Day 17

Royal Center, Indiana Corner Store Assessment

Background: Royal Center, IN is a small town located adjacent to Indiana Highway 16. There is no local, traditional supermarket, but there is a gas/grocery hybrid in downtown. Additionally, there is a wholesale butchery/locker in downtown where people can buy large quantities of meat. The closest traditional groceries are in Winamac and Logasport (both 15 miles away). Winamac has a small, 3-4 vendor Farmer’s Market on Saturdays. The gas station I analyzed was one of the nicer stops I’ve seen in terms of food availability. Many locals seemed to be purchasing their groceries at this location.

L & J Bonnells Gas and Grocery (Marathon Convenience Store/hybrid traditional food store) 106 N Chicago (inside downtown)



1. Healthy Cereals: Special K, Rice Krispies
2. All types of milk were stocked.
3. Baked Ruffles and Lays (regular and BBQ) in larger bagged sizes
4. Plenty of wheat, rye, pumpernickel, and 12 Grain bread available
5. 100% Juices: Orange, Grape, Apple
6. Fresh produce: Lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, cauliflower, celery, apples, and carrots were shelved (not locally grown)
7. Canned Fruits: Pineapple, mandarin oranges
Canned Vegetables: Corn, potatoes, spinach, green beans, hominy, mixed vegetables, and carrots

**There was also a fresh salad bar area behind the counter where individuals could purchase anything from a house salad to a chicken dinner. The atmosphere almost felt like a grocery store as well as they had shopping carts and conveyer belts at the checkout lines.


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I performed an individual food analysis today from the meal we purchased at the local convenience store. I will post the results of this assessment once the group analysis occurs.

Finally, for those of you that are interested in the roads we traveled upon yesterday, I've uploaded a picture. This photo looks amazingly similar to all of the ones I took yesterday: endless corn, open/unlined road, and no cars in sight.

Enjoy!

Day 16

****NO PICTURES ARE AVAILABLE DUE TO REALLY BAD/SLOW INTERNET SIGNAL. ACCORDING TO COACH B, WE ARE IN A BIG OLE' HOLE. SORRY FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE.

Bikeability Assessment

Summary: Our 60 mile journey through Indiana began in Monroeville and ended in Lagro today. The route took us on flat country roads surrounded by massive amounts of corn. Basically, all the roads were very similar in that they had little to no traffic, fair road conditions, great sight-lines, and no shoulder/bike lane. I believe that these similarities can be attributed to the fact that we are now on the Adventure Cycling Tour maps. More than likely, the fine folks from that establishment used the “low to no traffic” criterion when determining the recommended route. While these are some excellent roads to bike on with the low amount of traffic, they are not optimal in terms of the conditions (debris, potholes, gravel, etc) and the small size of the actual pavement. The following is my bikeability assessment of our tour today:

Indiana State Road 101 (0.5 miles outside of Monroeville, IN, 10 AM)
1. 4
2. 3 (trace amounts of debris in shoulder)
3. 3
4. 5
5. 2 foot wide shoulder

Hoagard Road (1.5 miles prior to Poe, IN, 10:45 AM)
1. 5
2. 3
3. 4
4. 3
5. No shoulder/bike lane present

South County Line Road Westbound (9914 South County Line Road W, 11: 30 AM)
1. 5
2. 4 (potholes present on occasion)
3. 3
4. 5
5. No shoulder/bike lane present

Highway 200 East (Intersection with 100 N, 12:05 PM)
1. 5
2. 4 (uneven/sloping pavement)
3. 3
4. 5
5. No shoulder/bike lane present

Highway 200 South (2924 Highway 200 Southbound, 1 PM)
1. 5
2. 4 (patches of loose gravel)
3. 3
4. 5
5. No shoulder/bike lane present.

Highway 750 East ( 7 miles outside of Lagro, IN adjacent to State Park, 2 PM)
1. 5
2. 2
3. 3
4. 5
5. No shoulder/bike lane present.



Lagro, Indiana Corner Store Assessment

Background: Lagro is an extremely low populated area with only one convenience store and one café. The closest grocery store is 5 miles away in Wabash. This neighboring town is also home to the only Farmer’s Market in the area which occurs on every Saturday. Given that the café was closed and the corner store held the only food available to our group, I decided to do a quick analysis.

Marathon Convenience Store (adjacent to Main Street, no sign available)
1. Healthy Cereals: Cheerios
2. All types of milk were in stock.
3. Large sized Baked Ruffles were available, but no individual sizes were shelved.
4. Four packages of wheat bread; no whole grain tortillas.
5. 100 % Juice: Orange, grape, apple, V8 Fushion
6. No fresh produce, but did have pre-made sandwiches and cheese available in deli section.
7. Canned Fruit: pineapple, mandarin oranges
Canned Vegetables: corn, green beans, potatoes

****NO PICTURES ARE AVAILABLE DUE TO REALLY BAD/SLOW INTERNET SIGNAL. ACCORDING TO COACH B, WE ARE IN A BIG OLE' HOLE. SORRY FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE.

Day 15

Monroeville, Indiana Corner Store Assessment

Background: Monroeville is a small, rural town on the Ohio/Indiana border. It has no major grocery store, but is within a 15 minute drive of two (Wal Mart and a locally owned supermarket). The town recently begun a Farmer's Market in downtown that will be open every Friday. No out of the ordinary levels of biking/walking have been noticed, but they do have an excellent "Biker Hostel" that offers free lodging as a means to attract cross-country bikers.

Otto's Pit N Go (convenience store) 121 West South Street (inside downtown)


1. Healthy Cereals: Rise Krispies.
2. All types of milk were available.
3. No baked chips were in stock.
4. Wheat bread was available; no tortillas in store.
5. 100% Juice: Orange, Apple, Grape.
6. No fresh produce.
7. Canned Fruits: mandarin oranges
Canned Vegetables: Peas, mixed vegetables, sliced potatoes.

Dollar Dans (nontraditional food store) 133 East South Street (inside downtown)


1. Healthy Cereals: Raisin Bran.
2. No 1% or Fat Free milk were available.
3. No baked chips were in stock.
4. No bread products were in stock.
5. 100% Juices: Orange, Apple, Vegetable.
6. No fresh produce.
7. Canned Fruits: mandarin oranges, fruit salad, pineapple
Canned Vegetables: Spinach, corn, carrots, beets, mushroom, sweet potatoes, potatoes, peas, and green beans.

Mel's Deli (convenience store) 121 South Water Street (just outside downtown)


1. Healthy Cereals: Cheerios, Rice Krispies
2. All types of milk were in stock.
3. No baked chips were available.
4. Wheat bread was available, but no whole grain tortillas were shelved.
5. 100% Juices: Orange, grape, apple, berry, V8 (single sizes)
6. Fresh potatoes were shelved (not local)
7. Canned Fruits: mandarin oranges, pineapple
Canned Vegetables: corn, green beans, peas, carrots, butter beans, and lima beans.

**There was also a wide selection of deli sandwiches (premade) that were available for purchase. According to the cashier, these items are popular purchases for many of the workers in/around the town.

We are now in Indiana! I wanted to apologize for being unable to post last night. I had a rough day of bike mechanical issues, bad weather, and sickness; however, it was nothing a little rest, Gatorade, oatmeal creme pies, and B's mechanical skills couldn't fix.

Day 13

Clyde, Ohio Food Assessment

Background: Clyde is a small town in western Ohio. It is a fairly rural area that has fruit/vegetable stands inside the town everyday during the early afternoon according to one citizen. There are also Farmer’s Markets that take place in Clyde several times a week. The downtown area has two convenience stores, a drug store, a dollar store, and a supermarket in relatively close proximity. There are also two convenience stores outside of the town along major highways. Most citizens buy their groceries at the local supermarket or farmer’s market. Biking seems to be fairly popular amongst the youth of the town.


Ameristop (Convenience Store)417 North Main Street


Located at an intersection in downtown. Very low amount of items in stock.
1. Two boxes of Rice Krispies were shelved.
2. All types of milk were present except Skim (Nonfat) milk.
3. No baked chips were in stock.
4. Two loafs of whole wheat bread were available.
5. Only single (16 oz.) servings of 100% orange, grape, and apple juice were in stock.
6. No fresh produce in the store.
7. No fruits or vegetables were available for purchase.


Family Dollar (Nontraditional Food Store) 415 North Main Street

1. Healthier cereal options included Special K, Cheerios, Corn Flakes, Raisin Bran, and Rice Krispies.
2. All types of milk were in stock.
3. No baked chips were shelved.
4. A large selection of wheat bread was available.
5. 100% vegetable, grapefruit, orange, and apple juice were in stock.
6. No fresh produce in the store.
7. Canned vegetables: green beans, corn, and peas
Canned fruit: strawberry, mandarin oranges, pineapples, etc.

Rite Aid (Nontraditional Food Store) 710 North Main Street

1. Cereal: Speak K, Cheerios, Fiber Plus, Rice Krispies, Grape Nuts, Corn Flakes.
2. All types of milk were in stock.
3. No baked chips were shelved.
4. No bread in store.
5. 100% Juices: Grape, Orange Juice, Apple.
6. No fresh produce.
7. Canned vegetables: green beans, peas.
Canned fruit: Pineapple, Mandarin Oranges and Fruit Salad sweetened with Splenda.

** I found it really interesting that some of the fruit was sweetened with artificial sweetener. Such low/no calorie sweeteners have grown tremendously in popularity.


Speedway (Convenience Store) 108 West McPherson Highway

1. No healthy cereal in stock.
2. All types of milk.
3. No baked chips for sale.
4. 3 packages of wheat bread.
5. Orange Juice
6. No fresh produce.
7. Slice peaches in light syrup.

Should be able to do another assessment tomorrow evening. Bedtime now after an 80 mile day.

Day 11

Bikeability Assessment

Today we biked from Mentor-on-the-Lake, OH to Cleveland, OH(approximately 30 miles).

On a scale of 1-5, please rank the following factors in integer form given the below scale:
(1-very poor, 2-poor, 3-fair, 4-good, 5-very good)

1. The amount of motor vehicle traffic given the amount of through lanes.
2. The physical road conditions taking into account factors including pavement attributes, curb presence, railway crossings, storm drain grates, debris, etc.
3. Your comfort with biking given the speed limit and proximity of motor vehicles.
4. The level of sight and amount of curves of the road.
5. The size of the bike lane or shoulder if present (please circle which one). Bike Lane Shoulder Neither

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Ohio Highway 283, The Coastal Ohio Trail (0.5 miles outside of Mentor-on-the-Lake, OH, 10 AM)

1. 3
2. 3 (bike lane present, but often times had debris or water grate in lane)
3. 4
4. 4
5. 4 foot Bike Lane

Ohio Highway 283 (Downtown Euclid, 11:10 AM)

1. 1
2. 1
3. 2
4. 3
5. No bike lane/shoulder present

Cleveland Lakeview Bikeway (1 mile before Cleveland, 12 PM)


1. 5
2. 5
3. 5
4. 4
5. 10 foot wide bike lane

Happy to be in Cleveland and have an off day tomorrow! We'll see the best way to conduct a food accessibility analysis in the next couple days.

Day 10

We enjoyed our first extended bicycling trip today with approximately 75 miles biked. Finally, we saw the blessed sight of flat, straight roads of Ohio compared to the hilly, winding roads of Pennsylvania.


Given our lengthy trek, I decided to take the day off from research and enjoy the crystal clean waters of Lake Erie upon our arrival.


Look forward to blogging from Cleveland tomorrow evening.

Day 9

Bikeability Assessment

Today we biked from West Sunbury, PA to Greenville, PA (approximately 45 miles).

On a scale of 1-5, please rank the following factors in integer form given the below scale:
(1-very poor, 2-poor, 3-fair, 4-good, 5-very good)

1. The amount of motor vehicle traffic given the amount of through lanes.
2. The physical road conditions taking into account factors including pavement attributes, curb presence, railway crossings, storm drain grates, debris, etc.
3. Your comfort with biking given the speed limit and proximity of motor vehicles.
4. The level of sight and amount of curves of the road.
5. The size of the bike lane or shoulder if present (please circle which one). Bike Lane Shoulder Neither

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Pennsylvania Route 173 (3 miles until Slippery Rock, PA, 10:30 AM)
1. 3
2. 3
3. 4
4. 3
5. Approximately 2 foot wide shoulder consisting of loose gravel material.

Pennsylvania Route 58 (2 miles until Mercers, PA, 12:15 PM)
1. 3
2. 2 (occasional gravel spots and rumble strips present on shoulder)
3. 3
4. 4
5. Approximately 4 foot wide shoulder


Pennsylvania Route 58 (6 miles until Greenville, PA, 2:50 PM)
1. 4
2. 4
3. 3
4. 5
5. Smaller, approximately 2 foot wide shoulder



Pennsylvania Route 58 (within town of Greenville, PA, 3:45 PM)
1. 2
2. 2 (numerous metal grates present on edge of road and no shoulder present)
3. 2
4. 3
5. No shoulder/bike lane is present



Last assessment in Pennsylvania! Next stop... Ohio.

Day 8

West Sunbury, PA Corner Store Assessment

Background: West Sunbury is a rural area in Western Pennsylvania that has no local, traditional grocery store. Local citizens stated that they often travel to surrounding cities such as Butler or Slippery Rock to purchase weekly groceries. Each of these trips is over 20 minutes via car. There are also no official Farmer’s Markets in town; however, they do have 2 vegetable/fruit stands within a 5 mile radius of the town that citizens frequent on occasion. There is only one convenience store in the town that has been transformed into a hybrid traditional/ convenience food store to fit resident’s needs.

Thompson’s Country Market and Catering (136 Main Street)

1. Healthy cereal options available included Smart Start, Special K, Great Gains, Fiber 1, Raisin Bran, and Cheerios.
2. All types of milk were in stock (2%, Low fat, and Skim).
3. Only individual bags of baked chips were in stock.
4. There were several whole wheat bread options available. Also, the store has rye and oatmeal bread in stock. I have included the picture of the oatmeal bread (which I have never heard of) below. It should be noted that the store did have tortillas, but none were made of wheat.

5. There were only small, 16 oz. orange juice (100%) containers available.
6. There was a small selection of fresh produce available that consisted of bananas, potatoes, onions, peppers, celery, cucumber, and carrots. Some products were locally grown.
7. There was no canned fruit that didn’t have heavy syrup; however, there were numerous canned vegetable products like green beans, peas, carrots, corn, etc.

**There was a small deli section of the store that held different meats from larger distributers. Additionally, some pasta items, like lasagna, were available for purchase.

Days 6 and 7

It has been a hectic two days as we navigate our way through the final (hopefully) stretches of the Appalachian Mountains. On day 6, I was unable to conduct a corner store assessment as I arrived to town (Ligonier, PA)at 6 PM separated from the group. I spent most of the remaining daylight hours attempting to find a meal and place to sleep. On day 7, I didn't have any better luck as my group got somewhat lost and finally made it to camp around 6 PM again. To make matters even more difficult, our camp was located in a friendly couple's backyard with no town in a couple mile radius.

Cross your fingers that tomorrow we'll arrive before the evening hours in an area conducive for such a study. In the mean time, enjoy the photo below which shows some of the Pennsylvania countryside after a 5 mile, 8% grade climb.

Day 5

Bikeability Assessment

Today we biked from Mercersberg, PA to Bedford, PA (approximately 52 miles).

On a scale of 1-5, please rank the following factors in integer form given the below scale:
(1-very poor, 2-poor, 3-fair, 4-good, 5-very good)

1. The amount of motor vehicle traffic given the amount of through lanes.
2. The physical road conditions taking into account factors including pavement attributes, curb presence, railway crossings, storm drain grates, debris, etc.
3. Your comfort with biking given the speed limit and proximity of motor vehicles.
4. The level of sight and amount of curves of the road.
5. The size of the bike lane or shoulder if present (please circle which one). Bike Lane Shoulder Neither

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Pennsylvania Highway 16 (1.5 miles outside of Mercersburg, PA, 6 AM)
1. 4
2. 2
3. 3
4. 4
5. 3 foot wide shoulder that was not in good condition

Pennsylvania Highway 16 (7 miles outside of Mercersburg, PA, 7:15 AM)
1. 3
2. 3 (some shoulder erosion)
3. 4 (large shoulder)
4. 3
5. Approximately 4 foot, eroding shoulder on mountainous road


Pennsylvania Highway 30 Westbound (13 miles outside Mercersburg, PA, 8:20 AM)
1. 5
2. 3 (shoulder erosion)
3. 4
4. 4
5. Approximately 5 foot shoulder




Lear Road (Township Road 414, 5 miles after Harrisonville, PA, 11 AM)
1. 3
2. 3
3. 1
4. 1
5. No shoulder or bike lane present


The Old Pennsylvania Turnpike (check out piketobike.org for information, 12:30 PM)
1.5
2.1
3.5
4.3
5. The entire old highway is a 4 lane bike lane that is in very bad condition with many potholes and eroding portions of the road. Additionally, there are two large tunnels under mountain passes that require some form of lighting. Finally, getting onto and off of the road is very tedious as it requires the bicyclists to wheel his bicycle up a steep dirt path.

This road could be an excellent bike path if proper paving of the road and lighting of the tunnel occurred. Also, better signs directing patrons to the road would be helpful as well.



Highway 30 Westbound (10 miles before Bedford, PA, 3:15 PM)
1. 3
2. 4
3. 4
4. 4
5. 7 foot wide shoulder

Day 4

Corner Store Analysis

The final location within the rural food environment of Mercersburg is a locally-owned, hybrid traditional/convenient store. It is located very close to the center of downtown and is very popular amongst residents especially for their meats. Often times called the "Cold Storage" by the locals, Mercersburg Market is an old food storage facility that was transformed into a "mini mart" that also offered many options of a supermarket including fruits, vegetables, deli meats, etc.

Mercersburg Market-- 19 North Park Avenue
-The store is located right off of Main Street and seems to be very close to a large number of houses. One may have a difficult time distinguishing that it was a convenient store were it not for the lottery signs.


1. Many types of healthy cereal were available including Grape Nuts, puffed rice, Wheaties, Corn Flakes, Cheerios, Honey Bunches of Oats, and Special K.
2. All types of milk were in stock.
3. They only had smaller bags of baked chips in stock (one sitting portions).
4. They had two different brands of whole wheat bread in stock.
5. 100% Orange Juice
6. They did have fresh produce including apples, bananas, oranges, potatoes, onions, blueberries, etc. Additionally, they had locally grown cantaloupe and watermelon available as well.

7. Canned vegetables: murshrooms, carrots, tomatoes, whole potatoes, green beans, and peas. They only had one set of canned fruits in stock (pineapple).

**It should also be noted that this store is very popular for deli meats, cheeses, sandwiches, soups, etc.



Mercersburg has given us a very enjoyable couple of days, but I think we are about ready to continue our journey westward.

Day 3

Corner Store Analysis: Mercersburg, PA

General Information: According to a lifelong citizen of Mercersburg, there is a small Farmer’s Market that is open every Saturday just outside of town. Its popularity is typically low as the products are fairly expensive. Accordingly, backyard gardening is extremely common. Locals are renowned for canning their own vegetables after they ripen.

The local grocery store is a Food Lion that is also unpopular as it has a limited, yet an expensive selection of food items. Many city residents make the twenty minute drive to Greencastle or the thirty minute drive to Chambersburg for more varied, reasonably priced foods.

Downtown seems to be fairly active with bicyclists and pedestrians as there are several restaurants and a park in the area. The following list identifies and describes some of the rural food environment in Mercersburg:
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Uni-Mart (Convenience Food Store)-- 350 North Main Street
-No photos outside of the store are available due to owner’s request. Uni-Mart is located in a small strip of buildings beside a bank and McDonalds. It is a short walk from downtown.

1. No full size boxes of low sugar cereal were in stock, but they did have single, bowl size portions of plain toasted oats (Cheerios) cereal available.








2. All types of milk were available (large dairy farming industry in area).


3. Only 1 type of baked chips available.












4. Only 1 bag of whole wheat bread was in stock.
5. 100% Orange Juice was available.
6. No fresh produce.
7. Canned products included sliced peaches in heavy syrup (negative) and pineapples in 100 percent pineapple juice. Additionally, there were canned green beans and whole kernel corn.

Dollar General Store (nontraditional) – 11900 Buchanan Trail West
-Close in proximity to the Uni-Mart, but neighbors a Chinese Restaurant and Subway.



1. There was a large selection of healthy cereal including corn flakes, Honey Bunches of Oats, Cheerios, Raisin Bran, Fiber One, Crispy Rice, etc.
2. All types of milk were available.
3. No baked chips were available.
4. Wheat bread was in stock, but was located inconveniently on the bottom of the shelf.
5. There was a wide selection of 100 percent juice including grape, cranberry, apple, vegetable, orange.
6. No fresh produce.
7. A wide assortment of canned vegetables (green beans, peas, corn, etc) in no syrup and canned fruit (peaches, strawberries, pineapple, etc) in light or natural syrup were in stock.

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I will explore Mercersburg more tomorrow to identify any more food store possibilities. Thank goodness for off-days!

Courtesy of Dr. Alice Ammerman

Publication

An article written by HPDP Communications Intern Becky Bush:

UNC HPDP

Day 2

Day 2 was very eventful in terms of biking, but the same cannot be said for research. We made our way through the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with two free meals (thanks to charitable fans)to a campground outside of historic Gettysburg, PA. Unfortunately, there aren't any convenience stores in the area, so I cannot conduct any corner store assessments. However, I am hoping for a solid analysis tomorrow/Thursday as we get to spend 2 days in Mercersburg, PA.

Day 1

Today we biked just over 40 miles this afternoon from Havre de Grace, MD to Stewertstown PA. Below is my bikeability assessment for three sections of road in Maryland and one section in Pennsylvania:

On a scale of 1-5, please rank the following factors in integer form given the below scale:
(1-very poor, 2-poor, 3-fair, 4-good, 5-very good)

1. The amount of motor vehicle traffic given the amount of through lanes.
2. The physical road conditions taking into account factors including pavement attributes, curb presence, railway crossings, storm drain grates, debris, etc.
3. Your comfort with biking given the speed limit and proximity of motor vehicles.
4. The level of sight and amount of curves of the road.
5. The size of the bike lane or shoulder if present (please circle which one). Bike Lane Shoulder Neither
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Maryland Route 155 (2 miles out of Havre de Grace)
1. 3
2. 5 (very large shoulder present)
3. 4
4. 4
5. Approximately 6 ft shoulder





Maryland Road 543 (1.5 miles from beginning of route on road)
1. 1
2. 2 (fair amount of debris on edge of road)
3. 2 (very close proximity to traffic/no shoulder)
4. 3
5. No shoulder or bike lane present







Maryland Road 165 (1 mile from intersection road 543)
1. 3
2. 4
3. 4
4. 4
5. 8 ft wide shoulder






Pennsylvania Highway 24
1. 2
2. 3
3. 3
4. 3
5. No shoulder or bike lane present in addition to absence of lane markers on the right side of the road.


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The hills of MD and PA were pretty tough. Hoping that the rough day will pay off in the coming weeks.

In the news

The Daily Tar Heel discusses our adventure in the following article. Check it out below:

DTH

Corner Store Analysis

Investigating aspects of food availability in rural areas through corner store analysis is the second component of my research on this trip. Given it was the first component that I felt relatively comfortable with, I hadn't revisited the topic much until recently.

It all began with Dr. Alice Ammerman, linked in the previous blog, coming up with the idea of studying this while on the Cycle 20Ten Trip. She pulled some strings and of course got an expert in the field involved. Dr. Joseph Sharkey, of Texas A&M's Center for Environmental and Rural Health, was contacted by Dr. Ammerman and willing to help with this project. The group, including Cycle 20Ten group leader Brian Burnham, was supposed to meet over dinner at Dr. Ammerman's house while Dr. Sharkey was in the Chapel Hill area; however, flight issues resulted in a conference phone call being scheduled instead. After a very productive discussion including inputs from Dr. Ammerman's dog and Dr. Sharkey's parrot, we ended our phone call with a preliminary game plan. See details regarding Dr. Sharkey's research by clicking the link below:

Dr. Sharkey

With the aid of both Dr. Ammerman and Dr. Sharkey, I recently constructed the actual research plan for conducting my corner store analysis twice a week on the bicycling trip. It is listed below:

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Corner Store Analysis Plan

1. Determine town center according to Tom Tom GPS device. Record location coordinates.

2. Locate local food stores including traditional (e.g. grocery stores), convenience (e.g. gas station), and nontraditional (e.g. drug stores). Record location coordinates.

3. Photograph location to record the store’s physical surroundings.

4. Access the level of healthy food options available in these stores:
a. Low Sugar or High Fiber Cereal (e.g., plain cornflakes, puffed rice (Rice Krispies), plain toasted oats (cheerios), plain bran flakes, shredded wheat or generic)
b. Reduced Fat (2%)/Low Fat (1%)/Skim Milk (Fat Free)
c. Baked Chips
d. Whole Wheat Bread/Tortillas (it must say “100% whole grain,” “whole wheat,” “100% whole wheat,”, or “whole wheat.” If the first item includes the word “enriched”, it is NOT a whole grain product).
e. 100% Fruit Juice
f. Fresh produce
i. Fruits
ii. Vegetables
g. Canned produce
i. Fruits (in light syrup, juice, water, or calorie reduced syrup)
ii. Vegetables (plain – not in sauce)

5. Record these foods and photograph interesting features.

6. Possible informal interviews with town citizens to determine if local Farmers Markets or Fruit/Vegetable Stands exist.

7. Record general observations such as level of walking, biking, driving of the area, etc.

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Please excuse the formating above. With less than a week remaining before departure, I am getting very exciting about the trip. I'm hoping that the above plan will enable me to gather relevant data regarding food options in rural areas.

May 28th Meeting and Bikeability Assessment Draft

Prior to Memorial Day weekend, I had a very early, yet very productive meeting with my internship director and an expert in city and regional planning. Dr. Alice Ammerman, Director of the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, and Dr. Daniel Rodriguez, Director of the Carolina Transportation Program, both found time in their busy schedules to meet and discuss ideas with one another. After a solid hour of coffee and brainstorming, we mapped out a realistic format in which to conduct a bikeability assessment on the road. Using a very handy tool recommended by Dr. Rodriguez, I came up with the following assessment tool for my 10 week study. PLEASE NOTE: this assessment tool was derived from the Walking and Bicycling Suitability Assessment (WABSA) Project and should be credited to the individuals listed below.

Link to WABSA Project--- WABSA

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General Bikeability Assessment
(Adapted by Charles LePrevost, Health Policy and Management Student, from James Emery, MPH of WABSA from N. Eddy, 1996)

Date
Time
Road
Long/Lat

On a scale of 1-5, please rank the following factors in integer form given the below scale:
(1-very poor, 2-poor, 3-fair, 4-good, 5-very good)

1. The amount of motor vehicle traffic given the amount of through lanes.
2. The physical road conditions taking into account factors including pavement attributes, curb presence, railway crossings, storm drain grates, debris, etc.
3. Your comfort with biking given the speed limit and proximity of motor vehicles.
4. The level of sight and amount of curves of the road.
5. The size of the bike lane or shoulder if present (please circle which one). Bike Lane Shoulder Neither

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This short survey will allow roads to be properly assessed for bicycling suitability. Additionally, I would recommend referencing the WABSA website to conduct suitability assessments for walking and/or biking in your local town.

Below you can find information regarding both Dr. Ammerman and Dr. Rodriguez. They are both interesting people to read about.

Dr. Ammerman

Dr. Rodriguez

Best,
Charles