Yehuda Moon
Reader Seth tipped me off to this great cycling comic, Yehuda Moon and the Kickstand Cyclery. From the website, “Yehuda Moon lives on his bicycle, works at the Kickstand Cyclery, and dreams of a day when everyone does likewise.”
I identify with the strip from March 17th (pictured above), as people always ask me why I carry so much stuff to work.
bike lanes on the opinion page
hat-tip to Ellen and Dale.
cyclist killed in Raleigh by drunk driver
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Photo credit: 1304bikes collective, via Flickr
Ghost Bike installed in the location Nancy Antoine Leidy was struck and killed by a truck on April 23.
http://wral.com/news/local/story/2782676/
http://wral.com/news/local/story/2782676/
http://www.ghostbikes.org/
“Ghost Bikes are small and somber memorials for bicyclists who are killed or hit on the street. A bicycle is painted all white and locked to a street sign near the crash site, accompanied by a small plaque. They serve as reminders of the tragedy that took place on an otherwise anonymous street corner, and as quiet statements in support of cyclists’ right to safe travel.”
This is the first Ghost Bike I’ve seen in the Triangle. They’re visually striking and moving to see in person.
Bike to Work week festivities in Durham planned
From the BPAC website…
Celebrate National Bike to Work Week (May 12-16) with the Durham Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission.
On Wednesday, May 14, there will be a “Cyclists’ Social” at Tyler’s Taproom Restaurant in the American Tobacco complex, 324 Blackwell St. from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. with free food and giveaways for cyclists.
On Friday, May 16, there will be a “Bike to Work Day Breakfast” at Mad Hatter’s Cafe and Bake Shop, 1802 W. Main St., from 7 to 9 a.m. with free food, coffee, and prizes for cyclists. Mechanics from the Durham REI store will be on hand to provide free safety checks and basic adjustments to your bicycles, as well as handing out water bottles and 15% discount coupons.
Questions? Contact Dale McKeel, Durham Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator, at dale.mckeel@durhamnc.gov or 919-560-4366; or Commission member Diane Daniel at didaniel@aol.com or 919-286-9293.
Slate V’s stupid bike lanes campaign
The request…
The results…
Are we sure they’ve found it? Isn’t Duke University’s Campus Drive bike lane a contender?
Bull City Bicycles, the video
http://www.vimeo.com/932536Bull City Bicycles is a project I’ve been working on for close to a year now. Digging through archives for photographs and history on Durham’s cycling community, I stumbled upon H. Lee Waters.
Waters was a studio photographer from Lexington, NC in the early part of the 20th century. During the Great Depression, he shuttered his studio and hit the road to earn a living. He owned a 16mm film camera and a projector. He traveled to towns (117 in all) throughout NC, SC, VA, and TN; set up his camera; and captured street life on film. He would return home to edit each film, then revisit the town with a final cut. He presented his films in local movie houses, charging admission for townsfolk to see themselves on the silver screen. Footage from his visits to Durham are collected together under the name “H. Lee Waters Durham: 1937 — 1942.”
The Durham Business and Professional Chain produced “Negro Durham Marches On” in 1948. It remains one of the only sources of motion-picture documentation of the Hayti community.
The footage in Bull City Bicycles comes from these two films. A VHS copy of each is available at the Durham County Library. You can read more about H. Lee Waters here.
My film is a work in progress, and I’ll continue to update it (and this site as well) when there is something new to share. I owe some special thanks to the Linda A. Ironside Fund for the Arts Award from Triangle Community Foundation for making it possible for me to continue working on this project.
For now, enjoy the throwback to the ’30s.
Gears and Cheers bike ride, May 31st
In French Revolutions, British comic author Tim Moore lays out the case why drug use will never cease to be a part of cycling: simply put, it’s been there from the beginning. To Moore, the history of the Tour de France is the history of drug use in cycling. And early on, that drug use had very little to do with performance gains and had a lot to do with pain endurance. Riders would stop for lunch (with each other), drink copious amounts of wine, and then remount their trusty steeds for the remainder of the day’s pain.
Elizabeth Page, ride coordinator for the Gears & Cheers Bike Ride, wrote to me to let readers of this website know about a local cycling event that recognizes the civilized place wine has in cycling’s traditions. “This is the second year Grove Winery is hosting the ride which benefits the National MS Society,” says Page.
mmm… bikes and wine. Wine and bikes.
Wine tasting comes after the rides, however.
Grove Winery proudly presents
2008 GEARS & CHEERS BIKE RIDE
The only ride where wining is allowed!Saturday, May 31st
Fully supported 25 and 40-mi routes
Historic Chinqua Penn Plantation featured on the 40-mi route$35 registration includes ride support, lunch, event glass,
complimentary beverage, music by Expresso Brazil ($40 after 5/21)$15 Non-rider package includes lunch, event glass,
complimentary beverage and musicNew this year – Pre-ride Party and Registration Pick-up
Friday May 30th – 2 locations
-Trek Bicycle in Raleigh
-cycles de ORO in GreensboroCycling, picnicking, live music, wine-tasting, vineyard tours, and more!
Fun for everyone!Grove Winery is located north of I-85/I-40 between Greensboro and Durham on the Haw River Wine Trail near Elon. Ride benefits the National MS Society
Elizabeth Page | Ride Coordinator | 919-787-7706 | lizdan@nc.rr.com
There will also be some local artists at the winery this year during the Gears & Cheers ride, so May 31 sounds like a real cultural event.
Register here.
first look at Mangum St. parking garage
Please enable Javascript and Flash to view this Flash video.Music: Indra, by Thievery Corporation
ATT bridge over I-40
The design firm hired by the City of Durham to design a bicycle and pedestrian bridge over I-40 is hosting their second public meeting.
Even though the bridge over I-40 is approximately only 200 linear feet of the overall four miles being added to the American Tobacco Trail in Phase E, the bridge is the reason so many folks turned out to the first Public Meeting; Bridge Project. Sponsored by the City and Steven Grover and Associates, the architecture and engineering firm contracted to design the bridge, the meeting in November was standing room only.
Hello Friends of the American Tobacco Trail,
Mark your calendars! The second Community Meeting about the planned pedestrian and bicycle bridge crossing of I-40 for the American Tobacco Trail (ATT) will be at 7PM on Tuesday, April 29, 2008. This time the meeting will be held in the larger city council chambers on the first floor of Durham City Hall (101 City Hall Plaza) in downtown Durham.
This meeting, which will be hosted by the City of Durham Department of Public Works (and facilitated by Steven Grover and Associates) will focus on a selection of bridge concepts and designs for this long anticipated bicycle and pedestrian bridge.
This is your opportunity to get information -and more importantly – offer feedback, suggestions, thoughts, concerns, ideas, needs, goals, desires and other input to help make this bridge and connecting trail, the absolute best it can be.
We hope we’ll have another standing room only crowd at this meeting as it sends a clear signal to elected officials, NCDOT, the media and the public at large that there is significant demand for this project and for it to be completed as soon as possible.
Please share this information with everyone you know who is interested in the ATT and in improved pedestrian and bicycle access in the region.
Should you have any questions or input regarding this meeting, please contact Byron Brady, PD CPESC, Contract Engineer, City of Durham at 919 560-4326 x 296 or byron.brady AT durham.gov .
If you have any questions regarding this message, or want to chat about the trail or bridge, or don’t know who to ask or talk to about your ideas or concerns, please feel free to contact Bill Bussey Triangle Rails-to-Trails Conservancy 919 545-9104 americantobaccotrail AT embarqmail.com or me at 919 286 3827 daclever AT gmail.com
For more information on the American Tobacco Trail please see our website at www.triangletrails.org . I will send directions to city hall closer to the meeting date.
See you there!
Dan Clever
Triangle Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
919 286-3827Bill Bussey
Triangle Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
919 545-9104
americantobaccotrail@embarqmail.com
Dan Besse: another cycling-friendly candidate for Lt. Governor
After profiling Hampton Dellinger, a candidate for Lieutenant Governor, as a Bull City Biker, several readers encouraged me to contact Dan Besse. Besse is also a candidate for the second-in-command position, and he has a good reputation in certain bicycling circles for the work he’s done to extend Winston-Salem’s greenway system.
I offered to profile him as an honorary Bull City Biker — honorary because Besse, 53, prefers Triads to Triangles and running shoes to clipless shoes.
Bike(s) you own and ride regularly: I’m mainly a runner–but at any given time I try to have an old used “clunker” on hand. Ironically, I don’t mind pedaling harder so that I don’t have to take the trouble to deal with multiple gears.
What’s your primary flavor of riding? Exercise and short trips. Mostly on the street.
What’s the length and frequency of your average ride? Highly irregular. My biking goes up when my knee is acting up, and my running mileage perforce comes down.
Why did you start riding and why do you still ride? As a kid I walked or biked everywhere for fun and independence. Now, it’s great exercise.
What’s the most unusual thing you’ve seen while out for a ride? Well, there was the day when I rode out of town about 30 miles only to realize that my smooth swift ride was with benefit of a stiff tailwind. On the way back, I saw 30 miles expand to about 300–or so it seemed.
How would your world be different if you wake up tomorrow and there are no more cars? It would be time to buy a better tire pump.
What’s one thing Durham could do to become more bike friendly? Marked bike lanes on more roads.
What will you do as Lt. Governor to make bicycling a more viable transportation option in North Carolina? I’ll be happy to help push the state legislature and DOT to boost funding for bicyling projects. I’ll also press them to follow through on the policy of including pedestrian and bicycling features on every project where practical. A more aggressive state program to link cities and towns via greenways with multi-purpose paths is needed as well. (Expanding our greenway system has been a particular project of mine for years.)
As a Winston-Salem City Council member and a leader in regional transportation efforts, I am seeing increasing attention to alternative transit efforts–and I am doing my best to continue this trend. We should increase cooperation between local and state levels in implementing biking-friendly programs and development planning. Planning and policies which include walkable/bikable communities and transit-oriented development should be linked to state transportation funding.
Tailwinds to both Dan Besse and Hampton Dellinger’s campaigns.
It’s refreshing to have candidates running who recognize that a bicycle is more than a child’s toy. Given the rising price of gas, a state known for sprawl, and a relentless war fought over oil, it’s perhaps not surprising that cycling (as a transportation alternative to single-occupant driving) is a political issue. Nonetheless, NC DOT still behaves as an extension of the automotive industry, and putting some progressive leadership in the Governor’s and Lieutenant Governor’s offices will provide some needed redirection in setting transportation priorities.
Early voting started this morning and runs through May 3rd. If you’re not registered to vote, you can register and vote (through early voting only) all at once — Durham County calls it One-Stop Voting. Early voting/One-Stop Voting locations in Durham are:
Durham County Board of Elections
706 West Corporation Street
Monday to Saturday, 9AM to 5:30PM.North Carolina Central University
Parish Center Meeting Room, formerly Holy Cross Catholic Church,
1400 South Alston Road
Monday to Saturday, 9AM to 5:30PM.North Regional Library
221 Milton Road
Monday to Saturday, 9AM to 5:30PM.
And the primary is May 6th.
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