The Top 10 Ways to Be an Active Woman Traveler 

Technology has shrunk our world, but it can also shrink our perspectives. World-expanding web services can blind us to the diversity that lies beyond our everyday borders. As sites like Facebook and Google target our interests to tailor the content that we see, we are in danger of losing our appreciation for the wider world. Though we can stroll faraway streets virtually from the comfort and safety of our homes, we miss the humanity that the gives those streets meaning.

By being an active woman traveler, you can avoid getting wrapped in that comfortable but confining cocoon. In a new setting, whatever your interests, you can’t help but notice what’s different. By having an active mind and body, you can keep your perspective fresh and open.

If you take pleasure in epicurean delights, you can enjoy ethnic and regional cuisine wherever you go. You can explore wineries, breweries, and distilleries, search out food festivals, and take cooking lessons.

If you savor the great outdoors, you can see new birds, plants, and animals in unfamiliar landscapes. You can explore unknown trails, paddle unknown waterways, and run unknown roads.

If it’s your mind you like to exercise, museums can illuminate the background that has contributed to making places and people distinct and can showcase the creations that arise.

The most important mind-expanding aspect of travel, though, is the people you meet. By chatting with servers, clerks, guides, artists, performers, business owners, and other locals, you’ll gain insights into the area and learn of fresh ideas.

My top 10 suggestions for being an active woman traveler are:

10. Go somewhere you’ve never been before.

9.   Check out the visitors’ center and locally focused museums.

8.   Stay at a B&B.

7.   Shop at independent boutiques.

6.   Dine at independent restaurants, focusing on local foods and drinks.

5.   Take a lesson.

4.   Attend a festival.

3.   Talk to the locals.

2.   Take a walk or a jog through neighborhoods or parks.

1.   Do something you’ve never done before.

All the while, open your eyes to what is outside of your norm. You don’t have to like it all. You may still be thrilled to return home to the familiar, to the place and people you love.

By being active, you may not only maintain an appreciation for what’s different, but you may also gain greater appreciation for where you are.

Ski Areas in Northern New Mexico: Natural Beauty & Skiing

Five Great Ski Resorts in the Land of Enchantment

New Mexico started began the 2011 ski season with a national-news-making blizzard. While much of the rest of the country struggled with unseasonably high temperatures, the Rocky Mountain ski resorts have been enjoying the hefty base dropped by the storm. In northern New Mexico, the elevation and rugged terrain provide a setting for memorable snow sports.

What’s more, its lower latitude makes for comfortable temperatures. The Southwest setting provides a backdrop for a distinctive escape from the everyday, punctuated by fresh New Mexican cuisine, with the regional favorite, the green chile, front and center. Burritos lovers will be especially pleased with the abundance of breakfast burritos, a hefty meal to begin a day of physical activity. Beer aficionados will notice that many of the restaurants offer more than just the standard bland macrobrews, with bold microbrews common, frequently from nearby Santa Fe Brewery.

My recent trip to New Mexico featured five ski areas: Taos Ski Valley, Angel Fire Resort, Red River, Enchanted Forest Cross Country Ski Area, and Ski Santa Fe. It had been a few years since my last ski trip, so I found myself sticking to—and thus reporting on—the beginner slopes.

The first four of the five ski areas I visited—all but Ski Santa Fe—are clustered around the Enchanted Circle, an 80-mile road with the state’s tallest mountain, 13,161-foot Wheeler Peak, at its center. It whirls deliriously through passes and alpine forests, overlooking valleys and mesas, with boulders and scrub and sage dotting the way.  

Unlike the impersonal commercial ski resorts, the northern New Mexico ski areas I visited were homier, in all the right ways. They were comfortable and unassuming but well tended—especially where it matters most, on the slopes. Many of the areas are family owned, supported by the history and pride that comes from knowing your name is tied to a business. In these family-run resorts, the passion for the sport is apparent, too—picture a kid whose first skis are bronzed instead of her baby shoes, who has snow in her blood, and who hears snow reports at dinner instead of stock reports and you’ll begin to picture the current owners and operators of Taos Ski Valley and Red River. Even the seasoned instructors here embody the passion of those who have made their sport their livelihood.

The entire state boasts more than 400 trails for Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, and snowboarding. Distinctive New Mexico features create excellent conditions for winter sports: high temperatures in January reaching the 40s during the day, particularly in the “lower” elevations; plenty of sunshine and deep blue skies; high, rugged mountain ranges; 200 inches of snowfall a year; and low humidity. In addition, the slopes and lifts are less crowded than those at many of the better-known resorts, and lift ticket and rental prices are lower.

7 Hills Scooter Club of Richmond held its annual rally November 4-6. Out of town riders and locals shared fellowship in some of the Capital’s hotspots for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Just Rydin Magazine caught up with the group Sunday as they watched football at Mulligan’s Bar & Grill on Main Street. Scheduled rides throughout the metro area and Ashland were also on their 3-day itinerary. With numbers steadily growing, the club’s Financial Officer 'Ed' expects even more participants next year. For additional information on 7 Hills, visit their website 7hillsscooterclub.com.

Photo, left: 7 Hills Scooter Club members with JR Mag.  To reach writer and editor of Just Rydin Mag., Marie - send emails to mjcammo@yahoo.com.

Blue Knights Virginia III hosted their 29th Annual Teddy Bear Run to the Children’s Hospital in Richmond, November 5, 2011. The diverse group of riders met at Colonial Harley-Davidson, registration began 8:30 am. It was 39 degrees as riders made their way to Colonial Heights and on a motorcycle it can quickly feel like 20 degrees. Yet that did not stop the charity ride participants. With almost 1,000 bikers strong, teddy bears clung to handle bars while the police escorted league of motorcyclists rode to their final destination. In 2012 bikers will roll out once again on the first Saturday, in November. 

Photo (left), more participants of 2011 ride.