pambikes

Ride (Your City)

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This is the time of year everyone is taking pictures of their bike adventures, charity rides, bike riding in beautiful far away places.  Those things are always great and lovely but few and far between for most of us who have a family, work, have normal obligations.  Too many people only train for special events or occasions and forget about the beauty and delight of daily riding.  They get trapped in a neighborhood afraid to cross a busy street, don't make time in their daily schedule to ride their bike and end up driving everywhere while the bike collects dust.

To me a bicycle in the garage is like a caged animal wanting to be out in the sun, on the road, seeing new things and going places.  Dust off your bike that has spiderwebs and dust.  Pump up the tires, oil the chain, make sure the brakes work then just ride.  Anywhere.  Everywhere.  All the time.

See the sun set.  Watch the moon rise.  Watch the buildings light up.  Listen to the cicadas, crickets, birds, dogs.  It's always a great time to ride.  Wherever you are.  Experience all the neighborhoods of Charlotte.  We have a wonderful tree canopy.  Charlotte is a beautiful place to ride your bike.  Most streets and neighborhoods are wonderful to ride on.  Come ride PMTNR or Sunday Slow Ride with us and discover your city.

The story of PMTNR

This entry was posted in Blog Pam's Blog and tagged bike ride PMTNR social ride on by

One night after Critical Mass, the group who ride suggested we should ride more than once a month.  I think it was Erik, Beth, Amy, Adam, Randy.  We agreed to meet on Tuesday night at 8 pm.  And so it began.

Like most people, I loved to ride with others so that I could discover new routes, go different places, be more visible.  But most importantly, I just wanted to ride.  And like most people, between working, family commitments, etc. night time is the best time to consistently make time to ride.  Especially after daylight savings time when it's generally dark after work.  And I didn't want to ride alone as a female.  

Around this same time I was reading "On Bicycles."  The book mentioned Bike Parties such as San Jose Bike Party (SJBP) and it included references and links.  SJBP was described as a ride for everyone with a fun, positive vibe.  This was the inspiration for PMTNR.  I wanted the ride to be called the Tuesday Night Ride so everyone would remember what day it was.  We always met at the Common Market and since there are 2 Common Markets we added the PM for Plaza Midwood.  Thus, Plaza Midwood Tuesday Night Ride.  We chose 8 pm so we'd all have time to get home, have dinner then meet for the ride.  We all met and decided where to ride and we each took turns where we were going.  It was just a handful of people.  But I kept showing up and kept asking everyone to ride with me.  EVERY week.

Ryan suggested we make a facebook page so we could get the word out about the ride.  He set it up.  And we took pictures and then people saw how much we were having and started to come.  

We've tried to refine things along the way to try to improve the ride and so people will know what to expect.  We always ride 10 miles to a stop then another 5 miles to the beginning.  It's always right around 15 miles.  And we have a planned route with a leader and a sweep (the person in the back).  The sweep makes sure we don't lose anyone.  And to help with mechanical issues such as a chain that has fallen off, a flat tire, etc.  

And now we consistently have more than 100 riders every week when it's warm and sunny.  When it's threatening to rain, we have about 65 people and if it's snowing, we have about 12 people.  Amazingly, we all show up at 7:45 every week and we roll out at 8 pm.  

If you haven't ridden with us yet, please do come ride.  Just once.  You'll see how much fun it is. 

More rides and more miles

This entry was posted in Blog Pam's Blog and tagged National Bike Challenge on by

The national Bike Challenge is in full swing.  Although the Local Challenge really isn't that Local due to the way the software works this year, it's still fun to create teams, internal rivalries and such.  Have you noticed people are riding more and for more miles.  And hopefully we're all supporting the local Bike Benefits businesses too.  For example if you look at the Local leaderboard and click on any person and see their mileage for the month.  One person I looked at was riding 325 miles in May and in July rode 760 miles.  That's a lot of miles….on a bike!

Keep pedaling!

Pumps in Every Neighborhood

This entry was posted in Blog Pam's Blog and tagged Bike Benefits floor pump on by

Here’s the most up to date list of the pumps stashed all over town in case you need some air.  There’s just about one in every neighborhood so you shouldn’t be too far away when you notice you’re tire needs a little bit of air.  Try to keep your tires properly inflated to avoid pinch flats.

Plaza Midwood – Gumbo, Common Market

Commonwealth/Morningside – Bean Vegan Cuisine

NoDa – Bridsong Brewing Co.

Uptown – Belfast Mill

Elizabeth – Spoke Easy

Dilworth – East Boulevard Bar and Grille, Bulldog Beer and Wine

South End – Queen City Bicycles, Common Market

Myers Park – Sir Edmond Halley’s, BikeSource

Thanks to all the Bike Benefits businesses and members.

As the list is updated, you can check the Bicycle Benefits website and look for the pump icon.

Updated 07-20-15

 

The National Bike Challenge

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The National Bike Challenge runs from may through September this year.  Somehow it gets people to ride their bike more.  It's funny and silly that logging your miles and seeing them on a Leaderboard against other riders gets some people in rivalries.  There's 2 guys on The Charlotte Spokes People team who keep trying to best each other.  Then there's people who want to be the top man or woman on the team or in Charlotte or whatever.  I remember the first time I did the Challenge a few years back.  I was surprised how many miles accumulate just riding here and there a few miles at a time.  It's way more miles than the person who talks about loving to ride their bike 50 miles occasionally.  The people who ride the most are the most consistent riders.  The ones that NEED to ride to have a good day.  It's therapy.  It keeps them sane, happy, smiling, etc. So there's 61 more days of the Challenge.  Let's keep riding.  And smiling!

Take a look at the stats on the Local Challenge and see how everyone is doing.  We have a lot more riders than last year.  And the miles we've ridden is great!  

So many rides….

This entry was posted in Blog Pam's Blog on by

 

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.  

 

Upcoming Events

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First Friday South End Bicycle Takeover

Friday August 1st

Charlotte 48 Hour Film Project

Thursday, August 21st

We'll plan a ride to Uptown, have a quick dinner before the screening.  We'll be meeting at Common Market for the ride.  Details to follow.  Keep an eye on the calendar.

Charlotte Tweed Ride 2014

Sunday November 22nd

Meet at 1:30 PM at Eco-Licious. Leave at 2 PM. Stop to be determined. Wear your best tweed and English clothing. Vintage bikes encouraged but not required. Party pace ride, all fitness levels encouraged to participate. Additional details to follow. This is a Sunday Slow Riders ride with a theme.

Daily Ride

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I've noticed some people wonder where or when to ride.  So I'll post where I ride everyday.

Common Market for a meeting about building a map to help bicycle riders

Library to return some books

Post Office to mail a letter

B Cycle Hub for a meeting to build a bicycle powered parade float

The Liberty for dinner – And I used my Bicycle Benefits sticker

Target

Total mileage today 10 miles.

But you can see my daily miles on https://nationalbikechallenge.org/rider/14169

Get on your bike and ride where ever you need to go anyway.  And while you're at it, support our local Bike Benefits businesses.  You can see the full list here.