearn says he may be a bit wary when he rides to work again.

“After my last two accidents it took me awhile to get comfortable on my bike again” Hearn said. “I’m sure it will be like that now too.”

He said he’ll still ride a bike to work three times a week, but will be on the lookout for bears in that area.

“The bear packed a pretty good punch.”