New Hampshire

Pedals & Pathways: Happy Hour Hustle, Tour de NH, Bike to Work Day + more | Manchester Ink Link

Published

2 years ago

May 2, 2024

Pedals & Pathways: Happy Hour Hustle, Tour de NH, Bike to Work Day + more | Manchester Ink Link

Navigating Manchester’s Urban Paths

Hello Manchester! Welcome back to a recurring column about navigating our lovely city on foot, scooter, bicycle, etc. This time of year it feels so wonderful to be out in the sun with a breeze in your hair. For most of us, the exercise is a welcome bonus. So let’s get into it!

In this edition, let’s talk about:

Bike parking at the Taco Tour
Running: Happy Hour Hustle
Antique (1885) bike in DoubleTree
Tour de NH: Rail Trails
ARMI’s Transportation Equity Survey
Bike to Work Day
Video: guide to bike commuting
Trans NH Ride, fundraiser for MDA
Mellow Manchester map

Taco Tour Bike Parking

One of my favorite Manchester events is rapidly approaching! I love seeing Elm Street full of people on foot enjoying the day with tons of tacos. A whopping 25,000 people are expected!

BikeValet

Parking will not be easy, so ride your bike instead and park it safely with volunteers from Queen City Bike Collective. Parking will be at:

Stanton Plaza, in front of the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
700 Elm Street Manchester, NH 03101

Be aware, bikes are not permitted to be ridden throughout the event.

Getting a ticket in advance to park your bike will help QC Bike to plan ahead, but they’ll make every effort to take your bike, even if they’re getting full. The first 20 to come with an advance ticket will get a QC Bike tee shirt! Bikes must be retrieved by 8 PM.

Advance Bike Parking Tickets HERE.

Running: Happy Hour Hustle

This series of five races organized by Millennium Running has two located in Manchester while the other three are nearby — two in Londonderry, one in Bedford. Each benefits a different charity, see below.

Week 1: Thursday, May 16, 2024 (Londonderry)
Week 2: Thursday, June 13, 2024 (Manchester)
Week 3: Thursday, July 18, 2024 (Londonderry)
Week 4: Thursday, August 1, 2024 (Bedford)
Week 5: Thursday, September 19, 2024 (Manchester)

More info is available here.

1885 Xtraordinary Challenge bike on display at DoubleTree

In our city we’re lucky to have the Manchester Historic Association who do an amazing job of preserving and publicizing many fascinating aspects of our life from the past. While attending an event at the DoubleTree Hilton recently I passed a wonderful display of a 139-year-old bicycle. I’ve seen old bikes before but never anything like this!

OldBikePhoto

This bike was manufactured by Singer & Co. in Coventry England in 1885. (Company named for George Singer, no relation to the sewing machine maker.) In the photo you can see that the fork has a slight rake — a forward angle compared to the vertical tube holding the handlebars — which improved safety by moving the rider’s mass a bit rearward compared to the axle of the front wheel. In a later innovation Singer would improve on this by adding a curve to the fork.

Also on display was a great old photo of Manchester cyclists.

ManchesterOldCyclists

Tour de NH: Discover Rail Trails

To recognize May as National Bike Month, you are invited by:

the Bike Walk Alliance of New Hampshire
the Granite State Wheelers
the New Hampshire Rail Trails Coalition

on a series of bike tours along the rail trails of the Granite State.

NOTE: Space limited, registration required.

Whether you’re a seasoned cyclist or new to biking, these weekend tours are designed to ignite your sense of adventure and showcase the natural beauty of New Hampshire’s rail trail system.

Each weekend in May, we’ll highlight a different rail trail, listed below. These rides will provide a safe and supportive environment to learn about cycling, trail etiquette, and the rich history of these scenic routes.

The rides will include:

Saturday, May 4: New Hampshire’s longest rail trail: The Northern Rail Trail
Saturday, May 11: The trails of the Queen City: Manchester NH (may be filled already)
Saturday, May 18: The Rail Trails of the White Mountains: Presidential Rail Trail and the Cross New Hampshire Adventure Trail
Sunday, May 26: The Rail Trails of the Elm City: Keene, NH
Friday, May 31: The Trails of Bethlehem: Bethlehem, NH

ARMI’s Transportation Equity Survey

ARMI logo

Right here in Manchester’s mill yard, the folks at ARMI (Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute) are on a mission to advance manufacturing, healthcare, and education & workforce development for the United States. This will involve some amazing biotechnology innovations, which in turn will require a vibrant workforce. As part of ARMI’s efforts to ensure they can offer an appealing work environment, they are conducting a study on transportation in the area, to discover issues faced by commuters.

You can access the survey here.

And to learn more about it, see the video here.

The results of this survey will positively impact all citizens of Manchester, so please take the survey!

Bike to Work Day

BikeMonth copy

It’s spring! Greenery is popping out everywhere and many of us can’t wait to get outside. Fittingly, May is National Bike Month, established in 1956 to showcase the many benefits of bicycling, and encourage more folks to giving biking a try.

A high point of the month is Bike to Work Day! It’s on Friday May 17th. On that day, Manchester commuters will have two opportunities to fuel up and connect with the biking community.

Pedal over to City Hall Plaza between 7-9 am on your way to work to get some coffee and snacks with Mayor Jay Ruais.
On your way home stop by the Queen City Bicycle Collective at 35 Elm St. between 4-6 pm for some afternoon energy and to learn about your local community bike shop.

No matter your destination, come and celebrate getting around town by bike!

Manch Bfast 3

Video: Guide to Bike Commuting

See video below:

Early in this video the narrator says: “…especially if you live in a city that doesn’t make it easy by providing safe, separated bike infrastructure.” I’ll bet that applies to many of us. But for better context, here’s the full opening quote:

“Bike commuting can make your life better in so many ways, but it can be difficult to get started, especially if you live in a city that doesn’t make it easy by providing safe, separated bike infrastructure. So, after many years of bike commuting, here is my advice to help you get started.”

The full video is 21 minutes long, and offers a great discussion with many tips, whether you’ll bike to work occasionally or every day.

Trans NH Ride, raises funds to fight MDA

TransNHBikeRide

Founded in 1988, this ride is a fully supported 1, 2, or 3-day exploration of New Hampshire, with a mission to raise funds and awareness for people living with neuromuscular diseases. By cycling many miles of New Hampshire roads – in all weather conditions – riders show support for those living with muscular dystrophy who face challenges daily.

Day 1: Beecher Falls, VT (NH border) -to- Littleton NH.
Day 2: Littleton, NH. -to- West Lebanon, NH.
Day 3: West Lebanon, NH -to- Concord, NH.

The cause, the camaraderie, the support and the challenge make the Trans-NH Bike Ride a very special ride — unlike one you’ll find anywhere else.

The Trans-NH Bike Ride has been rated the friendliest, best-supported ride in NH! It has been the event for people looking for a ride that’s unique, benefits a worthy cause — and most of all, is fun (and yes, a little challenging, too!).

Learn more here.

Mellow Manchester Map

Rochester NY has a map of low-stress bike routes.

Chicago has the Mellow Chicago Bike Map.

Let’s make a Mellow Map for Manchester! While some of us are confident riding in busy traffic, many of us are more moderate in our skill on a bike, and not quite as comfortable on the open road. Today we don’t have a connected network of safe cycling paths separated from traffic. But we shouldn’t let that stop us from riding — riding is healthy & fun.

Let’s assemble a map of safe & low-stress routes we know about, routes with mild vehicular traffic, with few revving engines & giant trucks. As it grows, we can share this map widely, so that folks who aren’t quite as comfortable navigating lots of traffic have alternate & safe ways to get where they need to go.

Share your favorite low-stress routes, along with routes you always AVOID, with me and I’ll put it all together into one map. SPOILER WARNING: this will probably take some time to come together.

Send all suggestions to: rogersjeffreyc@gmail.com

Call for Input

We very much want to hear from you! Do you have any questions or concerns? What topics would you like us to cover? Send your feedback our way and we’ll get on it! We want to ensure this column meets your needs.

Have fun out there!

Jeff Rogers

Reach Jeffrey Rogers at jeffreycrogers@me.com

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New Hampshire

Possible 2028 Democratic White House contenders weigh in on Iran with New Hampshire voters

Published

8 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Possible 2028 Democratic White House contenders weigh in on Iran with New Hampshire voters

As the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran overtakes the foreign policy debate in Washington, two Democratic governors with potential 2028 presidential aspirations — Gavin Newsom and Andy Beshear — recently traveled to New Hampshire, introducing themselves to the state’s famously engaged voters. The two weighed in on the war and both criticized and questioned President Trump’s strategy and endgame.

“If a president is going to take a country into war, and risk the lives of American troops and Americans in the region, he has to have a real justification and not one that seems to change every five to 10 hours,” Beshear told CBS News after a Democratic fundraiser in Keene.

“This President seems to use force before ever trying diplomacy, and he has a duty to sell it to the American people and to address Congress with it,” Beshear continued. “He hasn’t done any of that. In fact, it appears there isn’t even a plan for what success looks like. He’s gone from regime change to strategic objectives and now is talking about unconditional surrender, which isn’t realistic where he is.”

Beshear also said he thought that Congress should have reined in Mr. Trump’s war powers.

“He is trying to ignore Congress. He’s trying to even ignore the American people,” Beshear said.

He went on to note that the president’s State of the Union address took place “three — four days before he launched this attack,” and Mr. Trump “didn’t even have the respect to tell the American people the threat that he thought Iran posed to us.”

Last week, both the House and the Senate failed to pass resolutions to limit Mr. Trump’s war powers and stop him from taking further military action against Iran without congressional support.

Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks with voters in Keene, New Hampshire, on March 7, 2026.

Anne Bryson

For Newsom, the war with Iran constitutes part of a broader criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

At an event last Tuesday in Los Angeles, Newsom had compared Israel to an “apartheid state.” Later, in New Hampshire, he sought to clarify his comment.

“I was specifically referring to a Tom Friedman [New York Times] column last week, where Tom used that word of apartheid as it relates to the direction Bibi is going, particularly on the annexation of the West Bank,” Newsom explained during a book tour event Thursday night in Portsmouth. “I’m very angry, with what he is doing and why he’s doing it, what he’s going to ultimately try to do to the Supreme Court there, what he’s trying to do to save his own political career.”

Friedman wrote that at the same time that the U.S. and Israel are prosecuting a war in Iran, within Israel, Netanyahu’s government has undertaken efforts to annex the West Bank, driving Palestinians from their homes; fire the attorney general who is leading the prosecution against Netanyahu for corruption; and block the government’s attempt to establish a commission to examine the failures that led up to the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of Jews by Hamas.

CBS News has reached out to the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., for comment.

On Iran, Newsom said, “I’m very angry about this war, with all due respect, you know, not because I’m angry the supreme leader is dead. Quite the contrary. I’m not naive about the last 37 years of his reign. Forty-seven years since ’79 — the revolution,” Newsom said. “But I’m also mindful that you have a president who still is inarticulate and incapable of giving us the rationale of why? Why now? What’s the endgame?”

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks with political commentator Jack Cocchiarella at an event in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on March 5, 2026.

Anne Bryson

Many attendees at Newsom’s book event said that the situation in Iran is a top-of-mind issue for them, too. Some said they’re “horrified” by what is happening.

29-year-old Alicia Marr told CBS News she decided to attend Newsom’s event because of his social media response to the war with Iran.

“There was one spot left, and I decided to pick it up, and it was due to his response to the war, that it is just unacceptable, and I would agree with that,” Marr said.

While some voters like Marr are eager to hear about where potential candidates stand on foreign policy, many at Newsom’s event said they care most about how potential candidates plan to address domestic issues.

“I’m more focused on getting the middle class back on track and fighting the oligarchy, and I’m less invested in international issues,” said Anita Alden, who also attended Newsom’s event,

“I wouldn’t call myself America first, but we have so many problems at home that are my priority,” she told CBS News.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who may also be weighing another White House bid, told Fox 2 Detroit last week that she “unequivocally opposes” the Trump administration’s military action in Iran and urged Congress to take action.

“If we want to stop Donald Trump with this random decision that he has arrived at, then Congress must act, and Congress must act immediately. The American people do not want our sons and daughters to go into this unauthorized war of choice,” Harris said.

Mr. Trump has lashed out against Democrats who have pushed back on his Iran strategy, calling them “losers” last week and arguing that they would criticize any decision he made on Iran.

“If I did it, it’s no good. If I didn’t do it, they would have said the opposite, that you should have done this,” the president said.

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New Hampshire

Mass. man nabbed after allegedly driving over 100 mph in N.H.

Published

20 hours ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Mass. man nabbed after allegedly driving over 100 mph in N.H.

Local News

Police say the Attleboro man was driving 104 mph in a 55 mph zone on Route 202 near in Rindge, New Hampshire.

A Massachusetts man was arrested late Wednesday night after police say he was driving more than 100 mph on a New Hampshire roadway.

Officers with the Rindge Police Department stopped a vehicle shortly after 11 p.m. on Route 202 near Sears Drive in Rindge following a report of a car traveling at excessive speed, according to a statement from Chief Rachel Malynowski.

The vehicle, a 2020 Kia Stinger, was spotted traveling at 104 mph in a posted 55 mph zone, Malynowski said.

The driver, a 21-year-old man from Attleboro, was arrested and charged with reckless operation of a motor vehicle, according to police.

He is scheduled to be arraigned April 5. If convicted, the man faces a fine of at least $750, in addition to the court’s penalty assessment, and a 90-day license suspension, Malynowski said.