February’s Bull City Biker is Danielle Newton (27), a local mountain bike racer who’s originally from California. Not afraid of the dark, she’s the organizer of this winter’s weekly night ride on the American Tobacco Trail.
What’s your primary flavor of riding?
I’m a mountain biker at heart. I was a tomboy growing up, and I guess I still kind of am. I crave dirt, logs, roots and the sound of leaves crunching under my tires. But I spend a lot of time training for cross country mountain bike races by riding my cyclocross bike on the fire roads at Umstead State Park and the Duke Forest. I sometimes ride on the road, but it’s not nearly as much fun as ripping through tight singletrack and riding over a log pyramid! I also sometimes ride my bike to coach my swim team, and I will do more of that once the weather warms up.
What’s the length and frequency of your average ride?
In the middle of my race season last year, I rode 4-5 days a week — most rides were about 2 hours. Right now, I’m in my base building period, so I’m just riding for fun with no real schedule. I’m not using a heart rate monitor, and I’m trying to learn how to climb at a moderate pace, because I’m a pedal-masher freak when it comes to climbing!
Why did you start riding and why do you still ride?
I’ve always enjoyed riding, but I didn’t get serious about it until my parents bought me a new bike after I graduated high school in 1996. I was 17 years old, craving solo adventure and just something bigger than I’d ever done before. I remember my first big ride – I rode from Dixon to Vacaville (in Northern California, where I’m from) and back in a couple of hours. My Mom yelled at me when I got back home, said it wasn’t safe for a young woman to ride that far by herself.
A couple of months later, I was a freshman in college at Chico State University, riding all over, exploring every nook and cranny of that beautiful town. And my Mom couldn’t stop me! Heck, I couldn’t stop myself! I’d ride through Bidwell Park, see a trail go off into the woods, and I’d take it wondering where it would end up. Before I knew it, I was a full-blown mountain biker and cycling enthusiast.
I rode everywhere – to classes, to work, to the library. I joined the Chico State Cycling Team my sophomore year and raced a ton from 1997-2000. I’m still riding and racing after all these years because it’s so much fun. There’s nothing more fun than getting out in nature, feeling the wind on my face as my heart beats out of my chest on a gnarly climb. It’s just plain FUN — that’s why I ride.
What’s the most unusual thing you’ve seen while out for a ride?
For about a year after September 11th, whenever I’d ride my bike from Sausalito to San Francisco going over the Golden Gate Bridge, I’d have to ride past fully armed National Guardsmen on bridge watch. When I’d stop in the middle of the bridge to look out at the ships coming into the Bay, I could feel their eyes on me, as if they were sure I was going to reach into my Camelback and pull out a bomb or something. I understood why they had to be there, but it sure did give me the heebie-jeebies.
Speaking of guns and arms, I do remember seeing a real skeleton posed with an AK-47, complete with rounds hanging off it, in someone’s front yard. I was way out in the middle of nowhere, near Pescadero, CA. I guess that was their way of saying, “No Trespassing“.
How would your world be different if you wake up tomorrow and there are no more cars?
I’d have to ride to work, back and forth 2 times a day, because I work a few hours in the morning and few hours in the evening. I’d also have to build up a “townie” bike with a big basket on the front, for getting groceries and stuff. I wouldn’t get flipped the bird, honked at or have to breathe exhaust fumes during my rides into work. I’d have to leave for the Tsali race a week in advance, in order to ride there and not be too tired to race by the time I got there. Come to think of it, this all sounds like fun! When’s this gonna happen?
What’s one thing Durham could do to become more bike friendly?
Durham needs to expand its open space greenway trails to include some that go from the east side of town to downtown.
Danielle’s stable of bikes includes a 2006 Marin Mill Valley cyclocross bike, a 2005 Marin Mount Vision Pro full suspension race bike, and a 2002 Marin Team Issue hardtail race bike. Does she like Marin? I’d say so.
