His e-bike makes commuting easier, off and on the road
Jim Kenny’s bicycle commute involves top-notch gear, a forest path, neighborhood streets, the highway and, occasionally, whiffs of sizzling bacon.
With May designated as National Bicycle Month, The Well takes a look at some employees who commute to campus via bicycle and some resources for Tar Heel cyclists.
Jim Kenny
Senior grants analyst, Sponsored Programs Office, School of Medicine
The route
13-mile, 1-hour roundtrip; 600 feet elevation gain.
Kenny begins in Chatham County on a 200-yard wooded trail dotted with roots, rocks and a 12-inch diameter log he traverses on a ramp that he built. He then heads through neighborhood streets to the shoulder of U.S. Highway 15-501 before veering on to Merritt Drive. He follows the Southern Village Multiuse Path to the Culbreth Road-Highway 15-501 intersection near the James Taylor Bridge. Then it’s north on South Columbia Street to the bike lane before turning right on Mason Farm Road to his workplace — the Bioinformatics Building.
“The term that I’ve heard for what I do is ‘mode shifting.’ I am shifting between a bicyclist and a pedestrian. I’m riding on the sidewalk. I’m using controlled crosswalks because I’m uncomfortable riding on the pavement, but I do use the bike lane.” He usually walks three short sections over the roots and rocks for safety and rest. “I’m aware of being vulnerable. I’m no longer a young man who can bounce back from falling off.”
Kenny is watchful and careful. “I do experience problems during my ride. Panicked squirrels get within a foot of my tires. I see deer in some quiet areas but none of them have come close. Still I watch for the one that might cross in front of me to join deer on the other side. My tires are a little loud. They hear me coming.”
The reasons
Kenny worked many years as an outdoor guide, so cycling feels natural. His first time on an e-bike was a 20-mile ride around San Francisco, and he was hooked. “It’s fun. I want to be healthy. I want to save the planet, but it’s just fun. I enjoy being in the moment, being aware of my surroundings. It’s a de-stressor.”
The pandemic reduced Kenny’s commute from 13 miles to 13 steps to his remote working space, but he is ready to ride when he’s called back to the office.
The routine
It’s all about the conditions and the gear. With experience working outdoors and as an ambulance helicopter pilot, Kenny knows how to prepare for any weather conditions (except the day a hurricane skirting the area kept him off the road).
“Rain, cold. Weather is not a problem. I’ve got raincoats. I’ve got layers.”
By sunrise, he’s astride a fat-tire Rad Rover e-bike with a 750-watt motor that can hit 20 miles per hour. On winter days the morning and evening commutes can be in the dark. He wears a helmet with a light. The bike has a front light and two blinking taillights. A class-one orange safety vest provides high daytime visibility and, with its reflective stripes, makes him more visible at night. Industrial-size saddle bags hold work clothes he’ll wear after a shower in his building’s locker room.
Later, he returns home, garages the bike, takes the battery inside to charge it and clicks in a second battery for the next day’s juice.
Kenny especially looks forward to one part of the commute. “I’ve been going up and down Columbia Street for years and I’ve been a bus rider. I never realized how much bacon smell comes from Merritt’s. On a calm day it is guaranteed to bring a smile.”
Learn about Carolina’s resources and programs for bicyclists.
