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Mike Halligan: Bull City Bikers

When Mike Halligan isn’t skating across frozen bridges, he’s reclaiming thrown away objects for recycling. Just last week, the Warehouse Manager at Morgan Imports rescued a Schwinn Suburban from a downtown dumpster after spotting it from a Lull forklift. 

He’s also an avid paddler, guiding canoe and kayak trips with Frog Hollow Outdoors. Distressed by the amount of trash in local waterways, he started collecting some of it in his down time. And from some of the photos he has shared with me, I’m speechless at the amount of debris he’s hauled out of our rivers and streams. Among the flotsam, he noticed “an awful lot of bottles floating around in our waterways.” Combining a steady supply of free materials with a creative streak, he formed the idea to turn this trash into art. 

Halligan, 35, uses the reclaimed bottles in unique, colorful art pieces. To raise awareness for clean rivers and to share his creations, he created River Bottle Blues. 

Bike(s) you own and ride regularly: Sears and Roebuck 3 speed, Novara Safari, soon to be Schwinn Suburban

What’s your primary flavor of riding? My usual type of riding is commuting, get around town riding (i.e. groceries, bar-hopping, going to playground)

What’s the length and frequency of your average ride? I ride between 5-10 miles a day sometimes longer with the family on weekends

Why did you start riding and why do you still ride? I started riding when I was 5 or so and rode daily until I was 16.  After getting my drivers license I didn’t get back on a bicycle until I was 30.  Biggest mistake of my life.  Riding today is like what it was when I was a kid, FUN.

What’s the most unusual thing you’ve seen while out for a ride? I’m not sure if this was unusual or not but on a ride into work one morning a rabbit ran along side of me for about 50 yards or so.  That was pretty cool.

How would your world be different if you wake up tomorrow and there are no more cars? My life wouldn’t change that much except I would have to build a trailer for my canoe so my bike could pull it to the water.

What’s one thing Durham could do to become more bike friendly? The one thing I think Durham could do to become more bike friendly is to increase motorist awareness of bicycles rights to the road through public service announcements.

Word is that he made his kid walk home while the Schwinn rode in the trailer.

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