
Recycle Cycle
East Sacramento's electric bike shop
An unemployed engineer and an e-waste recycler walk into a bar. The engineer takes the recycler’s electric bike for a spin. And, a year later, The Electric Bike Shop opens its doors in East Sacramento.

Personal Training
Learning how to live independently
Somebody stole Derek Finstad’s backpack.
He left it in the locker room at a gym in Yuba City, where he
works. But when he went to retrieve it, the backpack — with his
keys, checkbook and other materials — was gone. Finstad wasn’t
happy.

Working Lunch with Matina Kolokotronis
Matina Kolokotronis was on maternity leave from a local law firm when she got the phone call that changed her career. The caller said: “Hello, this is Geoff Petrie with the Sacramento Kings. I understand that you’re Greek and that you’re a lawyer. We just drafted a Greek player by the name of Peja Stojakovic, and we need some help with his contract.”

Bringing Home the Torch
The Sierra sets its sights on 2022 Olympics
Fifty years after the VIII Olympic Winter Games in 1960 brought the world to the slopes of Squaw Valley USA, and after years of toil and dashed hopes, a two-state effort aimed at bringing the games back to the Reno-Tahoe region in 2022 is gathering steam.

Solid as a Rock
Public-private partnerships spawn Granite Regional Park
Sometimes success is about seeing the potential of a hole in the ground. Well, it also takes a lot of meetings too; just ask the guys who turned the gravel pit on Power Inn Road into what is now Granite Regional Park.

Snowboarding the Web
Bring the slope-loving community together online
Before Twitter or Facebook, Mike Harrosh was hard at work on a plan to translate the vibe, camaraderie and passion of snowboarding culture to the Internet landscape.
Play Big — and Smart
Let's get this arena plan moving
This month, Mayor Kevin Johnson’s Sacramento First Task Force will make recommendations as to how the city could get the most value from a proposed sports and entertainment complex.

Stronger Than Steroids
One family's battle with performance-enhancing drugs
Efrain Marrero’s friends and family described him as caring and gentle. Never a troublemaker or much of a risk taker, it came as a shock to the community when the 19-year-old college athlete was found dead in his family’s home.

The Going Rate
Exercise gizmos in the 21st century
Bruce Coolidge, programming director for Capital Athletic Club in downtown Sacramento, wears a Garmin Forerunner 305.

Extreme Executives
Out of the office and where the wild things are
While some business people are perfectly content golfing or playing tennis in their time off, others apply their competitive spirit to more extreme pursuits. These high achievers share several characteristics: They search far and wide for challenges, they’re competitive, they have uncommon amounts of energy and they have the financial means to travel, whether to climb Russia’s Mount Elbrus, kite surf in Brazil or hunt rare black impala in South Africa.