Every year the city organizes a ride that follows the River to Sea Bikeway from downtown Wilmington to Wrightsville Beach. Its a fun social ride for people of all ages and riding abilitsie. The River to Sea bike route needs improvement near the beach, but for this ride its deficiencies are remedied with traffic cones that provide a bike lane on the nasty sections of the main arterial roads. Ride starts at the Bailey Theatre Park downtown (across the street from Port City Java on Front between Market and Princess) and heads 11 miles to Wrightsville Beach, where everyone regroups, food is served, and the local bike shops give away schwag. After about a half hour groups start riding back downtown. On the way back, the police don’t cork the intersections (which the do on the way out) but the groups are large enough that the dicey bits on roads with fast traffic (confined to the three miles in between Greenville Ave. and the beach) won’t be scary, even for families with children.

If you don’t feel up to riding back downtown, there are shuttle buses that will bring riders back, but you’ll have to lock up your bike at the beach and get it another time. Doesn’t sound like a good time to me (not the bus ride, but having to pick up my bike later), but I think the good intention is to help out those who hardly every ride and will certainly be gassed after 11 miles. I’ve assisted as a pre-ride mechanic every year since we moved to Wilmington and the ride is always a good time. There are groups going at different speeds leaving between 8:30 and 9am (leave earlier the slower you ride) and the whole thing is like big city-sponsored Critical Mass with the cops controlling the intersections. Its always fun to see so many people on bikes, and plenty of people who rarely ride on the roads participate.

I’ll be at the ride starting point at 8am with a workstand and basic repair items for last minute mechanical fixes. Usually I end up repairing a couple of flat tires and mostly stand around, drink coffee, and talk. Come out if you can. Riders are asked to register, but registration is free.

The first bicycle boulevard in the Southeast officially opens Saturday with an opening celebration at the Martin Luther King Center at 10am. The Ann St. Bicycle Boulevard terminates at the riverfront, and the grand opening celebration is timed to coincide with the Spring opening of the riverfront farmer’s market. I’m sure many of my local readers plan to walk or ride to the farmer’s market, boulevard, fanfare or not, but attendance at the opening of the boulevard will impress upon the mayor and others in attendance that bicycle facilities in the city are needed and welcome.  After the celebration (I have an inside tip that some bike locks and complete bicycles will be given away) their will be the shortest group ride in history to the farmer’s market.  The eastern end of the boulevard doesn’t extend out of downtown, but is  a part of the the  River to Sea Bikeway that will be improved in the next few years to eliminate the harrowing sections (on Oleander across Bradley’s Creek, Wrightsville Ave, etc) and provide a worry free route from downtown to the beach, and vice versa.

Our hubs have quick release axles rather than the solid axle pictured here. Quick release skewer included.

I recieved a shipment of Sanyo dynoubs last week and had a chance to build a wheel with one yesterday. My highly scientific drag test consists of building a wheel with a hub and noticing how much the wheel rotates when I give a spin. The verdict–on par with the Novatec dynohub we sell. The Shimano and Schmidt hubs are in another league, but considering the huge price differences they should. Since the Sanyo is $10 less, prettier than the Novatec, and comes in a variety of drillings (28, 32, and 36 instead of  36 only) I don’t plan to order more Novatecs when my stock is depleted. Hubs a la carte are $40 and include a quick release.

My guess is that people will buy these hubs for bikes they would like to have dynamo lights on, but haven’t converted because of the cost. I can build the hubs up with any rim and spoke combination you’d like, but I’ve listed wheels with economic components below since I suspect they’ll be ordered most frequently. Paired with a Lumotec N2 Plus and Toplight Flat Plus a Sanyo wheel could be part of a battery-less lighting system that costs less than $170.

Sample Complete Wheels with Sanyo Dynohub (all components silver and handbuilt by me) Choose your wheel diameter in the drop down menu

Sun CR-18 32H and Wheelsmith SS14 stainless steel spokes

Weinmann ZAC 19 32H and Wheelsmith SS14 stainless steel spokes

Velocity Twin Hollow 35H and Wheelsmith SS14 stainless steel spokes