RIDE: The INDY's bike guide 2015

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Our annual guide to biking in the Triangle

ALTERNATE ROUTES Our annual guide to biking in the Triangle

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MOVE AROUND

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AST YEAR, FOR OUR INAUGURAL SURVEY OF TRIANGLE CYCLING, OR RIDE, WE FOCUSED ON EXTREMES.

There was Rodney Hines, the Raleigh man known as “The No Hand King,” who hopes to pop a continuous wheelie across the continental United States. And there was a cross-Triangle trek, a daylong journey from downtown Raleigh to Carrboro and back, completed amid the thick heat of a sweltering summer day. And there were cycling sports such as

BMX competitions and cyclocross meets, which must have seemed intimidating to outsiders even when they were fascinated.

But that’s not how most people bike; in fact, most people don’t bike at all. A recent survey by the advocacy-and-research organization Breakaway Research Group found that only 14 million Americans, or just more than 4 percent of the population, bike more than twice a week.

The hope this year, then, is to show a few ways for more people to get off four wheels and onto two (or, in the case of one subject, three). We look at how some Triangle residents use their bikes every

day to commute to work, sometimes with short jaunts down city greenways and sometimes through seemingly treacherous rural terrain, and the unexpected pleasures they get from the trip. There’s a short compendium of advice for those new to bikes and a profile of one IBM employee who tries to put his commute to work to work by helping drivers be more mindful of non-motorized vehicles.

And then there’s a cautionary tale of one area bike enthusiast accused of joining popular group rides just so he could choose which of their wheels to steal. He denies that claim but agrees that bike theft in the

Triangle is a growing concern. So we end the second edition of RIDE with a look at new technologies and old ideas that, taken together, can help keep your bike in your possession longer.

Just remember to use it, because as any sample of Triangle cycling shows, there’s a lot of ground to cover and so many ways to do it. —Grayson Haver Currin

PAGES 23, 24 AND 25

Paulo Chiquito PHOTOS BY ALEX BOERNER

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WORK TO DO

Using three wheels and a lens, Paulo Chiquito has become a commuter’s champion

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BY GRAYSON HAVER CURRIN

AULO CHIQUITO WAS NOT TRYING TO START TROUBLE when he attached a note to the windshield of the car that had nearly hit him.

During the five-mile morning commute between his south Durham home and his office at IBM’s Research Triangle Park campus that he’s made most every day for the last 13 years, Chiquito was pedaling in a right-turn lane when a sporty white sedan broke his reverie. The speeding car cut across the lane and cut Chiquito off, missing him by a few feet but still too close for comfort on his exposed recumbent tricycle.

“Dear IBMer,” the note began, as polite at the start as it would be at the end. “I’m the guy that … you passed in an unsafe manner on a non-passing zone doing a right turn. What drove you to do that passing? I sincerely want to learn what is the motivation, so I can avoid that in the future.”

Chiquito continued for about 200 words, explaining that the stakes are higher for a cyclist and that the margin of error for a commuter not surrounded by a steel cage is nearly nonexistent. In case the driver of the car had forgotten the incident or the circumstances, Chiquito included a link to a 13-second YouTube clip that replayed the entire incident—the car, veering into Chiquito’s space, shooting right and then speeding off in the wrong lane into the distance, like nothing had ever happened.

Chiquito used the video to identify the car.

He then walked across one parking lot at IBM, where he works as a network security specialist, found the right ride, affixed his letter and waited.

“The guy actually sent a note to me, apologizing and saying that he felt like a jerk,” Chiquito says, smiling. “He said you’re the better man here, that he bikes and gets upset at people that cut him off, too.”

In the last several years, Chiquito has become something of a one-person commuter advocacy campaign in both appearance and action. Mention the man

on the blue recumbent trike with the kite-like rainbow flag fluttering overhead to other RTP commuters, and they often nod knowingly. And each morning, when Chiquito puts on his helmet, it doubles as a surveillance device, with a 32-gigabyte camera anchored at the top. It can record 15 hours of footage before automatically rewriting its archives, so Chiquito can capture the unsafe moves drivers make and, he hopes, teach both parties a lesson about what they can do better. So far, he’s only uploaded two videos for safety concerns, but they’ve both been effective, even inspiring a training course at a nearby trucking company after a driver edged into a bike lane.

“I was able to find the manager of the branch here, and I sent him a message with the link,” Chiquito says. “He sent me a letter to say they were going to do a safety training with all the drivers. Well, that’s good.”

Chiquito, 47, started taping his daily rides for less altruistic reasons. A native of Brazil, he moved to Durham in 1996 and soon started working for IBM. For the first six years, he would drive to his office every day, but he soon realized that maintaining a regular workout schedule took too much time. He decided to integrate his needs.

He donated his car to a nonprofit that supplies vehicles to immigrants and began cycling—first with a mountain bike, then a hybrid and then a road bike. He found that the high speeds and low profile of the latter made him something of an easy target for drivers. It was as if they suspected that riders in sleek Lycra outfits on a fancy bike should be able to protect themselves.

“People were very aggressive against me, always cutting close,” he remembers.

“It was getting scary. At that point, I started thinking, ‘In case something happens to me, I need to have evidence of exactly what happened. If there is a bad accident, my family has recourse, and I don’t die for a lost cause.’”

But last year, not long after Chiquito began recording his road bike rides, he developed intense shoulder pain, likely a symptom of his hunched position on the handlebars. He didn’t want to start driving again, so he started exploring more comfortable options. He tried a recumbent trike and found that it was like sitting in a recliner. Pushing with his legs, he could still get his exercise and, with three wheels, make sharper turns than ever. Suddenly, getting to work felt a lot less like work itself.

What’s more, Chiquito found that the

odd sight of a recumbent trike, with its wide and low profile, gave drivers pause, making them slow down to stare or simply give him space. He initially worried that its negligible clearance and open design would make him more vulnerable, but he says this is the safest his commute has ever been.

“When people look from behind, they have no idea what they are seeing. They say, ‘Is that a guy in a wheelchair, riding in the road?’” Chiquito says. He wears glasses and cargo shorts, and his salt-and-pepper hair is thinning. But he youthfully bounds about as he discusses the experience.

“The amount of people who are jerks in the road reduced immensely,” he continues. “People stop on the road for me to cross, and that never happened. I don’t know if it’s because they don’t know what it is or because they think I’m disabled or an old guy. I decided to stop with the Lycra and just dress like an old guy.”

Instead of investing in cycling clothes these days, Chiquito has invested in Trident Trikes, made in the small town of Lincolnton, just northwest of Charlotte.

He recently purchased one for his wife, Lea, and added a small electric motor so that she can match his pace. His own bike is chockablock with accessories, from mudguards and a rechargeable light and horn to large bags and a pedometer.

He wears a cranial headset, too, which sits just beside his ears and vibrates the bones of his skull; he can listen to music even while hearing cars approach. And there’s his camera, of course, perched on top of his helmet and recording in case a reprimand is required.

“I consider biking a continuous improvement process. You’ve got to learn from your mistakes and from others’ mistakes, so you can avoid them,” he says. “That’s what I’m trying to do— recording, refining my route, refining my behavior. I didn’t expect it, but this has been very effective for safety.” p Grayson Haver Currin is the managing and music editor of the INDY.

INDYweek.com

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INDYweek.com

TIME TRIALS

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Four quick, practical considerations for those contemplating biking

GET A GROUP

SEE A SOURCE

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hen it comes to riding, there’s no reason to reinvent the wheel. You can learn a lot from those who have been cycling for decades, like how to work safely in traffic and what routes are best to avoid for just that reason.

One of the best ways to do this, says Leah Yngve, who recently launched a group ride in Durham called Adventure Cyclists of Bull City, is to pedal into any number of the popular social rides in the Triangle, follow along and pay attention.

“Riding in a group can be a good way to build your confidence and to see how confident cyclists ride,” says Yngve. “For new cyclists, you see where they are on the road, signaling, their behavior.”

That said, the options can be overwhelming, as different meet-ups move at different paces, with varying lengths and levels of challenge creating an array of available experiences. Visit a shop and ask or explore any of the available online resources to find a group ride that fits your schedule and your skill level, especially before jumping right into that 20-mile commute. Remember, someone has probably cycled your route before, and that person would probably love to tell you about it.

pend even a little time among cyclists and you’ll quickly learn a common trait: They love sharing the information they’ve accumulated during their time spent on the saddle. Whether talking frames or accessories, routes or group rides, someone has not only likely tried it already but is also eager to tell you about it. That biker has probably put the information online, too, as digital resources for those on bikes continue to accumulate.

For a decade, for instance, the listserv “Rtp_bike_ped” has acted as a hub for those with questions about commutes and cycling issues. (The pace has slowed, but sign up and peruse the enormous archive at will.) There’s the North Carolina Bicycling Club, the Triangle Cycling forums and a web of Facebook groups with intel for most every cycling niche you can imagine. Municipalities are getting into the biking data game, too. Just last month, Raleigh released a beta version of its map app, BikeRaleigh. The OpenStreetMap project (mapstest.raleighnc.gov/bikeraleigh) highlights designated trails and preferred routes in and around the city, details places to fix your ride and documents deals you can snag if you show up by bike. A dentist on Glenwood Avenue, turns out, will even give cyclists a free “take-home” teeth whitening.

MIND YOUR MANNERS

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erhaps you think of the greenways and trails that circle and innervate your town as bucolic bike sanctuaries, places where those on two wheels pedal in complete peace and quiet. But Brandon Casper, an employee at Oak City Cycling Project and a frequent user of such trails in and around Raleigh, positions them as something of a battleground. “There continues to be a rift between people walking and running and people on bikes,” he explains. “It’s not unlike bike versus car, which is unfortunate because it should be bike and car, bike and pedestrian, in the same space.”

So how can new cyclists help? First, slow down, Casper says. No one on foot wants to imagine they’re playing a game of high-speed chicken with some two-wheeled machine. If you’re riding in groups, tuck in single-file or at least limit the action to two-wide, so that you have plenty of room to pass or be passed. And when approaching someone, a polite and clear “On your left” will suffice and do better to inspire long-term conviviality than a yell or a grunt. Or try a bell.

“The greenway is not your personal time trail course,” he says. “Slow down, acknowledge others and smile.”

ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS WILLIAMS

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FIT YOUR FRAME

f you’re looking for a quick way to ride, there may seem no simpler option than a Craigslist search or even a neighborhood yard sale, where you can readily buy a thrifty set of wheels and start moving.

It’s worth taking the time, however, to go into a proper bike shop, try a variety of frames and styles and find the size that best fits your body, according to Jeff Yuricek, a manager at Chapel Hill’s Performance Bicycles.

For safety reasons, Yuricek says, you should have between one and three inches of clearance between your body and the frame’s top bar; anything less or more is bound to create problems during a quick stop. What’s more, he says, good bike store employees should be able to turn their experience into advice, helping customers know which option fits a desired goal. And when you check out, you should know exactly what you’re buying and how long it should last.

“You’re going to get the guarantee of the local retailer that the bike is working,” Yuricek says. “Buying a bike at any professional shop versus on Craigslist or at Walmart, you have the guarantee that it’s been assembled properly. And that’s important.” —Grayson Haver Currin

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GETTING THERE: HOW (AND WHY) SIX COMMUTERS BIKE IN

Leah Yngve

Emerson Murphy-Hill

Lee Tobin

AGE: 27

AGE: 32

AGE: 52

OCCUPATION: An Environmental Health fellow at the Environmental Protection Agency, studying the human health benefits of interacting with nature

OCCUPATION: Computer science professor at N.C. State WHERE HE LIVES: In Raleigh’s Caraleigh Mills community

OCCUPATION: Product packager, baker and cooking instructor at Whole Foods

WHERE HE WORKS: N.C. State’s Centennial Campus

WHERE HE LIVES: East Chapel Hill

DISTANCE OF COMMUTE, EACH WAY: 3.5 miles when carrying child; 2.5 miles when not

WHERE HE WORKS: Whole Foods bakehouse in Morrisville

DAYS A WEEK: 5 days

DAYS A WEEK: 5 days

HOW LONG HE’S DONE IT: Since moving to Raleigh in 2010 and, previously, in Portland, Oregon

HOW LONG HE’S DONE IT: He’s commuted for 30 years—first in college in Pennsylvania, then in Canada and California and in Chapel Hill for more than two decades.

He’s made his current trek for 11 years.

WHERE SHE LIVES: The Morehead Hill neighborhood near downtown Durham WHERE SHE WORKS: At the EPA’s office in Research Triangle Park DISTANCE OF COMMUTE, EACH WAY: 8.5 miles DAYS A WEEK: 4 days HOW LONG SHE’S DONE IT: For this job a year, though she’s been commuting off and on for a decade WHAT SHE USES: Yngve’s pink steel-frame Univega, which she purchased for $200 two years ago, turns 30 this year.

She inserted S&S couplings into the frame, so that it can be taken apart while traveling. Other modifications include a leather Brooks saddle, spoke reflectors, a rear bamboo fender, thick touring tires and an Ortlieb saddlebag.

A STRANGE TRIP: Yngve recently got caught in a summer storm. In RTP, where long driveways hide corporate headquarters from plain sight, there are few places to duck in for shelter. “Usually you’re not outside when those storms happen,” she says. “But when you’re outside, you actually see it more, and it was neat. The wind picked up, and the clouds were incredible. The sky was so cool.”

TIPS FOR BEGINNERS: “No one thinks to tell you how frequently to pump up your tires,” says Yngve. A co-worker recently bought a bike and took a maintenance class at a big store so she could start commuting a few days a week.

Several weeks later, she realized how much easier the trek would be with properly inflated tires. “I had the exact same experience when I started,” she says. “Pumping them up every one or two weeks can make a big difference.”

WHAT HE USES: Murphy-Hill’s setup is minimal, with a Torelli road bike, a helmet and a Timbuk2 messenger bag.

The biggest item he carries is his 16-month-old daughter, Zuri. She goes to preschool at N.C. State’s day care.

“The thing we use the most is a Burley trailer,” he says.

“In the morning, my wife attaches it to her bike, takes our daughter to school, drops her off and leaves the trailer.

After work, I go with my bike and pick the baby and the trailer up.”

His daughter has her own commuter bag, too, filled with diapers and fruit. The trailer weighs 25 pounds and costs around $500. But the parents are trying out a new setup, which includes a front-mounted kid seat behind the handlebars and adds just 10 pounds.

“It’s very agile, and she likes that even more than the trailer, because she likes being right with us,” Murphy-Hill says. “She likes pointing at stuff and talking to us.”

WATCH OUT: “You know what’s funny? I had way more run-ins with drivers back in Vancouver and Portland than I ever do here,” he says. “I ride every day, and I haven’t had anybody yell at me. In Vancouver, I’ve had people get out of their car. Maybe it’s because biking is still new or unusual enough that people are just confused.”

DISTANCE OF COMMUTE EACH WAY: 16 miles

WHAT HE USES: Tobin once used road bikes, but tucking into the handlebars didn’t give him the visibility he wanted.

He switched to a mountain bike with slick tires and then a Cannondale Quick hybrid—essentially, a racing bike that allows him to sit upright. In three years, Tobin has put 14,000 miles on the rig. He’s added a rearview mirror, a phone holster, a speedometer, rear and front bags, a tool kit, a 1,000-lumen rechargeable headlight and a light on his helmet. And he clips into the pedals with specialized sandals suited for the summer.

WHY HE BIKES: “I’m a lousy driver. I tend to hug the edge of the road, which is not safe if you’re a cyclist,” says Tobin, laughing. “If one spouse is a bike commuter, it allows you to live with one car and save a lot of money, maybe $5,000 a year. But I do need to sleep more, and I eat a lot.

Fortunately, I get a good discount at Whole Foods.”

A STRANGE TRIP: Know those ice storms that force everyone into gridlock as they try to flee home? Tobin skirts the traffic, and it takes him about 10 minutes longer than normal. “It’s not my fault that there are too many cars on the road,” he says. “I’m trying to do my part.”

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BY BILLY BALL, GRAYSON HAVER CURRIN & TINA HAVER CURRIN | PHOTOS BY ALEX BOERNER

Anthony Pergolotti

Peter Adams

Tracy Anderson

AGE: 38

AGE: 52

AGE: 25

OCCUPATION: Senior project manager in City of Durham’s Technology Solutions Department

OCCUPATION: CPA specializing in taxes for small businesses

OCCUPATION: Research assistant at the Institute for Transportation Research and Education

WHERE HE LIVES: Downtown Carrboro

WHERE HE LIVES: North of Interstate 540 in Raleigh, two miles away from the recently completed Honeycutt Creek Greenway

WHERE SHE LIVES: Just east of downtown Raleigh, near John Chavis Memorial Park

DAYS A WEEK: 5 days

WHERE HE WORKS: An accounting firm just down the street from Carter-Finley Stadium and PNC Arena

HOW LONG HE’S DONE IT: Two years

DISTANCE OF COMMUTE, EACH WAY: Just more than 6 miles

DISTANCE OF COMMUTE, EACH WAY: 16 miles

WHAT HE USES: Pergolotti has modified his 2010 Surly Cross-Check, adding brakes suited to a muddy commute and alternating between slick and knobby tires, based on the season. He stuffs rain gear and work clothes into a Swiss military backpack found at an Army surplus store.

DAYS A WEEK: 5 days

DAYS A WEEK: 2–3 days

HOW LONG SHE’S DONE IT: While attending N.C. State’s graduate school, three years; to her current post, since April

WHERE HE WORKS: Durham City Hall DISTANCE OF COMMUTE, EACH WAY: 20 miles

WHY HE COMMUTES: “I don’t like going to a gym at all.

I don’t like having to make time for exercise, but I know I have to go to work every day,” he says. “This is one way to make sure I get exercise.”

A STRANGE TRIP: Pergolotti mostly rides scenic Erwin Road. Occasionally, he takes a detour through the Hope Valley Creek watershed, over “roads, dirt trails, handmade bridges, dams and a downed tree.” It’s not the fastest route, but compared to the narrow lanes on Erwin Road, it may be the safest. Well, most of the time. During one such sylvan detour, he wandered too close to the duck hunters.

“I heard the shot, and it landed just next to me,” he says.

“Never again.”

TIPS FOR BEGINNERS: Don’t overspend. “You don’t have to get special equipment. Yes, there are guys with $15,000 bikes,” he says. “You don’t need it.” Instead, Pergolotti relies on a steel-frame Surly that costs $1,200 if it’s new.

Take a repair class, too. He opted for one from Carrboro’s The ReCYCLEry, known for helping locals build bikes.

HOW LONG HE’S DONE IT: Since late May, just two months after the greenway near his home was dedicated WHAT HE USES: A GT Transeo 2.0 hybrid with mediumwidth, medium-tread tires. It allows him to cut through the grass alongside the greenway if he worries he’s in someone’s way. He keeps his lunch in a little cooler on the back and his clothes and work papers in a backpack. He owns a helmet but generally forgoes it on the greenway.

WHY HE COMMUTES: Adams remembers the oil crisis of 1973 and how people talked about giving up their cars but rarely did. It’s something he always wanted to try. Though he won’t do it forever, he says, he does want to experience it for a few seasons each year. “This was a bucket list thing for me,” he says. “I want to do it enough so that I could say I really did it, but it’s not a complete lifestyle change. I was always going to ride to work, but I’m older, and if I don’t do it now, I am never going to do it. ” TIPS FOR BEGINNERS: Find a shower. Though many riders stop going to the gym when they start commuting, Adams joined one so he could shower after his 85-minute trek each morning. But he doesn’t work out there, as he’s already lost several pounds from his ride alone.

WHERE SHE WORKS: N.C. State’s Centennial Campus

WHAT SHE USES: Her setup is simple and cheap, with a purple Schwinn hybrid she purchased from a friend for $60.

She brings her clothes in a backpack and, when she has too much to carry, attaches a basket to the front.

WATCH OUT: For the first few months of her new job, Anderson commuted by road through downtown Raleigh and hopped on the greenway near campus. While she waited to cross a busy intersection, though, two cars collided. She ditched her bike and jumped out of the way just in time.

Since the incident, she’s happily opted for greenways only.

“The very first time I tried it, I realized I should have been doing this the whole time, with getting away from traffic and being in the woods,” Anderson says. “There’s so much wildlife surrounding us all the time, and I get to experience that on the way to and from work.”

A STRANGE TRIP: One disadvantage of Raleigh’s greenways is that many lack the drainage systems of proper roads. That often leads to tunnels clogged with mud and wooden bridges without traction—meaning muddy cycling clothes for Anderson and, occasionally, a spill. When she stood up from a recent post-rain fall, an imprint of her body remained in the mud.

“Hopefully, that served as a warning for other cyclists.” s

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Christian Browne

PHOTO BY ALEX BOERNER

INDYweek.com

Until he went to prison for possession of stolen bikes, Christian Browne was one of Raleigh’s fastest, friendliest cyclists. He wants to ride again.

T

BY JOHN H. TUCKER

HE CYCLIST IN THE SKINNY JEANS STOOD OUT FROM THE SQUAD.

Christian Browne was attractive and charismatic, 6-foot-4 with a web of tattoos blanketing his toned muscles. On his fixed-gear Fuji, cobbled together with used parts, he was one of the fastest cyclists in all of Raleigh. During weeknight group rides, he would sail to the front of the pack. He owned several “King of the Mountain” titles on Strava, the GPSbased app that tracks competitive athletes, and he bragged about them, too.

He also seemed a gentle sort. A 28-year-old auto mechanic, he was quick to look under the hoods of other riders’ cars for no charge.

“He was seemingly a really nice dude,” remembers cyclist Garret Thompson. “When I broke my leg, he came to my house and brought me food.”

So nice, actually, that Thompson didn’t think much about the mysterious ankle monitor Browne always wore.

“We talked about the bracelet,” he says. “I asked him what it was for, and he said, ‘Ah, just some bullshit.’”

But these days, Browne’s reputation is as punctured as a flat tire, and that ankle monitor—the result, at the time, of an earlier indictment on burglary and larceny charges—makes perfect sense. In December, Browne pleaded guilty to three reduced counts of possession of stolen property after cops caught him selling high-end bikes lifted from their owners’ garages. The man once hailed for his speed on the open road was locked up.

During his six-month stint at Craven Correctional Institution in eastern North Carolina, many local cyclists accused Browne of selling their bikes in cities as distant as Houston and Atlanta, linking him to a rash of bike burglaries throughout the city and speculating that he had stolen more than $100,000 worth of bikes. He denies that and even

renounces his guilty plea, asserting that he accepted a deal only because he expected probation, not prison.

Those who once biked with Browne don’t believe him anymore. When he tried to re-join the cycling community after being released in June, he found that he’d been blacklisted.

“A lot of people say there’s a mark on his head,” says Mac Cady, the owner of Raleigh’s Café de los Muertos. Browne often participated in the coffee shop’s Tuesday night social ride. Now he’s persona non grata. “He’s acting as if he wasn’t guilty of things, when everyone knows he was.”

Still, Browne wants to ride again, to reclaim those King of the Mountain titles. But he knows he will be shunned as soon as he arrives on that fixed-gear Fuji, no matter his protests of innocence.

“I feel like the most hated person in Raleigh,” he says.

INDYweek.com

O

n Oct. 22, 2013, Jim Lucas rose from bed at 4 a.m.

His wife and children were still asleep, but he was ready to begin the workday.

On the way to his first-floor office in his Raleigh home, the 44-year-old real estate appraiser noticed his garage door was partially open. When he investigated, he found that his camping equipment, golf clubs and weight set were undisturbed. But someone had removed three bikes—a Trek Madone, a Specialized Roubaix and his son’s Fuji Absolute, totaling more than $15,000—from their racks.

The burglar had broken a garage window and disconnected the automatic door opener, allowing him to sneak away in silence. To Lucas, it seemed like the thief knew exactly what he was after. An avid cyclist who rides 3,500 miles each year, Lucas was in love with the Roubaix, a softer ride that fit his lengthy arm span.

“I knew every inch of her,” he says. “I spent more time cleaning that bike than washing my car.”

But the prosecutor wasn’t optimistic about Lucas getting his bike back.

“He told me there are three and a half million bikes stolen each year in the United States,” recalls Lucas. “I told him, ‘These aren’t Huffys lying around in front of a house.

This was not a theft of opportunity. I was targeted.’”

That feeling was spreading among area cyclists. In recent weeks there had been a series of break-ins around town in which expensive dream bikes were lifted under the cloak of night. Days before Lucas’ bikes were stolen,

in fact, two midnight burglaries occurred under notably similar circumstances.

In one case, the burglar broke into a garage and took a BH RX Team Cyclocross, a Cannondale and a Turner Flux, collectively valued at $21,000. In the other, the thief left a garage with a Seven Cycle, an Intense Cycle and two titanium wheels still in the bag, worth $17,000.

“Specific items were targeted,” remembers that victim, Brian Westbrook. “Whoever committed this crime knew enough to target wheel sets. He knew enough about cycling to know how to disassemble a bike from a trainer.”

The burglaries suggested that a serial cycle thief was on the loose. On Stolen Bikes Raleigh, a Facebook page created by a local cycling shop, victims began posting details about their stolen rides, reporting abandoned bikes and offering information on dubious sellers. Tips poured in.

Raleigh’s biking community had a crisis—and, it seemed, a serious criminal—on its hands.

C

hristian Browne bends his tall frame over an iced coffee in a Hillsborough Street cafe. Browne has thick hair and a trim goatee. He sports skinny jeans, a brightly checked shirt and no apparent ankle monitor. His 21-yearold girlfriend, who asked not to be named, sits next to him,

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stroking his arm.

Born in Queens, Browne moved to Garner as a child and attended Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School, where he was a track-and-field star. He received a scholarship to Campbell University, he says, and studied physical education until he realized that books weren’t for him.

Before going to prison, Browne was the head mechanic and inspector at a Crown Express auto shop in Raleigh. In his spare time, he offered personal training services.

But his passion was biking. Every day last year, after clocking out of the shop, he wheeled his way to one of the city’s group rides. The 10-mile treks, sponsored by various bars and cafes, are open to experienced and casual riders alike. In the summertime, the rides attract about 40 people each, but the number dips down during the colder months, when only the die-hards show up. Browne was a die-hard.

“Monday through Friday, rain, freezing cold, whatever the weather, I was there,” he says.

The other riders ribbed him for his bike.

“It was a janky fixed-gear with the wrong parts,” recalls Thompson, “made out of a road bike that should never be turned into a fixed-gear.”

They teased him about his skinny jeans, too, which seemed to restrict his movement. Perhaps, they speculate

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INDYweek.com now, he wore them to cover up his ankle monitor.

Outside of cycling, Browne had a second love: buying and reselling cars, bikes and auto parts. He’s a member of online carswapping groups, and a recent Facebook photo shows him posing in front of a hot rod. Browne acknowledges that his transactions have not always been local, offering that the economy in D.C. is better, but declining to say precisely where, and for how long, he’s flipped cars and bikes.

“Flipping,” Browne concedes, “has been my bread and butter.”

Emiliano Brock de Corona, who works at All-Star Bike Shop in Raleigh, remembers as much: “Christian was always trying to sell bike parts for cheap. He would have known everyone in the area with nice bikes.”

Because Browne was an established member of the cycling community, he was often one of the first to learn about stolen bikes. Sometimes he’d write sympathy posts on the Stolen Bikes Raleigh Facebook group in support of victims.

“He would comment all the time and say things like, ‘That sucks,’ or, ‘I’ll keep an eye out,’” says Thompson.

Even now, Browne seems in the know about stolen rides.

“There’s a huge problem in Raleigh with bike thefts,” he acknowledges.

L

ast November, Raleigh police officer J.D. Boyd logged onto his Facebook account and accessed Stolen Bikes Raleigh. Boyd had become the city’s de facto chief bike detective, interacting frequently with members of the cycling community.

Because most officers don’t know the difference between a Walmart bike and a $5,000 Trek Superfly, the finer details of a bike— the year, make, model, serial number, group set and frame size—don’t often end up in police reports. A victim of bike theft himself, Boyd encouraged citizens to post tips and leads.

“I’m working this recent rash of bike thefts pretty hard right now,” Boyd wrote.

“I’ve got several leads that I’m following and some other behind the scenes stuff … . I want to catch these guys as bad as anyone.”

By late 2014, Browne was already on law

enforcement’s radar. He’d been indicted for three counts of first-degree larceny and burglary and spent two months in the Wake County Jail. After posting bond, he had to wear an ankle monitor while awaiting trial.

When he re-joined the group rides after his release, none of the riders knew about his pending charges.

This would have been the police’s second chance to convict Browne.

In the spring of 2011, an area man named Steve Baker awoke to discover several high-end bikes missing from his garage. He filed a police report, but detectives never came to his house.

Baker did his own detective work. He began searching Craigslist postings across the Southeast, eventually discovering one of his bikes in Charlotte. Another popped up in Northern Virginia. Pieces from yet another bike appeared on eBay. Baker contacted the eBay seller and traced the source with the help of a private detective.

The source was Christian Browne.

Two months after Baker was burglarized, a thief broke into a home in a West Raleigh cul de sac through a garage window and left with three bikes, including a hand-painted Italian Colnago CT1.

“It was absolutely gorgeous,” says the victim, who asked that he only be identified by his first name, Greg. The CT1 belonged to his wife.

Not long after the burglary, Greg got an email from Baker, who’d discovered the CT1 through a Craigslist posting near Houston. Greg called the Raleigh police, whose detectives at last teamed with their Houston counterparts.

Two undercover detectives with the Fort Bend Sheriff’s Office contacted the Craigslist seller.

At the time, Browne was living in Katy, Texas, with a former girlfriend who had enrolled at the University of Texas. Browne met the detectives in a shopping center parking lot. He brought the CT1. They arrested him and sent photographs to Greg, who verified that it was his wife’s bike.

Browne’s girlfriend provided the information for another sale. Detectives determined the bike belonged to a Cary software developer named Jim Schneider.

Someone had stolen four bikes from his garage. He’d filed a police report, but investigators didn’t make much of an effort

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SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

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32

to solve the crime, Schneider says.

The cases were put on the docket together.

Browne pleaded not guilty to both charges, saying he bought the bikes at pawnshops and flea markets. Greg was not available to attend the trial, so his wife flew to Texas.

Because he was listed as the official victim of the crime, and though the bike belonged to his wife, the judge threw the case out.

Schneider’s case ended with a hung jury.

“I was disgusted,” says Loretta Owen, the Fort Bend prosecutor. “I knew [Browne] was dirty. He had a pretty organized deal going.”

Schneider was frustrated, too.

“He’s buying all this stuff at a flea market—really?” he says. “We couldn’t really get into the twisted aspect of it. It made me really bitter at the legal system.”

Two years later, though, the Raleigh cops discovered that, a few hours after Jim Lucas reported his bikes missing, a man posted one of them on Craigslist. Again, it was Browne. Questioned by police, Browne again insisted he’d bought it at a flea market. But there hadn’t been enough time, the police reasoned. A detective presented Lucas with a photo of a bike posted to Craigslist’s Washington, D.C., page.

“Is this your bike?” he asked.

Lucas didn’t recognize the seat or stem, but something else caught his eye.

“That’s the scratch from when I fell off on Avent Ferry Road!” said Lucas, pointing to a mark near the top tube. He pointed to another mark. “And that’s the scratch from when I dropped it off my car rack.”

It was his beloved Roubaix. Brian Westbrook’s bikes turned up in Northern Virginia and Houston Craigslist postings, too. Raleigh police traced Browne’s phone number to an unregistered account and noted his online aliases. Two buyers identified him in a lineup.

“Some parts to the bikes had been interchanged with other parts, likely as a way to disguise them,” says Wake County assistant district attorney Travis Wiggs.

“He did do a fairly good job of trying to cover his tracks.”

I

n December, Browne pleaded guilty to three reduced charges of felony possession of stolen property. He was sentenced to eight to 19 months in prison.

The police had linked Browne to three stolen bikes, but through online sleuthing, Baker says he can connect him to at least 30. He accuses him of using aliases to sell the bikes in Orlando, Houston, Charlotte,

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INDYweek.com

Virginia and Washington, . t together.D.C. A series of Craigslist charges, postings and email threads between Baker shops ilable to and a person he believes was Browne, all under Texas. l victim aliases, suggest the stolen elonged bikes totaled more than $100,000. e out.

While Browne was in g jury.

Owen, prison, Raleigh bikers worked to strip him of his w King of the Mountain titles ty on Strava. They plotted

PHOTO BY ALEX BOERNER

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SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

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came again. He didn’t.

“It’s messed up to say you’re part of a community, steal from it and expect to be welcomed back into it,” says Robison. “Stealing bikes is one of the worst things you can do.”

Some cyclists even suggest he’s stolen bikes since his return, which he denies. He says a local cyclist recently sent him a

ea uldn’t of it. It system.” eigh after Jim a man —Christian Browne Again, it , Browne out a strategy, says Thompson, and took Facebook message, saying, “We better not ea see you. Watch your back.” ugh time, them one by one. It was personal: They “People are now treating him as if he esented couldn’t believe they’d been hoodwinked by one of their own. They began to suspect stole every stolen bike in Raleigh,” says d to that Browne targeted specific bikes by Bridgette Peed, Browne’s roommate e. riding with certain groups and then tailing until he went to prison. “They’re making judgments about things they don’t know or stem, members home.

“He’s lost all respect,” says Thompson. about. Leave the guy alone.” .

“People felt really betrayed,” adds Brock These days, Browne’s Strava activity I fell off shows he’s replaced his daily cycling , pointing de Corona.

Browne was released from prison in routine with running. He spends his days ointed to at the gym and working on cars in his atch from June after working some of his sentence off by washing dishes. He continued to driveway. He is, at least, now back in the ” deny the charges, and he is unwavering buying-and-selling game. He recently an posted a car for sale on Craigslist. orthern in his contention that he never broke into “Everyone who has their opinion of me ostings, anyone’s home. is gonna have that opinion,” Browne says. ’s phone “This can happen to anyone,” says Browne. “If you’ve ever bought a bike “I can’t make people feel differently. I’m nt and without a bill of sale, this could happen to sorry to anyone who got hurt by anything I ers you.” did. I didn’t mean to play a part in anything Wiggs, the Wake prosecutor, concedes, that ended up in someone having their bike een taken from them. ely as a “It’s hard to definitively say he was the “I never did anything but give in any way County person who broke into the garages.”

Nevertheless, despite his claims of to that group, but they were quick to turn Wiggs. innocence, Browne’s efforts to break back their back on me. No one would ever listen ing to into the biking scene have failed. When to what I had to say about it.” he showed up at a Café de los Muertos Last month, perhaps as one last attempt guilty social ride, the manager told him he wasn’t at cycling grace, Browne posted a message ony welcome. Later, he attended a group ride on NC Fixed Gear Mafia, a Facebook group He was at Tasty Beverage Company. One of the for local bikers. n prison. riders, Larz Robison, got in his face. “prob riding today if anyone wants to o three “What the fuck are you doing here?” join lol,” he wrote. euthing, said Robison. “You don’t belong here.”

No one replied. s at least “I didn’t do anything!” protested Browne. es to sell The next week, Tasty stationed a John H. Tucker is a former INDY staff harlotte, manager next to the door in case Browne writer who now lives in New York.

“This can happen to anyone. If you’ve ever bought a bike without a bill of sale, this could happen to you.”

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However you go, GoSmart!

33

GUARDING SPOKES

INDYweek.com

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SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

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34

Using new technology and old-fashioned common sense to keep your bike from getting stolen BY TINA HAVER CURRIN

DRINKING

BEER IN THE TRIANGLE

ON THE STREET

S N O W!

HOW TO BUY A LOCK

C

able locks can be used for quick stops where your bike remains in view. For everything else, go with a U-lock, a steel shackle held in place by a locking bar. U-locks provide the highest security relative to portability, since they cannot be cut without specialized tools. Remember that bigger isn’t always better; the larger the lock, the more room a motivated thief has to use a pry bar to pop off the bottom bracket. And, since they’re made of steel, larger U-locks can be cumbersome to carry. Invest in the most expensive lock you can afford; one rule of thumb suggests spending 10 percent of the cost of your bicycle on security.

Spotting an available bike rack on a busy thoroughfare in front of a bar, two restaurants and a rock club, I pedaled over, wrapped a looping cable lock around the bike’s center tube, spun the key-code dial and walked away.

When I returned an hour later, the combination I’d used for years didn’t work.

I tried and tried, spinning the dials and re-entering the familiar number to no avail.

Knowing that leaving the bike overnight was the best way to ensure I’d never see it again, I borrowed a cheap hacksaw from a nearby business and began to cut, as dozens of people streamed by or sat just feet away. No one questioned me. Toward the end of the sawing session, a Marine offered to hold the frayed ends steady.

With a blade just thicker than a few sheets of construction paper, it took less than 15 minutes to steal my own bicycle. The next day, I bought a solid steel U-lock, one step in making sure your bike remains yours.

HOW TO CARRY A LOCK

M

any locks come with mounting accessories that attach directly to your bicycle. You can store most U-locks in the open space underneath the top tube or with a clip that attaches to the seat post. Additional coil locks can be wrapped around the top tube of your bike. New folding locks, like those made by the German company Abus, offer the flexibility of a coil lock with the strength of a U-lock.

Though it may seem silly to pile hunks of steel atop a svelte carbon frame, you’ll feel worse walking around on your boring old feet, plastering “Lost Bike” flyers on signposts.

REGISTER YOUR BIKE

T

here are lots of places that you can register your bicycle so that, if it does get stolen, you have the information necessary for rescue and recovery. The largest is the National Bike Registry, used by law enforcement since 1984. For students, colleges often provide an oncampus registry. You’ll need your bike’s serial number, located on the underside of the bottom bracket, where the pedals connect to the bike. Most registries charge a small yearly fee, so if you prefer a more DIY approach, you can “register” your bike by storing your serial number and a description of the bike in a safe place. The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition suggests keeping this information in your freezer,

ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS WILLIAMS

THE INDY’S GUIDE TO

and even provides a handy template for doing so at www.sfbike.org.

N A MILD FALL EVENING TWO YEARS AGO, I BIKED DOWNTOWN FOR DINNER, just as I had done innumerable times before.

HOW TO USE A LOCK

T

he League of American Bicyclists recommends locking your bicycle through the middle of the frame and at least one wheel. Some parts of your bicycle—the seat and wheels, for instance—are designed for quick removal.

If you’re parking in a high-traffic area, run a cable lock through the spokes of each wheel and then secure everything with a U-lock between the frame and rack. The same rule of removability applies to things

SHOP STOPS If you’re shopping for a lock or any other necessary accessory to make your ride safer, there are lots of Triangle retailers that can set you up.

Here’s a sample of some favorites.

ALL-STAR BIKE SHOP 1218 Ridge Road, Raleigh www.allstarbikeshop.com BACK ALLEY BIKES 100 Boyd St., Carrboro www.backalleybikes.net OAK CITY CYCLING PROJECT 212 E. Franklin St., Raleigh www.oakcitycycling.com THE BICYCLE CHAIN 1791 W. Williams St., Apex www.thebicyclechain.com BULLSEYE BICYCLE 102 Morris St., Durham www.bullseyebicycle.com

you can’t lock, like lights, GPS monitors and water bottles. Get into the habit of slipping these into your pocket. If a proper rack isn’t available, attach your bike to something that cannot be moved or cut, but don’t block walkways or entrances.

BUT IF MY BIKE IS STOLEN?

O

nce you’ve moved on from the cursing and the crying (or even if you haven’t), file a police report.

Consult local online resources, like the Stolen Bikes Raleigh group run by Oak City Cycling Project, and run a Craigslist search with your bike’s description. Some lock manufacturers, including the popular Kryptonite, offer anti-theft guarantees.

As with traditional insurance for renters or homeowners (whose theft policies may also apply), these claims must be submitted within a week. Take this time to invest in a solid U-lock and try your best to enjoy shopping for your new ride, which you should really remember to register, OK? ▲ Tina Haver Currin lives in Raleigh, where she works as a copywriter for film and TV.