Duo’s bike commute includes talk and smiles
Among the few tandem-bike riders in town, Alexia Kelley and Josh Starmer commute to Carolina on a route that gives them a mostly stress-free time to talk (except for that uphill part!).
With May designated as National Bicycle Month, The Well takes a look at some employees who commute to campusvia bicycle and some resources for Tar Heel cyclists.
Alexia Kelley
Senior director of research, Gillings School of Global Public Health’s Research, Innovation and Global Solutions office
Josh Starmer
Former research assistant professor, School of Medicine’s genetics department
The route
4-mile, 35-minute round trip.
The couple starts on Umstead Drive on Chapel Hill’s north side, then heads south on Martin Luther King Boulevard, which includes a challenging uphill section. “That’s the ‘I think I can, I think I can’ part,” Starmer said. Next, they turn onto North Street, right on Henderson Street and pedal through the University’s McCorkle Place to soak up some scenery. They travel sidewalks southwest to Columbia Street, stopping at Rosenau Hall.
The duo rides a Santana Smooth two-seater, Starmer up front, Kelley in the rear. They replaced their original tandem bike, a 2011 wedding present, with the Smooth and began commuting five years ago.
Their route to campus is peaceful, but occasionally on MLK Boulevard, a vehicle will pass too fast and too close for comfort. On the return leg, the combined weight of the bike and two riders can take them downhill as fast as cars. “We can merge and change lanes and the cars don’t mind at all because we’re going as fast as they are,” Starmer said. Kelley laughed, adding, “Yeah, but sometimes with my eyes closed.”
The routine
Their preparation starts with checking the weather forecast. “The rule is ‘If it’s raining, we will not go,’” Starmer said. “If it looks like it’s going to rain, but it’s not raining yet, we will ride. Otherwise, we take the bus. It’s no big deal because there’s a bus stop near us and it has resulted in a few rides home.”
If the forecast is good, Kelley loads the saddlebags with her backpack, laptop and lunch. During hot weather, she takes a bus rather than arrive at the office all sweaty. Starmer works from home.
The reasons
“I like spending extra time with Alexia,” Starmer said. “On a tandem, it’s easy to carry on a conversation. I also love coming through campus first thing in the morning when there’s no one out. It’s just beautiful, especially in the spring when the flowers are out. Seeing all of these lovely parts rather than seeing traffic and being stressed out is peaceful.”
Kelley agrees. “I like having that time together. There’s also some convenience in that we don’t have to wait around for buses. We can do it on our own terms, which is nice.” They also like not parking a car then walking to a building. “It’s literally door to door,” Starmer said.
After the hurry-hurry of preparing for the day, dressing, making breakfast and packing up, the ride is a time of calming and sharing what each will do that day.
Then there are the smiles. “Oftentimes when people see us on the tandem, they smile at us because you usually don’t see people on one,” Kelley said.
“It starts the day off with a smile,” Starmer said.
Editor’s note: Though Starmer left the University in 2020, the couple continues to ride to campus.
Learn about Carolina’s resources and programs for bicyclists.
