The CyclingSavvy course is the one thing you can do to help you ride your bike more. It will help improve your bike handling skills, show you how to ride to any destination, and build your situational awareness. I challenge you to come see how much you can learn. Read what past students have said about the course.
The photo above is from a mid March 2024 at Central Park, NYC. With the skills and strategies I learned from CyclingSavvy, I was able to ride my bike from LaGuardia airport to Manhattan, Brooklyn and Seacuacus, NJ. I didn’t need to call a cab, take a taxi, pay tolls because I brought my bike with me.
Come join me for a class to learn how to ride in all weather conditions, how to shop by bike and how to ride with your children. Each class will consist of a discussion, bike skills and a short bike ride. Here’s the link for more details. Registration is required.
Contact me with any questions Pamela Murray 980 288 4801 pamlikestobike@gmail.com
The Events:
All-Weather Bicycling Monday, April 18, 7 PM Midwood Baptist Church 2029 Mecklenburg Ave, Charlotte, NC 28205
Buy By Bike Friday, May 3, 10 am – noon St. Martin’s Episcopal Church 1510 E 7th St, Charlotte, NC 28204
Kidical Mass Family Bike Ride Sun, May 12 (Mother’s Day), 10 am – noon Piedmont Middle School 1241 E 10th St, Charlotte, NC 28204
Please keep in touch for future events. Send me an email to be added to the email list.
Full Moon Ride – July 3rd – 8 pm from Cheat’s Cheesesteak
Fancy Women’s Bike Ride – Sept 17 – 2 pm from Moxie Mercantile
Photo: Jeff Cravotta
Sub 24 Hour Overnight – Sept 16 – 2 pm
What is it? Here is the link to the Fall 2022 trip to Copperhead Island. This time we’ll camp at McDowell Nature Preserve since Copperhead isn’t available. Let me know if you’re interested and reserve your spot today.
May is Bike month. Here are the events I have planned. Come join me for any or all of them! Contact me at pamlikestobike at gmail for any questions.
Tuesday, May 2
Plaza Midwood Tuesday Night Ride
PMTNR is a fun bicycle ride for everyone! Riders meet at the Plaza Midwood Common Market at 7:45 PM every Tuesday night. The ride is from 8:00PM until 9:30PM and usually covers 15 miles. Lights and helmet required. This ride is NEVER canceled.
Location: Common Market, 2007 Commonwealth Ave., 28205
Time: 7:45 pm meet time, leave at 8 pm.
Cost: FREE!
Who Participates: Open to Everyone
May 3
CyclingSavvy Ride Awesome : Live Discussion
Join Ride Awesome.
Ride Anywhere. Ride Awesome!
This premium membership provides lifetime access to all current and future online courses (excluding professional certification courses).
Benefits include:
Instant Access to Premiere Online Content: CyclingSavvy Basic & Mastery
Lifetime Access to All Online Content
Smart Moves Content
CyclingSavvy Essentials Short Courses
Savvy Cyclist Newsletter
Our Gratitude
Join CyclingSavvy Instructor, Pamela Murray, discuss Modules 1 and 2 via Zoom. Link will be sent the prior day. Sign up here.
Time: 7 pm
Cost: FREE! with Ride Awesome Membership ($100)
Who Participates: Ride Awesome Members
May 5
Full Moon Ride
Route will be about 20 miles. Lights and helmet required. Rain or shine.
Location: Zada Jane’s, 1601 Central Ave, Charlotte, NC 28205
Time: 8 – 10 pm
Cost: FREE!
Who Participates: Open to Everyone
Tuesday, May 9
Plaza Midwood Tuesday Night Ride : Bikes on a Train ride
PMTNR is a fun bicycle ride for everyone! Riders meet at the Plaza Midwood Common Market at 7:30PM every Tuesday night. The ride is from 8:00PM until 10:30PM and usually covers 15 miles. Lights and helmet required. This ride is NEVER cancelled.
This week only. Bikes on CATS is free. 10 and 20 mile ride options this week. You can ride both ways or opt to put your bike on the light rail for one way. Get on at the JW Clay station and get off at the Sugar Creek Station. Or you can choose to ride the whole way.
Location: Common Market, 2007 Commonwealth Ave., 28205
This is the 3 part workshop that includes 9 hours of bike fun!
Enhance your cycling experience!
What makes CyclingSavvy different from any other course is our deep dive into unique strategies for mastering even the most intimidating and complicated scenarios. You’ll be blown away by the places you can ride a bike without being a road warrior!
Truth & techniques is a virtual classroom session offered over Zoom. Train Your Bike is a bike handling skills class taught in a parking lot. The tour is an experiential on-road session where it all comes together. The classroom and bike handling sessions are required for participation in the tour.
On the Tour of Charlotte, we’ll travel as a group, stopping to survey and discuss each exercise location. After observing the feature, discussing the traffic dynamics and the best strategies for safe and easy passage, participants ride through individually and regroup at a nearby location.
Location: various
Time: Fri 4-7 pm, Sat and Sun 2 – 5 pm
Cost: $95 for all 3 sessions (scholarships available)
Truth & techniques is a virtual classroom session offered over Zoom. This class is a pre-requisite to taking the on-bike sessions (Train Your Bike and Tour).
You can take this class now and choose to take the on-bike sessions at a later date.
Location: Virtual via Zoom (a link will be emailed to attendees)
Hone your bike handling skills by joining our Train your Bike class on May 13 in Charlotte NC. This on-bike class is taught in a parking lot. Even experienced riders always learn something new.
Location: Midwood Baptist Church, 2029 Mecklenburg Ave., Charlotte NC 28205
Time: 2 – 5 pm
Cost: $45
Who Participates: Open to Everyone
May 16
Plaza Midwood Tuesday Night Ride
PMTNR is a fun bicycle ride for everyone! Riders meet at the Plaza Midwood Common Market at 7:45 PM every Tuesday night. The ride is from 8:00PM until 9:30PM and usually covers 15 miles. Lights and helmet required. This ride is NEVER canceled.
Location: Common Market, 2007 Commonwealth Ave., 28205
Time: 7:45 pm meet time, leave at 8 pm.
Cost: FREE!
Who Participates: Open to Everyone
May 18
Route Planning Workshop
Learn how to plan a comfortable route using Ride with GPS, Google Maps, and the Explore Charlotte GIS Map. Learn how I can ride anywhere in Charlotte and anywhere I travel. This will be an interactive workshop. Need a route? We’ll figure one out. Email pam for link.
Location: Virtual via Zoom
Time: 6 – 7 pm
Cost: FREE!
Who Participates: Everyone
May 20
Bicycle Day trip to Greensboro via Amtrak
We’ll ride to the Amtrak station, have lunch and a bike ride in Greensboro then return to Charlotte. Add your bicycle reservation when purchasing your train ticket. There is no additional bike fee between Charlotte and Raleigh. Only 4 more spots available. Make your bike reservation when you book your train ticket.
Ride with a Cycling Savvy Instructor – Plaza Midwood & Elizabeth History Bike Tour Historic Landmarks ride
Discover historic landmarks in the Plaza Midwood, Elizabeth, Belmont neighborhoods using cooperative and mindful bicycling and strategic route planning riding with a Cycling Savvy Instructor. This will be about 15 miles with over 15 historic landmarks.
Location: Betty by Moxie, 1219 Thomas Ave, Charlotte, NC 28205
Time: 2 pm
Cost: FREE!
Who Participates: Open to Everyone
May 23
Plaza Midwood Tuesday Night Ride
PMTNR is a fun bicycle ride for everyone! Riders meet at the Plaza Midwood Common Market at 7:45 PM every Tuesday night. The ride is from 8:00PM until 9:30PM and usually covers 15 miles. Expect a crowd! Lights and helmet required. This ride is NEVER canceled.
Location: Common Market, 2007 Commonwealth Ave., 28205
Time: 7:45 pm meet time, leave at 8 pm.
Cost: FREE!
Who Participates: Open to Everyone
May 30
Plaza Midwood Tuesday Night Ride
PMTNR is a fun bicycle ride for everyone! Riders meet at the Plaza Midwood Common Market at 7:45 PM every Tuesday night. The ride is from 8:00PM until 9:30PM and usually covers 15 miles. Lights and helmet required. This ride is NEVER canceled.
Location: Common Market, 2007 Commonwealth Ave., 28205
Time: 7:45 pm meet time, leave at 8 pm.
Cost: FREE!
Who Participates: Open to Everyone
Photo: Olly Yung 050223
Come ride with us!
Send me an email with Subject: Add me to your email list and I’ll send you an email of upcoming events. Here are some ideas for future events. Let me know if you have other suggestions or would be able to help me bring these things to life.
Here’s a 9 second video of how Cycling Savvy improves my riding safety and enhances my riding experience. This is on S. Tryon heading south. We are crossing I77 approaching Woodlawn Ave. Notice we are in the rightmost through lane. There is a right turn only lane to our right which leads to the on ramp for I77. We do not need to merge left for a lane change. We are riding 2 abreast and traffic can easily change lanes to pass. Since we are 2 abreast motorists can more easily pass since we are shorter in length than if we were riding single file. Listen for the honks. There are none. There is no traffic passing us because we are in the gap which the traffic light at Pressley/Tryon has created for us. We turned left onto Tryon from the parking lot across from Pressley. We also pressed the pedestrian button since the signal did not actuate for us. It may have given us additional pedestrian timing creating a longer gap in traffic for us.
If some of this terminology is foreign to you, please join me in my next Cycling Savvy course. We cover all these strategies and techniques.
The Sunday Slow Riders is a chill 15 mile ride. We meet weekly at 1:45pm at Legion Brewing in Plaza-Midwood to ride at 2 pm. Safety is no accident, so please wear your helmet. We’ll be stopping at a Bike Benefits location so remember to bring your helmet and sticker.
Location: 1906 Commonwealth Ave, Charlotte, North Carolina 28205
Time: 1:45 meet, leave at 2:00 pm (about 2 ½ hours)
Learn how to plan a comfortable, low stress route using Ride with GPS, Google Maps, the Virtual Charlotte Map and the Charlotte Bike Map. This will be an interactive workshop. Need a route? We’ll figure one out.
PMTNR is a fun bicycle ride for everyone! Riders meet at the Plaza Midwood Common Market at 7:30PM every Tuesday night. The ride is from 8:00 PM until 10:30 PM and usually covers 15 miles. Expect a crowd! Lights and helmet required. This ride is NEVER cancelled. We’ll be stopping at Bike Gallery which is a Bike Benefits location so remember to bring your helmet and sticker for 10% off accessories.
Location: Common Market, 2007 Commonwealth Ave., 28205
The full CyclingSavvy Course INCLUDES Truth & Techniques (classroom session), Train Your Bike (bike handling) session, and our signature on-road experience — Tour of Charlotte. https://cyclingsavvy.org/in-person-courses/
Truth & Techniques (classroom session, no bike needed): 4 PM to 7 PM Friday, Fri, May 3 at Advent Coworking, 933 Louise Ave #101, Charlotte, NC 28204.
Train Your Bike (parking lot skills session): 2-5 pm PM Saturday, May 4, 2019, at 1510 East 7th Street (parking lot, St. Martin’s Episcopal Church)
Tour of Charlotte: 1-4 PM Sunday,May 5, 2019. We’ll start from and return to the parking lot in front of Okra Yoga at 1912 Commonwealth Avenue.
Cost: $95 for the full course. Scholarships available.
Who Participates: Open to Everyone
Contact: Pamela Murray @ pamlikestobike@gmail.com or https://cltspokespeople.org/
May 5
Sunday Slow Riders ride
The Sunday Slow Riders is a chill 15 mile ride. We meet weekly at 1:45pm at Legion Brewing in Plaza-Midwood to ride at 2 pm. Safety is no accident, so please wear your helmet. We’ll be stopping at a Bike Benefits location so remember to bring your helmet and sticker.
Location: 1906 Commonwealth Ave, Charlotte, North Carolina 28205
Time: 1:45 meet, leave at 2:00 pm (about 2 ½ hours)
PMTNR is a fun bicycle ride for everyone! Riders meet at the Plaza Midwood Common Market at 7:30 PM every Tuesday night. The ride is from 8:00 PM until 10:30 PM and usually covers 15 miles. Expect a crowd! Lights and helmet required. This ride is NEVER cancelled. We’ll be stopping at a Bike Benefits location so remember to bring your helmet and sticker.
This week only. Bikes on CATS is free. 10 and 20 mile ride options this week. You can ride both ways or opt to put your bike on the light rail for one way.
Location: Common Market, 2007 Commonwealth Ave., 28205
Ride with a Cycling Savvy Instructor – Plaza Midwood to Campbell Creek Park
Experience riding with a Cycling Savvy Instructor using lane control and release. Experience cooperative and mindful bicycling while operating your bicycle as a vehicle. You’ll have 2 hours to either explore the park or join me for yoga at Charlotte East (Y facility) before returning. (Y members free, limited guests spots available) Bring a snack and water bottle. Ride out is 6 miles out and 6 miles back.
Location: Krazy Fish, 2501 Central Ave.
Time: 9:45 am meet, leave at 10 am, arrive at Campbell Creek Park at 10:30, will depart at 12:30.
Ride to lunch and use your Bike Benefits sticker. The group will decide which Bike Benefits business to go to. There are about 200 to choose from. http://cltspok.es/CLTpocketList Need a sticker? Advent has them. $5 each. Stickers never expire and can be used at over 2000 participating locations nationwide.
The Sunday Slow Riders is a chill 15 mile ride to the McGill Rose Garden, a Charlotte tradition. We meet weekly at 1:45pm at Gumbo in Plaza-Midwood to ride at 2pm. Safety is no accident, so please wear your helmet.
Location: 1916 Commonwealth Ave.
Time: 1:45 meet, leave at 2:00 pm (about 2 ½ hours)
Pump up your tires because the first annual Tour de Sabor is happening this spring….and you are invited! Can you bike 20 miles on tacos alone? Well there is only one way to find out.
Guided ride begins at Common Market in Plaza Midwood at 2 pm on Sunday, May 19th. Participants will receive their punch card starting at 1:30 and guided ride rolls out at 2. Speed will average 11-13 miles per hour. If you are rolling with your friends or want to rip a speed record on the 20 mile route as fast as possible, here it is to upload on your phone.
The Tour de Sabor is our way of celebrating Charlotte and letting you know that we love it when you ride your bike to our restaurants…once a day, once a month or all year long. Bike for tacos people!
All participants receive
A Bicycle Benefits sticker that gives them everyday discounts at Sabor and 175 locations around the city when they bike there and show the program helmet sticker.
A punch card which will give participants up to 10 tacos total at the 5 participating locations during the ride.
Other purchases are up to the riders and will receive their customary 10% off Bike Benefits offer.
Churros for all participants and raffle prizes at the end of the ride. (Elizabeth location) Don’t lose your punch card because you’ll need it at the end to win prizes. Raffle will be at 6 pm.
Cost is $20 which includes a Bike Benefit sticker. $15 if you already have Bicycle Benefits helmet sticker or card.
I must admit, I never personally knew Al. Everyone always saw him riding his bike around Plaza Midwood. This is a picture from July 4th, 2015 that my daughter took of Al as he rode down The Plaza. As you can see he was on his way home from Harris Teeter. He rode his bike everyday. Just as many of us do. Slow down, pay attention and put down the phone. Rest in peace, Al.
Every year I review my past year on Chinese New Year. The Chinese New Year is based on the lunar calendar so this year Chinese New Year is Feb. 19th. This is the year of the sheep. I like to see how much I’ve ridden, to reflect, to see what I need to do better or differently. Happy Chinese New Year!
Photo: Jeff Cravotta
Tin Can Annie; Photo: Wesley Johnson
My Inspiration
Please allow me to introduce you to my inspiration. This is a photo of Tin Can Annie. By the wonder of facebook someone posted a picture one day. This is the lady I used to see riding her bike everywhere all the time way back in the early1990s. She was always around Central, Plaza…. Yes, I’ve lived in Plaza Midwood since that time. She rode day, night, rain or shine. And she was always dressed head to toe in orange. She was my inspiration. You never know when someone will see you as their inspiration. Keep riding.
.
Rides
Both of the rides – PMTNR and Sunday Slow Ride are doing well. I’m so glad people show up twice a week to ride. We’ve had some great rides around town. These are my 2 favorite days of the week. Thanks for riding with me if you’ve been and if you haven’t, please join us sometime. We have a 15 mile ride with a 10 mile stop then a 5 mile return. A few times we’ll be a mile or two longer or shorter but that’s the idea. I love that I meet some of the nicest, most interesting people on the rides.
Mileage
Bike Miles 4,669 (last year 4,294)
Car Miles 7,000
Long distance trips 4,500
Around town 2,500
I still haven’t met my goal of 5,000 miles/year on my bike. Maybe next year.
Cumulative bike miles 20,394
My goal is to ride my bike everywhere. This year I remembered to track trip miles for out of town drives so I can see how much I drive around town. I’m surprised it’s still this much but I do drive to the farmer’s market on Yorkmont every weekend since I have to be there early and I’m pressed for time on Saturday. That’s most of the mileage. The rest are running the kids around to the doctor, dentist, birthday parties, etc. I don’t like to drive my car nearly as much as I love to ride my bike.
National Bike Challenge Stats: (May-Sept 2014)
5,281 points
2,241 miles
152 days ridden
#7 rank locally
#1245 rank nationally
Monthly record 489 miles
Best day 42 miles
I don’t consider myself athletic. I just like to ride my bike. I’m surprised I was ranked #7 for the Bike Challenge. A few miles here and there really do add up. You don’t have to ride far or fast just consistently. I think I missed one day during the 5 month challenge. I even rode when I was out of town.
Bike Benefits
My goal for Charlotte Bike Benefits was to be the largest program this year but we didn’t quite make that goal this year. We are #2 – behind Seattle, WA by about 17 businesses. Let me know if you have suggestions for additions to the program. And please ride your bike and support our participating businesses so they’ll continue to be engaged and supportive of bicycling in Charlotte. Please let the participating businesses know that you support them because they are a part of the Bike Benefits program. They need to know it’s a positive draw for them.
Cycling Savvy Charlotte
I taught my first Cycling Savvy class in December. I’ll be scheduling classes regularly. Let me know when you want to take a class and we’ll make it happen. You can now sign up for notifications on the website so you’ll know when the next class is scheduled. Here’s the link. I like to keep the class sizes small (less than 8 people) so everyone can get the most out of the classes. I know everyone says “I know how to ride a bike and don’t need to take a class.” But if you learn one thing to make riding more enjoyable, less stressful and it could save your life, it’s worth it. Just sign up and take the class and take my word for it. You’ll learn a lot. I promise. Riding a bicycle is easy. Riding a bicycle mindfully and courteously makes every ride more enjoyable. Come learn how you can ride anywhere.
BikeFest
BikeFest is planned for Sunday May 3rd. Mark your calendars and save the date. And better yet, help me plan it and be on the inside. Help me make this a great event to help share the joy of bike riding in Charlotte. Planning starts now. You can either help plan or on the day of the event or both. There are lots of opportunities to help support bicycling in Charlotte. Let’s get people on a bike so they can remember the joy they had riding just like the first time they learned to ride long ago. Email me at pamlikestobike at gmail.com if you can help. Thanks in advance.
Thanks!
Thanks for riding with me. Keep inviting your friends to ride with us. We’re filling up the calendar and have events most of the time now. If you didn’t read it, here’s a link to the Year in Review newsletter. As Rocky says, “Ride a Bike!”
I've had the good fortune to meet so many great people through riding my bike. Rocky is the one person who is more enthusiastic about riding than I am. And that's alot of enthusiasm. He was a friend of a friend and I finally got to meet him and ride with him. He is one of my bike heros for his positive energy, how he rides all the time and he is a quite skilled and fast mountain bike and road bike rider. Here's an excerpt from one of his facebook posts.
"Today I will ride , not just ride but try to do it in another way. Just get on my bike and go, take roads that I don't know, explore… We all have our own meaning in riding, some it is competition others it is a good time… but to me it has always been about being at peace and clearing my head not getting it all cloudy with different thoughts . I sometimes forget (how old I am) when I get that rythm on road or in the trail, which I miss more than anything, the woods are the best place to be at times for just getting it out and having fun but the road now seems to be my place of therapy. Riding through the city is a blast , all the energy around you, cars, buses and people and the the lightrail. I always love to ride next to the Light Rail cause you can hear the energy coming through the tracks right before it gets to you. You try and beat it before it gets to the next stop. It is pure that sound. I always say the Kinectic energy surrounds all of us when we are moving on two wheels. We are part of that energy. It is just simply amazing… and the bike has helped… I am a cyclist who loves to just get out and ride…Now Ride a Bike…"
I'm so thankful I've met these people through bicycling through Charlotte. I've met the best people on bikes. My kids call them "bike people". Bike people are the best. As Rocky says, Ride a Bike!
