I'm glad to say there's a lot of fun and cool stuff going on in Charlotte.
PMTNR is at the top of the list. I am constantly amazed at how many people show up and bring their friends to ride with us. I'm always meeting new people and am continually encouraged that we are making a difference in getting people to ride their bikes around Charlotte.
And now we have rides almost every day of the week every week. In addition, there's monthly stuff and annual events as well. Make sure you check the calendar for a full listing and details.
Monthly
First Friday Bicycle Takeover in South End in the Brakes for Less parking lot on the corner of Park and South Blvd. each first Friday. This month will be the second one. There's tables and tents, giant Jenga, giant Connect 4, giant checkers. Just lots of fun and games and the food truck rally is right down the street.
Critical Mass is the last Friday of each month. The rides leaves from Common Market in Plaza Midwood at 8 pm.
Upcoming
Yard Art Day is August 8th. There will be a map posted so you can ride around and see all the art around town.
The "Back of the Line" free screening is also August 8th at the International House. It's a great and timely film about immigration issues.
The God Save the Queen Charlotte music festival at the Chop Shop is August 9th at 2:30. Tickets are on sale now.
The 48 Hour Film Project is August 21st. Teams will be showing their entries and the audience gets to vote. Tickets are on sale now. I'll be riding from Common Market if anyone wants to join me. I think if we leave around 5 we'll have time to get a quick bite before the show.
We're getting a group together to ride out to the Whitewater Center. We've been talking about it for about a month. The date that seems to work is August 24th. We'll be meeting at Queen City Bicycles around 9(?).
Ride ideas
And then there's the rides I want to do but haven't planned yet.
Here's the list:
S24O is a sub 24 hour overnight bike camping trip. We talked about riding to either Lake Norman or Lake Wylie but haven't set a date. The idea is to do a ride out, camp overnight then ride home. It gives you the experience of bike camping without taking a week to see if you like it. And since it's only overnight, you don't need all kinds of stuff and if you forget anything it's not a big deal.
The Silver Comet Trail is a paved trail from Marietta, GA to Alabama. It's a rail to trail project that's about 80 miles. It would be nice to do this when it's not so hot. I think it could be done in a weekend. I'd like to go with a few people so we can carpool and have one car at each end in case we don't want to double back.
The Outer Banks stretches from Ocracoke to Duck. I don't think it'll be there much longer due to severe weather and global warming. It's a beautiful ride between the beach and the sound.
I'd like to take my bike on the train and ride home. I think Salisbury would be a good destination. The train fare is only $11.50 and we could ride back to Charlotte.
Let me know if you want to help plan any of these and come ride.