Friday, December 5, 2008

Charlotte Bike Family of the Decade

Month Late Edit: I have just been notified by the matriarch of the other family in Charlotte NC that does a daily commute by bike of the true identity of the happy little two wheeled clan pictured below. Jen Cline with her daughter Katelyn and her Single Speed future World Champion son Tommy.
On one of the cold mornings of November(the coldest Nov on record for the Jar) I was on the way in traversing Pecan Ave when I saw a little family of riders in file crossing on 8th a hundred meters in front of me. Hmmm, what was that? I picked up the pace, broke right on 8th and caught up with this group of commuters keeping it real in full family style. I stayed in the back to watch them work. The mom was in complete control of her kids safety and travel to school by staying on the right hand side of the road while the young ones surfed the sidewalk led by the boy. I watched in almost disbelief as the little lad in front was forced to ride through a tunnel of early morning cold sprinkler water(that's right folks, don't worry there is plenty of water in this drought and you can put as much of it as you want on your grass) that pelted his face with his head tucked in to himself slightly cocked to the right. How could this elementary student be so core? I guess it is because he has the 2 wheeled support of his Mom and Sister right there flying his wing. I chatted with Mom as we rolled and found out that they have been commuting for awhile now from their home in Chantilly to the kid's school on Hawthorne, then she rides on to work. In the afternoon this little family reverses the process. I told her the truth, "IN 10 YEARS I HAVE NEVER SEEN A FAMILY COMMUTING IN THIS TOWN OF A MILLION!" Congrats you are the family I have been searching for.

Early last week as I was flying down 7th I spotted them on the corner at Hawthorne waiting for a safe crossing. I spun around and with excitement asked if I may take their portrait for my blog to prove that there is actually a commuting family in the Jar. Laughs, smiles, poses, questions and 5 images made of this happy and healthy family. As any not so good journalist would do, I found myself in such a hurry that I did not write down their names in my little notebook. If you guys happen to see this please contact me, I would love to put some names with the faces so that your powerful identities could be known. Ride on and stay safe~your strength is infinite!


I made this former header image that you have been seeing for the past few weeks just as Andreas' and my Veteran's day Mountain Ride wound down. We rode past the bridge and up the hill towards this church which supports the dirt road town of Edgemont NC at the base of the Blue Ridge.



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