Tour de Lights Delights

Tour de Lights, Knoxville, December 2011

What could make this year's Tour de Lights better than last years? An extra thirty degrees and less rain. It was a warm night with a threat of rain, but it held off until after the riders returned to Market Square and melted back into the night.


Tour de Lights, Knoxville, 2011

 

Tour de Lights Staging Ground

 

Tour de Lights 2011, Knoxville

 The bicyclists gathered in front of the stage at the Bill Lyons Pavilion on Market Square where many posed for photographs. One young girl groaned when I asked to take here picture and said I was the seventh person to ask. But she smiled. Most people seemed to enjoy having their pictures taken and there were at least as many cameras as bicycles. I suppose given the effort many of them had taken to put together their costumes and trick out their bikes they were happy to show them off. I did have one person decline to be photographed. I think that makes about four people out of the hundreds I photographed.


Tour de Lights, Knoxville, 2011

 

Tour de Lights crowd shot pre-ride, Knoxville 2011

 

Happy Santa, Tour de Lights, Knoxville, 2011

 There were live trees, hats that moved up and down and menorahs. There were single bikes, bicycles made for two, extra tall bikes and hand-propelled bikes. There were people of all ages but, as always, the children were the cutest. Some people came with a theme in mind from the Grateful Dead to the more seasonal wise men and shepherd family. There were many Santas from the conventional to the sexy. Some dressed up and some wore long johns only.

Shepherds and Wise Men, Tour de Lights, Knoxville, 2011

Biking Buddies, Tour de Lights, Knoxville, 2011

 

Automated Hat, Tour de Lights, Knoxville, 2011

The gathering left via Wall Avenue and rode to the Fourth and Gill neighborhood before winding their way back into the downtown area via Gay Street, arriving back at their starting point within an hour. Not intended as a race, but more a promenade on two wheels, the group seemed as jovial on their return as when they left. A soft mist fell, but it was lighter than last year and it didn't threaten to freeze on contact, which was an improvement.


Happy Christmas Family, Tour de Lights, Knoxville, 2011

 

Proud Mama and Cutie-pie of the night, Tour de Lights, Knoxville, 2011

 

Grateful Dead Christmas Biker

It would be two hours before the threat of rain turned to actual drops downtown. By that time the participants had enjoyed hot chocolate with friends and family and returned to their homes to begin planning next year's costumes and themes. It was another great night in the city.


He's got it all going on, Tour de Lights, Knoxville, 2011

 

Daddy/Daughter Delight, Tour de Lights, Knoxville, 2011

 

Ho, Ho and Ho, Tour de Lights, Knoxville, 2011



Riders exit Market Square, Tour de Lights, Knoxville, 2011



Transportation: A Leaf, Europe and Smarttrips All in One Post!

All-electric Nissan Leaf, Knoxville

Nissan Leaf parked on Walnut Street

Downtown Knoxville has its first Nissan Leaf. I'm pretty sure Mr. John Craig, local developer and Knox Heritage board member is parking the first of these all-electric cars on our city streets. Guilty before of a little Prius envy (resolved), I'm feeling a little stir for a Leaf. Given my current level of funding, I'll just have to enjoy seeing John's on the  street.

Motorcycles in London

Also, I'm posting a few pictures of various kinds of transportation in Paris and London. Motorcycles and bicycles were, of course, much more prominent in each of these cities than in our own. In Paris the motorcycles had to be watched carefully because they felt very comfortable weaving in and out of traffic and then jumping onto the sidewalk to pop into a cycle parking place. I saw quite a few bicyclists riding in heavy London traffic and talking on a cell phone, which seems like not such a good idea. We loved riding the Tube in London and the Metro in Paris and found them both very easy to use, though sometimes very crowded.

Gloucester Subway station in London (our stop)

Walking was much easier for these Americans in Paris than in London. In London with the difference in sides of the road for travel we had to be very careful whenever crossing the road because traffic sometimes turned from places we didn't expect. In Paris crossing the road was much easier for three reasons: Most of the streets were one-way (one direction to worry about), the ones which were two way used the same side of the road we use in America and the cross walks were off-set from the corners enough that turning traffic was not a concern.

Double Decker Bus in Trafalgar Square, London

Meanwhile back at home we don't have subways and our bus system never seems to be as heavily used as some of us might wish. I do continue to wonder if a rail system east-west given our existing tracks might not work if we really tried to make it happen. We really need to do something if we want our air to be breathable and to avoid air-quality alert days all summer (No thanks, Joe Hultquist.)

It turns out there is a great group of people trying to make a difference in just this area. Smarttrips will help you find a car pool and give you rewards for biking, walking or car-pooling to work. I'd encourage you to join if you aren't already a member. Many downtown businesses participate. A while back they held a very fun event on Market Square (I had to work :-() in which they used large balloons they had been carrying around town all week to demonstrate the carbon pollution saved by their efforts. I'll leave you with the video.