Column: Breakfast’s goal is to unify area bike commuters

The Herald Sun
February 24, 2005

“Bicycle Commuters Unite” says the flier Alison Carpenter has been passing out recently. She’s trying to get the word out about Durham’s first Bicyclist Breakfast.

From 7:30AM until 9AM Friday, bicycle commuters will be stopping by Ooh La Latte Coffeehouse, 1116 Broad St., on their way to work.

Who’s invited? Anyone who loves bikes.

Carpenter, Durham’s new Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Coordinator, hopes the get-together will become a regular monthly event, something to bring “cohesion, solidarity to the downtown [bike] commuting group.”

Bikers’ breakfasts have been successful in towns like Charlotte and Boston, and are as much about diversity as about unity. That’s because people rides bikes for a lot of reasons. About the only thing they’ll all have in common tomorrow is a love of the bicycle. That and helmet-hair.

Bicycle commuters, simply by virtue of their mode of transit, are often seen as self-reliant people. Solitary figures, hunched over their handlebars, negotiating with tons of steel for a few feet’s width of pavement. It’s an image to make Ralph Waldo Emerson proud.

But it’s no fun to bear the weighty burden of autonomy all the time. Aristotle, recognizing us as social animals, characterizes the most meaningful life as one with elements of both self-reliance and friendship. Sometimes even the independent folks want a little company.

What’s on the agenda?

“Eat, drink, be merry, and talk about bikes, of course,” says Carpenter. Actually, there is no agenda. It’s not a meeting; the Bikers’ Breakfast is just an excuse to meet some of your fellow cyclists and ponder the big questions in life: aluminum or carbon fiber? (”Steel is real” someone shouts out from the back.) Fox Forx or Marzocchis? A backpack or a messenger bag? In the interest of getting to work on time, however, we may have to agree to disagree.

So stop by tomorrow morning, refuel with caffeine, conversation, and camaraderie, then head on to work knowing that you’re part of a community.

Column: TTA has rescue plan for bikers

The Herald Sun
February 10, 2005

On the one day you forget to carry a spare tube, patch kit, or pump in your pack you feel your front tire roll unsteadily around corners.

You arrive at work as the remaining useful psi’s escape with that dreaded hiss. A shard from the broken bottle on the side of the road that you didn’t see until the last minute, catches the sunlight from where it sits halfway in your tire.

Anxiety over being stranded at work by a flat tire, a broken chain, or unscheduled overtime is a big reason that people don’t try bike-commuting.

Until recently, cyclists had to rely on sympathetic co-workers or their own wallets/purses to get them home. But now, if you register for the Triangle Transit Authority’s Emergency Ride Home program, TTA’s got your back.

Here’s how it works: TTA issues registered users a voucher good for “a reliable, emergency ride home on the day the person has used an alternative mode of transportation to get to work.” When you find yourself stranded, call one of the transportation providers that TTA has partnered with — a taxi if your ride home is less than 20 miles, a car rental if it’s more than 20 — and the voucher is your payment.

It’s that simple. But you have to be a registered user, so sign up now. Don’t wait until there’s an emergency.

TTA’s not just there in emergencies; they’re helping bikers get just about everywhere they need to go with a bike rack on the front of every bus. The $1.50 fare (going up to $2.00 in March) will get you and your bike anywhere within the Authority’s region of coverage — from Franklin St. in Chapel Hill to New Bern Ave. in downtown Raleigh, from Duke to Garner.

Since DATA, Chapel Hill Transit, and CAT also have bike racks on the fronts of their buses, you can use TTA to travel between towns and the municipal systems to travel within them.

But most of the time, the greatest help to a cyclist isn’t a lift in an automobile, it’s camaraderie.

If you’re looking for someone to ride with on those cold mornings, TTA has partnered with Share the Ride NC to help you find other cyclists who share a similar route and destination.

Linking from TTA’s website, you can access Share the Ride NC’s database of bicycle commuters interested in sharing their morning or evening commute with other two-wheeled companions.

Commuters enter basic information like starting point, destination, and approximate time you leave or arrive at work. The program matches you with other cyclists in your area.

Besides, a good riding buddy will carry spare tubes and pumps even when you forget yours.

Route maps, fare information, and registration forms are all available on TTA’s website. You can also request registration forms by calling 919-549-9999.