• writing
• photography
• nicomedia
• about
• home

Bull Moon Ride: Saturday, July 18th

Durham Habitat for Humanity’s night ride, scheduled for July 18.

Durham, NC – The Durham Bulls and Habitat for Humanity of Durham today released the tentative map for the 2009 Bull Moon Ride. The ride, mapped at just under 17 miles, will be a circuit through Downtown Durham and the American Tobacco Trail that will start and finish at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

“We wanted to have an extraordinary experience for people who don’t normally venture out on bikes at night, and to show off the city of Durham,” route committee member Dave Connelly explained, “We think it has a lot of character.”

Some of the landmarks cyclists will see include Duke University Chapel, the new Durham Transportation Center, Durham Performing Arts Center, American Tobacco Campus, Brightleaf Square, the Durham Athletic Park, the plaza at center city, the Carolina Theatre and the American Tobacco Trail. The route will also include a ride through Campus Drive, Ninth Street, Main Street and historic Parrish Street.

“We did a lot of fine tuning to the basic route to try to incorporate as many places as we could think of,” Connelly continued, “It’s not a race, we want it to be family friendly and we will have escorts from the sheriff’s office.”

Ride support will be provided by the Durham County Sherriff’s Office for cyclists’ safety and traffic control. The ride will include a pit stop at the plaza in center city sponsored by Durham Hendrick Auto Mall. They will be providing the support vehicles for riders, along with water and facilities at the pit stop.

“One of our core values is to support our community and Habitat for Humanity of Durham does a great job of supporting this community. As a local business we want to be a part of an event like this,” said Jack Morgan, service director for Durham Hendrick Auto Mall.

The Bull Moon Ride is a night time bicycle ride through Downtown Durham benefiting Habitat for Humanity of Durham. In 2008, over 200 cyclists participated in the inaugural event, raising thousands of dollars for Habitat of Durham. The 2009 event is scheduled for Saturday, July 18th at 8:30 PM at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Details regarding registration will be announced on Thursday, April 2nd on Durhambulls.com.

• Read a 2005 column on “night rides”

Tesla test drive

The Washington Post has an autoreview/video for the new Tesla.  I saw a Tesla dealership on Santa Monica Blvd while I was out in LA this summer, and these cars really do look as sexy, sleek, and stylish in person as they do in photos.

President Obama’s announcement today that the EPA should review its previous denial of California’s request to impose stricter auto emission standards will hopefully loosen the federal restrictions against progressive states. And, if California and other states do impose stricter emissions standards, then we are likely to see more innovation along the lines of the Tesla’s all electric powertrain. I do realize that the Tesla is more a proof-of-concept, an all electric car with Ferrari-like torque, than affordable family car. Nonetheless, by proving that an all-electric car doesn’t have to look like a 1980’s vision of the future, Tesla opens the door for designers to rethink the electric car.

But as I have said before, if only some designers — at the level of auto manufacturing or road engineering — would use more of the advanced technology available today to create cars that are safer and more comfortable for the world outside the steel cage and not just inside. I mean, 43,000 deaths annually would be an epidemic (or at least a public health crisis) if those deaths were caused by anything other than the can’t-live-without automobile.

the real cost of owning a car

Got an extra 8 to 12 thousand dollars lying around each year? You’d better make sure you do, if you want to own and drive a car.

Adrian Hands breaks down very nicely the average costs of owning different classes of cars.

Since owning and riding bikes is not free either, has anyone broken down the average annual cost of cycling?

bike lane advocates = terrorists?

Sunday’s Washington Post has an article on the long arm of the law…

The Maryland State Police surveillance of advocacy groups was far more extensive than previously acknowledged, with records showing that troopers monitored — and labeled as terrorists — activists devoted to such wide-ranging causes as promoting human rights and establishing bike lanes.

The sidebar to the printed article (photo clipping at left) indicates that Critical Mass was targeted as security threat for “asserting the cyclists right [sic] to the road and not denying the rights of others.” Thanks to Jym Dyer for sharing the photo.

Who knew that advocating for cleaner transportation alternatives and more humane urban development was a threat to national security…

no war required

Great ads by a Portland bike shop

transcontinental timelapse

I work in a place that hosts academics for a fellowship year, so each summer the residential fellows have to return home (sometimes to their dismay at having to leave the Center). Paul Werth, one of last year’s Fellows, and I talked a lot about video while he was here. We discovered a shared love of time lapse videography, and I showed him some of the new digial tools available for making those beautiful paroxysms of cinema. He decided to use the drive home, from North Carolina to Nevada, as a test.

I’d say it went well; he emailed me this video yesterday.

Transcontinental Trip: Carolina to Vegas from Paul Werth on Vimeo.

Quake City Rumble

XLR8R TV, in conjunction with Revision3, has a new video of this year’s Fourth of July weekend Quake City Rumble. Using footage from the race, the video explores the phenomenon of alleycats generally. Highlights include an odd pedal-powered playground ride, kid-bike tandem race, and a demo on how to elude the police (hint, go slow). I had fun riding the hills of LA on my fixed gear bike, but I can’t imagine tackling San Francisco with one magic gear ratio.

Bike Emory: students encouraged to bike the campus

In the Autopia of the east coast, another university encourages students to adopt bikes as daily transportation.

Emory University, in suburban Atlanta, is launching Bike Emory — a program offering a full line of new Fuji bikes to students at discounted purchase prices. Unlike Duke and UNC’s bike-share programs, Bike Emory equips students with their own bike. And unlike Ripon College’s Velorution project, Emory students have to buy their own.

The partnership with Fuji, who in turn has developed something it calls Fuji University, bodes well for the future of bicycles in academia. Bicycles have historically been disproportionately represented as valid transportation options on US college campuses (compared to the post-college lifestyle). Now, if universities could find a way to encourage students to adopt life-long cycling habits.

Colleges peddle bikes to car-loving students

Associated Press – August 10, 2008 2:04 PM ET

ATLANTA (AP) – Emory University hopes to make a bicycle the must-have back-to-school accessory this fall.

Emory is selling discounted bicycles to students and faculty, adding bike lanes to campus roads and stocking bikes that can be borrowed for free.

The university in Atlanta is pushing its $250,000 “Bike Emory” initiative, launched a year ago, in hopes of convincing students and faculty that the eco-friendly bikes are a better alternative to gas-guzzling vehicles.

While students still prefer cars, cycling already has a foothold at many colleges, where hefty parking fees, sprawling campuses and limited roads make it tough to travel.

For more about Bike Emory or Fuji University, click here.

David Byrne’s bike racks

Thanks to Adrian for pointing this out

$17,000 for a Chanel bicycle

Although the tires on this bike have inverted tread, and thus are able to handle both roads and moderately uneven compact dirt, the Chanel commuter is ideally suited for riding on travertine marble smothered in foie gras while starving African children look on.

From PurseBlog

When I reported on the $3,500 Hermes bike two weeks ago, I had the feeling that we had not reached the pinnacle in cyclist decadence just yet. Karl Lagerfeld to the rescue! This Limited Edition Chanel Bike is the ultimate in two-wheeled novelty. With only 50 made and less than 20 available in the US, this creation retailed for $17,000, with reseller markups hitting $28,000 already.

At it was the case with the Hermes bike, it is thanks to our fantastic Purse Forum member vernilover that I can present some detailed snapshots of this exclusive piece to our readers.

The Chanel bike aims to impress with very fine detail, like the quilted leather handles, seat (made by the legendary Brooks Brothers), pant guard, even the bike pump is covered in Chanel’s signature quilted leather. The bike also features two quilted flap bags and a jewelry roll behind the seat, all of which are detachable and can be used as individual shoulder bags.

Maybe Karl Lagerfeld will donate any unsold bikes to Bikes for the World.

Thanks to Bryony for the tip.

Next Page →