Way back in 1990, I went on a 175-mile bike ride with my buddy, Jay. In preparation for the ride, we packed six energy bars for the ride—the only energy bar on the market at the time. At mile-120 we made it to the top of Mt. Hamilton, but we realized that we still had a lot of road ahead of us. Tired and famished, I pulled the last energy bar out of my pack, but as hungry as I was, I just couldn’t bring myself to eat it. In that moment I couldn’t help but ask myself “What if…

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Spring may have officially started but winter is clearly not done with us. Winter storms have rolled through the western states over the last week or so and left more snow than you can shake a shovel at. Over 2 feet in Lake Tahoe. Seattle resorts have received more than 3 feet. Check out the video from our friends at Greasebus—the veggie oil fueled ski shuttle service—that's part of Clif Bar’s Save Our Snow efforts. They were up at Stevens Pass a few weekends ago, enjoying all the fresh pow.

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In the spirit of Valentine’s Day we thought we’d celebrate two things we love around here. 1. Snow. And 2. Mike Parziale. Snow is lovable for many reasons. So we’ll skip the list. But Mike Parziale? You may not know all the reasons we love him. So here's a little Valentines video on what makes Mike such a lovable person. P.S. He's happily married so send your love letters elsewhere.

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Our office is a buzz with excitement for the start of the winter Olympics. In the spirit of The Games, I'm heading up to Lake Tahoe to watch them from within a wintery, white setting. That way when I get inspired to take up Bobsleeding or Biathloning, it’ll be that much easier. Kinda hard to do from here in our Berkeley office. Over the last few weeks, I've gotten the question (in some variation or another)..."So, what’s up with Clif Bar and the Olympics?" In the event you were wondering the same thing, here's the scoop. Our friend Mike Parziale,…

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A few weeks ago we hosted a little party at Clif Bar & Company to benefit the Access Fund—the Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival. It was an evening of controlled chaos. To start with, we had Timmy O’Neill—legendary climber, filmmaker, drummer, passion monger and rabble rouser—emceeing the event. And because we love a small dose of healthy competition, we had Ro-Sham-Bo… and Foos Ball… and lots of prizes. Oh, and of course, a taco truck to keep us energized. Anyhoo, the purpose of the night was to raise awareness and funds for our long-time partner, the Access Fund through…

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Katherine just got back from her week in New Orleans. She was one of the nine Clif employees who went to the Big Easy as part of In Good Company. Read on for more from her last day there and what In Good Company means to her... Today's my first day back in the office after my experience in New Orleans with In Good Company. It's also my puppy Charlie’s first day in the office—ever. Arriving at work very early, I spent the morning catching up on e-mails while Charlie spent the morning exploring the nooks and crannies of my…

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In Good Company. Day 3. New Orleans. Today was a lot of hard work in the garden and in Alice Cousin's house. The storm stayed away for the most part with a bit of rain drizzle and quit a bit of wind. I learned a lot from the Farm and Garden program in the Lower 9th ward today. They design and implement all of their designs and projects with full input from the community. Program directors and volunteer Architects DO NOT impose their ideas on the land for the community. The local residents design the gardens to match what they…

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Day 2 from New Orleans. The work continues... And without further ado, some reflections from Katherine I sit with the soft hum of my laptop and steady whisper of the wind here in New Orleans. It's day 2 of In Good Company—a partnership of businesses joining together to make a positive difference through hands-on action. Today, we split into two groups. Some of us went to help build a community garden and some went to help build a home for Alice Cousin, a 79-year old New Orleans native who also cares for her two grand-daughters, one of whom has Cerebral…

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Seth Warren and Baby. We can’t get enough of these two. A few months ago, we (re)introduced you to this dynamic duo. Seth, the adventure seeking environmentalist and the trusty (or not so trusty) Baby—a Japanese fire truck powered by veggie-oil, the wind and the sun—hit the pavement and the powder. Check out Seth’s adventures on the road and around the table in a short film series called The Elements of Food. Episode 1 was filmed in Baja and was about folks who celebrate food…Episode 2 heads north to the Rockies and is about folks who explore different types of…

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We’ve all heard of recycling CLIF Bar wrappers, but creating them into clothing? Now, that’s a new one. Read on to find out about the Halloween adventures of the Clif Fairy and a few of her friends… When working with kids, you just never know what to expect. It’s like a roller coaster ride: fun, sometimes a little scary but you always come away with a smile on your face and some good laughs. The Boston Crew rolled out for the Boston Medical Center’s Halloween Town festival this past weekend, which is just a huge mass of sights, frights,…

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The second-to-last day of Gary's white-road adventure in the Dolomites...the cycling continues. DAY EIGHT A beautiful, clear crisp morning; the views are spectacular. After saying goodbye to Mario and a couple of his buddies with cool felt hats, see photo, we headed up to finish the Passo Croce Dominii. The top of Passo Croce Dominii What a climb; we were even happier finding Mario’s Albergo after another nearly 3,000 feet of climbing. It would have been real touch and go getting to the other side to Bagolino the nearest town. Passo Croce Dominii On the way down the Croce, we…

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Another mountain pass and another white-road adventure, straight from Gary himself. The cycling adventure continues... DAY SEVEN 30 something! Not my age and not the television series from the 80s. Rather, “30 something” was the temperature we woke up to. Not only that, it was snowing on the Passo Stelvio which was to be our first pass of the day as our plan was to head north, over the Stelvio, skirt around the boarder of Switzerland and cross into Austria. And yet another bike trail... These trips are always such a lesson in adaptability. And with no support vehicles we…

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Elysa, our director of environmental stewardship, shares exciting news about the soon-to-be coolest town in America. Since 2003, we’ve partnered with NativeEnergy to help build new farmer- and community-owned wind turbines as a way of taking responsibility for our contribution to global warming. We value this opportunity to do something good for both the planet and the communities where these wind turbines are based. This year we are working with them on an exciting new project that brings together a community deeply committed to [re]building green. On May 4, 2007 Greensburg, Kansas was leveled by an EF5 tornado. Estimated to…

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More from Gary's white-road adventure in Italy. So, without further ado. DAY SIX Whoa, today I looked out the window as soon as I got up and it wasn’t what I had hoped for. Rain, and lots of it. Through breakfast I could still see rain; it was very cold and just miserable. We got ready for our ride, hoping it would break. It actually did lighten up so off we went to climb my favorite pass—the Passo Gavia. Today was a short day, one pass to the town of Bormio. The Gavia has so much history. When Jay…

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Bike paths, snow and more mountains...Gary sends another update from his adventure in the Dolomites. DAY FIVE Looked out the window the second I got up to check the weather, and it was spectacular—clear as a bell. Cold but at least it was dry. Our route for the day was long, over 160 kilometers, heading down to the Valley through Bolzano, up over the Passo Mendolla, and over the Passo Tonale to a very cool town called Ponte di Legno. When we hit the valley leading to Bolzano, I spotted something that looked like another bike path. As I mentioned…

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Gary's back with more from his adventure in the Dolomites with his friend Gregg. Read on for a recap of days three and four. More climbs, more food, and a bit of rain. DAY THREE It’s another spectacular day in the Dolomites. We started on an amazing bike-only trail from Cavalese to the Passo Valles, then went on to the Passo Pellegrino. A quick panini in Moena and then up the Val di Fassa and over the Passo Selle to Selva Val Gardena. We ran into some rain today on the descent into town but it wasn't too cold.…

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Gary’s off in the Dolomites, riding his bike with a few good friends. Delicious food, amazing views and a few hearty climbs (and descents!) makes for another awesome white-road adventure. Here’s a recap of the first few days of the trip, in Gary’s words… enjoy! DAY ONE I started taking my own bike trips to the Alps and the Dolomites with my good friend Jay back in 1986. I’ve been coming back nearly every year. This time it's trip number 30-something and it’s just as good as it was nearly 24 years ago. Nothing beats riding in the Dolomites,…

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Ever wanted to be a LUNA Chix? Our local Team LUNA Chix program is recruiting for new teams for the 2010 season so now’s your chance! The Team LUNA Chix program’s made up of 26 local teams of everyday women who love to get outdoors and challenge themselves. We’re looking to add new teams to our roster in cities all over the country. Local teams host weekly women's events, monthly clinics and semi-annual fundraisers to benefit the Breast Cancer Fund during the season from April through October. If you’re a leader at heart (or know someone who is!) and…

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When I was little, my favorite after-school snack was chips and salsa. Even as a kid, I preferred savory over sweet, and upon receiving this video from CLIF BAR GreenNotes artist Brett Dennen, I discovered he likes savory over sweet, too! Now, I’ve seen my share of breaded fish recipes, but this one takes the cake—or shall I say the MOJO Bar. Without further ado, Brett Dennen's "Trout a la MOJO."

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Little known fact about Matthew: he's a pretty mighty fan of Phish (with the "f" too, but especially with a "ph"). Though he's yet to walk around the office doting a fant-shirt (he tends to stick to the short-sleeve button downs), the self-proclaimed momentary exaggerator claims to have attended over twenty shows. It seems the stars were more-than aligned last week when he was reminded of the Phish-i-ness he used to swim in. Didn't someone say mercury was in retrograde? Who knew Clif Bars would ever make it into the lyrics of song? First, an old friend from Virginia who…

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Colleen, Colorado Field Marketing Rep, is a crazy cat. She loves to run...and run...and run. For the third year in a row, she decided to spend an entire vacation running. August in Colorado means a few things; the Broncos are in training camp, the Rockies are STILL playing, and it’s time for Trans Rockies Run! And for my third year in a row I had more than a blast! What and where is this “Trans Rockies” I speak of? It’s a 2-person team, 6-day stage trail race from Buena Vista, Colorado to Beaver Creek, Colorado, and covers 113 miles with…

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We’re an active bunch. We like fresh air and we like to move. Some like to pedal around; while others like to walk or surf or hike or swim or run…a lot. In fact, this weekend, 14 of us are venturing off to the land of endurance events to participate in the largest running relay in the world—The Hood to Coast. The race starts Friday and will take our dogged group of twelve runners (and two drivers!) over 24 hours to collectively run the 200 miles. That’s the nature of a relay—it’s all about teamwork. We’ll be running from Mt.…

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Aliy and her crew lost contact with the interwebs while finishing up their journey from the Missouri River to the Mississippi. Read on for their story from the roads of Iowa. Days 3-7 of RAGBRAI, a bit delayed. Day 3: Everyday is a Spandex Party Day If you aren’t a fan of spandex, maybe RGBRAI isn’t for you. Lucky for us, we LOVE spandex and all the fun it brings out…or keeps in. Whether you’re in red, green, black, or yellow, on RAGBRAI, less is more and tube socks are NOT allowed. The all-day bicycle fest plus the Iowa heat…

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This past February I was invited to join MASH and drive a support vehicle for the team as they embarked, unofficially, on the Tour of California route on track bikes. Yes: fixed-gear, no brakes on the same climbs and descents as the pro peloton. If I wasn’t there to witness it for myself, I might not have believed it happened. These guys punished themselves every single day…sometimes ending a stage by streetlights…returning to economy hotel rooms without a massage or a catered dinner. Michael Martin, Gabe Morford and Will Meeker captured the entire trip brilliantly from the back of a…

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The Wine Spies have knocked on our door once again, this time looking for some of our 2006 Gary’s Improv Syrah. They caught wind of this great wine made by our very own Sarah Gott (a huge fan of Rhone-style Syrah, herself) and wanted some to offer to their “operatives.” What does Gary's Improv Syrah have up it's sleeve? Well, it comes from the cooler climate Oak Knoll region of the Napa Valley and is a class Rhone-Style Syrah with bright flavors of plum and blueberry and classic white pepper. Delicious. It recently received a great review by Quarterly Review…

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Emily, one of the fine folks who answers your calls when your ring our office, weighs in on the musical talents of Clif Bar... Just about every Wednesday around 5:30pm, the Clif Bar theater (yup; we have a theater) starts to fill with guitars. 7 total if everyone brings theirs. 8 if someone brings an extra. There’s also a Clavinova keyboard, a drum kit, a few amplifiers and a portable PA system. Somewhere stage left, we’ve got a bag full of percussion instruments complete with veggie shakers (think; maracas that look like avocados) and a washboard fish (leave it to…

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In 1990, my friend Jay called me to see if I would be up for a 125-mile ride in the San Francisco Bay Area. He thought it would be a great adventure and calculated that we’d cover about 125 miles. We each packed six energy bars (the only bars on the market at the time), a banana, and some sport drinks. We left at dawn, cruised up Livermore Valley through Patterson Pass, then nearly 30 miles along the California Aqueduct, then west on a picturesque road named Del Puerto Canyon. As we reached the top of Mount Hamilton we…

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Most CLIF® BAR fans know that I named CLIF BAR after my dad, Clifford Erickson, but few know the whole story. In remembrance of my father, who passed away on May 5, I thought I’d share the story of how I finally arrived on the name CLIF BAR (with one F). In the summer of 1991, my friend, Doug Gilmour and I were working frantically to finish the first CLIF BAR package in preparation for the bar’s debut at the annual Interbike trade show. With the show less than a month away, we were up against a tough deadline and…

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My dad, Clifford, was a kind, gentle, patient, and loving person. As a father he inspired me to follow my passions in life, and as an adventure companion he challenged me to seek out and live up to life’s challenges. Though my dad enjoyed grassroots fame as the Clif in CLIF BAR, this notoriety was just a small part of his long and full life. Clifford Ralph Erickson, was born in Baileys Harbor, WI on August 29, 1929. A former merchant marine, my dad traveled the world visiting places like Panama, Japan, China and the Philippines and eventually, San…

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Last Thursday, Shane McConkey, a former TEAM CLIF BAR athlete passed away in a ski-BASE jumping accident in the Italian Dolomites. Here are a few words from our dear office mate, Kate, on her friend Shane and his zest for life… We are often told to “live every day as if it were your last” but it is rare that we ever see someone live up to this saying on a daily basis—someone who gets up every morning, has some breakfast, and then tries to find a new way to crack life open as wide as it will go. My…

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February 26th is National Caption Day here in Berkeley. In anticipation of this very special day, we’ve been snapping photos around the office for weeks. Care to take a stab at fame and fortune by posting your creative caption? Okay, okay…. neither fame nor fortune will likely come of it. But hopefully it will make a lot of people laugh, or cry or trigger some sort of positive response. Ready, set, write…

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What an incredible finish to one of the more memorable trips of recent years. Today's charge up Palomar Mountain was no small feet. There was also more heckling on this stage than any other. As the MASH crew made their way up the flat section to the start of the climbs there were all kinds of unsolicited remarks like, "a track bike?! you'll never make it up Palomar" and "go get more gears!" Never before have I witnessed people get the chance to eat their words so quickly. Walton, the 18 year old on the trip was so strong on…

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The MASH crew gets started each day around two or three hours ahead of the peloton. Half of the days they've gotten caught and move to the side of the road...the other half they've crossed the finish line first and watched the pros come across just after them. While there haven't been many spectators around in the morning when we get started...on a few of the days there have been small crews of guys on track bikes hoping for an opportunity to meet the guys. It has been good to see these guys get recognition for what they're doing and…

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Eight seconds. That's all that separated Dave Zabriskie from stripping Levi Leipheimer of a third consecutive victory at the Solvang Time Trial. It was a true tour de force. All in all, the Garmin-Slipstream team is holding up extremely well. Today was a well deserved day of rest for the MASH crew. They got to sleep in and take it easy. They were able to catch up with the Slipstream guys at their team bus and share tales of the Tour thus far. Then, when the crowds were gone and the Tour production staff had already started to tear down…

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Today's stage was a relatively flat one up until the end where there were a couple of climbs and then a bunch of rolling hills. Had a desolate feeling to it. Got an early start and as a result the entire MASH squad made it to the finish in Paso Robles ahead of the peloton. Its always nice when things work out that way. That way the boys can all pull up on the side of the road, crack a beer (I mean, uh, rehydrate and stretch) and watch the pros finish their stage. I attempted to cross the road…

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Finally! Blue skies! I cannot tell you how much of a difference a sun-soaked course made for everyone. For the pros and certainly for MASH. Today's stage, climbs up from Merced into the Sierra Foothills along historic Highway 49. Its a grueling stage of two dramatic climbs with a handful of smaller climbs in between. An elevation gain of almost 4,000 feet. Had it been raining today...well...I can't even imagine it. Then again, had it been raining and 15 degrees cooler, it would have been snowing. For more of Matt's photos from the Tour, check out flickr.

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If the climbs on Stage 1 warranted me with leading out my blog with “insane”...then I don’t know how to start todays. Sierra Road is a wall. Walking up the thing is challenging enough, let alone riding a bike up it. You climb just under 2000 vertical feet in less than five miles. With a full gear ratio it’s enough to cause cardiac arrest. Yet every single one of the MASH guys grinded it out and made it to the top. Something that other cycling industry friends have since gotten wind of and called me to verify. Truly, truly, unbelievable.…

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Will the rain stop...please? We were seriously having a month of late Spring weather in January. All things in the forecast for next week look beautiful why is it that the one week that spans the Tour of California has to be subject to flooding? It poured last night. All night and into the morning. To the point where the sound of the rain kept me awake for much of the evening. We made our way towards the start of the race in Sausalito but were too close to the pros start time so we got stuck on the 101…

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Insane. That word seems fitting for today. Leading up to this trip, I didn’t question how strong the will was of the MASH crew, but I’ll be honest and say that I had a few doubts about how things might unfold. I’ve ridden sections of some of these stages and have had a challenging enough time with a full set of gears and the luxury of brakes. I wasn’t doubting their determination. Simply the physics. Watching these guys today from the comfort of the Clif Bar biodiesel Sprinter, any preconceived notions of impossibility were completely dismissed. This trip is for…

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Last week at the Clif Bar theater in Berkeley, two very different appreciations for the bike were introduced to one another. Two worlds collided and, over a brief few minutes, started to make sense to those who collectively made up the audience. We hosted the Garmin-Slipstream professional cycling team to give them a proper send-off as they made their way to Sacramento for the start of the Tour of California. We also took the opportunity to introduce the audience that was comprised mainly of traditional bike racing fans to the MASH crew who will be covering the same routes as…

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The new SHOT BLOKS® Fastpak™ is now in stores. Yup, Chris, athlete extraordinare and CLIF SHOT brand manager, worked long and hard to get this snazzy new packaging out the door and here's what he has to say about it... Getting a new product out the door is exciting. It’s also a huge relief. Developing something that was once just a mere concept and then shipping it off to stores without getting derailed by various cosmic conspirators (i.e the law of unintended consequences and the law of the unknowns) is quite a process. Fastpak™ is the culmination of 2 years…

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Karen's back with another nugget...this time, she's filling us in on a New Year's Resolution. I had the opportunity to spend some extended time at home for the holidays with kids out of school, offices and daycare closed. In the spirit of the New Year, we had a chance to talk about some positive changes our family is planning to make in 2009. Coming off the heels of investing in a new high efficiency washing machine and discussing the benefits to our household finances and to the planet, we started brainstorming on other ways we could reduce waste and simply…

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Every now and then, GreenNotes throws a volunteer concert event. It’s kind of like a giant party for music fans who want to give back to their local community. This Fall, volunteers picked up trash, cleared trails, did a little beach cleaning at a few cities around the ol’ U S of A. As a bonus to doing some good for the community, volunteers were treated to an intimate concert from a GN partner artist. All in a hard days work. We’ve gone and posted a few words and exclusive videos from the Fall events on clifgreennotes.com! If you were…

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Karen, Director of CLIF Kid and super mom of four, has a few ideas up her sleeve on how to ease the woes of serving a healthy meal at dinner time... “I don’t like it”—four words every parents dreads to hear at dinner time; I hear it nearly every night. As a parent of four very unique kids with four very different eating styles and tastes, I find preparing meals an exercise in frustration. Wrestling with the pressure of making sure my kids eat healthy, balanced, organic, great tasting meals that introduce them to new foods and expand their pallets…

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We've had a softball team for just about 5 years. David started working here in 2002 and started the team in 2003; we've been trying to get to the playoffs and actually win them the entire time. Ladies and gentlemen, Tuesday night, we won. The odd’s were stacked against us as we had to play not one but two games back to back just so we could be crowned the Co-ed Berkeley Winter League Champions. We beat the Cabrewers (it was a fluke they made it to the playoffs, anyway) and the Salerno's. Yes, their name is tough, because…

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As much as I love working here, there’s a wee part of me that wishes I could take a temporary leave of absence. You see, there’s this Clif Bar GreenNotes Protect the Places We Play contest going on and the grand prize is a trip to Argentina. Clif Bar employees aren’t allowed to enter. We figured it wouldn’t be fair (or legal) if we stormed the contest with our own entries. Over the last few months, GreenNotes has been out and about in Yosemite, Boston and Austin working with volunteers determined to clear trails and pick up litter. They braved…

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I will be in New Orleans in 156 hours, not like I’m counting. I can nearly smell the fried food, hear the jazz bands, see the unpronounceable street signs and feel the effusive hugs. I can’t wait! So, last year I fell in love with New Orleans. It was one of “those” that started as a crush and turned into a love. Something I was ready to commit to. I was fortunate to work alongside 10 Clif Bar employees in Musician’s Village (you can see photos from the trip here) . We partnered with Habitat for Humanity and learned how…

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Give me a sunny day, my guitar, and an audience of trees and I’m a happy camper. Turns out a few of our GreenNotes artists, like Josh Ritter, Missy Higgins and Ben Kweller, like to spend a bit of time in nature, too. The three artists are chipping in and playing a few tunes at three different fall environmental volunteer and concert events this year. A few weeks ago, Yosemite had it’s fifth annual Yosemite Facelift—four days of tidying up after the summer season. A few thousand climbers, hikers and outdoor-ers turned out to pick up litter and make the…

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This Friday, 9/19, Clif Bar Family Winery is teaming up with The Wine Spies for a one-day sale of the winery’s 2005 Gary’s Improv Zinfandel. Here's the scoop on this deal: With each sale, we’ll donate $2 to support Native Energy’s Windbuilders program. The money raised will go towards helping the Rosebud Sioux Tribe build the St. Francis Wind Farm in South Dakota. Pretty neato. Check out all the other projects the folks over at Native Energy have up their sleeve over at the Native Energy website. When you order Gary’s Improv Zinfandel through The Wine Spies on Friday (that's…

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Why in the world would any sane individual run 26.2 miles because they like helping others? Read what Jon Hanc of Runner’s World learned about his experience as guest leader on the Clif Bar Pace Team. *photo courtesy of Runner's World.

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Colleen Cooke here, Clif Bar & Company field marketing rep in Boulder, Colorado sending you all warm greetings from Colorado where the snow is already falling! Yes, folks, snow hit the high country last weekend just as a nice little reminder of the “global weirding” going on! Well, I received another race report from one of our favorite local Boulder triathletes. Though he may be delayed in writing his updates, I do enjoy seeing him out on the roads training—he passed me last week climbing up to Jamestown (a local favorite ride that's absolutely gorgeous!). So without further adieu…

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As a sales rep, you often don’t know what a day on the road might entail; you also never know what you might encounter when you walk through the front doors of your next account. Leaving my last sales call of the day, at a little natural foods store tucked away in Northern California coastal hills, I was assured that the coastal route home was going to be a faster and, of course, a more scenic route home. Well, let’s just say that my coastal route left me lost on a windy redwood tree lined road. No cell reception and…

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Star, Pace Leader for the CB Pace Team, weighs in on what it means to complete her 100th marathon— yeah, you read that correctly... Marathon runners love numbers. We define ourselves by distances—we scoff at the 5K and 10K as just a warm-up, use the half-marathon as "tune-up." We know our marathon times, probably each one of them, to the second. We speak in our secret language of miles, meters, repeats and Yasso 800's. And so here I was, on May 4, 2008, about to complete my 100th marathon. Quite a number. I certainly felt a sense of accomplishment, but…

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Let’s take a moment and bear witness to the transformation running has had on Starshine, veteran Clif Bar Pace Team leader. We all hear about the benefits that running can have on our lives and overall health. But here is the shocking and dramatic imagery to prove it. The image on the left is from when Star began running many moons ago. “My life was boring and predictable. I couldn’t get over that flat and lifeless feeling. Like reading the latest FDA recommendations on health and nutrition,” says Star. Now let’s fast forward 7 years. “I met the man…

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Colleen, our Colorado Field Rep, shares a few words about some pretty stellar athletes she supports. Since National TEAM Clif Bar is oober-packed with super stars, my role as Clif Bar & Company Field Marketing Rep for the Boulder/Denver region took a new angle and I decided to dabble in a new game called “Athlete Sponsorship.” So in addition to developing fun Clif Experiences with Race Promoters, I get to work with some inspiring athletes to help them spread “Clif Love.” And may I say that I have done so without regret! Keeping it small, I have two pro triathletes…

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Another update from the road as Kristian and Marina head to Seattle, WA. After a brief pit stop in Berkeley and the Bay Area, the "duo" headed north to their next destination. A few weeks ago, Marina and I drove up the windy coastline and into the San Francisco Bay Area. Our first day, we found our way to Market Street, where we were surrounded by the rolling (and congested) hilly streets of SF. Days of double parking and putting a single quarter in the meter for five minutes followed… Driving through all these great cities, Marina and I have…

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Competing in their first ever Pro Tour race, the BMC Pro Cycling Team proved that they hadn’t come to the Tour de Romandie in awe of the other teams, as Martin Kohler took an impressive 10th place in the 1.9km prologue. Kohler’s ride put him in the company of some of the strongest riders in the world, as he used his power to finish a mere 2 seconds behind the stage winner, Great Britain’s Mark Cavendish. With a well-rounded team of sprinters and overall race contenders present, the Clif Bar and Clif Shot-fueled BMC team plans on bringing its trademark…

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Kristian's back with another update from his travels up the coast... Well Marina and my great adventure continued from San Diego into the huge metropolitan area of Los Angeles. For our small-city Berkeley ways, we were definitely two fish out of water. I must say Marina did quiet well managing me through the vast highway systems and interconnecting city streets. We did end up accidentally driving onto a movie set, but I'll take the blame for that one. Throughout our travels we've seen a lot of smiling faces, a couple of celebrities, met some amazing people, filled up with Bio-Diesel…

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Fresh from qualifying for the USA Wildwater Kayak team, Jeremy Rodgers, Colorado Clif Bar athlete SMOKED the competition at last weekend’s Salida Pole Pedal Paddle! He and his teammates (Team Clif Bar/KEEN) not only won the entire event as a CO-ED team but they knocked out the OVERALL course record which, according to Jeremy, should stand for a few years! Their skier was 6 minutes faster than the field, while their awesome mountain bike DIVA placed 4th overall on the course that day; Jeremy brought in the team with a 7 minute lead over the next paddler! You would think…

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Last week, I started my four and a half month-long journey with Marina—my companion for the long road ahead (pun intended). Marina, one of Clif Bar's biodiesel-loving Dodge Sprinters, and I will travel the highways, byways, interstates and country roads together, visiting coffee shops, deli's, smoothie/juice shops, and a bunch of other places, talking about our bars, and seeing all the sights along the way. We'll start our journey at the sandy beaches of San Diego and, if all goes as planned, make our way up to the rocky cliffs of Seattle. With the back of my truck filled with…

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Low and behold...more goodness from Mike and the Save Our Snow Road Trip. It's still winter in a lot of other parts of the country and the SOS crew is experiencing it in full force. Snoqualmie You know that feeling where you drive up to a ski area late at night, sleep in a comfortable bed in the back of your vegetable oil-powered motor home and then wake up, light a Java-Log in your wood-burning stove and cook breakfast on it...in a cast iron skillet? No? Well, it's a great feeling and I highly recommend it. This is the way…

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I declare this day to be the funnest day in the history of the SOS tour. Let me start with the night before... We had a delicious dinner with Peter and the NorCal Clif Bar crew at a Mexican restaurant. We then hit the bars with the posse and finally retired to a spacious cabin with a hot tub on the porch. The previous night I had slept on the counter, in the RV with my feet in the sink. So these new accommodations were not just a step-up, but a magic-carpet-ride-to-the-top-of-the-mountain-up. Well rested and ready for anything, we made…

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On our longest leg of the trip, 1000 miles from Durango, Colorado to Lake Tahoe, California we were greeted by an unlikely inconvenience which the SOS tour has never come across…an avalanche. That's right, you try and save the snow and how does it repay you? By covering the entire road in a twelve foot wall of the stuff. The sun was just coming up over Red Mountain Pass near Ouray, Colorado when the slide occurred. Lucky for us, we weren't caught up in it. We were only the second vehicle to arrive on the scene so we probably missed…

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Well I hate to say it, but today disaster struck. On Speer road, in Denver I was in the right lane as a truck passed me on the left, I hugged the curb in an effort to give the big guy some room, but I guess I hugged a bit too close. The passengers-side wheel grazed the curb and caused the steering wheel to cut hard right. It ripped out of my hands and before we knew it we had popped up onto the empty sidewalk and into a concrete wall. Lucky for us, the motor wasn't affected since it…

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The SOS tour, live from the Campus Rail Jam. Today the Cricket Wireless Campus Rail Jam made it's way to the DU campus and we were there to meet up with the event. I gotta say, these events are pretty fun to attend. We just hang out, chat with students and watch kids huck themselves down all kinds of weird rail set ups. Sometimes it's just a mess of skis and boards tumbling down and you'd swear someone just broke a rib, but every once in a while someone gets it just right and that's lots of fun to watch.…

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Mike fills us in on some more adventures from the SOS Road Trip. Telluride: Day 1 After an overnight drive from Denver, we rolled into Telluride groggy but excited. Neither Ben nor myself had ever been to the actual mountain before, and with such a legendary place as Telluride, you can't help being curious as to what the mountain has to offer. Somewhere on I-70, our turbo had stopped working so we weren't very psyched when we found out that the actual "Mountain Village" is practically on the top of the mountain. Regardless of turbo boost, Marty McFry slowly powered…

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The latest and final installment of Emily's St. Baldrick's adventure... What an amazing experience. Neither Michael nor I were prepared for the electricity surrounding the St.Baldrick’s event on Monday evening. We each came with an armful of Zbars thinking four boxes would be sufficient. Upon entering the outpatient area of the Children’s Hospital in Oakland we realized we had grossly misjudged the numbers. There were folks everywhere. Kids, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, friends, people who were just there to show support, volunteers, news crews and hospital staff. Nonetheless, I am sure that our meager gesture made its…

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Emily has only a few more hours left before she chops off all of her curls; and she's got a lot of them. Let the countdown begin... It’s here! Saint Baldrick’s Day! I’m sooooooooo excited. The fundraising efforts have been astonishingly successful. People were so incredibly giving and supportive that I reached my goal in 2 weeks! Then out of the blue, Michael (our Category Insights Manager) upped the ante by offering to shave his head as well if we doubled my goal. “I’m not exactly sure why, but there seems to be an abundance of people with a vested…

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You may know her by the voice on the other end of the phone when you ring the office. Or perhaps by the accurately hand-drawn self-portrait that appears on clifbar.com. Why is this drawing so right on? Well, for one, the hair. Come March, however, Emily may just have to take another stab at this self portrait. Why, you ask? Emily fills us in. So... I’ve been meaning to do this for a while. I've always been identified by the gi-normous pile of curls perched atop my noggin. It’s been my M.O., my calling card and even my alter ego…

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Marty McFly: Wait a minute, Doc. Ah... Are you telling me you built a time machine... out of a DeLorean? Doc: The way I see it, if you're gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style? We couldn't agree with you more, Doc Brown. With the passing of Soy George last winter, we had to go out and get another vehicle for the Save Our Snow Road Trip. And if you're gonna convert a vehicle to run on waste vegetable oil, why not do it in style? This year we found a DeLorean-inspired…

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It doesn't snow in Berkeley, but you can get your fill at the CB&C office on 1/30. We're hosting an evening event to benefit Protect Our Winters (POW) with legendary pro snowboarder and POW founder Jeremy Jones. The evening begins at 6pm with lots of delicious Cheese Board pizza, beer and other tasty beverages, and a silent auction for some killer winter gear before we kick into the programming. Jeremy starts things off with some talk about his big mountain experience and reasoning behind founding POW, and then he’ll introduce the world premiere of the Save Our Snow (SOS) Winter…

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Our office is up and running after being closed down for the last week or so. There's nothing like returning to work after a week off celebrating the holidays. While I stuck around San Francisco, some of us decided to ship off and explore the great-wide world...like Dean, our PR Guy, who went ALL the way down to the Southern California. Inspired by the shopping trip that ensued during his time off, Dean shares his words of wisdom on creating a sustainably-themed living room. Oh, and Happy New Year! Ever try to find sustainably-made furniture? My wife and I have—unsuccessfully,…

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Elysa, our sustainability guru, has some good news for us—support for Focus the Nation just keeps growing. Read on for the exciting news (and details on how you can contribute to the grassroots movement). I'm thrilled to report that one of Clif Bar's non-profit partners, Focus the Nation: Global Warming Solutions for America, reached a milestone this month. More than 1100 college, high school and civic groups have now signed up to participate in a national teach-in on global warming on January 31st, 2008. That means that more than one million people will participate in a day of climate consciousness—something…

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JAC's back with some food for thought from the world of nutrition... Why is it that the only place I can get a proper glass of juice is at my grandma's house? It's not because her Minute Maid tastes better than my Minute Maid, it's because she has juice glasses!  They're small, cute, fit perfectly in my hand and hold just enough juice to be satisfied. The juice glass is a lost piece of common dishware and I'm embarking on a campaign to bring it back!  Besides being cute and fun to drink out of, as a dietitian I'm…

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Whether or not she was inspired by Jessica's record-breaking commute yesterday, Elysa shares some pedal-power factoids. "When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race." —H.G. Wells I love this quote by H.G. Wells. His words embody my own fondness for bikes—not just a love-to-ride-on-two-wheels kind of love, but the sense of hope I get from watching cycling grow as a transportation alternative in our car-dominated nation.  To do my part to promote more pedal power and less fossil fuels, I've been writing my mayor for the past several…

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Elysa knows her fair share about the planet...makes sense given that she's our ecologist. Consider yourself one lucky duck because she's about to share with you the wonderous concept of Zero Waste. November 15th was America Recycles Day and that got me thinking beyond recycling to Zero Waste. I love the power of the term Zero Waste. This sparks the imagination and inspires new ways of thinking about how we live and relate the world around us. Zero Waste means just what it sounds like––producing, consuming, and recycling products without throwing anything away. Zero Waste challenges us to rethink the…

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Ryan just showed me this awesome video from the road and 2 Mile Challenge. Makes me wanna ride. Have you been on your bike recently?

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Paul fills us in on the Furnace Creek 508�yup...that's 508 miles that he rode all himself. He doesn't like to toot his own horn, so I'll do it for him�he got eighth place. The race went well. Of course I had the best crew in the world! I can't explain why I was slower than I wanted to be by about 3 hours! But other than that, the ride went well. The highlight for me was riding through Death Valley during the middle of the night with no concept of time, when my crew suddenly started singing happy birthday over…

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Jessica, our nutrition intern, felt inspired by all of her sniffling and coughing gym-going office mates, to give a go at whipping them (er, us) into shape and give a little reminder of all that does a body best when the seasons change and those pesky, and annoying, colds take over. I could learn a few things from her...  Is it just me, or is every other person sick? Sniffling co-workers frequently ask me, "I'm sick, should I exercise?" Most of us feel under the weather at some point and we all should exercise, so I thought the answer…

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Do you read Grist? It's a feisty environmental news and humor site, that's one of my favorite reads. A few weeks ago, they included Gary in a list of 15 Green Business Founders with some pretty amazing people (many who inspire our work—like Patagonia and Interface). It's awesome to see how other food companies are working to be more sustainable, from treats and snacks (Newman's Own Organics) to yogurt and dairy products (Stonyfield Farm). Thanks for mentioning Clif Bar & Co., Grist!

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You'd think the internet connection high up in the mountains would be stellar—no buildings, bridges, or other cable lines to get in the way. But Colleen has proven me wrong. She's back home now and finally able to send the last three race reports from her Trans Rockies run—albeit a bit late due to the lack of internet service she had (not to mention being just a wee bit tired after running marathons, ultra marathons, etc. high up in the Rockies). Congratulations, Colleen! DATE: Wednesday, September 19th, 2007 If you had told me at any time in my life…

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Day 2 and Day 3 are over and done with and Colleen's got some words to catch us up on her Trans Rockies Run adventure. Colleen and her running partner/teammate Glen (plus a third member as added Day 2) have been running marathons for the last three days so the last thing I could think about doing was cutting her storytelling short, not to mention the fact that her stories are stellar and I wouldn't want to risk leaving any of the fine details out. So, here we go—race reports from the front line of the inaugural Trans Rockies Run.  P.S…

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Colleen, our Rockies field rep, is off and running in the GORE-TEX Trans Rockies Run. When I spoke to her last week, she seemed pretty stoked on running 118 miles over 5 days. I think she's crazy but I'm totally convinced that she'll rock those Rockies like no other. As if running just about a marathon a day isn't enough, she's going to muster up enough energy to send us "race reports" from the trail. Here are two entries to catch up on all the news I missed over the weekend: Date: Saturday, September 15th, 2007 So it's 7:30…

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Just got back from two weeks of epic cycling in the French Alps! Our group started in Neydens, France, near Geneva, Switzerland. From there, we headed south, climbing (and descending) many of the famous cols of the Tour de France. Cols such as Roselend, Iseran, Telegraphe, Galibier, Allos, Vars, Izoard, and Mt. Ventoux may ring a bell for some readers. And, little out of the way cols such as the Defend and Corobin may not be household names but nonetheless offered great challenge and quiet cycling on narrow, one-lane roads. With my cycling friends we traveled briskly, hammering the climbs,…

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This is from Linzi, who used to work here in Berkeley, but now works... well, you'll see: I used to work for Clif Bar on the LUNA marketing team before I moved back to my hometown of Napa Valley, CA. Since I don’t like to commute, I reluctantly left the amazing people, food and family at Clif Bar behind and took a job in the wine industry. I grew up here and I love working with the wineries and local farms, but I couldn’t help but miss my old friends back in Berkeley. Then something fortuitous happened—Gary & Kit decided…

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In keeping with the last post featuring Ginger, here's what was happening on the other side of the office on this quiet Friday. -----

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As you might imagine, the mid-day Clif Bar bike rides can get pretty intense, so when someone new shows up, we’re generally licking our chops while waiting to put them in a world of hurt.  Lately though, we’ve had a new rider coming out who definitely has the skills to hang. Ginger, the English Bulldog, isn’t generally regarded as a strong rider here in the office. In fact, Ginger's usually sleeping in her pod, beside her food bowl, with her tongue hanging out of her severely wrinkled face. Or stealing other dogs’ toys. Or attacking random employees for kicks.  Ginger must be putting…

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Here's a take-action nugget from Shauna, our stellar sustainable food systems manager. Shauna grew up on a rural farm in Saskatchewan; she knows what she's talking about so don't take what she says lightly... Every five to seven years, our Congress passes a legislative bill, coined the Farm Bill, that makes some hefty decisions regarding our country's food and farm policy, affecting everything from food stamps to commodity payments to conservation programs. And when I say 'hefty', we're talking about nearly $100 billion in funding allocated each year to various programs. Oftentimes these decisions are made with little public scrutiny ……

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Ricardo, who claims to have won the 2000 Bay Club "Indoor Triathlon," felt inspired to write a little entry on the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon that happened Sunday in San Francisco. He didn't want to risk ruining his record by participating in Escape but he did get filmed for a television spot that will air when the tri shows on nbc. Maybe, if he's this excited to write about it, we can get him racing next year...Here's his take from the sidelines. Ok readers of the Blah Blah Blog…this entry requires you to lower your voice like the booming baritone…

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June means lots of different things to lots of different people. Some people celebrate the summer solstice, Father’s Day, or perhaps even Flag Day. To an ultra-endurance cyclist, however, June means it’s time for Race Across America. And for those cyclists who are a bit lacking in both the “ultra” and “endurance” area, June means it’s time for the Race Across America 24-Hour Corporate Challenge. Pitting man against the elements, other corporate teams, and eventually his own teammates in the support vehicle, the RAAM Corporate Challenge is a 24-hour relay race beginning in San Diego and ending in Flagstaff, Arizona.  This year,…

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For those of you who followed our Save Our Snow Road Trip last winter, you’ll recall our veggie-fueled RV, Soy George, didn’t quite finish the journey. His transmission fell off in Whistler on the last week of the tour. End of story? Hardly! Mike—(the SOS tour Captain) is determined to have Soy George back on the road for next Winter’s tour. Mike found a similar RV in Seattle with what appears to be a working transmission. Problem is, it’s been sitting so long it  won’t start…  I headed up to Seattle on Friday, determined to make that old RV run and…

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Last weekend, Ricardo, winter sports guru, was down in Southern California for the Golden Eagle Awards, hanging out with folks from a bunch of North American ski resorts. Read on to hear more about the awards and his weekend in balmy SoCal...  This past weekend I cruised down to hot & sunny Palm Springs to present the ski area environmental achievement awards at the annual National Ski Area Association conference. I know it seems odd. Ski area conference in Palm Springs? But if you lived with 6 months of winter a year, wouldn't you want to celebrate the end of the…

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This is what happens when you sneak out of the office for an afternoon ride in the Berkeley Hills. Jeff fills us in on their adventure... knot: noun 1: an interplacement of the parts of one or more flexible bodies forming a lump or knob. 2: something hard to solve. 3: Scott W's chain after descending down Wildcat Canyon Rd. It's a beautiful, sunny day, with a small amount of fog expected to burn off—perfect for our morning ride. There's something about getting out mid-week for a nice 2-hour bike ride. Once past Inspiration Point in Tilden Park, we're greeted with a…

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Come NCAA Tournament time, things can get pretty heated up around the Clif Bar office, and 2007 was no different. This year, with a huge pile of loot up for grabs, the bracket betting was as intense as ever. Although the competition went down to the wire, the clear winner at the end was none other than our own C.O.O., Kevin Cleary.  Kevin picked every Final Four team correctly, and despite a huge charge at the end by Shot Brand Manager (and college sports expert) Chris Randall, in the end it wasn’t even close. Given Kevin’s quiet demeanor and love of country…

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So our beloved podmate, Amy, walks into work on Monday with a distinctive looking bruise on her neck. I know it’s been a while since high school, but who can forget what a hickey looks like. Despite her claims of innocence, we were suspicious. Apparently the war wound was not administered during a lip-lock but while swimming in the bay over the weekend. Training, as it were, for the upcoming Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon. The technical term is wetsuit chafing. However, I’m not convinced. Notice the position and size. Plus, there have been no other known cases at Clif Bar. With…

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So, if you've been reading this for a while, you may know that I'm a synchronized swimmer. After 4 Ironmans, a handful of ultras and a little jaunt across the Sahara desert, I've turned my attention to the power, strength and intensity of synchro for the past four years. Like all sports, there's an element of risk. One woman on my team had a concussion, then, later in the same year, broke a toe. Both were a result of landing on someone after being thrown out of the water. On Sunday night, it was my turn to join the ranks…

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On Monday, April 9th, 2007, five of Clif Bar's NorCal reps embarked on an experimental journey, riding their bikes from Clif headquarters in Berkeley, all the way to Monterey, CA for the annual Sea Otter Classic. I didn't receive Peter's emails until yesterday, apparently the hotel had a pretty dodgy internet connection. He promises to write a whole recap of the experience in the next few days. Until then, these will have to do. Better late than never. April 9th, 2007—The humble bicycle For all of the amazing things that people do on bicycles, I swear, the power of a…

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Nick, Clif Bar Northwest subrep and master mind behind the Green Rail Project is back with an update on how the propane tank is doing up on the mountain. Check out his videos on YouTube—and don't worry, you aren't losing your hearing; the videos don't have any sound. I'm sure most of you are out running or pedaling in the sun thinking that winter is finally far behind us.  In Seattle, we're still making the trek out to the mountains.  The Green Rail Project's been a hit for spring riding, providing a few unconventional features that cater to the…

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This just in from our staff ecologist, Elysa. She's always got little nuggets to share. Have you measured your ecological footprint? The ecological footprint is a metaphor that describes the amount of land area needed by a population to meet their resource needs. It's a sustainability indicator that takes into consideration things like how you get around, your living arrangements and the types of food you eat.  But how much land do we really need to live? Biologically, there are about 4.5 acres of usable land available per person in the world.  Our current way of living in the…

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Nick, CB&Co. sub rep for the Northwest, is back with an update on the Green Rail Project. It's been a long road, literally. After a few months, a million phone calls and a stack of emails, I drove one of Clif's Dodge Ram Biodiesel 2500s about 3 hours through the Cascades to Terry's house in Wenatchee, where the completed Green Rails waited to be picked up. We hired one of Washington's top fabricators to work on the production of the rails, and Terry jumped through every hoop to make it all happen as planned. I wolfed a sandwich, and…

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After several different attempts to get Soy George back on the road, Mike and co-captain Luke make the tough decision to leave him behind and head to a very snowy Washington for the last leg of the SOS winter roadtrip without the RV. Check out Mike's lastest video and see more photos from the tour. Before heading off to our Washington stops in Snoqualmie and Stevens Pass, we decided to take one last stab at getting Soy George back on the road. With the transmission falling off and the bolts that were supposed to be holding it on snapped in two,…

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Elysa, our staff ecologist, explains that small steps really can make a big difference. Two years ago, Tom R. had his "Styrofoam Epiphany." After participating in a company-wide 2080 day to clean up the shoreline, he realized he had to do something. Tom recounts: What was so profound for me that day was that styrofoam was everywhere!!! It had never dawned on me until that day what an evil substance it is. As a direct result, I began sending essentially a customized form letter to any vendor that ever sent us ingredient/product samples packed with styrofoam peanuts. I recounted my…

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As the SOS winter roadtrip is nearing the end, Mike takes on Whistler with Marie, Giselle and Gord. Armed with Cool Tags, this A-Team (minus an under the weather Luke) does a stellar job teaching snowgoers about ways to reduce their carbon footprint. Check out Mike's latest, and quite possibly greatest, video on YouTube. The tour has only one more stop after this weekend but for some reason Soy George must have missed that memo because he checked out early. Remember that broken bolt that we noticed on the way to Jackson? Well, a few more bolts snapped so our transmission…

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Yesterday, I posted Mike's latest video from the Save Our Snow winter roadtrip. Late last night, our trusty driver was able to muster up some free time to sit down (find an internet connection) and send us an update on the Jackson Hole leg of the trip... After stopping by Channel 2—Denver for a quick interview and a display of Soy George's ability to run on cooking oil, we departed with five hundred and thirty miles to Jackson Hole. We found some clean grease in a dirty alley behind a PF Chang’s, which lasted the entire drive through the night. At…

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Nick, CB&Co. subrep for the Northwest, has been working long and hard on the Green Rail Project. Don't know what the Green Rail Project is? Read on to find out... I've been working as a sub-rep for Clif up in the Northwest for about a year and, of course, kept hearing about all their efforts to promote global cooling. And I thought, "How can we get all the skiers and snowboarders pumped about joining the effort?" Some of these kids never watch the news, only ski films; some never pay energy bills, they still live at home; some never think…

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Mike and Luke are still driving Soy George, spreading the Global Cooling love with the Save Our Snow winter roadtrip. With just a few weeks left of the tour, trusty Soy George needed a break. Until Mike has some time to write another little somethin' for us to read, check out this video from their visit to Jackson Hole. If you're jonesin' for something to read, check out Alison Gannett's update from Utah on powdermag.com. -----

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Mike picks up where he left off yesterday's S.O.S Tour blog entry—driving to Colorado. He recounts the crew's adventures as they spread the global cooling love to Aspen and Crested Butte. Check out Mike's latest video on YouTube. Want to see more photos from the road? Head on over to flickr.com. Alison, Luke, Adam from Backcountry Magazine and myself made it to Aspen in Soy George without burning more then a cup of diesel.  Our grease from Salt Lake held out 'til Grand Junction where we found about forty gallons in a downtown sushi joint. The first night in Aspen was…

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Alison, Luke, Adam from Backcountry Magazine and myself made it to Aspen in Soy George without burning more then a cup of diesel.  Our grease from Salt Lake held out 'til Grand Junction where we found about forty gallons in a downtown sushi joint. The first night in Aspen was spent at Alison's friends place. Deb and Jim were welcoming and intrigued about the RV so we sat by their fireplace and talked all about vegetable oil, biodiesel and renewable energy. The next morning we had a hard time starting due to the extreme cold at night. Once we had…

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Mike, Luke and the S.O.S tour get a taste of an inverted weather phenomenon hitting Utah. Check out YouTube to see the latest video and flickr.com for more photos from the trip. We escaped from the Salt Lake smog layer as we ascended to Alta. When we were down in the city just about every person we came across said there was a crazy inversion going on, meaning it was warmer up at the mountains then down in the city. It was sunny and pleasant at Alta, which seemed a little strange. Nonetheless, we were there to have fun and…

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Here's the latest from Mike and the S.O.S Winter Roadtrip. Check out YouTube to see footage from Mammoth and snowboardermag.com to read about other adventures from the road: On our drive from Tahoe to Mammoth, we enjoyed burning 100% waste vegetable oil 100% of the time. Sometimes in the winter it's hard to run on all veggie all of the time but with our heated filtration system, we were able to make it happen. Luke and I rolled into town late at night with no idea of where to stay, so we thought we'd tough out the cold and sleep in…

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This just in from Mike, one of the many folks behind the CLIF BAR Save Our Snow S.O.S Tour. Mike will be driving Soy George, his 1986 veggie RV, for seven weeks, snowboarding with TCB athletes and spreading word about how to limit our impact on the environment and start global cooling. This weekend was cold, real cold. My favorite joke/quote from the weekend was: "Oddly enough three CLIF BAR employees froze to death on the global cooling tour. I guess their efforts were pretty effective."  When Ricardo and I got up to drive the RV to Sugarbowl, it didn't enjoy starting…

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Working for a natural food company that makes mostly vegan, organic energy bars and food, it’s easy for me to forget that there’s a lot of bad stuff in our food system—stuff I don’t want in my body. Seeing a screening of Fast Food Nation (based on the acclaimed investigative book by Eric Schlosser) was a vivid wake up call. The movie isn't a documentary, but is instead a fictional story with characters in the very real-world of American fast food and the meat-packing system. While the plot could be described as chaotic—throwing a lot of people and issues at…

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A few weeks ago, Diana was interviewed about her job here as our Sustainability Manager on lime.com—healthy living with a twist. It's a short overview of some of the work she and the Sustainability team (including Ms. Cassie ) are doing—check it out! Nice job, Diana! -----

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Paul, director of LUNA Pro Team and die-hard cyclist worked at BORP's Revolution Ride Fundraiser on Saturday. Here's what he had to say: "What do you want to eat? Do you want a PBJ sandwich? How about a banana? Can I fill your bottle?" I'm speaking to Alejandro, a cyclist tackling a hard 65-mile course, pedaling only with his hands. You see, Alejandro has no legs. He's a disabled cyclist participating in this year's Bay Area Outreach Program (BORP) Revolution Ride fundraiser. In this unique event, disabled and able-bodied cyclists participate together on courses that will challenge their fitness level and…

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On Saturday, after swim practice, I headed out to an event I'd been meaning to go to for the past 5 years. The Hoe's Down Festival at Full Belly Farm. It was the 19th annual harvest celebration of sustainable agriculture and rural living in the nearby Capay Valley. The organic veggie box we get delvered to the office comes from River Dog Farm, another Yolo County farm just 6 miles down the road. A horse-drawn wagon shuttled me and Thao in from the parking area. Amy, Cassie and a small Clif Bar crew volunteered at the ice cream booth. I…

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So I have to admit that it isn’t often I’m happy with our politicians, but yesterday even the Governator made me proud. I was lucky enough to be at Treasure Island when Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law AB 32—a bill that will reduce California's global warming emissions. There were lots of legislators, agencies, nonprofits and businesses present that worked tirelessly to make this happen—even Tony Blair was there live by satellite! —and it was really cool to see everyone come together. The bill will establish a statewide cap on global warming pollution and dramatically curb greenhouse emissions from California. I’m…

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Recently, my department took a trip to work on two local farms. We started the day at Gospel Flat Farm. It's been owned by the same family for 25 years and they grow all kinds of different fruits and vegetables. They're part of the local school lunch program that's trying to get organic local foods into kid’s lunches. They also sell weekly organic veggie boxes to the community and sell their produce at the local farmer’s markets. While there, we planted some seedlings and spent some time picking weeds from the tiny carrot plants. We also got to harvest some…

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Boston is enduring its first week of class for the many, many colleges that reside here and we've been at the center of the action. We spent the official first day of class at Boston University where instead of grassy lawns and walkways, BU has busy streets and T stops. In conjunction with the "College Theme" we spent last weekend at a College Fair at Hynes Convention Center where new students arrive to get lots of free stuff and listen to great bands. We had no idea what a huge weekend this was going to be and aside from a…

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During the past two weeks we have had quite the adventure adapting to the bustling metropolis, fast-paced life that is New York City. I love the cabbies in New York, they are so eccentric from all over the world and with most of them, I would like to stay in the cab and hear about all the things they have seen in the city. In a one night span of cab rides we felt like we visited the Caribbean, Bombay India, West Africa, a sweet jazz club and a Nascar race. As we opened each new cab door we had…

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A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Chef Al Chase and his partner Donna Benjamin. Together, they’re running the Institute of Culinary Awakening based in Portland, Oregon. Chef Al is a classically trained chef who’s worked all over the country creating and preparing meals. He’s worked in just about every type of eating establishment you could think of from fancy hotels to corner delis to private homes. While working in San Jose, he began to change his own eating habits and made the decision to go vegan. This means that he would no longer eat meat or…

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While its 96 degrees in the shade, and rising, we spent what felt like our first truly relaxing day off in New Paltz, NY, climbing in the "Gunks" and taking multiple trips to the spring-fed swimming hole. Touring through Philly, New Jersey and New York City is definitely a ton of work—between finding parking, navigating the labyrinth of highways and conforming to the crowded streets. We were relieved to arrive in the small town of New Paltz and get back to our "Jackson life"—climbing, swimming and enjoying the hills.   We’re honestly giving our best effort to make friends with…

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Not until I hung out with Adam at Bonnaroo—our moon-walking, bio-diesel-educating, cape-wearing friend—did I truly grasp what MOJO means: a whole bunch of creativity, a dash of crazy and a hearty lust for life. Our MOJO Bars may not help your breakin' skills, but they couldn't hurt. Every now and then we give away stuff on this here blog. Today, it's my favorite, the CLIF MOJO Bar—now 70% organic and full of heart-healthy nuts. According to those folks in white coats, nuts may reduce your risk of heart disease, in addition to the protein they pack. There are no trans fats or processed…

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I've been reading Michael Pollan's book The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Never before have I been involved in a book that's drawn so much attention! Almost every time I bring the book to a public place, someone will approach me to ask about it, either they've heard of it, or just finished reading it. Regardless, they have something to say about it! I'm enjoying the book immensely and would recommend it to anyone—if you eat, then it will directly apply to your life! Pollan does a terrific job of investigating various styles of food production and processing, giving a detailed account of…

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I've been reading Michael Pollan's book The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Never before have I been involved in a book that's drawn so much attention! Almost every time I bring the book to a public place, someone will approach me to ask about it, either they've heard of it, or just finished reading it. Regardless, they have something to say about it! I'm enjoying the book immensely and would recommend it to anyone—if you eat, then it will directly apply to your life! Pollan does a terrific job of investigating various styles of food production and processing, giving a detailed account of…

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As of this very second, 19:44, we're rushing down the highway with some GIANT isolated thunderstorms in our wake. With temperatures toping out at 110 in the shade, we headed for the biggest water park in both the Carolinas, Wet 'n Wild Water Park in Greensboro, NC. Our search for water, slides and perhaps a pirate ship was successful. Just after numerous jumps off the bow of the sunken ship, lightning struck and the storm clouds were in full force. Our third Guster show brought us back down to North Carolina but as of tomorrow, we head back north to…

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We just finished our second Guster show here in Philly, and after doing a few handstands in the hotel room I'm inspired to update you all on the last week. A couple of crazy things come to mind. First, can I just say that the mountain biking in York, PA is awesome! Beyond that, we learned that if the hotel receptionist likes you, you might land a room with a hot tub in the center of it—crazy! I had fairly low expectations for the mountain biking in "Pennsyltuckey," but arrived to find a nice long loop with some unexpected obstacles.…

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“There's something...something on the trailer!” Ashley screamed. I quickly maneuvered the van and trailer to the side of the highway. Both of us sprint from Roxie to apprehend the perpetrator. To our amazement, we discovered a gremlin helping himself to a large hunk of rubber formally attached to the rear tire of the trailer. Ashley calmly asked our new stowaway “what are you doing?" The distinguished Gremlin named Sebastian (after his late grandfather) replied, “ Well I recently decided that eating ducks and small children just isn’t for me. I figured I would try something else and your tire looked…

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What's up CLIF Peeps? Leaving Atlanta and with a few days to spend on the trails in Smoky Mountain National Park was like Led Zepplin playing in the Jackson Hole Tram on a huge powder day—we were stoked! We spent our first afternoon hiking in the rain and taking in the views of navy-blue, misty mountains while walking through a tropical forest. Our plan was to keep hiking on busy trails for two days giving hungry hikers an extra snack. But we awoke to a tent full of water; with no end in sight to the three-plus-day monsoon, we headed…

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Be on the look out for our newest product—LUNA Sunrise, a new bar created with morning nutrition in mind. Sunrise should be showing up on store shelves very soon (if they haven't already). LUNA Sunrise is different from a regular LUNA bar; it has multiple layers, each with their own distinct flavor and texture. It's been a challenging bar to make so I hope you like it!  There are some new ingredients in it like quinoa (my favorite grain), amaranth and barley that make the bar a good source of whole grains. They also provide a nice texture and help…

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My mom's never visited Berkeley, but she's heard all about this place. Likewise, I'd guess the majority of you readers out there haven't been able to swing by. So, Mom and dear readers, here's a little PSA—a video office tour Gary made back in January. (6 MB Quicktime file) It was his acceptance speech for the Outdoor Industry's Innovator Award and provides a peek into what's going on here. The sound's a little funky, and no, Mom, I'm not in it. Enjoy the tour! -----

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The CLIF BAR Natural Energy Tour 2006 edition has begun !!! Having kicked off at the biggest, most eccentric music festival in all the land—Bonnaroo!! After a couple weeks training and hanging out with all our feathered/duck billed and rubber booted friends in rainy Boston, we headed for Tennessee with a short stop to mountain bike at Snowshoe Resort in West Virginia. Along the way we gave shout-outs and bars to other bumper-to-bumper traffic goers, saw the largest radio satellite feature which stuck out like a five-football-field sized dish dropped in the middle of fluffy green mountains and heard some…

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Well, it's all over but the cryin'. Kenny's done with Race Across America (RAAM), cleaned up, shaved, bathed, interviews done, and the crew on the way home. He finished in 4th place in the Enduro division behind Jonathon Boyer, Marko Baloh and Tinker Juarez. Last night Kenny and the crew had their last supper together and the first relaxed meal in a long time. The crew then flew out leaving only Kenny and his son Dalton behind. Kenny and Dalton cleaned up the mobile home and loaded the van on a dolly to be towed back to California behind the…

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Kenny finished Race Across America today in 4th place, Enduro division. Since Tinker Juarez had already finished ahead of Kenny, and Bryce Walsh had been left far behind, Kenny had no reason to kill himself in the final miles. The crew was having fun with Kenny, yelling good-natured insults and ribbing comments over the P.A. of the follow vehicle. I called the crew and asked them to pass the phone to Kenny. "I can't wait to get off this &$^#&* bike," he offered. "This has been a life-growing experience." I asked Kenny if RAAM is what he expected. "It's been…

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It's been a good day for Kenny. Despite traveling through some of the most difficult terrain of the race, Kenny's posting some of the highest average speeds "East of the Rockies." I spoke with Gretchen at about 6:15 PM EDT. She gave me the inspiring update on Kenny's progress. Last night Kenny and the crew stopped at the final time station with a mandatory 2-hour stop for Enduro riders. Bryce Walsh, who Kenny has been chasing for days was also stopped. Walsh took a short break then got back on the road, while Kenny elected to take a longer break.…

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Kenny has now passed through Circleville, OH, on the way to Athens, OH. Things are looking up for Kenny. This morning, the crew left Kenny alone to ride up the road while they picked up some food for him. Crew Chief Gretchen left Kenny with her phone as a precautionary measure. The ever-mischievous Souza decided to make a few calls while riding up the road and I was fortunate enough to be on the receiving end. I missed the call but Kenny left a message, which went something like this: "Hey McKenzie!," he yelled, "They left me with the phone…

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So, a few weeks ago, I was visiting my family in Virginia Beach, VA. At the grocery store, I noticed a small section of organic produce. As I was looking it over, I also noticed that it was packaged in a very unusual way (at least by California standards)—two pieces of fruit placed on a styrofoam tray and wrapped in several layers of plastic wrap!  This caused me to stand there and contemplate the situation in front of me…should I buy the organic produce wrapped in toxic plastic or buy the conventional which is sitting in the open air? Finally,…

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Kenny's cruising along near the Illinois/Indiana border at this writing. The terrain has flattened out again. It's warm and humid but Kenny's moving along nicely. He averaged about 17 mph between the last time stations after a 5-hour rest last night. The crew's tired, Kenny's tired, but they all plug away knowing the end isn't too far off. Best estimates indicate a very late Wednesday or sometime Thursday finish for Kenny. I spoke with Kenny's son Dalton yesterday on the phone. Dalton's excited about this race. He's seen the pain and hardship but is still intrigued by RAAM. In fact,…

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Saturday this writer was a rider, hence the late report. I did the Terrible Two, a 200-mile bicycle ride with 16,000’ of elevation gain. I experienced exhaustion, overheating, dehydration, cramping, and severe fatigue in just a 12 hour ride. It helped, in some small way, to better understand what Kenny is going through. I struggled to finish my ride. Imagine experiencing those feelings day after day, and night after night! It’s simply mind-boggling.   The weather in Kansas and Missouri was epic on Friday and Saturday. High winds, some tornados, and driving rain were the order of the day. Kenny…

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I spoke with Gretchen, Kenny's Crew Chief at 4:30 A.M. PDT today. I told her to call me ANY time as I needed an update. Mobile phone coverage is spotty out there in Eastern Colorado and Kansas! Kenny had a great day! After another long rest in Alamosa, CO, Kenny got on the bike and this time, the legs seemed to be cooperating. Gretchen tells me Kenny requested the time-trial bike and the crew mounted the rear disk wheel. There's something about the time-trial bike and the constant drone of the disk wheel that Kenny finds inspiring. The difference is…

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On Tuesday night, Kenny arrives in Durango, CO with the intention of taking the mandatory two-hour rest and continuing on. However, he isn't in any condition to continue so he and the crew elect to take an additional 5-hour rest. Kenny checks into a hotel and rests. I do the same. It's Wednesday morning now, 6:30 A.M., and I awake in my hotel room with no alarm.  Wow, a good night's sleep in a bed—instead of a car—clean clothes, a shower, a shave, and, well, the other "s." What luxury compared to the previous night! I grab the Super-8 "continental"…

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Kenny emerges from a short rest in the early morning of the third day of Race Across America (RAAM). Not dawn mind you, but still early. After riding through most of the night and arriving in Mexican Hat, UT at 4 A.M. I suppose a few hours of sleep is deserved. At the end of Day 2, I wished for a good third day for Kenny. In all honesty, he wasn't to have a stellar day. Kenny takes off and gets the legs moving while the crew takes care of his every need. They feed him, pump up the tires,…

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The alarm rings at 5 A.M. It's Monday morning, I wake up, pack some clothes, camera gear and head into work to take care of a few last details before heading to the airport. I'm flying to Phoenix to intercept Kenny Souza on day two of his Race Across America (RAAM). From Phoenix, I drive to Flagstaff and arrive just after Kenny checks in to the time station. He's just ridden almost 500 miles straight. I bang on the door of the motor home with my camera around my neck and ask if I can see Kenny. The crew is…

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This just in! Paul, our CLIF BAR photographer and Team LUNA director, is traveling alongside Kenny for the first few days of RAAM. He sent off this email this morning: Hey everyone, Kenny's doing AWESOME!!! In Race Across America, which began Sunday morning, Kenny is sitting in a comfortable third place. All the leaders are staying pretty close together being within an hour of each other after riding for about 24 hours and over 400 miles. Looks like a lead group of 5 is riding away from the rest of the field in the Enduro division. Visit the stat page…

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Was it just me or did anyone else notice how clean and fresh the air was last week? That's what happens when tens of thousands decide to ride their bikes instead of drive their cars. Thanks to Bike to Work Day/Week, more people are making the switch. Why not? If you work within a reasonable distance, pedaling to work is a cinch and it can be as good for your body as it is for the planet! Sometimes, it's even faster than driving. Did you know that nearly 65% of all car trips in the U.S. are less than 8…

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Food Matters! This is one of our mottos at CLIF BAR & CO. We talk about food all of the time—where it comes from, how it tastes, how nutritious it is... To bring this concept to life, we had a special event last Thursday. Chef Darius Somary, owner of SpringLoaf Catering and his assistant came to our Berkeley headquarters and performed quite an impressive cooking demo! The setup was just as you might see on a cooking TV show; there was even a camera pointing at their workspace so that a bird's eye view of their demo could be projected…

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Our mobile marketing gig with Guster's Campus Consciousness Tour officially ended with the last show on Friday. It was a bittersweet ending to an amazing ride. Roxie needed a break and we have to admit, it sure feels good to be in our own bed and reunited with our dog. For the past month and a half we've made Roxie our home and we took the country by storm. Here's a snapshot of our trip by the numbers: CLIF and LUNA were represented at 25 Guster concerts Over 85,000 people were given a CLIF or LUNA BAR and that doesn't include Earth Day or…

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Yesterday, a few of us kitchen-folk went on a community service outing.  Molly, Morgan and myself donated several hours with the East Bay chapter of Food Not Bombs. If you're not familiar with this organization, they focus on providing food to those in need—mainly the homeless. It was a great experience and I was amazed at the generosity of these people. The group cooks and serves food everyday!!! An extremely resourceful organization, they get food donations from local grocers and farmer’s markets that they then cook into a nutritious and filling meal. We sifted through huge bags of lettuce and…

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After our stint at the Green Apple Festival, we headed off to Keene, NH. Andra left NYC a day early to represent LUNA at University of Connecticut which left me, Derin, to cruise from NYC to Keene all by myself. Once we reunited in Keene,  we met up with Seth and Tyler—two of the coolest people you'll ever meet. They're the guys behind the Oil and Water project, a six-leg, world-wide journey promoting alternative energy. We hear they might even drop by the CLIF headquarters on their way down from Alaska to Chile. We grabbed lunch and heard some of their wacky adventures…

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I eat lunch from anywhere around noon to 4:30pm. Time gets away from me, or I'm in one too many meetings. Typically, I bring my own lunch, most often a frozen entree or leftovers. All day Thursday, I was looking forward to my spinach lasagna. 'Round 2:15, I bop out to the warehouse to grab it out of the freezer. It's gone. All that remains in there is a veggie burrito (also mine) and some organic orange sherbert (get name of company/link from Cassie). Just in case I had lost my mind, I checked the other two refrigerators on my…

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We've got some down time in NYC for the next few days...although it really didn’t start out that way. We got corrected on our driving etiquette pretty fast. For one, you better get off the line before the light turns green or the honking starts. The horn is a necessity. Brakes not so much; but a horn and a middle finger will get you a long way. Don’t worry, we didn’t pull out the middle finger but the horn might be a different story—we’ve got to protect Roxie you know. So back to the story, parking a 20-foot long vehicle is…

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Kombucha (kom-boo-cha)—currently, my favorite drink. What the heck is kombucha? It's a fermented drink made from tea. A kombucha colony, made up of yeast and bacteria, is grown in the tea; much like making other forms of fermented foods, the colony lives on sugars present in the tea. Sometimes, it's referred to as “mushroom tea." The flavor of the tea is very unique. Due to the action of the fermentation, the tea is carbonated and has a slightly sour and zingy flavor—quite refreshing! When the tea is ready to drink, there's no sugar left so it's not sweet and has very…

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This is Derin and Andra Williams and we're the CLIF BAR crew that's touring with the band Guster for their Campus Consciousness Tour. It's a climate neutral tour made possible by BioDiesel, wind power and we're spreading the word about global warming, the Breast Cancer Fund, Safe Cosmetics and CLIF and LUNA bars! How sweet is that?!?  Sorry for not getting to you guys sooner, I guess you could say we've been a bit on the busy side-driving 500 miles a day, messenger bag sampling during the day, concert setup at night, 5 hours of sleep, doing it again the…

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I'm fascinated by the history of various foods. Lately, I've been reading a lot about about dates… The date palm, Phoenix dactylifera,  produces a remarkable fruit—the date. These sweet little gems have been cultivated for so long that it's difficult to trace their origins. Depending on their sugar content, dates are classifed into one of three categories: soft, semi-dry and dry. If you've never tried one of the soft types, such as a Medjool, you don’t know what you're missing. They're generally large, plump, soft and the perfect sweetness (sweet, but not too)—a real treat. For some great information regarding…

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Is it ironic that I meant to write this post about productivity, say, oh, nine days ago? Or have I just been so productive doing other things that it's only now bubbling up to my Next Actions list? Two Tuesdays ago, Tara (the CLIF dietitian) and I got to attend a seminar by David Allen, author of Getting Things Done. I picked up the book last year and dabbled with the system he proposes. Spending eight hours with the man himself drove everything home and inspired me to commit more fully to working GTD (you can figure out the acronym).…

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If you've never attended a trade show for the food industry, you don’t know what you're missing. There are all sorts of these things that happen all the time: poultry, organic foods, grocery chains, natural foods, seafoods, you name it, they've got it! Last weekend, I attended the Natural Products Expo. It takes place in Anaheim, CA, right next door to Disneyland. In the world of natural foods, this is the show. It's sort of like walking into a Whole Foods but instead of products on the shelves, there are colorful booths and people there to tell you about each…

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Yippee!! This week marks the 3rd anniversary of Clif Bar being a certified organic product! It's hard to believe that it's already been 3 years. I remember all the work that went into finding the organic ingredients—all the testing to make sure they tasted good and submitting all of the documentation to QAI (our organic certifying agency). We were really holding our breath... what would happen if we missed something?!? Suddenly, we got the call! It came to Chris C., who was heading up the certification process at that time. When he hung up the phone, he jumped up from…

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Your ears will never be the same... Paul (of the many beautiful Mavericks photos) and Dylan (a.k.a. Le Sensation American will be podcasting their adventures from the Tour of California all next week. The race starts on Sunday, with a Prologue in San Francisco. It's a 1.9-mile individual time trial that's going to be decided over the short and steep 250' hill at the Coit Tower finish. The following seven stages will take the riders over 600 miles from the Bay Area all the way down to Redondo Beach. Tune in and come along for the ride!

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Paul took this photo from the media area, on the Air Force base. More to come... Update: the amazing photos are posted on flickr.com/photos/clifbar Photo: Paul McKenzie/Clif Bar

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It's on! Today, 24 of the greatest big wave surfers are going to come face-to-face and attempt to ride some of the most dangerous waves in the world. The contest is called with 24-hour notice, anytime between January 1 and March 31, 2006. The Mavericks Surf Contest is happening. And, not surprisingly, there are a lot of empty desks here at the office and the biodiesel van is missing. Behind me, in pod1, Ricardo and Paul are absent. Next door, Jeff looks lonely as five empty seats surround him, usually occupied by Bryan, Chris, Grady, Lizzy and Elayna. It's even…

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Did I tell you what I did last November? I went on a "Sustainable Living Bicycle Tour." I tagged along with some folks to bike around to schools and teach kids about sustainable living. Who are these people? What did we do? Where did we go? I am glad that you asked! The group consisted of nine people who work on Catalina Island for a program called Catalina Environmental Leadership Program (http://www.celp.net). Schools and other groups of kids come to the island to learn about nature and environmental topics. Since the camp season was over, these folks decided to plan…

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Working at Clif Bar—there are lots of fun sounds to be heard. A few weeks ago, we were having auditions for a Hip-Hop Aerobics instructor. These auditions occurred in the dance room, which is right next door to the R&D meeting room. It seemed that everytime we were having a meeting, it was time for Hip Hop Aerobics! While slightly distracting, it was kind of fun to have some fun, upbeat music and heavy bass drumming during our meeting. It certainly kept everyone bopping around. There's also a band composed of employees who get together weekly to play. They meet…

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Snoring isn't something you'd expect to hear in a workplace environment. I've read a lot about forward-thinking companies that offer napping rooms for employees. As fabulous as this place is, Clif Bar doesn't offer that benefit just yet. (Though you can catch a few minutes of shut-eye at the end of a yoga class, if you're lucky.); But here in my pod/cubicle-esque desk area, there's the slow rumble of snoring. And, it's my own fault, but it's not coming from me. I've entered the hallowed ranks of puppy parenthood. Miss Janie Sparkles has joined my family, and therefore the larger…

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There is something so rich and delicious about coffee that is just impossible to imitate. I have gotten into the habit of having a cup each morning as I turn my computer on and go through my emails. As a result, I have felt myself relishing both the ritual and (I hate to admit) the caffeine, of course. I am not one to enjoy the feeling of habit, in fact, I generally prefer change and in that spirit, I have been attempting to modify my morning habit. I've tried a number of different possiblities: 1. Plain water - easily justifiable,…

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And I can talk about it! A few months ago, I wrote about a new product that was going to be coming out. At the time, I couldn't say much about it, except that I was excited and that it tasted really great. Well, the time has come... the bar is out and I can tell you all about it! It is a new LUNA flavor: Caramel Nut Brownie. Pretty good timing, if you ask me—I've been receiving boxes of candy, chocolate, and all kinds of other "holiday goodies". In my opinion, this bar is rich enough to compete with…

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This morning, I had the most interesting taste experience ever! I chewed up a dried flower bud from the Spilanthes plant and BANG! all these crazy flavors and feelings came flooding into my mouth. I'll try to describe what I tasted, although, I don't know how easily I can do that... It begins very blandly, like chewing on tough dried plant fibers. Slowly, a strong bitter flavor builds that suddenly is the most bitter and sour flavor I have ever tasted. It quickly morphs from bitter to a peppery/spicy flavor, at which point I ran to the sink and spit…

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Today I joined the Virtual March on Washington at StopGlobalWarming,org and I hope you’ll join me. Without leaving home, you can add your voice to a growing movement of people calling for action. We're marching alongside leading scientists; political, religious and business leaders; and concerned citizens. It’s a journey of hope to protect Earth. In reality, I’ve been marching for a long time now. Through my work at Clif Bar as staff ecologist, and in my prior life working in environmental research and education, global warming has always loomed large on the horizon. This is THE issue that will swamp…

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Peanuts - I love ‘em! They are so versatile and delicious in every form I have ever tried - roasted in the shell, salted, ground into peanut butter, honey roasted, chocolate covered, spicy, boiled (a southern tradition), mixed into trail mix... this list could go on and on. At Clif Bar, we use quite a bit of peanut butter many of our products. The other day, I was sampling a variety of different peanut butters to try and choose the best ones for us to use. As I tasted them all, I was enjoying the subtle flavor differences between them…

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So, this blog thing is OK, right? We blah-blah-blah about life here and you get to read about it. Pretty standard stuff. But, wouldn't you like to taste it, too? Besides being readers, you're eaters. (I hope.); Eating is what this office is all about. We have a pretty much endless supply (thanks to Chris T's tending) of bars and gels and things to satiate our stomachs should we get hungry. Erika and R&D share stuff they're working on in the kitchen. Just yesterday, I tasted two variations of my favorite MOJO flavor. So here's the deal: every now and…

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The kitchen at Clif Bar gets a lot of use. Those of us in Research and Development work here everyday mixing up new creations. The kitchen is also used to prepare breakfast for our weekly company meetings, and for the various events that we hold in our theater space. To keep all of the equipment running smoothly, we occasionally have it professionally serviced. Today, is one of those days. There is a drain that needs to be flushed out once in a while—it is the drain from the dishwasher and our large sink. When the drain is opened up, you…

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This morning, the kids came in and paraded around desks, through the auditorium and into offices for candy. Some of us bigger kids dressed up, too! Here are a few photos of your blog authors. For more, look at our flickr.com page.    Happy Halloween! -----

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Two weekends ago, was the 1st Berkeley Juggling & Unicycle Festival! My friends and I (who are all jugglers) collectively decided that the Bay Area needs to have it’s own festival. I had never tried to organize anything like this before - boy, is it a lot of work! We met weekly for 6 months to put this thing together. Finally, the weekend was here, the doors to King Middle School opened (for us) and the people poured in! What a great feeling - to look around and see nearly 300 people having a fun time. It truly felt like…

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Catagorizing this as "office life" may be a bit of a stretch, but since there are three of us here in Poland from Clif Bar, it counts in my book. Grady (marketing), Cristen (finance) and I have spent the past week and a half in Gdansk, Poland working our butts off for Habitat for Humanity. As you may or may not know, we can do community service work on company time. Our Project 2080 donates (at least) the equivalent of full-time employee's hours to volunteer and community work. Fourty hours/week x 52 weeks = 2080 hours. People deliver Meals on Wheels,…

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Several people have asked me what I ate before and during Ironman. I can't believe I didn't include this in the story; it is anyway what we do at Clif Bar, feeding athletes so they can perform at their best. I also think this information might help some of you plan for the Epiphany Ride. Nutrition is so key in any long distance athletic event. It usually is the thing that on race day makes or breaks your success. Sometimes I tell people how much Shot I do on a long ride or race, and they are blown away. At…

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Gary's dad Cliff Erickson just turned 80 years-young and we toasted him with some yummy birthday cake and a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday" by all 150 employees at last week's Thursday morning meeting. He's the guy for whom CLIF BAR energy bars are named. CLIF BAR is spelled with one "f" because when the bar's packaging was developed, it was felt one "f" just looked better. Over the years, Cliff has occasionally taken to signing his name as "Clif." If you've ever called our offices, you've heard him: "Thank you for calling CLIF BAR. This is Cliff speaking. No,…

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Every now and then, someone brings in a new food or a supplier sends us a new ingredient that generates a lot of excitement here among the Research and Development team. We munch on it (maybe a little excessively) for a while, until something new catches our attention. Some of the biggest hits include: Yerba Mate This was huge! We all ordered mate gourds and bombillas and sipped on it all day long. The guys from Guayaki Yerba Mate came over and we had a nice chat with them. Eventually, we got a lot of other people into drinking mate,…

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My head's buzzing from twice my usual day's-worth of caffeine, and I'm trying to imagine life without KT. One of my favorites is leaving the roost (temporarily). We just returned from the Peet's on 4th Street for her last coffee run. After seven years, it's time for a well-deserved sabbatical. Three months off, paid. When I started here, we were in the same pod, my desk right in front of hers. I was the lone Internet person in a herd of grassroots marketing types. She manages the field team, providing their lifeline to our Berkeley office and honing the CLIF…

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Oh, I can't wait to tell everyone about a new LUNA that is coming out! Unfortunately, I can't say too much about it yet, just that it tastes GREAT and will be coming out early next year. Tomorrow, I'm heading down to the bakery to do another trial run of it. I have been working on it for a while, so now is the exciting time when I get to watch my creation become a reality! It moves from something I make in the here kitchen to the production line, from making 5 bars to about 5,000 bars! I expect…

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I'd like to say thanks to my friend Joe, who celebrated is 28th birthday on July 17. He LOVES chocolate, so, in his honor, we held a chocolate celebration!!! There is this awesome place in Oakland called Bittersweet Cafe, a chocolate cafe.It serves different types of hot chocolates, mochas, and baked chocolate goods. There's also a selection of over 200 types of chocolate bars! We chose about 12 different types of dark chocolate and had a hardcore chocolate-tasting party. By carefully and deliberately tasting chocolate, it's amazing how different they all taste. It's like sitting in a winery listening to…

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Last night, I returned from New Orleans. I was there attending an ingredient convention for the international food industry. It is funny because when I was in college, I thought that these people were so cool - I mean, isn't it awesome to learn how to disect foods and break out individual components from them, then add those things to something else? Well, let's just say that my opinion about that has made a complete 180! In fact, walking around that show somewhat horrifys me these days. These ingredient companies tout "healthy foods" but fail to respect one of the…

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I'm out of here for a week. Heading to GA for a swim meet, where there'll be synchronized swimming along with your diving, water polo and garden variety masters (aka, speed swimmers). Cassie, don't be jealous that I'll come home with two gold medals, one for team, the other for trio. SF's Tsunami is unstoppable (until we go to the Hot Tomato Invitational in Sacramento on 7/30.) Y'all play nice with the Internet while I'm gone. And, please don't break the website!

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Sometimes I get a really great reminder of just how awesome this place is. This morning, we had a guest speaker come to our company meeting -- Ray Anderson. I was introduced to him from a great documentary, The Corporation. He owns a huge carpet company and suddenly decided to change his company around to work towards environmental sustainability. Anyway, his story is remarkable, extremely enlightening and inspiring.  It was a real treat to sit and listen to him talk.  He also mentioned several books worth noting:  Paul Hawken's The Ecology of Commerce and his own book, Mid-Course Correction. Listening…

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In April, I saw some really neat things while on my honeymoon in Ecuador, including some new foods that I would like to explore. There is a legume that grows wild called lupin. The plant has beautiful dark purple flowers, and dots the sides of the Andes mountains. The lupin bean is a great source of protein, similar to soybeans, I think that it could offer some great nutritional benefits and would be fun to experiment with. There is a similar plant native to California coast, but it does not produce and edible legume. Quinoa is another neat grain that is native…

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This one's from right outside the kitchen: Clif Bar is a very dog-friendly place. We have a few long-time residents who I have grown to know and love. Scrubby, a stocky, charcoal, older fellow who roams about searching for whatever food he can find. Just last week, he stole someone's bagel at our company meeting! Another familiar face is Grover. He is a tall, lanky, mellow dude that quietly follows my boss around. (You can see his picture on the Contact Us page.) Mick, who I have know since he was a pup, is a goofy and wild-haired Australian Shepard…

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Is this thing on? Welcome to my our little corner of the website to share/rant/jibba-jabber about life here at Clif Bar Inc. My name is Stephen and I’ll be your Web Guy. As omnipotent as Web Guys are, I’m gonna deign (look it up) to share this space with other shining examples of CLIF humanity. Generous of me, I know, but probably better for your reading pleasure. There are some killer people here who I'm honored to call my co-workers. For the past five years, when people find out what I do, the same questions always come up: • Is…

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That feels so much better... Can you tell the difference? Don't my characters look all fancy-nice? Any idea what that picture is? It's a close-up of what used to be under the keys on my keyboard. Vile. I didn't realize how bad it was down there. I was slightly grimey on the tops of the keys, but this tundra of dust, crumbs and random hairs (I don't even want to know...) had set up a shanty town beneath my keys as I typed. I'm surprised this thing works so well. Thanks to a lull in my day, some paper towels…

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Dylan: Those of you who have actually taken the time to labor through some of my lengthier BLOG entries will likely appreciate this one, cuz it's short. My 2 1/2 year-old son is a little motorcycle nut.  I've owned a couple motorcycles, but sold them before the little dude was born, so I'm not sure where his interest in motos come from - maybe it's just a requirement for some little guys (and some big guys).  I hail from a land where the thinking goes something like this: If it's got two wheels and can go really fast it's good.  It can be…

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Erika, but missing a picture: Often, when I tell people what my job is, they ask me (jokingly) if I spend my day tasting bars to see if they are good.  Well, the answer to that question is, "YES!  I spend a big portion of nearly every day tasting bars!"  This is what we call the Clif Bar Inc Taste Panel. Anyway, the taste panel is something that I feel is very important, but I must confess, I get really burnt out on doing it.  Typically, everyone (7 people) in the Research and Development and Quality Assurance departments tastes one…

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Dylan: Some cool news here from the Giro d’Italia. Dave Zabriskie is a local transplant, originally from SLC.  My teammate Jeff raced with Dave when Dave was just a wee little tyke coming up through the ranks of the SLC bike racing scene.  A lot of folks recognized that Dave had some very legit cycling skills even back then. Last year Dave borrowed the spotlight in the Media Center during Tyler Tunes to speak about his first big career stage win at the Tour of Spain.  Dave road for Postal during the last few seasons and is now with the…

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    Tara: To shower or not to shower? Next to when to shower, this can be on of the toughest questions facing a Clif Bar employee. A morning run & a session in the office gym can rolls into the workday – shower untouched – pretty easily. This morning, I had to choose a shower or weight room. No time for both because I needed to greet today’s company meeting’s guest speaker from the Santa Clara County Diabetes Society.   Priorities people, I finished my weight room routine with 5 minutes to spare - he arrived at 8:45am – I spritzed…

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Dylan: Have you heard the news? Looks like Clif Bar has put a team together for the Corporate Race Across America – which is actually only Race Across Part of America, as we’ll be starting in San Diego and ending up in Flagstaff.  Looks like we’ve got a fine crew of lads willing to attempt this rather nutty feat – check out the cast of characters at http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/files/raam2005/riders/Team%20Clif%20Bar_2005.htm.  Yup, somehow my teammate Eric and I got involved in the mix.  Not sure if the others know that Eric and I can’t really climb and we’re not much good in any…

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Cassie: Grady is a guy who works in marketing and he’s putting together our second bio-diesel mobile marketing tour. He needed to host our new biodiesel drivers for two days at the office, fully indoctrinating them into everything Clif. Grady planned a meet and greet and wanted to have snacks. I said I wouldn’t mind taking care of this part for Grady, so off I went to Berkeley Natural Produce (my favorite local organic grocer) and everything was fine until I opened the door to the company van. Everybody knows that at the end of last week, every Californian was…

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Tara: Squeezing my lunch on a shelf this morning I once again moved aside a “low-carb” yogurt.  Can you believe this?! Who thinks low-carb yogurt is necessary? Forget it…. I don’t even want to know.  But really, how much longer can I ignore it? Somebody has been taunting me with this yogurt for weeks, like they are just trying to push the dietitian’s buttons. Of all things, why low-carb yogurt? Where did I go wrong? Doesn’t everyone around here know by now that carbs area healthy? First of all, low-carb is “soooo yesterday”.  Hello my friends - whole grains and…

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Last weekend, I took a little road trip up to northern California, to Humboldt State University.  The motivation for the trip was mainly due to a juggling festival being held at the university, but the fact that it is in the middle of the redwood forests made the trip even more appealing!  My husband and I are both jugglers, we mainly juggle clubs (they look like colorful bowling pins).  Juggling festivals are a lot of fun - there are always cooky people there, especially when the festival is in Humboldt County, which is known for having a plethora of hippies,…

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Mary Kate: This morning as I’m stopping and going on the freeway parking lot from hell, I had to close the window because I was behind a pick-up truck that had no muffler on it. I was fiddling with the radio, drinking my tea, and wondering why the freeway is always so jam-packed on Wednesday mornings. Is it because all those deadbeats who work at home part-time finally decide that Wednesday would be a good day to come into the office? I don’t know, I have nothing to offer here in the way of explanation. So, I turned on the…

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Cassie: If you live in California, read this. It came from my very favorite City of Berkeley energy expert Alice LaPierre, the woman is a genius, I tell you. “PG&E has very quietly announced the return of their 20/20 Cool Summer Savings rebate program.  All residential and commercial PG&E customers (a1 and A10 accounts under 200 kW Demand) can receive a 20% credit on their electricity portion of their bill IF they reduce their energy bills by 20% over the June-July-August-September period of 2005. That's a total of 40% off! All residential accounts are "R" accounts and should be under…

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Dylan: Actually, I’m not a Little Tea Pot at all.  Far from it.  In fact, this entry has nothing to do with little Tea Pots.  That’s sorta the point.  You see, I’m trying to throw Them off my trail.  If I’d titled this entry, "Escape Route,” it would have been all too telling. Sure, maybe the low-hanging poster of climber Steph Davis is going to cause folks to pause and wonder.  They’ll ponder the reasoning in mounting a poster so low on the wall.  I’ll have to say something like, “In Europe, everyone’s hanging posters lower – it’s the new thing.” …

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Erika Last week, I went to a fun training seminar in Los Angeles.  It was held in this great test kitchen, that was set up so that you could make just about any type of food.  One section had a gourmet coffee set-up, with a machine that ground the beans and instantly made you an espresso or coffee drink!  Another area of the kitchen was set up for making ice cream and other frozen desserts!  There was another section for making drinks - set up kind of like a bar.  The main section where we worked had mixers and ovens…

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Mary Kate: I guess that everyone at work thinks there is maid service for the stuff they leave around, like the glasses, empty Fed-Ex boxes, the food and coffee spills in each of the break rooms, the peanut butter coated spoons they leave to “soak”, and the masses of moldy food and outdated yogurt containers stacked up in the refrigerator. Not to mention the person who was drinking a Blue Sky Ginger Ale, and chucked the can in the paper recycle bin!!!!! Hey, you are so busted! I once read an article in the Wall Street Journal, about the ubiquitous…

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Tara: Too Nashville I clamored along with 4000 or so like-minded sports & nutrition junkies where we acted like sponges & soaked up all the significant & insignificant data we could get our hands on.  Research is the essence of the nutrition headlines & guidelines that you read in magazines & newspapers; &, there is nothing like getting the science straight from the horse’s mouth. At the American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting that is exactly what you get, raw science from which I return to Clif Bar with & translate in applicable information. (My nerdy self continues to…

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From Erika: Last week, there was a huge benefit dinner held at Clif Bar.  I think it is awesome that we (the company) do things like this, however, for those of us who work in the kitchen.... it is kind of a love/hate relationship.  For several days, our kitchen turns into chaos.  This has been going on for 3 years now, so I have learned to live with it, but this year, we decided to get out of the office so we wouldn't get frustrated with all of the noise, smells, and traffic running about our office, the kitchen. For…

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Just presented the blog to the Grassroots marketing group. We sure do love our meetings here. Often, I have so many meetings that I don't have the time to do what I said I would during the many meetings. Note to self: learn to say no... to meetings and more work. I swear, I've spent more time meeting about this darn blog thing than I've spent writing in it. Other than Swanner, I'm the only one intimate with the software. Thus far, I'm the only person posting to it under the guise of each individual writer. Need to empower the writers to do it…

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Lately, I have been working on the Lemon Vanilla Cashew Nectar bar. It's been challenging to balance the lemon and vanilla flavors so they are "just right".  If there's too much lemon, it can taste too tart and overpower the vanilla flavor. It isn't as tart as a Lemonheads candy, or anything like that, but I really want this bar to be a yummy "creamy lemon" type of flavor, like a lemon meringue. When too much vanilla is added, it takes over the lemon and you can hardly tell that it is there. This version tastes like a sweet fruity vanilla pudding -…

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I was just at the Natural Products Expo (a big food tradeshow in Anaheim) last weekend. It's one of Clif Bar Inc.'s favorite tradeshows. We debuted our new organic fruit and nut bar, Nectar. Each bar has only five or less ingredients. And, guess what! One bar is the equivalent of two servings of fruit! There are four flavors: • Dark Chocolate Walnut • Cranberry, Apricot & Almond • Lemon, Vanilla & Cashew • Cinnamon Pecan The responses that I heard from everyone were fantastic. I have been working very hard to make this product come to life and taste great. So, it…

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Nectar  -- our newest product -- is an all-organic bar made with fruits and nuts. I am very excited about this product since I have been making similar healthy goodies at my home for nearly 3 years. Now, it's evolved and become a new Clif Bar Inc product! The first day of production was a success. After a very long 13+ hour day in the bakery, we have all 4 flavors wrapped in the beautiful new package.  It is always a great feeling to be the first person to bring a new product to the office, since everyone is always excited to see and taste…

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Janet is the wellness DIVA here. It's easy to see how she more than merits the title. She's the queen of our wellnes program, champion of they gym, overlord of concierge services and so much more. But, like a true Diva, you don't want to get on her bad side. Check out this email she just sent: You said you wanted a climbing class. Some said it was probably the only workout class you’d attend here. I found an instructor, I asked you which days would be best for you. The majority said Thursday! Today is Thursday, March 3rd, the…

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I am getting married in about 2 weeks, and I am going to make my own (all-natural, vegan & healthy) wedding desserts - tarts, to be specific. I have been experimenting at home with various flavors to see which ones work the best. Flavors like dark chocolate & mixed berry, Myer lemon creme with blueberry sauce, banana and mango. They are all turning out great.... maybe it will spark a new product idea?!

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