Hup Hup Holland!

What would a mid-life bike obsession turned full blown LIFE -altering career change be without a trip to the cycling mecca : the Netherlands. Top THAT off with a conveniently coinciding weekend trip to Germany to spectate the opening stage of the Tour de France, and, well, mind blown.

Oddly, Germany is where interest in cycling and the form of cities began for me, but I would not really understand why until much later. As an undergrad, I participated in not one but TWO study abroad programs in Germany, both in Munich. When I came over the first time, I was not a cyclist, and I had no prior exposure to commuting by bike or general inclination to ride at all. I had only lived in smaller, very auto – oriented towns, so the idea of a dense, bike- and walk-able city served by good public transportation was literally foreign to me.

By my second, year-long stay in Munich, I had become a city cyclist. It wasn’t a revolution, it didn’t take over my life, it was simply NO BIG DEAL. Why not ride a bike – it was so easy! Bike paths were everywhere, it was cheaper than buying MVV tickets, and I always knew how I was getting home if I was out past the (somewhat early) curfew of no-more-U-Bahn.

Moreover, there was no fear of riding with automobile traffic, no mental struggles preparing for a nervous stretch between A and B, it was just an AWESOME way to move around the city, and came with the added benefits of fitness and a general feel good mental state!

Student bikes were plentiful and cheap, I must have had three different bikes that year, no recollection of how I acquired them or how I lost them; they somehow came from and then reverted to the great stockpile of bikes that just IS, especially around the student populated parts of Munich. I clearly remember the first time I realized that what I was seeing as I was riding was what the U-Bahn stations looked like FROM ABOVE, and, hey, they were really not that far apart, and by biking, I was seeing the city in a much more complete way, stitching it all together so to speak.

This was in 1994. At the time, I had no clue what city planning was, and it never occurred to me to pursue a career in the field. After finishing my German degree at Lewis & Clarke College in Portland, I went on to a twenty-year career in the music industry, the first few years of which were spent as a Berlin-based tour manager of American bands touring Europe. In those years, I clocked many miles around most of Western Europe in a loaded Sprinter van (or sometimes even a sleeper bus with a haggard British driver nickname ‘Rubble’). From there I somehow ended up in Melbourne, Australia, where I spent almost six years running my own business and traveling the Antipodes. Since 2004 I’ve been back in the US; firstly in Portland for a short time, then a year and change in Los Angeles, and since 2007 back in what I call my home state of North Carolina.

Returning the US in 2004 brought my commuter cycling career to a close. After having been a cyclist in Europe and even in Australia, I simply wasn’t ready to fight traffic in America in order to commute in a hostile environment.

However, a few years ago, in North Carolina, thanks to getting roped in to a couple of triathlons, I discovered road cycling, and in 2013 I became a cyclist all over again. This time, it was for entirely different reasons, but it galvanized my perspectives on American roads. After a year or so of enduring all manner of stressful rural riding situations, I joined a local advocacy group called Carrboro Bike Coalition. Two years later, upon the realization that advocacy was incredibly energizing and, well, NEEDED, I applied to UNC's Department of City and Regional Planning Master's program, and walked away from my professional role in music. 

This European stop is, in a larger sense, stitching it all together. Coming back to Germany for the first time in around 10 years, then spending two weeks in Holland to study the form and function of their cities from the perspective of sustainable transportation, will be laying groundwork for my future work in the field, but at the same time will be slowly unpacking what made me really appreciate being here to start with, and building on the understanding I gained from living here for several years. 

 We are a far cry from this sort of ideal in North Carolina. Transportation planning in our area does not even necessarily prioritize safety. Our state is a Vision Zero state, but I am not yet convinced that there will be much beyond use of the phrase as a talking point from the NCDOT. But, by being here and spending real time and energy observing, processing, and thinking about the Dutch form of sustainable transportation and systemic safety, I am hopeful that we can work towards moving the needle back home. I’m looking forward to being inspired by what can be, and sharing the experience with a group of fellow students who are also working towards a more human transportation system.