Thanks to everyone for participating in Ride for Clive 2010!
The weather was fantastic, and the ride was great. Over 50 people
turned out to ride the 12 mile path down the American Tobacco Trail.

Please check out the photos in the Flickr gallery. If you have your own photos and a Flickr account, you can add them to the Flickr group.

Getting Ready to Ride for Clive

The American Tobacco Trail is an excellent bike trail to ride. For Ride for Clive, we’ll be biking from the American Tobacco Campus (Downtown Durham) to Southpoint Crossing Shopping Center sitting quietly across I-40 from Southpoint Mall in Durham.

The entire trip will be just over 12 miles, and we anticipate about 1.5 to 2 hours to complete it. Ride for Clive will be taking a slower pace, as last year more than 150 riders rode the ATT together in honor of Clive, and we want everyone to ride safely.

Ride for Clive will begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday, June 5, at Diamond View Park. All ages and abilities are welcome.

Check out a full map of the American Tobacco Trail.

Parking map

Riding the Trails

Riding on the American Tobacco Trail is a joyous experience. To make sure you and fellow trail users (cyclists, runners, dog walkers, etc.) stay safe, please remember to call out to others when approaching and follow these easy guidelines.

1. Ride on your side of the trail.
2. Pass only when safe.
3. Use hand signals.
4. Carefully cross streets.
5. Look out for others.
6. Wear bright clothing and comfortable shoes.
7. Always remember safety first. Helmets are very highly encouraged but not required if you’re 16 years old or older.

Bike Safety

Wear a helmet 100% of the time, every time
If you ride a bike, wear a helmet. It’s as simple as that. Helmets save lives, and regardless of a rider’s experience, everyone should always wear a helmet. Always. In North Carolina, children under 16 are required to by law.

A helmet is a seatbelt for your head
Wearing a helmet is important, but just as important is making sure it’s adjusted properly. A helmet should fit comfortably and snugly over your head with little room to move around. A correctly adjusted helmet is a happy helmet. Follow this link to learn how to quickly adjust your helmet and be on your way to riding safely: http://www.bhsi.org/fitshort.htm.

Safe Bike=Safe Ride
Make sure your gear is in order and up to par. Cleaned and lubed? Check. Tire pressure? Check. Flat tire kit? Check. Cell phone? Identification? People know where you’re going? Check. Check. Check.

If you’re in doubt about what makes a safe rider and a safe ride, consult your local bike shop. They’ll be glad to help you put your best wheels forward.

If you fall, get back up, but check everything over before you do
Accidents happen. Sliding on wet leaves, running a tire off the road, or maybe falling down while standing over your bike at a crosswalk: it’s all happened before. You fall, but of course you get back up. But when you do, it’s important to make sure your gear is as tough as you are. Always give your bike a quick once-over. Make sure your tires are inflated, that your helmet doesn’t have any cracks in it, and, depending on the severity of the fall, that you and your bike are in good condition. If something looks a little off, it probably is. Make sure your bike is in good shape to ride on, and finish strong.

Wear the right stuff to have the right stuff
Ever wondered why so many cyclists wear such brightly colored clothes when biking? It’s not just a fashion statement; it’s to help motorists see them better in the best and worst weather conditions. Wear brightly colored clothing all the time when biking, especially near dusk and dawn. Wearing breathable colorful clothing can make you look cool, feel cool and be safe when riding on trails and roadways.

When in doubt, sip water and bite food
Constant hydration and nutrition is key. Feelings of thirst or hunger are your body’s way of asking for fuel. Make sure you have at least two 20-ounce bottles on your bike for a ride of 15 miles or more. Taking a gulp of water every 5 to 10 minutes and a bite of food (energy bar, granola bar, etc.) every 15 minutes will help fuel your body so you can pedal on.

Be known.
“On your left.” “Turning right.” “Passing left.”
Using hand signals and verbal call-outs helps drivers, cyclists and other individuals using trails and roadways know your intentions.

Have an amazing time.
Cycling should always be one of the best parts of your week. Have a blast and enjoy every hill, every valley and every stretch of open road. Be safe and smart so you can keep your wheels rolling on and on.

Traffic laws, rules of the road and tons of information? We’ve got that:

http://www.ncdot.org/transit/bicycle/safety/safety_Streetwise_cycling.html

http://www.ncdot.org/transit/bicycle/safety/Streetwise_Share_the_Road.pdf

http://www.inlandempirecycling.com/Cycling/hand_signals.htm

http://www.bikewalkdurham.org/BPAC_main.html

Who was Clive Sweeney?

Clive Sweeney would ride his bicycle farther in a single day than most people would drive their cars without having to take a nap.

Clive Sweeney was gentle with children, kind to the elderly and loved animals. He would take his hamsters to the vet when they got sick. Yes, a $5 hamster that would eat its young without any remorse would get sick and Clive would take it to the vet. Probably on his bike.

Clive Sweeney was smarter than you but would never let you know it. When making his point he would often put his hand in the air, raise his eyebrows—which also happened to be the hairiest part of his head—to the sky and preface his statement with “I might be wrong, but…” Annoyingly for those on the receiving end of his intellect, he was rarely wrong. Except when it came to haircuts.

Clive Sweeney’s favorite beer was Corona with a wedge of lime. Clive Sweeney was not perfect.

Clive Sweeney once decided that he was going to ride in a bicycle race that would cover several hundred miles over the course of a whole weekend. “Are you crazy?” he was asked. He thought for a minute before replying—in all seriousness—“No. I’m not crazy.” Clive Sweeney did not play nice with rhetorical questions.

Clive Sweeney would say things like “A to Zed” and would pronounce “schedule” as “shh-edule.” Clive Sweeney was Canadian.

Clive Sweeney was a fierce advocate for highly usable website design yet worked in an industry that often has other priorities. This conflict would often play out with hilarious results. Except in real life there is no canned laughter.

Clive Sweeney is the first guy you would pick if you needed to tackle an impossible task and the last guy you would send away if you needed someone to rely on.

Clive Sweeney could bench press you.

Clive Sweeney was incredibly easy going. To him it was often “6 of one, half a dozen of the other.” Unless we’re talking about donuts. Then he would just eat the whole damn box.

Clive Sweeney knew what he wanted to be when he grew up. Throughout his life he was employed in many different professions: teacher, cab driver, paramedic, writer, actor, computer programmer. But in the end he was able to become the one thing that eludes most people: he grew up to be happy.

Clive Sweeney was senselessly killed while riding his bike in the most sensible matter possible. He knew that the road was to be shared and that the well being of all travellers, regardless of their mode of transport, was everyone’s responsibility. We lead hectic lives and are often moving quickly to try and stay one step ahead or maybe even just trying to keep up. “Going a few miles per hour over the speed limit won’t hurt anyone. Besides, I’m running late.” We have a million things on our mind and might not be paying as much attention as we should to things like worrying about what’s coming up around the next blind curve. Clive Sweeney worried about things like that.

If we all take one thing away from this wonderful day in remembrance of the tragic loss of Clive Sweeney let it be this: no matter how busy, late, distracted or rushed we are, there is nothing worth trading the life of a single person.

Who was Clive Sweeney? He was my friend.