I Love Riding in the City
NAME: Natalie Newberry
LOCATION: Mufreesboro, TN
OCCUPATION: Waitress at Macaroni Grill
Where do you live and what’s it like riding in your city?
I live in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. It’s a suburb of Nashville, where its citizens aren’t used to a lot of cyclists riding around. We have a tight-knit crew of bikers called CHIRP! Another group spawned from it, BIKE NITE, in which we meet up on our college campus and ride around the city every Thursday night. At first we were just expecting it to be the normal group of about 15 or so people, but after a while it caught on. We have had 60+ people show up, which was amazing. BIKE NITE is quite a sight for people, seeing 60 people on bikes isn’t an everyday thing here.
What was your favorite city to ride in, and why?
Murfreesboro of course! Although riding experiences differ from day to day, all of my fellow riders stick together like a family. We don’t ride to show off fancy bikes or prove that we can ride fast—we ride for togetherness.
Why do you love riding in the city?
It makes me feel free. It makes me feel like I’m actually doing something. It raises awareness to motorists saying, “We’re not blocking traffic, we ARE traffic.”
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NAME: Empidog Reynolds
LOCATION: Oxford, England
OCCUPATION: Freelance Cartoon Artist
Where do you live and what’s it like riding in your city?
I live in a sleepy quintessential English village then cycle into the madness which is Oxford in self defense mode. As you enter Botley it starts—taxis, buses, unaware pedestrians, dogs and other cyclists. Mad, but great fun. Take a run up into Jericho to Zappi’s Cafe (Flavio Zappi, ex-Giro rider) for a well earned cappuccino then it’s off up north to BMW and Audi country to avoid school run mums and dozy kids… Heaven.
What was your favorite city to ride in, and why?
Oxford, for its diversity. You can daydream around the back streets absorbing the history and culture or you can go into East Oxford to the best bike shop (Beeline) and fight with the door openers, random pedestrians, cycle haters and be sworn at in a multitude of languages
Check out empidog-empidog.blogspot.com
