With a literary nod to one of my favorite cycling websites, Cars R Coffins, I give you a verse from Planetary Man (Hombre Planetario), an epic poem composed between 1957 and 1963 by Jorge Carrera Andrade. Apparently, the Ecuadorian poet and diplomat drank the same water as the Minnesota bicycle/punk crew. Long before the age of the Ford Livingroom, he could see that car manufacturers were eager to fill the streets with the creature comforts we associate with home, to the detriment of whatever else is in the way. XII Hail to the car makers Who have populated the planet With rolling bedrooms, […]
Jack and Anne: Bull City Bikers
Jack Edinger, a fellow board member at the Durham Bike Co-op, and Anne Fairchild are the next Bull City Bikers. What bike(s) do you own and ride regularly?Anne: Trek multi track 730 w/ plastic crate attached!Jack: Currently ride a 1983 Trek 630 fixed-gear conversion. I also have an ever-changing fleet of frames and project bikes. I counted nine bikes in my workshop this morning, four of which are built up. What’s your primary flavor of riding?Anne: Commuting, tooling around town, occasionally for fitnessJack: Daily commuter, weekend errand-runner: road bike flavor. I occasionally do some mountain biking, but it’s been a […]
Bike Lane point/counter-point
A few weeks ago, a local listserv debate over the Constitutionality of bike lanes devolved into a rather asinine comparison between vehicular separation and racial segregation. In an effort to raise the level of discussion over whether bike lanes are good for cyclists, local cyclist Steve Goodridge and I wrote point/counter-point Op-Eds for the Herald Sun. Enjoy. Lanes do their job Phillip Barron Guest columnist, The Herald-Sun Just two weeks ago, Main Street was one-way through downtown Durham. City officials closed the street Saturday and reopened it for traffic going in both directions. How do drivers know the difference? City […]
Ken Kaye: Bull City Bikers
I first met Ken Kaye, 45, after he emailed me about his plans to bike the Outer Banks with his son. We met up at the Durham Bike to Work Week breakfast, and he told me what an incredible experience his barrier island tour had been. He has plans for a cross-country bike trek, but for now he’s settling for overnight camping trips by bike. You can check out the full details on his father/son bike tour over at crazy-guy-on-a-bike. Ken, what bike(s) you own and ride regularly? I’m down to one, and it’s an all-rounder. 2006 Trek 520 touring […]
Gary Macy: Bull City Bikers
Durham residents aren’t the only ones who tap into to Durham’s bike-culture. Even visitors, like Gary Macy of San Diego, know the Bull City’s bike-friendliness and let it change their ways while in town. Macy, 56, is a professor of theology and religious studies at the University of San Diego. He spent last year on sabbatical at the National Humanities Center, in North Carolina. That’s when his love of biking was born. Bike(s) you own and ride regularly I used to ride a Trek 7300. I really miss it. Sigh. What’s your primary flavor of riding? I like just tootling […]
Michael Bérubé: Bull City Bikers
Even though I got behind and am posting this in April, there is a March Bull City Biker. And his name is Michael Bérubé. Now, some of you may already know him for one of at least two reasons… first, he’s a professor of Literature and Cultural studies at Penn State University. A leader in academia, he’s well published in his field and engaged in a perpetual debate with conservative “academic” pundit David Horowitz over whether there can be an articulate and sound anti-war movement in this country. Second, he’s a reknown blogger who occasionally even blogs about cycling. Example. […]
Danielle Newton: Bull City Bikers
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 […]
Robert Weeks: Bull City Bikers
I’ve realized two things while doing interviews for the Herald Sun as The Outspokin’ Cyclist: first, that cyclists are always interesting people with stories to tell; second, that I don’t have the space to tell them all in print. But the web is rarely ever restricted by space… so beginning today, I’m launching an online series of interviews with Durham cyclists. I’ll ask each Bull City Biker the same six questions, and through their answers we might shape a more complete picture of who’s out there riding in Durham. A stranger when I stopped him on his way to work […]
espresso ride
Saturday morning, 9AM, it’s a little above 40 degrees. Between three and four hundred riders gather downtown, near the new American Tobacco complex. As the countdown to the start begins, all bikes are facing the same direction. Riders are ogling each others’ bikes and dancing little jigs to stay warm. Bright jackets and black tights are the costumes de jure. Jack’s here to take pictures, I’m here to take sounds. Our ride will begin as soon as the Halloween Hundred is underway. The horn sounds, the pedalers pedal out, and I catch up with the organizers. Roxanne Hall, whom I […]
naming the column
Newspaper columns often have catchy (if not kitschy) monikers. The paper I write for decided that my column on cycling should have its own unique name. Since I work in a place with a lot of exceptionally literate, creative people, I put the challenge of naming my column to my wordsmith colleagues. This list of suggestions is just too great not to share. Tri-Cycling Pace Lines A Cyclist’s Pen, or a Cyclist’s “Quill” Re: cycling The Radical Cyclist Rollin’ The Compleat Cyclist The Constant Cyclist Cyclogically Yours Peddlers’ Pack Wheel Life The Wheel Deal Lance Who? Give Me a Brake […]