2008 Woodie Awards
Vintage Vogue
Mark Hengel
Issue date: 1/27/06 Section: Editorial
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I found my bike over Christmas Break. Not ground breaking news by any means, but it matters to me. I don't mind my car, but bike is my preferred transportation. I can't describe the color well. The previous owner - I bought the old ten-speed touring bike at a Michigan Goodwill store - must have loved blue. The frame is metallic blue and the handlebars have a grip tape that is old, worn, and blue - much like my hands after a long ride. The bike has a vintage look though, and If I would ever take the time to clean it, the bike would look pretty cool.
I missed my bike because I live south of Hendrix on Davis Street. My house is only one mile from campus, so driving such a short distance serves no purpose. Each morngin I take a right on Caldwell and set off towards downtown. My favorite part is dodging traffic while holding a cup of coffee in my left hand. The street slopes downward so I build up as much speed as possible before reaching the first stoplight.
I have to break at that point, and downtown's traffic keeps me from accelerating again until I have turned on to Front Street and reached Something Brewing.
The slow traffic makes the ride more fun, though. I could easily take alternate routes with fewer cars, but Conway's downtown is worth slowing down and admiring.
Conway has - and is - undergoing a great renovation of their downtown. Faulkner County's seat had done little to preserve the business district once neighborhoods named Crooked Creek and Shady Valley began popping up on its western frontier. Despite the neglect, five to six blocks of Conway's densely packed downtown remain.
Those blocks - especially along Front Street - have slowly become respectable, and since the city completed the streetscape along Front, the street has the feel of a vintage downtown.
Tall, black lampposts line Front Street's eastside and give the sections lined on both sides by building a vertical feel. I feel out of place riding my bike anywhere else in Conway, but downtown it fits. I almost expect more bikes to zip through the traffic on their way to either Hendrix or the University of Central Arkansas.
I missed my bike because I live south of Hendrix on Davis Street. My house is only one mile from campus, so driving such a short distance serves no purpose. Each morngin I take a right on Caldwell and set off towards downtown. My favorite part is dodging traffic while holding a cup of coffee in my left hand. The street slopes downward so I build up as much speed as possible before reaching the first stoplight.
I have to break at that point, and downtown's traffic keeps me from accelerating again until I have turned on to Front Street and reached Something Brewing.
The slow traffic makes the ride more fun, though. I could easily take alternate routes with fewer cars, but Conway's downtown is worth slowing down and admiring.
Conway has - and is - undergoing a great renovation of their downtown. Faulkner County's seat had done little to preserve the business district once neighborhoods named Crooked Creek and Shady Valley began popping up on its western frontier. Despite the neglect, five to six blocks of Conway's densely packed downtown remain.
Those blocks - especially along Front Street - have slowly become respectable, and since the city completed the streetscape along Front, the street has the feel of a vintage downtown.
Tall, black lampposts line Front Street's eastside and give the sections lined on both sides by building a vertical feel. I feel out of place riding my bike anywhere else in Conway, but downtown it fits. I almost expect more bikes to zip through the traffic on their way to either Hendrix or the University of Central Arkansas.