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!
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!
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.
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
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
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!
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
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!
Reach Jeffrey Rogers at jeffreycrogers@me.com
