Hot wheels: Today’s adult tricycles are low, sleek, speedy, and finding a larger fan base

With sweat beading on a hot August morning, Howard Quinn of Catonsville paced the pavement at Mt. Airy Bicycles in Carroll County, Md., studying recumbent tricycles that he and his grandson, Freddy, could share. After neck surgery, Quinn tires quickly on a bike, and the boy has trouble balancing on a two-wheeler.

“It’s in first gear,” Tom Hill told Freddy, situating him on a seven-gear Delta model priced at $1,399. “Here’s your hand brake.” He sounded like a salesman, but Hill, 61, of Damascus in Montgomery County, doesn’t work at the shop. He’s a customer — a frequent customer, having bought three trikes in nine years after undergoing back surgery.

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Patients facing serious illnesses, chronic diseases find benefit in working out together

The group of about 10 women kept inching toward the door, but then the topic would change, and they’d pause to hash it out. The Life with Cancer circuit training class at the Life with Cancer Family Center in Fairfax, in which they’d squatted, curled and stretched had ended 15 minutes ago, but the socializing afterward seemed just as essential to their well-being.

“I call it parking lot counseling,” said Debra Banning, an Annandale resident who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015.” We would walk out together, and we’d share our stories and help each other and talk it out. I wasn’t one to go in and have talking groups, so this is like an oasis.”

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How data centers power Virginia's Loudoun County

With 70 percent of the world’s internet traffic passing through the 10 million square feet of data centers situated in Loudoun County, it’s tempting to say that they put the Northern Virginia district on the map. But Buddy Rizer, executive director of the county’s Economic Development Department, might give AOL credit for that.

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Empathy, patience and more — when kids visit assisted-living facilities, everyone benefits

“It’s your turn. Try to get a strike — but I’m winning,” my 6-year-old son, Jared, told a resident of the memory care unit at Sunrise at George Mason, an assisted-living facility in Fairfax.

She rolled the plastic bowling ball. All the pins fell. She smiled. Not one to lose gracefully, Jared mumbled, “Good job,” and flopped onto an ottoman to sulk while his friends Brice Bartley Jr., 10, and Marilyn Bartley, 8, set up the pins again.

Nearby, my daughter, Ellie, 8, giggled as she tossed a balloon to our favorite resident: my mom, Loraine Collins, 83, who has lived in the unit known as Reminiscence for two years.

This was a typical scene on Thursdays this summer when my kids and a revolving handful of their friends, ages 2 to 10, visited as volunteers, part of Sunrise Senior Living’s Intergenerational Program to encourage engagement between the elderly and youngsters. The children made bead bracelets, played ring toss and generally entertained the 20 or so residents who have cognitive impairments such as Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

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Adventure After Adventure: Locals Guide to Loudoun County

Not so long ago, going 30 miles outside Washington, D.C., to Loudoun County was akin to making a day trip. Now, there are tons of reasons to make the drive – and take the kiddos. Named after John Campbell, the fourth earl of Loudoun, a Scottish nobleman and titular governor of Virginia from 1756-1759, the area started being settled in the late 1720s. A center of agriculture for more than 200 years, the arrival of Dulles International Airport in the 1960s initiated a transformation of the county by attracting businesses and residents. Today, about 330,000 people live in the 520-square-mile county, which is one of the country’s wealthiest. Check out the latest developments or let loose in the great outdoors.

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Neighborhood Guide: All Day in Arlington

Just a short drive over the bridge – or a few bridges, depending on where you’re headed – sits Arlington, Va. Founded in 1801, Arlington has grown into a bustling urban area in its own right. With most of the action huddled around Metro stops on the Blue and Orange lines, some of the most densely packed and walkable areas are in the Ballston-Clarendon-Rosslyn corridor. Its 25.98 square miles are full of family-friendly activities, educational experiences and history. Here are some not to miss.

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Have a Blast in the ‘Burbs: Fairfax County

Locations beyond the Beltway get a bad rap for being “too far” from the hubbub of the District, but the ’burbs have more to offer than shopping malls. Fairfax County, for example, has quite a rich history, dating to its founding in 1742. On June 1, 1861, the first land engagement of the American Civil War was fought here, and later the dairy and technology industries put the area firmly on the map. Today, Fairfax is Virginia’s most populous county, with more than 1.1 million residents, and it has the second highest median household income. If you find yourself within its 406 square miles, check out some of these notable places

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Olympics fever? Here’s where you can try 5 winter sports in the D.C. area.

If watching the Olympics stirs feelings of longing in you, awakening a latent desire to compete, stand on a podium during a medal ceremony or simply be that fit, well, you’re not alone. Local businesses that offer classes in popular Olympic sports often see enrollments spike around the Games, which kicked off Friday in South Korea.

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Health agency looks to app for help with litter cleanup

Officials at the Gallatin City-County Health Department in Montana are using an app to document cigarette butt litter to push for new policies related to tobacco use.

Using Litterati, two Health Department staff members, employees at other departments and members of the community at large are documenting litter related to tobacco use. In eight and a half hours of work, app users documented almost 4,000 pieces of cigarette butt litter -- 1,515 pieces in five city parks and 2,400 in a five-block area of Main Street in downtown Bozeman.

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Technology is changing home workouts for the better

It used to be that working out at home meant donning leg warmers and popping a Jane Fonda or Richard Simmons tape into the VCR. These days, though, technology has made the at-home exercise options seem endless.

There are big-box gyms that bring personal trainers to you through apps. For instance, Gold’s Gym launched Gold’s AMP in October as a “digital personal trainer” that coaches users through workouts, including walking, running, biking and rowing, for $9.99 per month.

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Making friends as a new parent is hard. These apps can help.

When Erika Bugaj Petrova became a mom five years ago, she had to flex her “friend-making muscle” to connect with other mothers. Despite having a new baby in tow, she felt alone. Some days it was just easier to stay home.

“It was just me and the baby at home, and that can be very isolating,” said Petrova, a clinical social worker and the director of Dandelion Psychotherapy in the District. “You have to make a conscious and determined effort to get out into the community and attend activities that will help you connect with other people.”

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