Bike Lanes On Hillsborough Street--An Important Vote Coming Up

If you are interested in the future of biking in Raleigh, please take note: A crucial debate is shaping up that affects Hillsborough Street, one of the most important bicycle corridors in our city.

The stretch of Hillsborough Street in front of the YMCA will soon be reconfigured and resurfaced. On Tuesday, Raleigh's City Council will take up this issue: Should the city put in two rows of car parking or two new bike lanes?

I hope Raleigh’s governing council moves our city forward by approving the bike lane proposal as recommended by the bicycle and pedestrian commission. I would encourage all cyclists to contact your city official and weigh in with your opinion. Let me make it easy for you to contact them:

Mayor	Nancy McFarlane	email: nancy.mcfarlane@raleighnc.gov
Mayor Pro Tem	Russ Stephenson	email: russ.stephenson@raleighnc.gov
District A	Randall Stagner	email: randall.stagner@raleighnc.gov
District B	John Odom	email: john.odom@raleighnc.gov
District C	Eugene Weeks	email: eugene.weeks@raleighnc.gov
District D	Thomas Crowder	email: thomas.crowder@raleighnc.gov
District E	Bonner Gaylord	email: bonner.gaylord@raleighnc.gov
At-Large	Mary Ann Baldwin	email: mary-ann.baldwin@raleighnc.gov

I would also encourage all cyclists to show up on Tuesday, Feb. 7, at the Raleigh Municipal Building to hear the presentation yourself. There is a City Council session at 1 p.m. and another at 7 p.m. I’m not sure during which session the Hillsborough Street discussion will come up. I do know that warm bodies in the seat, especially when they are wearing a cycling helmet, can make a big difference.

Two-Side Parking Or Bike Lanes?

The debate over parking versus bike lanes has arisen because two groups differ on how Hillsborough Street should be updated.

A nearby neighborhood group, the Cameron Park Neighborhood Association, wants on-street parking on both sides of Hillsborough. Raleigh’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission, of which I am a member, studied the issue and recommended two 6-foot bike lanes with parking on ONE side of the street only.

The problem: you can’t have both. There’s just not room for two-side parking and two bike lanes within the street’s 54-foot width. The updated road would also have a center turn lane, which traffic engineers say is needed because of the high volume of traffic on the corridor.

The latest skirmish over parking versus bike lanes illustrates the hurdles the bicycle and pedestrian communities face as the city attempts to modernize its sidewalks and bike facilities. The neighborhoods that line the streets where improvements are made will look after their own interests. And that's understandable. Who among us wouldn’t push for similar protections for our own neighborhood?

The Cameron Park group is motivated in part by a desire to keep cars from cutting through their neighborhood, and they want to eliminate some of the spillover parking from businesses along the stretch of Hillsborough Street that abuts their neighborhood.

It should also be noted that the neighborhood is not opposed to bike lanes per se. They’re reasonable folks. Many of the residents embrace green initiatives. But if the choice comes down to two bike lanes or two rows of parking, the association will go to the mat for parking.

The Cameron Park neighborhood group may ultimately prevail. The leaders are organized, they are politically connected and persuasive, and they do their homework. A tip of the hat to ‘em. We members of the cycling and pedestrian community should take a page or two from their playbook.

But respectfully, isn’t it time we stopped fighting for yet another parking space? Raleigh’s official website describes our fair town as a “21st Century City of Innovation focusing on environmental, cultural and economic sustainability.” In my mind, the 21^st century means moving forward with options that promote alternative modes of transportation. Like bicycling. Like walking. Like light rail.

Hillsborough Street is the most vital bike corridor in Raleigh, and possibly the entire state. It is hard to overstate its practical value as a cycling route past three major schools and the downtown high rises and state office buildings.

Raleigh has an ambitious bike plan in the works, and great progress is being made. Look around, and you'll either see new bike facilities in your neighborhood right now or you will see them soon. If you look at the comprehensive plan, you'll see that many of those bike lanes feed into Hillsborough Street, making it a strategic component.

Hillsborough Street is symbolically important as well. Having bike lanes on a street that ends at the Capitol Building sends a clear message – two-wheeled alternative transportation matters for our environment, our health and the vibrancy of our city.


Even Roads Go On Diets


The section at issue is currently four lanes, running approximately from Woodburn Avenue to Park Ave, near the YMCA.  A “road diet”  would chop down the lane count, freeing up space for facilities such as bike lanes.

The neighborhood has asked the council to adopt option #2, (see illustration) which keeps parking on both sides and uses sharrows, or shared lane markings, for bike traffic rather than dedicated lanes. Here is the option preferred by Cameron Park. (Note: "TWLTL" in the illustrations indicates a center turn lane.)

 The bike / ped commission considered multiple options for Hillsborough Street, including the shared lane one. We ultimately concluded that a separate bike lane treatment would be more likely to encourage cycling by less-experienced cyclists who may not be comfortable with the high volume of traffic on Hillsborough Street—as many as 17,000 cars a day. There was also the belief that parents heading with their children by bike to the YMCA would feel more secure using dedicated lanes.

We were aware that the Cameron Park neighborhood wanted on-street parking on this stretch. Thus, with sensitivity to the neighborhood’s interests, we selected Option #3 (see illustration), which calls for parking on one side of the street. We recommended parking on the south side of the street (the YMCA side) because it could accommodate 36 spaces, compared with only 31 parking spaces on the north side. We also believe that parking on one side and a bike lane next to the other sidewalk creates a comfortable buffer for pedestrians.

Which interest will prevail? Show up to Tuesday’s City Council meeting to find out. (One note: it’s possible the issue will be sent to another committee for further debate).

Here’s what is stated in the city’s agenda packet for Tuesday.  

Hillsborough Street Resurfacing and Restriping Evaluation

Resurfacing of Hillsborough Street between Woodburn Road and Park Avenue is scheduled to begin this summer. Staff has evaluated multiple options for restriping and pavement markings, which are currently configured as a five-lane section, to be more consistent with previous changes to Hillsborough Street west of Pullen Road and east of Morgan Street. Staff has engaged the community through a public outreach process and has presented the public with multiple alternatives for restriping the street, including provisions for adding on-street parking and to provide bicycle accommodations. The Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Commission and the Cameron Park Neighborhood Association were also consulted; each has provided recommendations regarding the proposed restriping. Staff will provide a short presentation on the principal alternatives under consideration.


Recommendation: Receive as information.

Why We Should Vote Yes for the Transportation Bond

Sig  Hutchinson, a leading greenway advocate who also serves on Raleigh's Bike/Ped Commission, has an opinion piece in today's News & Observer in favor of the proposed transportation bond. We all get to vote on the bond next week. For cyclists, it will mean greater funding for city bike projects. Please vote YES on Tuesday.

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Whether selected as the country's "Most Sustainable Midsize Community" by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce or "No. 1 Best City in America" by Bloomberg Businessweek, Raleigh's rise to the top of almost any survey as "The Best Place to Live" should not be seen as something that happened by chance, but through strong leadership, clear vision and a road map towards the future.

Recognizing that these accolades do not go unnoticed, there is wide acceptance that we will double in size in the next 20 years. Therefore, the question facing us as a city is, how do we double in size while improving our quality of life?

Raleigh's $40 million transportation bond issue will go a long way towards that journey by recognizing that the best way to ensure our continued economic development, while protecting our quality of life, is by investing in our community:

The transportation bond issue starts by first fixing what we already have with a $10 million investment in maintaining our existing streets with timely resurfacing, thus reducing costly repairs down the road - and those pesky potholes.

The final unfunded section of our greenway system is also in the bond issue, as the final link in the city's100-plus miles of interconnected greenways. This new section along Walnut Creek will connect downtown to the Neuse River Greenway, completing one of the finest such systems in the country and extending from Raleigh through Cary and Apex into Durham to the west and connecting to Clayton, Knightdale and Wake Forest towards the east.

In addition, bike lanes will be expanded to improve our "bikeability," which means adding to our designation as a "Bike Friendly Community"and attracting many of the creative class of young professionals who choose to live here because of our variety of transportation options.
Sidewalks are also a part of the bond issue, as we now realize that sidewalks are part of our transportation system. The city's new policy recognizes this by no longer requiring property owners to share in the cost of new sidewalk construction or sidewalk repairs on their property.

Any real 21st century city must provide a variety of transit options, and so the continued funding of our transit system is also part of the transportation bond issue. Bus shelters and benches will be added to make the wait for transit more desirable, while upgrades and improvements to the Moore Square Transit Station are also part of the plan.

Most exciting is the leveraging of the bond funds with federal funds through the state DOT's Rail Division to remake an old Dillon Supply building in the downtown warehouse district into the new "Union Station" for Amtrak, commuter rail and the future high-speed rail. This $3 million of the transportation bond investment would leverage $20-plus million of federal and state DOT funds, creating a historically renovated new downtown station that will ultimately re-create the downtown's warehouse district into the next Fayetteville Street or Glenwood South, which means increased property values and tax revenues.

It's an exciting time for our city and most citizens will agree that Raleigh is one of the greatest places to live in America. By voting "Yes" to the transportation bonds on Tuesday, we will be well on our way to keeping it that way.

Vote Yes for Raleigh Bonds on October 11

Time for a little advocacy, folks.... If you're interested in safe and effective cycling and pedestrian routes in Raleigh, show up and vote on Oct. 11. This is an important issue and it affects YOU. More information and yard signs are available at RaleighBonds.com.

Vote YES for $40 million in Transportation Bonds that will:

• Keep things running smoothly by resurfacing streets and repairing potholes.
• Build and repair sidewalks.
• Improve our bus stops, shelters, benches and transit stations.
• Create more bike lines giving commuters another option for safe transit.
• Widen roads and plan new corridors making it easier and faster to get from place to place.

Also in the ballot: Vote YES for $16 million in Housing Bonds that will:

• Help our neighbors continue to repair their homes after the April tornado.
• Revitalize our neighborhoods and preserve historic architecture.
• Build housing for seniors, families and persons with disabilities through public-private partnerships.
• Make homeownership possible for first-time buyers like young professionals, fireman, policemen and teachers.

Voting on these bonds is an easy way to make a difference in our community. Please, walk, run, bike, bus or drive to the polls on Tuesday, Oct. 11.

Moving Planet Bike Rides, Saturday, Sept. 24th

Lots of rides are lining up this weekend.  On Saturday, I've signed up for  a 78-mile Moving Planet ride from the N.C. Art Museum to Durham and back... Sounds fun. Details below. If you're wondering about the Moving Planet day itself, it's billed as "a worldwide climate solutions rally taking place on September 24th — a single day to move beyond fossil fuels." More information on the Moving Planet site. Clearly the perfect day to ride a bike and leave the fossil-fueled vehicle in the driveway....

Ride with us from Durham, Chapel Hill or Raleigh to Durham Central Park!

Our routes are in, and we are really excited about our bike rides coming up on September 24th. We (the East Coast Greenway Alliance) have partnered with the Triangle Commuter Bike Initiative and will lead three rides from South Durham, Chapel Hill and Raleigh/Cary to the 350.org Moving Planet event which will be held from 2-5 PM under the Pavillion at Durham Central Park (where the Farmer’s Market is held).


ALL rides are FREE!! Please RSVP to info@greenway.org and let us know what ride you’re doing so we know how many people to expect.
Here are the ride details:

Family Friendly / ATT Ride – meet us at our rest stop (Bull City Running Company) at the South Durham ATT trailhead, ride ~7 miles to Durham Central Park, and back,total of 14 miles. This ride will be almost entirely on trail, with a short on-road segment from downtown Durham ATT trailhead to Durham Central Park.

Time: Meet at 1:30, we’ll return back to the location by 5.

Location: Bull City Running Company store by Kroger, will be along the ATT, email Debbie at info@greenway.org for info.

NOTE: Will include short segment on public roads. Children must be accompanied by parents. 
Chapel Hill – meet us at University Mall, ride 16.6 miles to Durham Central Park, and back, total of 33 miles.Time: Meet at noon, ride at 12:30. We’ll return to University Mall around 5:45 or 6.

Location: University Mall, on Estes Dr. SW corner (near Wachovia/Wells Fargo).
There may be two feeder rides from Carrboro and UNC that will meet earlier and ride to join us at University Mall. Stay tuned for details on those!

NOTE: The CH route goes on several roadways, including 751. We will make this as safe as possible, but this ride is not recommended for children or riders inexperienced in riding on public roads. http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/fullscreen/48632298/
Raleigh – meet us at the NC Museum of Art, ride 39 miles to Durham Central Park, and back, total of 78 miles.

Time: Meet at 10:15, leave at 10:30. We’ll return to Raleigh around 7, bring lights for the ride home unless you plan to take transit back.
Location: NC Museum of Art, 2110 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh, NC. Meet in the back of the upper parking lot.

Cary Option – for a shorter ride, meet us in Cary at Bond Park, ride 25 miles to Durham Central park, and back, total of 50 miles.

Time: Meet at 11:30, leave when Raleigh ride comes through (11:30 – 11:45). We’ll return to Cary around 6, bring lights for the dusk ride home.

Location: Meet us at Bond Park in Cary, 801 High House Rd. in Cary, NC. Meet at the Boathouse / Buehler Shelter, which is at the end of Bond Park Dr.
The Raleigh/Cary ride will be ~80% on greenway trails! Please note that several miles of the Southern portion of the ATT is on hard packed crushed gravel, fine for most bikes, may not be great for some road bikes.http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/fullscreen/44110500/
NOTE: These rides will only be minimally supported – the CH ride will have a brief rest stop with water/light snacks at approximately 9 miles. The Raleigh ride will have a stop at Bond Park for water/restrooms and a brief rest stop with water/light snacks at mile 32 (mile 18 if you start in Cary). There will be some snacks at the ECGA table at the 350.org event.

We hope to see you there! Please RSVP to info@greenway.org so we know how many to expect!

Bike Route Progress In Raleigh

Good news for Raleigh area cyclists! At the Monday night meeting of the Raleigh Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission, the city staff discussed upcoming striping / sharrow initiatives. Commission member Steve Waters prepared the map you see above. The red and blue markings show the projects that are in the works. They include striped bike lanes (red) and sharrows (blue) along routes that will link North Raleigh to the downtown area. 

Raleigh is in the preliminary stages of implementing a comprehensive bike plan, but as you can see from the above map, connectivity among various biking routes in our city is beginning to take shape.

Oberlin Road, which runs from Glenwood to Hillsborough Street near N.C. State, will be getting sharrow treatment. Lassiter Mill, which runs past North Hills to Glenwood at St. Mary's Street, will have a mix of lanes and sharrows. Note that the Lassiter Mills project  allows connection to Oberlin via a new lane on Glenwood -- or you can continue toward downtown on St. Mary's, which also has sharrow markings. Clark Avenue near N.C. State and two streets in downtown are also getting sharrows.

Sharrows are a relatively new marking on cycling routes. From Wiki: 

This marking is placed in the center of a travel lane to indicate that a bicyclist may use the full lane. The name "sharrow" was coined by Oliver Gajda, of the City and County of San Francisco Bicycle Program, and is a portmanteau of "share" and "arrow.

And their stated purpose:

• Assist bicyclists with lateral positioning in a shared lane with on-street parallel parking in order to reduce the chance of a bicyclist’s impacting the open door of a parked vehicle;

• Assist bicyclists with lateral positioning in lanes that are too narrow for a motor vehicle and a bicycle to travel side by side within the same traffic lane;

• Alert motorists of the lateral location bicyclists are likely to occupy within the traveled way;

• Encourage safe passing of bicyclists by motorists; and

• Reduce the incidence of wrong-way bicycling.

Note that sharrows are intended to "assist bicyclists with lateral positioning in lanes that are too narrow for a motor vehicle and a bicycle to travel side by side within the same traffic lane." In places where the road narrows and cars might be tempted to squeeze past, cyclists are encouraged to use the full travel lane, as indicated by the sharrow's placement.

Bike To Work Day / Raleigh / 5-20-11

A great day on the bikes in Raleigh. Thanks to all who made it happen.

Bike Month Kick off Event, Saturday, May 7

Lots of cycling events in Raleigh on Saturday -- including a fashion show. Hop on your two wheeler and join us for the festivities. I'll be working a booth on Saturday afternoon.

Saturday, May 7, 11am - Noon
- Raffish* Ride at NCSU Bell Tower
Bring your feather boa or your blue suede shoes - or whatever you want to wear for this stylish ride from the Bell Tower to the Kick Off Event in Downtown Raleigh. Get dolled up for a group ride to the runway.
*(adj.) displaying a charming, free-spirited disregard for the conventions of society or approved behavior.


Saturday, May 7, 12:30pm and 2pm
-Project Bikeway Fashion Show at City Plaza
GoTriangle and NC State's Wolftrails program will host a "bike fashion" showcase in response to the lack of hybride attire available for professionals that bike to work. Project Bikeway designs will be showcased twice at the event, first at 12:30pm and again at 2:00pm.

Saturday, May 7, Noon - 3pm
- Bike Month Kick-Off Event at City Plaza
Join fellow cyclists as we kick off Bike Month with free bike checks by REI, bicycle safety stations for the whole family, materials & information on how to bike around Raleigh safely and efficiently. New this year is Project Bikeway, a bicycle commuter fashion show, created by NCSU. Free beverages provided by Vitamin Water.
For more Bike Month information please visit http://www.raleighnc.gov/home/content/PWksTranServices/Articles/NewsReleaseBikeMonth.html

Raleigh Gains Bicycle Friendly Designation

This just in....Congrats!

The view from the outdoor seating at the Raleigh Times,
 a favorite gathering spot for cyclists...

Raleigh’s reputation as a cycling city is “spiraling.” The League of American Bicyclists included Raleigh in its latest round of Bicycle Friendly Communities as part of the observance of May as National Bike Month.

The Capital City was among the 21 U.S. municipalities that gained Bicycle Friendly Community status. To date, the League of American Bicyclists has received 425 applications and designated 179 Bicycle Friendly Communities in 44 states. This was the first year that Raleigh had applied for the award.

Raleigh received Bronze Level recognition. Wilmington was the only other North Carolina city to also earn this designation in this round. Durham, Charlotte and Cary were previously named to the League of American Bicyclists’ Bicycle Friendly Community roster.

Official Status

The City of Raleigh recently elevated the importance of bicycling as a healthy and environmentally friendly means of transportation. On Oct. 5, the Raleigh City Council approved $1.35 million in bicycle and pedestrian improvement projects over the next two years. The improvements had been recommended by the newly created City of Raleigh Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Commission.

The 22 planned bicycle and pedestrian improvements are scattered throughout Raleigh. They include three miles of new sidewalks and more than 30 miles of on-street bicycle facility striping. Funding is to come from the City’s Capital Improvement Program and from federal grant funding administered by the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization.

The BPAC was created to advise the City Council on matters related to bicycle and pedestrian activities and accommodations within Raleigh, including facility design, policies, programming, safety and outreach.

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More information

Outside the Door Zone

In Raleigh, there are plans to put bike lanes, at least on a temporary basis, on Hillsborough Street, an east-west road that runs past NC State University and carries a lot of bike traffic.

However, the proposed lane potentially puts cyclists near the door zone of parked cars.

Thanks to local advocate Steve Goodridge for a link to this video about the safe navigation distance for cyclists.....

NC DOT Bike / Ped Survey

Our state DOT wants to hear from you about bike / ped issues in your community. Please participate in the online survey.

Follow-Up on Death of Summerfield Cyclist

In August I posted an editorial from the Greensboro News-Record lamenting the relatively light sentence for a woman who struck and killed a Summerfield cyclist. The woman apparently turned around to where the accident happened before driving off. She received a 14-month sentence and will begin serving it this month.

The woman, Grayson Dawson, has now spoken publicly for the first time. Her version is certainly more sympathetic than the cold hard facts. Decide for yourself whether her story is credible. The real problem with her story is that she cannot recall what happened because she claims to have had a black-out caused by a combination of anti-seizure, antidepressant and pain medications.

After leaving a relative's home, she went "totally blank.”

Her attorney, Locke Clifford, was apparently able to fill in the blanks for her:

Dawson leaves her daughter’s house heading north to Eden. She falls asleep at the wheel — Clifford blames this on heavy medication — and veers into the other lane, hitting Sherman head-on. Dawson is on several anti-seizure and antidepressant medications, which combined with pain medication can increase the risk of sleepiness, according to drug label warnings.

She turns around, thinking she hit a deer. She can’t find anything, Clifford says, because Sherman has been thrown 40 feet from the road and his bike, split in two, lay 17 feet away in the growing dusk.

Dawson resumes her trip home.

“Since she didn’t see what she’d hit, she assumed it was a deer,” Clifford says.

She said she didn’t know something was wrong until two days later, when police and sheriff’s deputies swarmed her property, cordoning off the area around her damaged SUV.

“I had not watched the news. I didn’t know anything about a cyclist being killed on the road I had driven,” she says. “I was so sure I had hit a deer.”

Here's the link to the News-Record story.

I sent a note to my state senator, Josh Stein, requesting that he look into sentencing in cases like this.

Note: Vance's note below refers to other moving violations Dawson has had. They don't help her much on the sympathy front. From the earlier News-Record article:

Court records show that Dawson has charges pending from June 2007 of failure to appear in court on charges of driving with no operator’s license, having no insurance, speeding and driving the wrong way on a two-lane road.

She pleaded guilty in July 2003 to driving without an operator’s license; she paid fines and court costs. Dawson also was charged with driving left of center but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of improper equipment.

new "Bike Friendly Communities"

Congratulations to Durham and Chapel Hill, named "Bicycle Friendly Communities" by the League of American Bicyclists! They join Cary and Carrboro locally, alongside three other North Carolina communities in Davidson, Charlotte and Greensboro. As one advocate said, now the real work begins in making our communities truly bike-friendly.

Editorial: Justice served, too gently?

From Tuesday's Greensboro News-Record:

It’s hard not to question the relatively gentle sentence rendered Tuesday in the case of a hit-and-run driver who struck and killed a Summerfield cyclist.

After all, she not only hit and instantly killed 55-year-old David Sherman, but turned and drove away and, when asked about the smashed windshield on her Dodge Durango, said she’d hit a deer.

Eden resident Grayson Dawson, 48, had been driving without a license.

She was under the influence of medications that could have made her dizzy or drowsy. She admitted to falling asleep behind the wheel.

A forensic analysis says she made a U-turn and revisited the site of the crash before driving on to Rockingham County.

And she seemed intent on not owning up to her actions until she was arrested for them.

That’s why the 14- to 17-month prison sentence she received from Guilford County Superior Court Judge Lindsay R. Davis seemed wholly predictable, if inadequate, given the nature and circumstances of her crime.

Dawson said in court that she had not realized she had hit a person until she was told so by authorities. Because she returned to the crash site before driving off, some may find that hard to believe. Either way, the fact remains she knowingly took the wheel of a vehicle while under the influence of medications and without a driver’s license.

Don’t blame the judge in this case. Dawson had pleaded guilty to felony hit-and-run causing a death, misdemeanor death by motor vehicle and driving without a license. She’d had no prior criminal convictions. According to the state’s structured sentencing guidelines, she received the punishment prescribed by law.

Lawmakers should consider harsher sentences in such cases, which may provide a stiffer deterrent to motorists who refuse to share the road with cyclists and are even overtly hostile toward them.

The rest of us, meanwhile, can honor the memory of David Sherman by taking greater care, and showing greater kindness, on the road.

Here's an early story about the hit-and-run. Dawson's mugshot is on the right.

I'm sending this blog post to my state Senator and asking that tougher sentences be considered in egregious death cases like this.


Aug. 31 follow-up: I received this note from my state Senator:  


"Clearly it is a tragic case.  I've forwarded your message to the lawyers in the Research Division to get me more information on the structured sentencing in this type of case."

My Kinda Town...

Thanks to Raleigh City Council for passing this, and to Bike / Ped Commission Chair Steve Waters for the scan.

'You Wrecked My Car....'

From today's N&O. Really? $2,000 bail for assault with a deadly weapon?

A Raleigh man was arrested Sunday after police said he hit a bicyclist with his car, yelled at the cyclist for wrecking his car, then drove off.

Lesley Covington, 35, of 852 Athens Drive, is facing one count of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of felony hit and run causing serious injury, according to an arrest warrant filed in the Wake County Magistrate's Office.

Raleigh police said in the warrant that Covington struck Pedro Lopez-Espinoza Sunday while Lopez-Espinoza was riding his bike.

Covington then exited his vehicle, police said, told the cyclist, "You wrecked my car." then drove away.

Covington was released from the Wake County jail this morning after posting $2,000 bail.

Read more.

It's Triplets!

What better way to warm up for this weekend's 600K than the best animated biking movie of all time: Triplets of Belleville.


The movie is being shown as part of Raleigh's Bike to Work Week celebration.

Below are the details for Friday's events. Mark your calendars, kiddies, and don't miss the fun.

Cyclist Social
May 21, 5:30 - 7pm at Porter’s Tavern.
Mingle with other cyclists at Porter’s City Tavern (2412 Hillsborough St) and enjoy food and drink specials designed especially for the bike commuter!

Triplets of Belleville Screening
Friday, May 21, 7pm.
Free Movie at Witherspoon Hall on NCSU Campus. Open to all cyclists and enthusiasts. Come check out this quirky, animated French film about a cyclist who’s abducted and forced to compete in a never-ending race.

Here's a clip of a proper post-ride rub-down (look closely at 8:28 and you'll see a Paris Brest Paris poster):



And the Hoover song by the Triplets themselves, with a guest player:

Biking to Work on Bike to Work Week

Thanks to the folks at REI, Dale, Shelley and the staff at GoTriangle.org, Steven, Bonner, Rob, John and all the other riders who are making Raleigh a better place for two-wheeled commuters.

Two Abreast Law in NC?

N.C. cyclists take note: a draft bill being discussed today by your lawmakers could mean major changes to your favorite group or club ride. Here's the bill introduced by Rep. Nelson Cole (Guilford/Rockingham County area).

Here it is.


Here's what N&O writer Bruce Siceloff says on his blog:

"With NCDOT reminding North Carolinians during Bicycle Safety Month that "bicyclists share the same rights and responsibilities as other drivers," legislators are considering a proposal to put new restrictions on groups of bike riders when they share the highways with car drivers.

A joint House-Senate committee [today] will consider a draft bill that would prohibit cyclists from riding more than two abreast on the road. And when cyclists riding side-by-side are approached from the rear by a faster vehicle (i.e., car), they would be required to "move into a single file formation as quickly as practicable."

The North Carolina Active Transportation Alliance, a group of cyclists, skaters, etc., wants the proposal killed or heavily revised:

"The proposed language of the bill prohibits cyclists from riding two abreast and sets a precedent for further limiting (currently allowed) use of the full lane. The NCATA Board is concerned about the proposed bill, and while we encourage bicycles to behave courteously to passing vehicles, we see problems with codifying this as a requirement due to the implications on legal cases related to bicycle crashes, etc."

The NCATA Board has voted to present its position to Rep. Pricey Harrison in Greensboro (a cycling advocate) in hopes that she can work with Rep. Cole on either striking this piece of legislation all together or amending the language as follows:

§ 20-171.3. Operation of bicycles on highways. Bicyclists riding bicycles upon a highway shall not ride more than two abreast in a single marked lane, except on paths or parts of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles, or when overtaking another bicyclist.

Don't like it? Get vocal. Find out who your state reps are and contact him / her by phone or e-mail.

Here's House contact info. Here's Senate contact info.

Quote of the Day

"At one point I felt I had to ride or die. But my energy level now is so high and I feel so good, it's quite a contrast to what's happening in my life outside of riding. I recently told someone that you might be thinking about your problems before you ride, but if you're doing it right, you won't be thinking about them when you're done."

Tip of the hat to Keith, for posting this Huffington story on Facebook.

Build it and they will ride....

What happens when you create safe and effective cycling routes? This from today's New York Times:

Build it and they will ride. That’s the message conveyed in the latest annual estimate of the number of bicyclists in New York City by Transportation Alternatives, which found roughly 236,000 New Yorkers riding each day in 2009, up 28 percent from 185,000 daily riders the year before.

Full article here.