Column: Solstice night ride brings together diverse group
Phillip Barron
The Herald Sun
July 14, 2005
DURHAM — Back in the winter, Curt and Judy Eshelman had an idea. They though it would be fun to celebrate the summer solstice with an organized cycling event. At night. A night ride in honor of the longest day of the year.
?They made one fatal error,? says friend and fellow cyclist Peter Anlyan. ?They put it out to the cycling community for opinions.?
It seems no one could agree on anything ? the time, the route, whether to make it a benefit ride. But Curt Eshelman is quick to point out that the idea ?died? for lack of consensus ? not a lack of interest.
A week before the solstice, Anlyan and the Eschelmans revived the idea, passed the word among friends, and gathered twenty or more riders at the American Tobacco Campus for a 17 mile ride.
As we head off around 8:30pm, the sun is setting and the riders are giddy. Not many have ever ridden their bikes at night before, and for a good number of the riders, this event is their first foray into group bike rides. Fitting that an ad-hoc event brings together such an unlikely group of people.
?Well, [it's my] first intentional night ride,? says Muriel Moody. There was that time, in the Peace Corps, in Madagascar, ?but that’s a long story.? Moody, a first year Duke Law School student getting a jump on her studies this summer, is excited to get tapped into the loacl cycling community.
For Tate Little, the solstice ride is also his first group ride in Durham. Little moved to Durham only two days before the summer solstice when his girlfriend, Roxanne Hall of Durham’s Habitat for Humanity, told him about the ride. Little and Hall are training for the local MS 150 ride in September. ?I’d just like to get in as many rides as I can,? says Little. ?This is a nice, safe ride.?
Hall says she can’t believe all the fireflies. It’s ?nice and cool. I’m really enjoying it. It’s a different experience. Durham by night.?
Rusty Miller, a cycling coach and ?ex-professional cyclist? joins the ride midway through it. On his way home from his own ride, he spots a pack of riders with lights. ?A night time ride on the Tobacco Trail… how could I say ‘no’??
Near the end of our route, we cross the bridge over Lakewood Avenue. Any hint of sunlight is gone; the sky is a deep blue-gray. Facing north, all you can see are the lights of Durham’s skyline and the blinking tail-lights of other cyclists.
As rider Matt DeMargel puts it, the solstice was the ?perfect night for it.?
Column: Have no fear, cyclists, Officer BMX is on the job
The Herald-Sun
April 27, 2005
DURHAM — Riding along the American Tobacco Trail on my way home from work, I come up behind another bicyclist. I slow down to say hello, as I always do.
My fellow biker assertively tells me to slow down, to pull over and that he is a cop.
“Of course, Officer,” I say, unlocking my shoe from the pedal and squeezing the brakes a little harder. When we both stop conveniently at an intersection, I look more closely at the arresting officer: a young boy, no more than 9 years old.
“I read in the paper that the Durham police are putting more cops on bikes this year,” I say.
Reading either the skeptical look on my face or my willingness to play along, he shows off his radio, which validates his ability to protect and serve. It’s the hand-held mouthpiece to a CB radio with its coiled wire tied to the handlebars of his BMX bike.
“Seen any trouble on your ride today?” he asks me.
“No, not yet, but I could use some help crossing this intersection.” Riding his own bike nearby, the cop’s older brother — I mean superior officer — smiles at the two of us.
Like cops in the movies do, Officer BMX is eyeballing me — with a squint no less. Kids are fascinated by gadgets, and he’s taking in the utilitarian nature of my gear: shoes that lock into the pedals, a rubber band around my right ankle to keep my pants cuffs out of the greasy crank, a rack holding my sandals and blinking tail light, a brightly colored shoulder bag with reflective tape and most importantly, my helmet.
Officer BMX happily complies, escorting me through the intersection once he determines the coast is clear.
“Did you respond to any calls today, any trouble in the neighborhood?” I ask him.
“Yeah, a girl had a bike accident earlier. I had to help her fix her bike. It’s been quiet since then,” he replied.
On the other side of the road, I thank him for helping me across the street and for keeping this route safe for me and for other cyclists.
As I click into my pedals and begin to pull away, I think he might ride with me. Instead, he turns around and rides back through the intersection. I guess he can’t stray too far from home, I mean, outside his jurisdiction.
Column: Bike tour promotes national greenway
The Herald-Sun
October 7, 2004
DURHAM — Gene Mayhall of Durham writes in to say that he and his wife have ridden their bicycles on greenways — linear parks — all over the United States and even Canada. “Durham’s American Tobacco Trail (ATT), while not the longest, is one of the very best,” says Mayhall. “We’re lucky to have it.”
If the East Coast Greenway (ECG) is successful with its plans, the ATT along with the South Ellerbee Creek Trail in northern Durham will become part of the longest greenway project in the country. The East Coast Greenway is an effort to build a continuous 2,600 mile path stretching from Calais, Maine, to Key West, Fla.
Touted as an urban alternative to the Appalachian Trial, the East Coast Greenway will be an off-road and mostly paved connection between the major cities of the eastern United States.
Greenways provide opportunities for recreation, relaxation and transportation. Like a road, a greenway establishes a connection between where you are and where you need to go. Like a park, greenways draw to them people looking to relax or workout.
Like all good ideas, the East Coast Greenway requires a lot of planning and work. That’s why right now seven people, including Carroll Webber of Greenville, N.C., are bicycling from Maine to Florida to raise money for and awareness of the greenway’s mission. For the first annual East Coast Greenway Tour, each rider is raising $10,000 to help build new sections of the path. The group as a whole is bringing to the nation’s attention the potential greenways possess for bringing communities, even cities, closer together.
Bill Bussey, the North Carolina state chair for the East Coast Greenway, says, “I just think it would be neat to be able to ride a bike from Durham to Washington, D.C., to New York City, or even to Key West.” In the near future, you may be able to do just that. Many cities along the way already have paths which have been designated part of the official greenway route. In these cities, the seven riders are biking those paths. For much of the route, however, they’re riding on roads parallel to the proposed route. When they reach Key West, it will be the first time anyone has ridden the proposed route in its entirety.
The group rides into Durham via the South Ellerbee Creek Trail on Tuesday. They will spend a day of rest on Wednesday and leave via the American Tobacco Trail on Oct. 14. On Wednesday, at 6:30 p.m., the Carolina Tarwheels are hosting a potluck dinner for the tour riders at the Armory in downtown Durham. This event is open to the public, and if you bring a dish, no RSVP is required. Donations will be accepted.
The American Tobacco Trail, the South Ellerbee Creek Trail and Durham’s six other greenways have already proven themselves vital to our community’s wellness. Their users reflect the diversity that makes Durham so strong; from wheelchairs to Litespeeds, from walkers to commuters. Nearly everyone can use greenways; that’s one of the things that makes them such a good investment for the community.
The ECG is unique in that it requires municipalities to work together in ways they normally don’t. “When you link greenways together,” says Bussey, “you get more bang for your buck.” A well-designed greenway can be a regional attraction. Imagine the potential for a trail spanning the entire East Coast. If the East Coast Greenway successfully links Maine with Florida, then the combined effect will truly be greater than the sum of its parts.
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TO LEARN MORE For more information on local greenways, contact Bill Bussey at 545-9104. You can also visit the East Coast Greenway’s web site.
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