This guy makes me look lazy:




More people are choosing bikes for fun, freedom, savings

By JAMIE SCHUMAN, The Herald-Sun
July 19, 2006 8:26 pm

DURHAM -- When Daniel Amoni moved to a new house in Carrboro, he didn't rent a moving van.

After all, Amoni, a carpenter and woodworker, already had a 5-foot trailer attached to his mountain bike.

So he just took off the plywood and tools that often sit there and put on bookshelves, utensils and even a bed.

About 25 trips later, Amoni and his family had biked their way to a new house, a half-mile from their old home (They did use a car on rainy days).

"Ever since I could ride a bike, it was always a symbol of freedom for me," Amoni said.

Amoni is one of a small but hearty contingent of area residents whose bikes are their main methods of transportation.

The number is growing, some bicycle advocates say, because of bike safety efforts, peer encouragement and rising gas prices. Regular unleaded gas prices were about $2.92 a gallon this week in the Triangle, according to AAA.

But many avid bikers say they choose to live car-free -- or nearly car-free -- not just for financial or environmental reasons, but for fun.

"I never liked driving," said Johannes Rudolph, who bikes seven miles round trip to his job at Duke University and who rarely uses a car. "Driving aggravated me."

When Rudolph moved to Durham seven years ago, he chose to live in the Croasdaile neighborhood partly to have a short bike commute to work.

Still, it took him awhile to feel safe riding in the city. When traffic started to scare him, he switched to a car for more than a year.

But one perfect autumn morning, he woke up and "couldn't take it anymore." So he invested in bright lights and yellow clothing and saddled up again.

"For me, it's how I turn on and off every day," said Rudolph, a biochemistry and chemistry professor who recently got rid of his $1,000-a-year Duke parking pass. "I need that transition period, and, in a car, I don't get it."

The area is conducive to biking, Rudolph says, because it is compact.

He often bikes to the grocery store or to the Carolina Theatre or the Southpoint cinemas -- but he does so on a tandem with his wife.

"This way, she's never more than a foot behind me," joked Rudolph.

The tandem, he added, allows one person to concentrate on signaling to traffic.

Brian Highfill, a bike mechanic at The Bicycle Chain on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, owns a pickup truck but hasn't used it in two years. He and his roommate have about 20 bikes in their Carrboro apartment.

Ironically, Highfill used to be a car mechanic for NASCAR and Volvo. But he got sick of the work and "decided to veer off in the other direction."

He prefers fixing bikes because they are cleaner than cars. He prefers riding bikes because he doesn't have to spend money on gas or insurance.

Plus, he says, pretty much everything he needs is nearby. When he does go afar, he gets a ride with a friend.

Highfill also uses his bike to deliver sandwiches for Jimmy John's on Franklin Street. About half of the restaurant's deliveries are by bike, said manager Erricca Dunn.

It's especially convenient to get around UNC, where many of Jimmy John's deliveries are, on two wheels, she said.

Other organizations in Chapel Hill and Carrboro also are trying to increase bicycle use.

Two nonprofit groups, Students United for a Responsible Global Environment and The Recyclery, are planning to launch a bicycle rental program in September.

People who pay a $10 annual membership fee would be able to borrow bikes from designated pickup points around town.

"We're not trying to make money," said Dennis Markatos-Soriano, executive director of SURGE. "We're trying to increase bicycle use."

Despite its appeal, riding bikes around here does have its problems. The main one, many bikers say, is car traffic.

Amoni said cars have passed him when he was riding in the middle of the lane.

For Scott Jewitt, Highfill's roommate, Franklin Street is a "death trap." Bikers aren't supposed to ride on the sidewalks, and cars often park on the road's shoulder. Still, Jewitt rides on the busy street each day.

Others avoid troublesome roads.

Rudolph takes a longer route to Duke to avoid Hillandale Road.

"Hillandale is a death trap as far as I'm concerned, so I don't take Hillandale," Rudolph said.

To promote bike safety, Durham officials recently wrote pamphlets on the topic for motorists and bikers and are distributing the information at libraries, universities and other locations.

In August, Durham city and county officials should complete a new draft of a joint bike plan, which has goals for road improvements, bike rack additions and education measures.

"There definitely are areas that are more bikeable than others," said Alison Carpenter, bike and pedestrian coordinator in Durham.

Carpenter said she was confident the bike plan would make Durham more bicycle friendly.

Heather Fisher, chairwoman of the Durham Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission, said community members have designated Erwin Road, N.C. 751, Main Street, Hillsborough Road, Hillandale Road, U.S. 15-501 and Morreene Road as some areas where they want to see improvements.