Sign up for four-wheel drive convention
The Indiana Four Wheel Drive Association will have its annual convention Friday and Saturday, March 16 and 17 at The Seasons Lodge, 560 State Road 46 East.
The event is free for IFWDA members. The sign-up deadline is Saturday, March 10. Those who call The Seasons and mention the IFWDA can get a special rate for lodging.
For non-members, the convention costs $30 per person if signed up before Tuesday, Feb. 20. After that date, the event costs $40 per non-member, which does not include lodging.
The fee includes an Italian buffet dinner Saturday evening with door prizes and awards. Off-road trail driving in the area (depending on weather and ground conditions) is planned for Saturday, as well as a road rally on the back roads of Brown County.
For more information, call 317-729-5752.
Cycling challenge planned in state park
The second annual Rollfast 8×8 Challenge will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 15 in Brown County State Park.
The route consists of an 11.7-mile loop with a rest stop at the start/finish area. Each lap has approximately 900 feet of vertical gain.
Up to 100 riders can register for a four-lap or eight-lap challenge for $40 per person.
All event registration fees and net profits from Rollfast events benefit the Rollfast Foundation which supports Bikes for Kids, High Rollers Scholarship Program, and the Roll Out of Darkness suicide prevention and awareness initiative.
After the 8×8 race, cyclists can relax in the recovery lounge featuring full leg-massaging Normatec boots, a post-ride meal, music and time with fellow cyclists.
The challenge originated when two Rollfast club members had been riding a figure-eight loop in the park for two to four laps. They decided to attempt an eight-lap challenge but, after five laps, they gave up. To date, neither has completed the full eight-lap, figure-eight challenge. Last year, however, 14 riders finished all eight laps in the challenge. Mark Weghorst of Westfield was the first eight-lap finisher in a time of 4:57:20.
The 8×8 Challenge is a qualifying event for the Rollfast Gran Fondo Sept. 16 in Carmel. The Gran Fondo is a 25-, 65- or 100-mile course.
For more information, visit rollfastcycling.com.
Register online at rollfast.us/rollfast-cycling/rollfast-8×8-challenge/8×8-challenge-registration.
Free running club open to all levels
Brown County Runners, a club open to all paces, plans free weekly runs on trails and roads in and around Brown County.
The club runs most Wednesdays at 6 p.m., usually in Brown County State Park and often does a Saturday or Sunday morning run at one of the parks or forests.
Runs are posted at meetup.com/Brown-County-Runners-Meetup.
Raptor center requests sheets, towels
Indiana Raptor Center Inc., the bird-of-prey rehabilitation center in Nashville, is in need of clean, used sheets, pillowcases and towels.
Donations of these items can be dropped off at the raptor center any afternoon by appointment, as the center is closed for tours until March 1. Call 812-988-8990 for directions and to notify personnel of your arrival.
The center also accepts cash donations to help feed animals in its care.
Tax-deductible donations can be sent to Indiana Raptor Center, P.O. Box 1153, Nashville, IN 47448.
Bluebird nest boxes for sale
The Brown County Bluebird Club is selling cedar bluebird nest boxes for $15 each or two for $25 to raise money for the club. Email Dan Sparks at [email protected] or call 812-200-5700.
Help save Indiana ash trees with donation
The Indiana Parks Alliance is collecting donations to help save ash trees on Indiana public lands from the emerald ash borer, an invasive insect that’s killed tens of millions of these trees since 2002.
Emerald ash borer has been documented in all 92 Indiana counties, the parks alliance reports. Ash trees once took up 15 to 20 percent of the state’s forests; but without aggressive action, 95 percent of all Indiana ash trees will be lost within 10 years, the group has said.
Donations to the Indiana Parks Alliance will help cover the cost of treating ash trees and killing the bugs. A special insecticide is injected into holes drilled near ground level. It’s a type that won’t harm pollinators like honeybees, said Tom Hohman, president of the parks alliance.
It costs about $10 per inch of diameter to treat a tree, he said. The group is trying to raise $20,000.
“If we can find good ones in great shape, we’d like to save them,” he said. It takes awhile for trees to mature enough to drop seeds, and the group wants to make sure the tree species isn’t lost.
To donate or to learn more, visit indianaparksalliance.org.
