There are a lot of news stories this holiday season about different organizations giving away bicycles to children in need, and I tip my hat to all of them.
But year in and year out, the effort that catches my attention is the work done by Moses Mathis, the so-called “Bicycle Man” of Fayetteville, North Carolina.
The 72-year-old man has been giving away bicycles every Christmas for the past 20 years to children in the poor communities of North Carolina's sand hills. He told News14Carolina:
“I'll see the kids and the parents, and the hugs and the kisses and the thank you's. … That's what it's all about.” …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/12/23/bicycle-man-overcomes-challenges-for-another-bike-giveaway/
Interviewed at News14 Carolina about his annual bicycle giveaway.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/12/23/moses-mathis/
Here's a little bit of holiday cheer brought to us via YouTube by the London-based FreshNetworks social media company. It shows a group of Santas swooping in on London to ride the city's new bike-share system like so many Valkyries in a Wagner opera.
Launched just four months ago, the bike-share program is already a big part of many Londoners' lives. If they're not using one of the 5,000 bicycles for commuting or running an errand, they see them on the streets weaving through traffic.
The system has become known as “Boris Bikes” for Boris Johnson, London's current mayor. Ironically, it was his predecessor …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/12/22/santas-skip-sleighs-for-londons-bike-share-scheme/
You can't say that the friends of a Hawaiian cyclist who was struck and killed by a hit-and-run motorist took the law into their own hands, but they did help police with their investigation.
Zachary Manago, a Hawaii Pacific University student, had joined a Friday night group ride with 30 or 40 other cyclists who were on their way to watch the sunrise at a beach on Oahu.
As they pedaled their bicycles along Kamehameha Highway shortly before midnight, someone driving an SUV struck the 18-year-old from behind and then sped away. Manago was later pronounced dead at the hospital. ….
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/12/21/friends-of-fallen-cyclist-find-hit-and-run-driver/
Cyclist Zachary Manago killed on Hawaiian highway struck and killed by hit and run driver; friends later find the car and police arrest suspect.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/12/21/zachary-manago/
Many of my favorite books — both fiction and non-fiction — involve travel or adventure. Lately I've been thinking how a loaded touring bicycling might have been a better conveyance for the author or main character than a horse, car, or pickup or camper.
“Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” immediately comes to mind, with the bicycle replacing the motorcycle in the title. But, I just googled this and it turns out it's the title of a TV episode of “Radio Free Roscoe”, and any number of blog headlines. In other words, it's already been done.
There's not anything wrong with the following books. I loved reading them and these comments aren't meant as criticism. It's just that I would have liked to have read the author's take on bicycling in these books. Here are some of my favorite books and how a bicycle might have worked:
Roughing It, by Mark Twain….
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/12/19/5-favorite-books-that-might-have-benefited-with-a-bicycle/
The English Major by Jim Harrison
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/12/19/the-english-major/
Blue Highways by William Least Heat Moon
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/12/19/blue-highways/
John Steinbeck's camper truck that he used in his wanderings that later became “Travels with Charley.” He named the truck Rocinante for Don Quixote's steed. By Lord Harris photos at wikipedia.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/12/19/john-steinbecks-camper/
How would you feel if a simple parking violation resulted in a ticket that surpassed the cost of your car?
That's what bicyclists at the University of California at Berkeley are asking in the wake of a crackdown on bicycle violations by campus police.
So far this semester, police have issued 103 citations, a 41% increase over the same period last year. What's really frosting the students, however, is that the infractions cost $220 each, which is more than the cost of some of the beater bikes these college students ride….
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2010/12/18/bicycle-battle-brewing-at-uc-berkeley/
Adventure Cycling Association Trail biking Rails to Trails Conservancy League of American Bicyclists
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