Globe Sized Sights

April 2012 - Photo Credit: Sam Bennett

The Daily Planet globe at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh is a very popular stop on our Tuesday ride.  These photos that take on the ride prompted me to look up a bit of the impetus and inspiration behind the silver sphere.

"The idea is to showcase North Carolina’s changing identity, from a state that sends workers into cotton mills to a place that competes worldwide for high-tech jobs. 

May 2012 - Photo Credit: Sam Bennett

The Daily Planet stands for global competition – a buzzword turned into metal and perched on Raleigh’s front door. Once a mid-sized Southern town with an acorn for a mascot, the city’s sights have expanded to globe-size."

August 2012 - Photo Credit: Sam Bennett

The globe has certainly caught our attention as we continue to take our group shots in front of it, throwing our bikes up into the air, trying to catch a bit of our wheels on the tip of South America.  The globe is a symbol in Raleigh that I really enjoy.  We don't have any rivers or lakes for that picturesque downtown scene.  I've even heard of people trying to photoshop out 'old rusty' from the skyline of downtown from pictures taken on the Boylan Bridge.  I always wondered why they have South America facing the courtyard, but I like that too as it adds something unique and different to downtown.

Perhaps we've got our sights globe-sized, too.  From all of us twenty-something and thirty-something transplants that have moved to Raleigh from the Northeast, Midwest  and West Coast, towing our humble steel steeds along with us for this southern exposure.  What do these pictures say?

For some of us, two wheels are our link to community, transportation, recreation, health, well-being, and entertainment.  Yeah, it's not quite high-tech jobs or global competition ... but perhaps in some other ways, two wheels are the world too.

Perhaps one of these days we should take our picture in front of the iconic acorn at Moore Square too, but for now, as far as I'm concerned, the giant globe will do.

January 2013-  Photo Credit: Sam Bennet

The globe has certainly caught our attention as we continue to take our group shots in front of it.  It is a symbol of Raleigh that I really enjoy.  I always wondered why they have South America facing the courtyard, but I like it as adds something unique and different to Raleigh.   We don't have any rivers or lakes and I've heard of people trying to photoshop out 'old rusty' from the shot of Downtown over the Boylan Bridge.  Perhaps one of these days we should take our picture in front of the iconic acorn at Moore Square too, but for now, as far as I'm concerned, the giant globe will do.

We've got our sights globe-sized.  From all of us transplants, "Raleigh, you're going to have bikes."

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/04/15/2001327/for-a-raleigh-icon-how-about-a.html#storylink=cpy