Saturday morning, 9AM, it’s a little above 40 degrees. Between three and four hundred riders gather downtown, near the new American Tobacco complex. As the countdown to the start begins, all bikes are facing the same direction. Riders are ogling each others’ bikes and dancing little jigs to stay warm. Bright jackets and black tights [...]
Phillip Barron The Herald Sun October 27th, 2005 DURHAM — On Saturday, November 5th, you’re invited to come out and support the Hillside High School men’s varsity and junior varsity basketball teams. Basketball? Wait, this is the cycling column. Well, the basketball teams are going for a bike ride. The second annual Ride with the [...]
Cafés make me happy. Or, maybe just café makes me happy. Either way, I know what I like, and I have an easy time falling in love with cafés when I visit other places. But I’m having a hard time finding one to love in my own hometown. I’m not so sure it’s a “grass [...]
Fishing boats return to the shore in the afternoon. Cape Coast, Ghana (ca. September 1997)
Phillip Barron The Herald Sun October 13th, 2005 DURHAM — In April 2004, I took a road trip to the Grand Canyon. Just inside the Arizona state line, I stopped for gas. I’d always heard that gas is more expensive on the west coast, and here was proof. The price of “premium” gas began with [...]
Newspaper columns often have catchy (if not kitschy) monikers. The paper I write for decided that my column on cycling should have its own unique name. Since I work in a place with a lot of exceptionally literate, creative people, I put the challenge of naming my column to my wordsmith colleagues. This list of [...]
This month’s Cruiser Tuesday was decidely darker than the last one… the sun had set before the ride even began. All this just meant that it was time for riders to show their creativity through lighting. Here we have, direct from the west coast, the Down Low Glow. With a theme that blended sci-fi and [...]
One of the things I love about bicycles is their near universal use in transportation. Bikes are available in just about every country, they are used by people of all income levels, and they take on a variety of shapes, designs, and purposes. Sure, there are some brand names of bikes and components that are [...]
By Wednesday of last week, the U.S. Senate joined the House of Representatives in declaring Saturday October 1st, national Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day. About 12 kids showed up with parents in tow to the Lake Crabtree event, one of three TORC sponsored events held locally. They had a blast, learning everything from how [...]