A lone cyclist on Providence Road pushed Eric Cable to run for City Council.

Commuting to his uptown job, Cable grew annoyed with the man who always rode his bike during the morning rush, zigging through cars as they backed up at lights.

So annoyed that in June he created a website and stood at the corner of Providence and Sharon Amity holding a sign that advertised it: banbicyclesonprovidence.com.

The sign, along with the site, a petition and a series of homemade YouTube videos decrying Bicycle Boy and other bikers using major roads at rush hour landed Cable on local TV news. His campaign went viral as bicycle advocates from around the world reacted strongly.

It also sparked something in Cable.

That kind of lit the fire, he says. I always was kind of interested in ... city politics. But that was the catalyst.

Now Cable, 41, is making his first try for office. The sole Libertarian running, hes seeking an at-large seat on City Council.

An Ohio native, he moved to Charlotte in 2006. He works at Wells Fargo as a database developer. The U.S. Navy veteran has eclectic interests.

He plays bagpipes with the Shriners. He sings chorus with Opera Carolina. And, pursuing an interest sparked during the 2002 Winter Olympics, he helped start a Charlotte-area curling club.

Cable became a Libertarian in 2008. Before that he was a self-described Reagan Republican. He says he left the party after Sarah Palin.

Originally posted here:

Bike ban pushed Libertarian into local politics